This week’s creative endeavor was funny. As we were standing in the kitchen, wondering what our project should be, Mister poked around in the spice cabinet, putting together a dry-rub for a rack of ribs. He didn’t have a recipe, and he just sort of trusted his eyes and his intuition. At one point, he wondered aloud about whether or not he should add Jamaican Allspice to the bowl. I suggested he smell the spice and let his nose be his guide. He went for it.
Together we rubbed the spices on both sides of the ribs, then wrapped the rack in foil and put it in the oven at 300 degrees. We would leave the ribs there for 4.5 hours.
With no clear ideas on our creative project, Mister went about some other business and I started putting together a sauce for the ribs. I totally cheated, as I used some leftover Arthur Bryant’s sauce as the base. (If you’ve never been to Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, I’m sorry.) Much like Mister had done with the dry-rub ingredients, I went on instinct while putting together the sauce fixings. There was pepper jelly and some spices, then I tasted it and thought a little tomato paste was in order. Once that was bubbling away on the stove, I decided to add some frozen cherries to the mix. I left that simmering and tackled some other tasks, still wondering what creative project we might try.
Time passed and before we knew it, those ribs were ready for a spell on the grill. The sauce had thickened and blended nicely, so that was in play. We finished the ribs and sat down to a scrumptious plate of delectable pig-meat. As I sipped my iced tea, it occurred to me that we had collaborated – creatively – on our main course. We each took part in the process and had trusted our right brains to lead us to a food masterpiece. Our weekly project had gotten done in spite of our lack of direction. Go figure.
When we started our weekly D2T2 projects, I had hoped we would manage to be creative together once a week. I did not realize the inclination toward creativity would seep into our lives and become a regular way of being. If this is indeed a side effect of our endeavors, I’ll take it. Especially when it’s so damned delicious.