bon vivant tuesday: deer, fish and everything in between

enthusiasm: derived from greek. enthusiasm first appeared in english in 1603 with the meaning "possession by a god." the source of the word is the greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, "having the god within". over time the meaning of enthusiasm became extended to "rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god" to "an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by god," to "ill-regulated religious fervor, religious extremism," and eventually to the familiar sense "craze, excitement, strong liking for something." now one can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from water skiing to food, without religion entering into it at all.

i am an enthusiasm junky. i like to have strong likings. i like to feel ebullient over things…it makes me feel sprightly. it makes me feel alive. and i don’t ration out my ebullience based on how grandiose something is. i am an equal opportunist enthusiast. i am as moved to excited ohhs and ahhs, yipees and giddy smiles over one singular, lovely and perfect french macaroon as i was when i found my wedding dress. i can fall just as hard for a quirky little deer statue i found at an estate sale as i would over finding the perfect car.
                                                                                                 
i also like people who have strong likings because often times their exuberance is contagious and i like that also. i just had lunch with my friend beth and she too has a zest for the different. she takes interest in the little details which take the average and make it extraordinary. i appreciate her ideas. she’s one cool chick. today she found an npr, touted indian place that just opened and while indian food doesn’t get me all that excited the simple fact that she took the time to look for something new, it was trendy and had fennel seed candy for dessert…. does.

so yes, tonight i’m going to get my kicks making fish fillets in parchment with asparagus and orange http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/springvegetables/recipes/food/views/Fish-Fillets-in-Parchment-with-Asparagus-and-Orange-241849 accompanied by yellow tomatoes stuffed with grilled mushrooms and parmesan cheese http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Yellow-Tomatoes-Stuffed-with-Grilled-Wild-Mushrooms-and-Parmesan-Cheese-358969. topped off by a mango flan with orange mango salad http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/springvegetables/recipes/food/views/Low-Fat-Mango-Flan-with-Orange-and-Mango-Salad-5695. I’m not sure what that says about me that my day will have been a success because I tried and enjoyed 2 different meals but ohh, ahh, yippe, clap-clap…it is.

yeah tuesday,
mrs m