Being a classic "plus one" personality type with the added disadvantage of being a secular animist tends to make me very prone to suggestions from friends instead of omniscient beings (witness this whole EoMEoTE thing). The Voices . Admittedly an egg based tribute to an aged doctrinal heavy wasn't on the top of my list of things to, but as it was my favourite lefty, Robert Corr , how could I refuse? Despite spiceblog being typically oblique and asynchronous to the goings on of the world (I mean the last five posts were all a thinly veiled commentary on the Crimean War) I thought I'd give it a go anyway. May the eggs provide a guide for the church into the 20th century. This one's for you your Wholebreadiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The parsley, green for Irish Catholicism. The hollandaise sauce, gold, always believing. Does it come from Holland? You'd think not, hot-bed of Reformists, libertines, and Jewish emigres called Rodrigues. No lemons so a dash of vinegar. The bread, New Norcia Seven Grain Sourdough. Why seven? Black Francis says that God is Seven. Seven grains, one loaf, many slices. What's in it? St. Paul, in his first Letter to Corinthians tells us " a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind " [15:38] . Take that gnostics. Who's responsible for this bread? None other than Benedictine monks. And despite leavened being symbolic of our sinful nature they're giving it too us anyway. Well not exactly giving it to us but it's a nice thought in a long tradition of good work and public good. So whether you're munching on some Cistercian cheese or knocking back a couple of Trappist coldies, we foodies have much to appreciate in this smart sacred-profane/member's lounge-public bar combo and look forward to future ventures.
Which brings us to the bacon. Not not-Catholic thinker Francis Bacon, (secular saint of preserved goods, martyred by dying after research into freezing chickens), but amoral bacon. In certain other major religions you'd be forced to have the relatively lackluster Eggs Florentine, for no better reason than because because. This is a courageous decison and to be respected, it's not like pigs were particularly well regarded. Unlike bread and fish which were something to be shared, pigs got to be cliff jumping demon dumpsters, leaving a very large question mark over their qualities. This was the kind of thing that could split a church and tie up the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for centuries, but it hasn't. Is it healthy? Should it be crispy? Do pigs have horrible lives before being slaughtered? Unless it's hillbilly style congress, we are forced to live in this tremendous moral void. How are we doing? Well, surprisingly enough, great.
Finally, the eggs. Symbols of reproduction and womanhood… ah well at least they're not gay eggs.