Down the road from where I live is an amazing Farmer's Market.
And parked there every summer is Frank.
Frank operates a travelling kitchen and along with the usual fare of hotdogs, hamburgers and great fries, he serves things like red snapper sandwiches and grilled prawns - which have made him famous in our area.
But that's Frank.
You know the kind.
Referred to as "eccentric" or "original," Frank is a man who marches to the beat of his own drum.
And would tell you, if you thought to ask, that his particular beat sounds like jazz.
Because next to cooking, Frank is all about the music.
If you're lucky, on a summer afternoon when the sun is lighting the world just so, Frank will come out and blow you a tune or two.
Eccentric?
I believe that's just another world for teacher.
As he flips his burgers to the cool sounds of Charlie Parker, he hands out nuggets of wisdom to the people patiently waiting for his food.
And wait you will.
Because Frank is never in a hurry.
If you order, for example, a hotdog with onions, you will be receiving nothing short of a work of art.
The all beef wiener will be cut in half and perfectly fried until it's crispy on the outside but still juicy and tender and filled with flavour.
The onions will be plentiful and caramelized to a beautiful golden brown.
And the bun, which is always fresh, will be buttered and toasted.
As Frank tells anyone willing to listen, "People are always in a hurry but good things take time."
And trust me when I tell you, a hotdog from from Frank's is more than just good.
It's a memory.
The kind of thing you'll look back on one day and say "Remember Frank?"
And realize you'll never again have a hotdog that good.
That you will never re-capture the feeling you had while sitting outside a hotdog stand on a warm July afternoon listening to Eddie Coltrane and watching the world roll by.
That's what love does.
Whether it's expressed by a gesture, or a smile, or a hotdog, when we take the time to put our whole hearts into whatever we do, the end result can only ever be beautiful.
Martin Luther King Jr said:
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
I love that.
And I am filled with gratitude that we live in a world where everyday we're offered the opportunity to infuse our lives and all of the things we do with love.
In the spirit of that, I'd like to leave you today with a recipe you'll thank me for later.
Soft Tacos with Corn and Tomato Salsa (Printable recipe here)
I'd like to think Frank would say these are okay...
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And parked there every summer is Frank.
Frank operates a travelling kitchen and along with the usual fare of hotdogs, hamburgers and great fries, he serves things like red snapper sandwiches and grilled prawns - which have made him famous in our area.
But that's Frank.
You know the kind.
Referred to as "eccentric" or "original," Frank is a man who marches to the beat of his own drum.
And would tell you, if you thought to ask, that his particular beat sounds like jazz.
Because next to cooking, Frank is all about the music.
If you're lucky, on a summer afternoon when the sun is lighting the world just so, Frank will come out and blow you a tune or two.
Eccentric?
I believe that's just another world for teacher.
As he flips his burgers to the cool sounds of Charlie Parker, he hands out nuggets of wisdom to the people patiently waiting for his food.
And wait you will.
Because Frank is never in a hurry.
If you order, for example, a hotdog with onions, you will be receiving nothing short of a work of art.
The all beef wiener will be cut in half and perfectly fried until it's crispy on the outside but still juicy and tender and filled with flavour.
The onions will be plentiful and caramelized to a beautiful golden brown.
And the bun, which is always fresh, will be buttered and toasted.
As Frank tells anyone willing to listen, "People are always in a hurry but good things take time."
And trust me when I tell you, a hotdog from from Frank's is more than just good.
It's a memory.
The kind of thing you'll look back on one day and say "Remember Frank?"
And realize you'll never again have a hotdog that good.
That you will never re-capture the feeling you had while sitting outside a hotdog stand on a warm July afternoon listening to Eddie Coltrane and watching the world roll by.
That's what love does.
Whether it's expressed by a gesture, or a smile, or a hotdog, when we take the time to put our whole hearts into whatever we do, the end result can only ever be beautiful.
Martin Luther King Jr said:
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
I love that.
And I am filled with gratitude that we live in a world where everyday we're offered the opportunity to infuse our lives and all of the things we do with love.
In the spirit of that, I'd like to leave you today with a recipe you'll thank me for later.
Soft Tacos with Corn and Tomato Salsa (Printable recipe here)
I'd like to think Frank would say these are okay...
Tweet
Bring the daily magic of The Kitchen Witch straight to your inbox every time a new one is written.
Or you can subscribe by rss feed...
Subscribe in a reader
that farmer's market looks fabulous! and so do those tacos! you're right -- good things take time!!
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