I lifted the hatchback of my 1989 Saab and a beautiful smell came up to meet me – freshly ground coffee. Specifically, a lung-warming, head-filling rush of Yirgacheffe, roasted locally by Caffe Marco. Minutes earlier, I had bought and ground a pound of these organic, fair trade Ethiopian beans at Good Foods Market.
I stopped.
Instead of unloading my Good Foods purchases, I stood still in my street and breathed the incomparable smell of coffee. It felt like the first real moment of the holidays, the first time in weeks I had simply enjoyed the riches and wonders of my life. I had thought about the abundance that fills my life every day, but I had not let myself experience it.
I’m prone to imagining that at some point — usually just ahead — I am going to stop being preoccupied with work, blogs, UK basketball, the economy, world peace, and dinner plans. I intend to stop all that and enjoy what is. I even talk with myself about how important it is that I stop and enjoy…in just a little bit.
CaffeMarco’s coffees are so lovingly handled that these beans got my attention, not just my intention. Coffee from Africa, filling my head in Kentucky – that is worthy of full awareness. 
People who know me well know I spend too much time trying to solve the puzzle of the perfect Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa. The feelings of the season always leave me wishing I knew the secrets to creating perfect experiences: a sense of abundance for all without spending much, ease for sad or broken hearts, energy for working on good causes, cheer for those who are lonely and afraid, rest and restoration for all our tired hearts as winter settles around us.
My CaffeMarco moment made me think that some of those wonders may reveal themselves within the utter richness of stopping, being present, becoming aware of what Dad called “the joy of living.”
I reached the kitchen, and I could see its abundance. Even without the newly bought foods the kitchen looked full and rich. Perhaps it lacked only one fine thing – a pound of CaffeMarco Yirgacheffe.
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On Doughnuts: The traditional food that is fried in oil during the celebration of Chanukah is the potato latke. In Israel, the tradition is to fry doughnuts (sufganyot). Since enjoying cider doughnuts this summer at the Cider Mill Farm and tasting more cider doughnuts at the Ithaca Apple Festival (which were heavy on the grease), I decided to create a recipe for cider doughnuts. Initially I was going to use apple cider but have since decided to use apple juice concentrate. I will let you know how they come out.
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