Pairings .07 🍷🧀

Money, vocation, and a recipe using ground beef that doesn't dry it out

Claude Vignon, Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

These two essays came across my desk screen on the same day, seeming too serendipitous in their topics not to share.

1 “A Rich Vocation that Might Not Pay Well” by David Demaree

In this essay at

Ecstatic

, David Demaree explores how Christians in the modern world value work primarily for its connection to wealth.

“In my own experience, when Christians friends with white-collar jobs mention that someone landed a good job, good in this context means a lucrative salary. Narrowly approaching work to maximize wealth dampens the possible richness of the Christian life.”

What if this exclusive focus on money means missing out on something more?

“Recently—in borrowing from the Lord’s Prayer—I have contemplated what God's kingdom on earth might look, sound, and feel like. This has led me to reflect on other questions: Can I spark glimpses of what wholeness can look like—however large or small—and give myself to that work, even if it means I don’t maximize my earning potential? Can I imagine a flourishing that is bigger than myself? As I wrestle with these questions, it is clear to me that any path forward won’t go viral, this requires a different motivation than what the marketplace imagination demands.”

Much of my work as a life consultant involves helping people learn to discern their priorities. The question: “why are you doing this particular kind of work?” is one that many people come to for the first time only after years of unhappiness in a particular field, or after a big life change like marriage or children, where work suddenly becomes secondary to a state in life. 

But what if we were having these kinds of conversations much earlier?

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2. “The Out-of-the Box” Vocation by Denise Trull

In this fantastic essay at Theology of Home,

Denise Trull

explores this precise question.

“What I gathered from these words was that the work we choose to do to earn our living and take care of our own should also be "our holiest and most charitable self-giving." Meaning that the job might not pay well in the world's eyes, might not bring an over abundance of financial security and yet if we use it to give of ourselves to others with God's love then it is worthy. It becomes vocation. It becomes His will for us.

This is not the boomer ideal I grew up with surrounding me. Success, power, and financial riches are American virtues to be pursued…

It may be an uncomfortable proposition to us who think in trajectories, 401Ks, retirement plans, and an educational plan thought out for a child from the age of three all the way through to college. There are jobs that seem ideal: lawyer, doctor, engineer, business. Everyone successful goes to college. An established 40-hour-week is a must. I never questioned these ideals of American living. They seemed responsible and steady to me. And I think they still are for some, but are they problematic and too self sufficiently secure when up against service to the God we have been called to serve? Are we ready to accept if He asks our children to be poor? Or to do something out of the ordinary with their lives? Do we entertain the possibility that they might be asked to serve Him at a job that only offers minimum wage when we dreamed of them owning a thriving business and a house with a yard and a deck, and where their own children will attend the best schools? Many of us are generously willing to give our consent if our son or daughter wants to be a priest or a nun. But what if their vocation is to live poor in this world? Are we willing then?”

She goes on to think through her own vocation of raising and homeschooling many children, and the people whose roles offered room for encouragement and support, including a local librarian and car mechanic. Following these reflections, she suggests several jobs that can be lived vocationally, in the sense of “the call each of us has, through our work, to do the Will of God and become holy. Our work is not just the best way we have discovered to make money. It must be chosen as the best way to serve God.”

Trull is an experienced mother and grandmother; she knows of what she speaks, and her words are well worth considering. I felt particularly convicted by this question: “Are nest eggs something we should even be worrying about? Are these just another name for bigger barns?”

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3. “Hot Pot” recipe

If we’re going to be adopting an attitude toward work that doesn’t lend itself to large homes and endless grocery budgets, how about a recipe for the ever-affordable meat, ground beef (UK: minced beef) that doesn’t end up dry and boring?

And if you grew up as a child of the 80s with a ‘shepherd’s pie’ that included wet, flavourless frozen corn and boxed chemical-tasting mashed potatoes, I promise this will change how you feel about a meal consisting of beef+veg+potatoes.

This serves 4 people: you can scale this recipe pretty endlessly to feed a crowd, and it makes excellent leftovers for lunch the next day, or as a make-ahead meal for Sabbath rest.

• 1 package ground beef (1lb or 500g) - aim for at least 15% fat

• 1 small-medium onion, diced

• 1 Tbs olive oil

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tsp dried basil

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

• ⅓ c red wine

• ¼ c beef broth 

• 1 Tbs flour (or cornstarch mixed with hot water)

• 2 good sized carrots, diced into ½ inch pieces

• ½ c frozen peas

• 5-6 medium potatoes of any variety, sliced into ¼ inch rounds

• 2-3 Tbs olive oil

• Salt and pepper

Take the ground beef out of the refrigerator and salt: let sit for about 30 minutes before cooking. In the meantime, chop all the vegetables. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Heat a large saute pan to medium. Add 1 Tbs of olive oil and the diced onion, stirring until softened and fragrant. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground beef. As beef browns, add basil, oregano, and thyme: stir in. Add pinch of red pepper flakes and minced garlic: stir. At this point, the beef should be mostly cooked: decide if you want to get rid of any extra rendered fat (leave at least 2 Tbs) and add the carrots, stirring.

Now is your time to add the red wine and let it reduce down. You can skip this part if you already drank all the wine. Or if you’re one of the people who think cooking with wine is giant waste. No judgment here.

Once the wine has reduced, add in the peas and broth and let simmer for a bit. 

Stir in the flour or the cornstarch+water to act as a thickener. The whole thing should be thicker than soup broth but thinner than gloopy gravy.

Pour the mixture into a 9x9 or 9x13 porcelain casserole dish: your choice on the size, depending on how much potato you’d like in relation to the rest.

Place the potato rounds on top in an overlapping pattern, so each potato is about ½ covered by the next. Drizzle with olive oil and be very very generous with your salt at this point. The potatoes will absorb it all. 

Pop into the oven for about 35 min or until the potatoes are crisp but not burnt. You can turn on the broiler (UK = grill) at the end to finish them off. 

This recipe is really adaptable: add whatever spices you like, turn up or change up the veg, make the whole thing in cast-iron skillet so you only have one pan to wash. Just whatever you do, don’t skip the salt!

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“Pairings” is a series in which I share things that go well together - not only the traditional wine and cheese, but things I’ve read or heard or seen. (Content varies widely!) If you’ve missed previous installments, you can find them here:

Pairings 01. Stereotypes, Archetypes, Housewifery & Motherhood (plus Bruschetta)

Pairings 02. Exploring Exhaustion, Life Cost, and Trade-offs (plus an allergen-friendly salad that’s actually delicious)

Pairings 03. The Gifts of Masculinity, plus a recipe for World’s Easiest Pulled Pork

Pairings 04. Arranged marriages, community & the individual, and a fun way to spice up your coffee

Pairings 05. Comedic marriage & growing up Christian in '90s America, plus the easiest way to cook a whole chicken that will never be dry

Pairings 06. Rest, busyness, and "special" meals you can make ahead for a no-cook sabbath

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Thanks for reading! If you’re enjoying this post, you can support my work by sharing it - forward on to a friend, restack, or leave a comment tagging someone who might like it.

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Tell me: what’s your take on work, money, and vocation? Do you cringe at the thought of living without a 401k (UK= pension plan)? Or have you already embraced a life where wealth is not the same as success? How do you balance making a living with making a life?

Do you have any good recipes for ground beef beyond the usual suspects of meatballs and tacos?