Don't Celebrate Until It's Actually Over
Whether it's winter or the Ides of March, you can't be too confident. This, plus a green meal, a tricolour cocktail, great music and much more in another Friday ACBN!
2,068 years ago today, Julius Caesar was stabbed to death. He later got a pretty good salad named after him,1 which I suppose is some consolation, but he should’ve just been a little more careful, if you ask me.
There are plenty of lessons we can take from the fall of the Roman Republic—the tenuousness of democracy, the ability of a charismatic leader to turn tyrannical, the unforeseen ramifications of even seemingly-justified political violence—but most of all, I think it’s a lesson in celebrating before the clock strikes all zeroes.
I mean, Caesar was warned.
He suspected for weeks that a collection of Senators was plotting against him. His wife had a visceral premonition of his assassination. What’s more, a seer named Spurinna had specifically warned him that his life was in danger no later than the Ides of March (March 15th).
Caesar was walking to the senate house when he caught sight of Spurinna. "Well, the Ides of March have come!" Caesar called out playfully. "Aye, the Ides have come," said Spurinna, "but they are not yet gone."
To put this historical event in modern terms:
Caesar’s “see, it’s March 15th, I’m fine” is fundamentally no different than my friend Dennis declaring it was “in the bag” when Cleveland took a 3-1 lead over Boston in the 2007 American League Championship Series, a thing I am still mad at him for seventeen years later. You simply cannot celebrate until it’s actually over.
The same logic applies with winter!
It is 75 degrees outside as I write this. The trees are in bloom, the kids are playing in the backyard, and we’ve eaten dinner outside several times this week. It is deeply tempting to declare winter over. But I’m not doing it just yet.
That’s how you end up getting stabbed by a snowman.
Friends, it is once again Friday at The Action Cookbook Newsletter.
I’m as ready for spring as anyone, but I’m keeping my head on a swivel.
Today, I’ve got a meal that’s perfectly appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day without being the least bit Irish, an oddly-familiar-but-definitely-delicious cocktail, some great music, a delightful book, and much more!
The Ides of March got nothin’ on the Frides of March.
It’s Easy Being Green
With St. Patrick’s Day coming up this Sunday, I simply could not resist the urge to try and make something thematically appropriate.
The only problem was… I didn’t want to make any of the traditional Irish foods. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good many of them, but none fit my needs right now. My wife abhors cabbage, I’m not a confident enough baker to make soda bread, and corned beef always seems like a great idea until I’ve had my fill and there’s still four pounds of sodium-bomb meat left in the fridge.
I decided my best course of action was to be like a big corporation: make a big show of going green, and then just do whatever the heck I want.
I’d make green spaghetti.
I’m not just talking dyed-green noodles, though. If you want that—and you’re in the Ohio/Indiana/Kentucky tri-state area or certain parts of Florida—you can just head to Skyline Chili on Sunday, as per this email I received yesterday:
(This is not sponsored content. You know that my love of Cincinnati chili is pure.)
(But, if you work for Skyline Chili and want to throw me a sponsorship, I will absolutely sell out.)
No, my place was to make Espagueti Verde, a Mexican dish that utilizes pureed roasted Poblano peppers as the base for a deliciously-verdant and not-that-spicy pasta sauce that’s the perfect kickoff to not-quite-spring.