Zhuzhedding
The recipe within the magazine spoke. If the pic didn’t do the job, the words certainly embellished it to taste. The muffin looked like one grandma would have baked. The crumbly drizzled frosting atop looked scrumptious.
Perhaps rhubarb was within—or maybe strawberries swirled into the batter. I kept on reading to find out and soon realized the baked item upon the page was from a recipe from long ago—just as I had suspected. However, no longer did they go by the title I was used to. This recipe had been rebranded with the title of “Latte-inspired Crumble Topper.”
We used to call these muffins, or merely cupcakes as things were tossed in for good measure. Goodness knows I’ve been guilty of tossing in whatever I have on hand—a handful of times. But now, as I drooled over these delights, I became eager to discover what this recipe was all about.
Now that the pic had the attention of my tastebuds, I read on. “Drawing inspo from tender, oversize coffeehouse muffins, we zhuzhed a recipe from our archives, adding a crumble that channels some of our favorite espresso drinks.”
After reading the expressive vocabulary, I no longer felt confident I’d be able to bake something so profound, for fear of “zhuzhedding” it altogether—whatever that means. I glanced over the recipe and was relieved to read the recognizable print: prepare, preheat, oven, large bowl, and batter. Feeling better already, I read on and earmarked the page. That means, I put a marker in it so I’d remember where to look for the recipe.
Curiosity didn’t kill this cat as I looked a few of those fancy words up from the intro. I figured “inspo” was short for inspiration, and I “channel” meant putting in a bit of flavor that might come through, but it was “zhuzhed” that got the best of me. Looking at it in context, could it mean “grab” from the archives? Turns out, I was close. “zhuzhed” means to “improve the appearance, style, or flavor of something by making a small adjustment, addition, or tweak.” Come to find out they must have tweaked an old recipe—perhaps even grandma’s!
What a fun word! My mind was working overtime as it opened up all sorts of possibilities! So, just for fun, I tried it out on the only other person rambling around the house. “Hey honey, how about we zhuzhed a little salad for supper tonight?” After looking a little suspicious, he spoke. “What? Zhu what? Probably not. Do you have some old stuff in the fridge you wanna get rid of?” He was closer to the meaning of the word than he knew. Old stuff made new is what it’s all about.
Reminds me of Revelation 21:5: “Behold, I am making all things new.” You see, our Lord has been “zhuhedding” things from the beginning of time. He spoke, and things came into being. God sent His Son who died and rose again. And when He rose, He poured out His Holy Spirit upon us. We have a God who is really good at making ALL things new—each of us—not just muffins. Amen.
Kathleen Kjolhaug
Picture: Magnific
This article was first published in Theology in the Trenches, a column written by Kathleen Kjolhaug. Posted with permission. Read more articles on her blog, Theology in the Trenches.
