A Simple Supper

I enjoy eating food that I grow or that is grown by people whom I know. Food that is grown in a sustainable and healthy way just fits with my way of thinking. I enjoy cooking food for others and telling them the story of the food they are eating.

One daughter dropped by for supper last night. Of course I wanted to serve her something I grew. Chicken is my old standby because I have a freezer full of last summer’s chickens that Judy and I raised, but I knew she had eaten chicken at lunch. I decided to make lamb chops. The lamb chops are from my friend Judy’s farm. I remembered her telling me last summer of moving her lambs from pasture to pasture after they had eaten all the grass where they were, and about their antics, and about one ewe who had triplets. Judy puts a lot of time and effort into her lambs. It shows.

The potatoes were from my garden. They are my favorite variety, Yukon Gold. I remember the day I drove to my garden this summer to dig potatoes in August. I was all prepared to have new potatoes for supper that night, but discovered I’d forgotten a digging fork, so I dug a bucketful with a hand trowel. I must have looked real silly to anyone who saw me.

Although I do have green beans from my garden in the freezer, I usually save frozen beans for soups so I served store-bought green beans.

The chops were salted, peppered and broiled. The potatoes were mashed with virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and savory, and the beans were steamed and then sautéed in a little olive oil with some red onion. It was just a simple supper for a cold New England night. Nothing was from a recipe. Everything was already on hand. Sometimes it’s fun to follow recipes. Sometimes it’s fun to just cook with what you have.