From the Kitchen: Memories, Recipes, and Thoughts

The door to our little cabin opens right into the kitchen. From that door you see the barbed wire that lines the front of our two acres. Beyond that barbed wire is our dirt road that blows dust into every crevice in our kitchen when it’s dry and is as slick as ice when it rains.

I go in and out of that door a dozen times a day, at least, retrieving cold goods from a cooler outside, watering the kitchen garden when I can steal a snippet of time, talking to friendly neighbors who come our way.

Annabelle now stands up and holds onto whatever is near to balance her wobbly, pudgy little legs. When I open that door, and leave it open on the warmer days, she could spend all day balancing in that doorway… sitting in front of it drinking her milkies, standing there with one bare foot in and one out while Mama warns "no", screaming this beautiful, loud, almost raspy "HI!" to anyone or anything that goes on by.

I know that if the Lord keeps us here til then, I’ll remember this little kitchen fondly in my later years. I’ll remember how Stewart built it measuring my height against the walls to create the perfect plywood countertop for me to work on. I’ll remember how I came home from an afternoon writing in town to find those countertops installed. I’ll remember standing at the sink, sweating from every pore in my body as I acclimated to my first summer in the south.

Whether we live here indefinitely with only the Lord knows how many children, or we build a larger space for us all to share, the thing that may always stick with me is the image of this little girl with red pig tails, my personality, and her daddy’s eyes screaming "HI!" at the top of her lungs indiscriminately to any person, chicken or trash bag who happens to blow on through.

I need to get home to that dirt road, that barbed wire, and a screaming set of pig tails so I think I’ll just leave you with these memories, recipes, and thoughts. Please share yours in the comments.

Sourdough Starter FAQ

Easy Peasy Split Pea Soup

Ground Beef and Sausage Pot Pie

Raw and Cultured Breakfast Bowl

Greens and Sweet Potatoes: a Traditional Southern Meal

How to Make a Pot of Soup

Mexican Coleslaw with Mexican Meatloaf

Simple Sausage, Potato, and Cabbage Soup

Buttered Cabbage and Onions

Learning to Cook by Flavor Profile, not Recipe

Buttered Enchilada Sauce

Canning Meat

On Feeding Others When It’s Not Easy

How Our Food Culture Disappeared