My Inner Peasant

One of my secrets is that I like some very basic foods. I mean I really like them, as in I can eat a bowl of pinto beans with nothing but salt and think it's one of the best things ever. If there's a silver lining to the present economic situation, I think it might be that it will be interesting, attractive--maybe even a little sexy--to like peasant foods.

Last night I took a little bacon--just a couple ounces. I chopped it up, cooked it for a little while, added the half onion I found in the refrigerator, and let them sizzle together.

My son came downstairs in the middle. "What is that incredible smell?" A good thing to remember: a small amount of bacon cooking will make most people in the house think dinner is going to be very good. I chopped up 4 yukon gold potatoes, in not too small pieces (maybe about 3/4-inch dice), and added them. These cooked for as long as it took me to cut up a cabbage.



Which turned out to be a little while--I've never seen such a big core on a cabbage!

Potatoes and Cabbage
Originally uploaded by grzivny

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It was a bit of work getting inside. After quartering and coring the brute, I sliced it into about 3/4-inch wedges, and lay them atop the potatoes. A small amount of water (maybe 2 or 3 splashes), and a couple large pinches of salt (probably a couple teaspoons?), and that was all. I covered the pan, and let the whole mess simmer quietly, over a medium flame, until the potatoes and cabbage were cooked.

We were about to eat our dinner when I remembered we had about a cup of Brussels sprouts leftover from last night's dinner. I also remembered one of my New Year's Resolutions, to not waste food. I added them to the pot, and once they were warm, we sat down to eat.

I know I'm lucky with my kids; the ones at home are 19 and 16, and not only not picky eaters, but also interested eaters. And they both ate dinner, exclaiming how delicious it was. And we were sated.