Time just doesn’t stop, does it. And we just had the surprise of a lifetime a couple weeks ago and I’ll share our secret in the near future. But in the meantime, I will remember back to last May when I had the chance to visit Minnesota and all of the important people that live there. Whenever I visit home, I go through a myriad of emotions. Of course many things have changed, friends have moved away to other cities and are living their lives creating careers and starting families and young ones grow up. But in the midst of the change, there were moments that felt just like the old times. And amongst all of the wonderful new experiences, those are the moments that I want to cherish. They are afterall one pillar of who I became. In the picture below are the people that have shared a Sunday dinner together, complete with Grampa’s bow-tie (it is his signature style) and Gramma’s smokey roast beef.
To a Daughter leaving home
by Linda Pastan
When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.
This poem most likely echoes the feelings of my parents and grandparents when their children and grandchildren grew up but they are also the feelings I experienced this fall as our oldest moved to a school a five hour drive away. She has been doing wonderful there and visits home every other weekend. But she is growing and becoming independent.
One of my memories of home included wonderful food. Good quality food made with love. Sometimes it was simple because the daily demands required it to be so, and sometimes it was something that took more time.
This dish can really be served any time of day and can be easily served as a single serving for one or if you make a larger amount it can easily feed a family.
Nested eggs made with Kale
1 leaf of kale per egg
eggs -1 to 2 per serving
salt and black pepper
pinch of chili flakes
coconut oil for frying
Take one leaf of kale per egg. Remove the stem and chop the kale until it is very fine. Warm a pan to a medium to low heat and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Allow to melt and then make small mounds with the kale, seperating it in the middle as if creating a hole. Place one egg in each “hole”, and allow to cook gently. Sprinkle with a bit of black pepper and salt and if you wish a bit of chili flakes.
Enjoy any time of day! Sometimes I serve this dish with a side of sauerkraut and salsa…or be creative and create your own sides.
