women in the kitchen

Most of you know that, for simplicity's sake, we McCrorys describe ourselves as vegetarians. But this evening, we're preparing a couple of steaks given to us my one of Pat's former co-workers. We rarely have meat (pun intended), so I am not accustomed to making side dishes to accompany it. I ask Pat, "What should I make to go with it?" but I find myself always returning to what is familiar. Solitary vegetables remind me of my childhood. Sunday dinners of steak, baked potatoes, and green beans. Family dinners at my Grandma's that use every burner on the stove, a different (often homegrown) treat under each lid and always cooked apples, spoons everywhere, sweat dripping down the sides of each little pot.

So tonight's dinner is my own collected memorabilia. I kept cooking until there was enough to cover the whole stove. Something green, potatoes, apples, and meat are the stovetop tenants that moved in beside the jar of grease tonight. My mom and my grandma are the cooks. I stir and taste.