Thursday on my afternoon work break, I walked out of the building, turned east, at the corner turned north, walked half a block and entered
Organics to You, "a locally owned and operated Company, located in Portland Oregon, and has been in business, since 2001. Organics to You Delivers fresh, local, farm direct produce, along with other grocery items, directly to your home or office on a flexible weekly, every other week schedules." (From their Web site) I walked out with four ears of corn, a bunch of Swiss chard, three baby bok choys, two zucchini, two summer squash, and a ravenous hope for our supper. I walked in from the bus, ready to cook!
The zucchini, summer squash, and three Portland Farmers Market potatoes I had in the refrigerator.
Walla Walla Sweet Onions from Fred Meyer and a bit of the baby bok choy.
The baby bok choy and the Swiss chard
First I squirted some of my olive oil/canola oil combination into one of my two great big skillets and turned the electric burner to High. Then I put the chopped onion in to begin to sautee. Next I added the chopped bottoms of the baby bok choy--the white part, not the leaves. Next I added the rough-sliced potatoes. I stirred all of this enough so that oil glistened on each piece. Then I added the sliced squashes and some chopped Swiss chard stems. Oh, in between adding the potatoes and the squashes, I sprinkled some sea salt onto everything.
I let it all get hot, poured in some water, left the heat on high, and put my other great big skillet on top, upside down, as a lid.
I grabbed a handful of Swiss chard leaves, sort of wadded them up into a small mound, then sliced them across, rotated them 45 degrees and sliced across them again. When I finished with the chard, I did the same thing with the baby bok choy leaves. I took the skillet off the skillet and placed handful after handful of chopped greens atop the vegetables already in the skillet. I squirted some of the olive oil/canola oil combination here and there, sprinkled some sea salt, and balanced the skillet-as-lid back on the other skillet. I turned the heat down to four.
I let it cook a little while--I don't remember how long. (And I've forgotten to tell you that I had a slice of ham wrapped in foil, on a cookie sheet, heating at 200 degrees the whole time I was chopping and squirting and stirring.) Then I removed the upper skillet.
Here's my plate, complete with ham, the vegetable concoction and two slices of a tomato, from Fred Meyer. The plate was empty in short order. Much the same with Mama and her plate.
After I'd washed the dishes, I decided to call my sons, to tell them thanks. After all, if the two of them hadn't agreed to cook a huge meal for over 60 of our family and friends back in Jackson, Mississippi, in June, 2006, before we moved to Portland, then I would not have my two really big skillets that I now adore. I bought them so that the guys could use them that night--there was no reason for them to put what they call sautee pans in their suitcases when they flew to Jackson, not only to cook that very special meal, but to help us finish getting ready to move. Lamont flew back with Grandma. Leland drove the U-Haul with passengers--Duncan and me.
If those sweet sons of mine hadn't been so gracious and ready to sweat outdoors for almost an entire day, prepping and cooking and serving, then I would not have my really big cutting board which I also adore. It's one of those white, sort of plastic ones, easy to use, easy to clean.
I only got hold of Leland. He said, "Well, Mom, I'm glad you're enjoying them," and he chuckled. I'll let Lamont know soon.
By the way, if you watch "So You Think You Can Dance," do you agree with me that they ought to have each couple dance next week to a Michael Jackson son--in his honor? Oh, how I'd love to see that!
