Adjusting to Life's Changes with Hope… Through Poetry, Haiku, and Commentary
I stepped outside for a break
right into a cold front. My hot
coffee won’t stay hot long.
Wind gusts are pushing
through the trees like a
downhill locomotive.
The force of winter has nothing
in its way. The fall is forgotten
but my brain is still in sandals.
from the get-go today
there were no clouds
a slight wind and the
sun was strong all day
if it weren’t for the
heater kicking on you
would think it was
still summer well it
looks like it but I had
to wear a coat to go
out to check the mail
I told myself I was
warm enough but they
say tonight will be the
first freeze of winter
I pray all the pestilence
on our planet will perish
with summer
This is a wonderful comfort dish for the first cool nights of fall, winter, or anytime really. I always make more than enough—it is a family favorite for breakfast the next morning with eggs.
Serves
4-6
Cookware
A 3 qt pan with high sides and a cover. Or, large pan of your choice.
Ingredients
2 medium yellow onions. For this recipe, I like to cut the onions in half, then cut each half 3 or 4 times to make large long chunks. When I cook onion, I don’t like to separate the onion in the pan; I prefer to separate the onion into individual pieces in a pile before putting them in the pan.
Olive oil. I prefer extra virgin olive oil. A vegetable oil works okay too.
Summer sausage. You know, one whole sausage in a shrink pack that looks like a fat horseshoe. I cut it in about half inch pieces, then cut all the pieces in half. If you cut them too small, they will be overdone.
2 spoons of minced garlic. I keep a long ice tea spoon next to the sink near the coffee stuff. This is my go-to utility spoon for almost everything no matter what I cook or to add sugar to my tea (or coffee). This way I use one spoon a day instead of ten. So, two heaping spoons of minced garlic from the big jar in the fridge. More, less, or none. Your choice.
1.5 lb. bag of Melissa’s Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes. Or, small potatoes of your choice. I cut most of them in half. The real small ones I leave whole. The bigger ones, I cut in half, then cut the halves in half.
Spices. I use dry spices more often than not. Fresh spices are not cost effective for me. They will go bad before I get to use them a second time. Add spices during the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. To taste, Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, a few shakes of oregano, less than a shake of basil, a pinch plus of parsley.
Instructions
1. Prepare the onion for cooking. Add enough oil to cover bottom of the pan and put on MED heat to start. Add onion to pan.
2. Prepare the sausage. Onion will be close to done. Add the sausage to the pan. Mix the onion and sausage a bit in the uncovered pan.
3. Prepare the potatoes. Add them to the pan. Cover. Let cook one notch below MED for about 20 minutes. With a spatula or large spoon, turn all the contents around the pan. Cover.
4. Test potatoes for doneness in about 10 minutes or so. Add spices. Let cook covered on MED-LOW heat for about 10 more minutes then turn all the contents again to spread out the spices throughout the dish.
5. The dish could be done earlier in step 4. If not, check for doneness again. When done, use a large slotted utensil and spoon into a large bowl and serve.
the wind is up the
temp is down with an early
peek at winter sun
