Another Summer Evening's Meal

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So much of "the good life" revolves around food. Good food. Food that you and your family have grown and prepared and put up yourself. Not fancy food. Simple food. Food like shown in the photo above.


A couple weeks ago, Marlene and I and our three sons sat down to eat at the picnic table in our backyard and this is what we had. As I walked out to the table and saw the food Marlene informed me that it was all from our own homestead. I looked at my plate and said, "Hold everything! I've got to get a picture of this!"

So I stood on the picnic table seat, aimed the camera down and captured this image of a typical summer meal. It is the kind of meal we dream of in the depths of winter.

Starting at the top of the plate is a nice piece of grilled chicken breast. That hunk of meat was walking around our yard a few weeks ago. I told James I thought it looked like one of the chickens he butchered. The chicken was exceptionally good!

Below the chicken are some green beans. They are not cooked green beans. They are pickled beans. Dill pickled.

Below the beans, on the bottom right of the plate is a mixture of just-picked-and-cut-up tomatoes, green peppers, and onion mixed with a little Italian dressing.

Moving to the left, we have potatoes. Specifically, they are Yukon Gold potatoes. Marlend cut them in the cube shapes and sliced in some garlic and added some salt & pepper and a little olive oil. She wrapped it in foil and cooked it on the grill.

Rounding out our plate, in the upper left hand side, we have cucumber slices. They were marinated in vinegar. That's the way we like 'em.

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In my book, Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian, I have a chapter titled A Summer Evening's Meal. It is a story about another meal my family had last summer in the backyard. It was a different kind of meal because it came not from our own homestead but from a variety of local people we know and consider to be our friends.

For those who have not yet read my book, I offer the following quotation from the beginning of the chapter. It fits with today's blog:

"Few things in life are more pleasing to the sensibilities of agrarians than to eat food they have grown, harvested, and prepared with their own hands, preferably on their own land... This act of providing one's own food is an acknowledgement and acceptance of the Divine order. it is an expression of obedience. It is the realization of freedom."

6 comments:

Old Hound said...

Yummy! I think one of the things our industrialized culture has sadly ruined, is the ability to truly, and i mean truly enjoy food. We get food that looks perfect, tastes bland, and we don't know better because we haven't had REAL food.Nobody even eats together anymore. Food in cultures all over the world had sacremental qualities attributed to it, because it took a great deal of effort to get it. I'll bet you remember THIS meal, long after years of industrialized "frankenfood".

Marci said...

Looks good Marlene and Herrick. It is very satisfying to sit down to a meal that came from your own farm and your own hard work. It sits well in one's gut. =)

Emily said...

Oh, that looks good! When I'm in the supermarket and see all those packages of so-called "food" on the shelves and in people's carts, it makes me ill. I sure am going to miss eating home grown food when the farm stands close down for the season next month. I'm still hoping the frosts will hold off here in southern NH until I get at least ONE ripe tomato! We live and learn. This fall will be soil improvement time for us, and next year will be different. It's refreshing to hear your words of appreciation for God's bounty and provision. It encourages me to keep on striving despite our failures! God's blessings to you and yours.

Unknown said...

I wish there was a way to enjoy this in the dark winter months. Is canning worth the effort?

English Vintner said...

A greenhouse lets you extend most of your crops. If not grow them year round. I know a family in MA that grows all sorts of stuff in the winter in their unheated greenhouse. Turnips, carrots, lettuce does great etc.

morgan Ryan said...

Love this site!