Sister Sustenance

After horrendous Pittsburgh traffic, it was refreshing to pull up in the driveway at Owl Creek Farm and stop between the flower-rimmed farm pond and the square-log house where Linda and Del live. She was home to heal from her hip surgery, and I was there to help in whatever way I could.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poised to help with issues like physical therapy, medications, bandages, and the like, I soon learned what my real role was.  It was to be the receiver of the farm bounty and to process it creatively.  In other words, food—and very luscious food indeed—was the real healing issue.  It was a challenge I was happy to take on, along with other sisters Connie and Anita, and my nephew Erik.

This was the sight that greeted us at our homecoming: a huge tub of fresh organic vegetables raised right there on the farm by Mary and Chico.

Before long the turnips, potatoes, carrots, eggplant, onions, and garlic were roasting in olive oil; several more big purple eggplants transformed into Eggplant Parmigiana with a layer of shiitakes to make it even more delicious.

The delicate Chanterelles looked like this before the idea struck of adding them to buttery scrambled eggs! The resulting dish was too ephemeral to be photographed.

After that there were Vietnamese stir-fried green beans and garlic and onions over rice.  Later there was a fantastic tomato pie laced with fresh herbs and cheeses in a thin biscuit crust.

And so the healing progressed, highlighting Del’s ever-ready coffee pot, even at 3 in the morning, the yummy healing fruits of earth and sky, and the tradition of Sister Sustenance.