Cup Status: Full
The weather today was absolutely beautiful after weeks and weeks of hellfire hot days. It was so lovely that I couldn’t help but be outside. I spent time working in the garden and harvested a zucchini, two jalapenos, and two cucumbers. I re-staked my tomato plants that had outgrown their original stakes. I I pulled some weeds and enjoyed the beauty of all of the growth that was happening. I breathed in the fresh air and listened to the sounds of birds chirping and man, it felt so good. Since the weather was so great, it felt like the perfect time to barbecue. We have only grilled a few times this summer because it has been so stinking hot, but today just felt like it was grilling time! So, I defrosted pork steaks (a staple of the Midwest), brats, and I marinated chicken in three different marinades. I figured, if the grill is hot, let’s just meal prep at the same time. Pork steaks and brats tonight and chicken ready for the rest of the week. I piled in the charcoal and got it going and played the waiting game. While I waited for the charcoal to reach the perfect stage, I went inside and made yellow squash casserole (the squash was from my garden). The coals were ready so I put the pork steaks and brats on and heard the delicious sizzle as the meat hit the hot grill. The aroma of grilling meat and charcoal wafted through the air and I was transported to a different time and place.
My grandparents house on the fourth of July. Every summer when I was a kid we went to their house. The huge barrel grill was lit and my uncles manned the grill for hours cooking for our huge family. We always had pork steaks, brats, hotdogs, and hamburgers. The smell of grilling meat is such a core memory for me that it always takes me back to that time as a kid. I remember the pans of cooked meat being transported from the grill to the warming dishes in the garage turned dining room. Two for grilled meat with barbecue sauce (always Mauls with onion bits) and two for grilled meat without sauce. The flavor of my childhood is Mauls with onion bits. Until I was buying my own groceries, I didn’t even know there were other kinds of barbecue sauces available in the world. Lol! The rest of the room was filled with bowls laden with potato salad, seven layer salad, pasta salad, marinated broccoli, baked beans, tapioca Jell-o salad, and platters brimming with deviled eggs, pickles/olives/peppers, and other delicious things to eat. There were bags and bags of chips and coolers full of cans of Vess soda in every flavor available (peach and red cream were my two favorites). Then, there was the dessert table. Oh, the dessert table. There was always gooey butter cake, strawberry Jell-o poke cake, fruit salad, cookies of every kind, and a freezer full of ice pops in every color. There was also a huge tub of vanilla ice cream to turn any of those amazing Vess sodas into a float. Mmmm…peach vanilla float. Oh, to be a kid again! But, back to the present.
While the pork steaks and brats cooked, I made a cucumber and tomato salad with a cucumber from my garden. It was so fresh. I just find it so awesome that I can walk out in my yard and over to my garden and pick something fresh for dinner. It is so beautiful! Just this act alone also transports me to another place and time. Again, back to my grandparents house.
I don’t remember what age I am, but I do remember my grandma in her garden. She has a bandana around her forehead to soak up the sweat (I come from a family whose bodies have over active coolers built in) and is in her garden. She has peppers and tomatoes, and cucumbers planted. She is laughing about the volunteer watermelon that has sprouted. It somehow grew from the compost that she had put on the garden to help make it more fertile. Grandma’s garden was always a great producer. She canned what she grew (her jalapenos were so good) and made her own ketchup. She also made her own jams and jellies. Every time that I am in my garden, I am reminded of her. Every time that I harvest vegetables that I have grown and use them to feed my family, I am reminded of her. But, again, back to the present.
The pork steaks and brats are finished and now it is time to cook all of the chicken for my meal prep. I have Greek chicken, teriyaki chicken, and spicy chicken cooking on the grill. Enough for four dinners plus leftovers for lunches. Go me! The smell is so enticing, but I am really hungry now and I just wish that the chicken would cook so that I can eat the rest of the meal that I have warming in the oven. Too much of a good thing, I guess, but at least I have more time outside in the absolutely glorious weather. The chicken is finally finished, I take it inside, I call the family to the kitchen where we all make our plates. We take them outside and sit at our patio table to eat. We enjoy the good food and the laughter of our children. My daughter tells me to try to say “toy boat” five times fast and I fail as she laughs at me. She then makes fart noises on her arm and laughs out loud. My son laughs at her and calls her gross which causes her to do it again. My husband tells me about his latest vinyl acquisition and I tell him about the girls trip that my friends and I are planning. The sky is starting to turn orange and pink behind me and the breeze blows lightly through the trees. Our kiddos finish eating first and decide to unroll the hose and spray each other with it. We watch them and laugh and for a few minutes, I feel like a kid again. And it is beautiful!
The Cup 
Leave a comment