This past weekend, we celebrated David’s 22nd
birthday. David is Paula’s son and he
wanted a cookout with our family tribe.
So we prepared ribs, smoked sausage, curried potatoes and corn on the
cob for 20 or so of our closest friends.
As usual, we had a great time of fellowship and eating. Our friend Linda gave me a great idea for
cooking and serving the corn. I am
always looking for easy ways to prepare food for a crowd. We loaded a cooler with the fresh corn on the
cob and poured salted boiling water over it.
Shut the lid and waited for 30 minutes.
That was it. Really, it was that
simple. The corn stayed warm through the
whole evening. It was sweet and
succulent, fresh and crisp. I melted
some butter and provided a basting brush for those who wanted to butter their
corn. This was so easy!
I paid a bit more and bought the corn already cleaned from
Sam’s. That made it super simple and was
worth the extra cost. I also bought the
ribs and smoked sausage there. I
miscalculated on the ribs. I thought
they came 2 to a pack, so I bought 3 packs to get 6 slabs. Imagine my surprise when I opened the first
package to find 3 slabs of ribs. We had
such an abundance of ribs that I didn’t cook all of the sausage. So now I am left with a 3 pound package of
smoked sausage. I started thinking back
to a time when I was 22 and a soup that I made.
This is probably the first recipe I made up totally on my
own. I was 22 years old, newly divorced
and living in an old 10 X 50 foot mobile home.
I was living on my own for the first time, struggling with my sexual
orientation and just trying to be happy.
Boy, thinking back on those times makes me nostalgic for my cockatiel
Sammy who whistled the theme to the Andy Griffith Show. He would also say “I love you”, which was a
comfort to me in those days. I remember
falling asleep to Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” feeling lonely,
helpless and hopeless.
I tried so hard to be straight. I struggled with myself and God. I married to prove I wasn’t gay. I wanted to be good. My marriage was a dismal failure, for many
reasons. I felt trapped in the tangle of
my decisions. I attempted suicide. I was proven a failure again. I couldn’t even kill myself right. After that, I divorced and moved back in with
my parents for a time. Moving into this
mobile home was my first attempt at real independence.
That old trailer was frigid in the winter and suffocating in
the summer. The trailer park was located
next to the train tracks. The train felt
like it was barreling through my bedroom at night vibrating by bed and
deafening my ears with the sound.
Sometimes I thought the trailer might shake right off its
foundation. I lived there for a year, and
in the spring, I moved into a nice apartment close by. A few weeks later, that trailer was indeed shaken off its foundation by
a tornado.
Ultimately, it took me 8 more years to come to terms with my
sexuality and finally come out. Coming
out was like being reborn for me. I
discovered a bright new life full of promise and possibility. Though my struggles for happiness weren’t finished
yet, being true to my self lifted a huge weight off my soul. Eventually I was able to find my way back to
God.
Our memory is a funny thing.
Thinking about making this soup, I think through the years since I first
made it. I have changed it some,
improved it I think. The flavors are
certainly more complex and interesting than that first soup I made when I was
22. The same could be said for my
life. I love being married and having
such a complex and diverse friendscape.
.
To start this soup, I put my dutch oven on the stove to
preheat. I add some olive oil and when
it begins to shimmer, I add a chopped onion.
After the onion becomes translucent, I add a couple of tablespoons of
chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and some of the smoked sausage that I have
cut into cubes. I will add the rest later. I want to render the cubed sausage to infuse
the soup with flavor.
When the onions are beginning to turn brown and the sausage
has given up its fatty goodness, I add some sliced mushrooms. I let the mushrooms cook for a little while
then add some quartered red potatoes. I
like the red potatoes for this dish because they hold their shape and don’t
break down so quickly. Then I add enough
chicken broth (you can use water) to just come to the top of the potatoes. I turn the heat up so the liquid begins to
bubble.
Now I add some Greek Seasoning. This is something that I have used since the
first time I made this soup. You add whatever
seasonings you have on hand. Just as the
potatoes begin to soften, I add the cabbage.
Chop it or shred it however you want.
I add enough that it looks like the pan is going to overflow. It will wilt down and be fine. When the cabbage has cooked down some, I add
the rest of the sausage that has been cut in 2 or 3 inch pieces. I cover the pot and cook for 20 or 30 minutes
then I then taste for a final seasoning.
The Greek Seasoning has salt in it and if you use chicken broth, that
will add salt as well so I normally don’t add any more. Just taste and adjust.
As I look back over the past 30 years since I first made
this soup, I am so happy I am where I am today.
Back then I struggled most everyday for a bit of happiness. Now those struggles are just sometimes and I
most always can see past the moment and realize the struggle is temporary. When I was 22 I could not imagine being
married to someone who treats me with respect and love. I could not imagine a life filled with
friends and joy as I have now.
On most days, I am confident and at peace; at peace with God
and myself. I am at peace with my past
and look forward to the future. I am
happy. I wish for David to have the same experience of growing and changing as
he ages. It certainly makes life more
interesting.
