Heavenly Harvest Hash

My uncle is dying. He found out just a couple weeks ago. He has maybe a handful of days left, maybe two handfuls, but not many. Talking to my aunt, she is grateful for that, in a way, because it’s better to go fast than to lay suffering for years. Yes, I can see her point. I have said time and time again that if I am in a situation where I can’t recover and be healthy, I don’t want to live if I can’t really LIVE.

I went to see him this weekend. He can still walk, but he looks pale and yellowish and needs to spend a lot of time resting. His wife and daughters are hurting, shocked, numb.

He was a quiet presence in my life. He and my dad were so close. He didn’t say much to me, but I knew he cared. Throughout my childhood, we traveled there often to help with the crops. I tried to help with the rest of the family, but I was terribly allergic to the dust, so I’d end up in the house baking cookies with my aunt while the rest of them were out harvesting the crop. He went on Christmas tree hunting expeditions with us, too, and there were many years when our lovely tree came from his tree farm.

I am sad for him, sad that he is being snatched so suddenly from health, from family, from life, sad for his family, sad for my aunt who now has to learn how to handle the farm on her own, sad for my cousins who will miss their dad’s guidance. Sad for my dad who is losing his brother. Glad that I went to visit, glad that he won’t have to suffer long, glad to know my visit meant a lot to him and to my aunt and perhaps to my cousins too. Wishing I could give them more, wishing I could take away the pain, but knowing this is all part of the process, that change is painful and that we need the pain to deal with the change. Grateful that my dad is healthy, for now, but knowing that a similar time will come for us too.

This is a breakfast I like to make for my dad in autumn when the garden bounty is overflowing. Last year I made it a few times for us. Mom doesn’t like potatoes, but Dad and I love them. We don’t call it “hash” … we call it breakfast potatoes. Dad and I revel in them, in our mutual love for potatoes, and there are enough garden goodies there for Mom to eat them too.

Heavenly Harvest Hash

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: about 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 medium large potatoes, chopped into small chunks
• Another teaspoon of butter
• About 1/2 cup chopped onion
• About 1/2 cup chopped zucchini, crookneck or other summer squash
• About 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (or mini sweet peppers)
• About 1/2 cup chopped fresh garden tomato
• About 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (I used a mix of tarragon, dill, rosemary, oregano and chives)
• About 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used some sharp cheddar and some Italian blend of cheeses)
• Red Robin Seasoning (or salt) and fresh ground pepper

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Instructions

1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the first teaspoon of butter. Toss the potatoes in the butter, sprinkle with Red Robin Seasoning, cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir the potatoes, cover again, and microwave for about 3 more minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Rub the 2nd teaspoon of butter all over the bottom of the pan to completely coat it, then let it melt the rest of the way. Add the potatoes, cover for just a couple minutes, then uncover and stir. Repeat until the potatoes are starting to brown.
3. Add the onion, squash, and bell pepper and saute, stirring constantly, until the onion and squash are soft. Add the tomato and most of the herbs and cook a couple minutes longer.
4. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle with the cheese, cover and cook on low until the cheese is melted.
5. Garnish with fresh herbs and season with Red Robin Seasoning & fresh ground pepper to taste.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2014, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Simple Supper Tuesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Pure Blog Love and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.