It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photo to accompany a blog entry. I kind of wish I had remembered to snap a photo tonight, if for no other reason than to have posted perhaps the most humble and banal photo ever to have shown up on a blog:

A sweet potato.

Yup, that was the scene of tonight’s great revelation. There I was, in the kitchen. I had a tray of ribs in the oven. A sac of green beans waiting their turn to be snapped and placed in the steamer. But first–the sweet potatoes needed peeling, so they could set to cook.

As I was in mid-peel, with that firm, orange potato sitting in my palm, I was struck by the simplicity of what I was doing. Here was this tuber, that some time not too long ago had been under the earth. It had been harvested and transported to my local store. Now here it was in my kitchen, shedding its peel and plunging into boiling water.

I’ve written quite a few entries about food, because food for me has always been more than just a physical nourishment. I cook just about every meal, so tonight’s preparation was far from an extraordinary event. I think what struck me tonight was just how close to the earth (quite literally)  this potato had been. Something felt good in preparing a meal so simple. It felt good to feel the solidity of that potato in my hand, and to think about the sun, and soil, and water that had helped bring it into being. And soon it would be on my family’s table as part of our family meal.

And that’s about it for tonight–all the philosophy and reflection that a potato can offer!