Cooking is Love: Summer Week #12 – 8/27/25

With the sudden turn in weather and back to school right around the corner, I want to pack in the fun and flavor of these last summer nights with my girls.

Last night I made BLTs and coleslaw. I save the bacon from the pigs we raise for almost an entire year (they are butchered in October), just for BLT season. A BLT with heirloom tomatoes and our bacon… YUM. After dinner, I took the girls down to Monroe street and let them get ice cream while we watched the sunset at Wingra.

Tonight I want to go all out with farm tacos. Perhaps writing to you about a meal I’m prepping for my kids seems boring. Apologies if so. Perhaps you are like me and when you look up a recipe, you skip past all the narrative and go straight to the ingredients. But this newsletter isn’t really about sharing a recipe. It’s about the simple, loving act or planning and preparing a meal for those you love.

Sometimes cooking for me feels very laborious. Just one more thing I have to do after I’ve already worked a long day. Many days that’s how I approach it – exhaustion getting the best of me. It feels only like a chore and not like an act of love. But it IS an act of love. Choosing to provide my  family with fresh, healthy ingredients and taking the time to prepare them is love. You are doing the same for yours! Whether what we make is delicious or meh, an exciting new discovery or a meal that didn’t go as planned, when we take the time to feed our households, we are sharing our love. I sincerely hope that memories of favorite farm meals are something my kids take with them and ask me how to make in their own houses one day.

So with that frame, here’s how I’m going to show my kids my love this evening.

I’ve got pork (from last year’s pigs) cooking in the crockpot along with homemade broth (made from a recent farm chicken) and spices. By dinner, the pork with pull apart beautifully and be infused with all the spices – cumin and paprika mostly. I’ll make homemade tortillas, which are laborious but next level in terms of taste. We’ll top the tacos in a simple way – shredded romaine lettuce and homemade field salsa. The salsa will be a mix of romas and heirloom tomatoes, diced sweet peppers,  cilantro, diced onion, banana pepper, salt, pepper, and a little lime juice. Dollops of sour cream will top the tacos for what tastes like perfection in my book.

As a side dish, I’m going to make the girls elote, or street corn. This is more of a new experiment for me. Fingers crossed.  I’ll char the corn right on my gas stove top, coat the ears with a little bit of mayonnaise, sprinkle them with crumbly cojita cheese, and finally some Tajin for spice.

I am so excited to make this meal! Last night I pulled out the meat and broth to defrost and cook, and I felt a smile inside. I look forward to how the smell of cumin and pork with delight me every time I walk into the house today.

I know my kids won’t see the meal as love. They are kids and they aren’t supposed to see things that way. But I know I’ll enjoy watching them eat! Even if they chew with their mouths open. Even if they bicker. I will enjoy feeding them this oh-so-August meal.

Sincerely,
Farmer Cassie