Dill and Stuff
This kind of thorough cleaning caused me to question how well I perform my weekly housekeeping tasks; not good it seems as indicated by the dust, cobwebs
and other unlikely debris found in the corners and crevices and the amount of
clutter found in closets and cupboards.
My
housekeeping influences came from polar opposites. My mother detested cleaning and her house
showed it. My father came from a family
that held cleanliness far above godliness, which is saying a lot for his
staunch German Catholic ancestors.
Growing up, I lived most of the year in my mother’s dust-covered clutter
but spent summers with my father’s two matronly aunts, who never allowed a
single dust particle to accumulate. My
father, a seasoned alcoholic, still managed to maintain a spotless dwelling
after he and my mother divorced. I often
wonder if living with her haphazard cleaning style drove him to drink. My own housekeeping skills fall somewhere in
the center. I can handle a bit of dust
and some clutter, but find myself becoming grumpy when the dust and clutter
become noticeable.
Housekeeping aside, it amazes me how much
apparently useless “stuff” one accumulates in a short span
of time.
Minutes
into cleaning and sorting, I decided that people other than myself might need most of that stuff that I accumulated, so I began applying price tags
(exceedingly cheap price tags) to a number of items before placing each in a box to hold for our community’s annual town-wide yard sale, which takes place in July. Now, my home is free
of dust, smells better and I have cleaner, neater closets and cupboards. However, I also have boxes of stuff filling up
half of the space in my office.
It sort of
reminds me of my asparagus bed, which I planned to replant but never quite got around to. Instead, I allowed a few dill plants to go to seed last fall, which resulted in a bed filled with lush dill seedlings. Now, that is what I call
good clutter.
I love the
smell of Dill while it is growing, but adding it fresh to food, like in the potato salad below, is
even better.
Dilled Potato Salad
Ingredients
2 Large Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes (about 1 pound),
peeled and cut into ½” cubes
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons plain Greek Yogurt
¼ Teaspoon salt or to taste
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed
Directions:
1. Steam
potato cubes until tender, 8-10 minutes.
2. Place cooked potato cubes in a bowl and set aside to cool to lukewarm
3. Whisk
mayonnaise, yogurt, salt and dill weed together and pour over warm potatoes.
4. Toss
gently to coat, cover and allow to cool at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Note: You can add a
small amount of chopped celery and/or onion if you desire, but I like the simple
taste of the dill with the potato. You may use low or no-fat mayonnaise and/or yogurt if you wish.
Loved this recipe idea -- thought it was elegant in the sense of simple, standard ingredients, but excellent accompaniment to lots of summery foods, like BLTs or BATS (avocado). But this recipe is also good even when you do what I did today at lunch (with BATS). I had half a large baked potato that had been sitting in my fridge for several days. I skinned off the tough parts, chopped it in medium dice, added mayo and salt and dried dill (my dill didn't make it back). I might have added a squeeze of fresh lemon to perk up the potato, but didn't and it still was tasty, tasty. Thanks!
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