So it’s maybe a little strange to start a food blog writing about death, but isn’t it all related in the end?

My beautiful friend Mark Garner died a year ago on October 23rd, 2019, and he opted for a green burial – doing more good than harm in death as in his life.

And KWeeks’s father died six years ago on September 20, 2014, two days after his birthday.

And fall is a natural time to think about death, I think, as the leaves plummet from the trees and all of the outward signs of life begin to fold in and shrivel up.

This morning I found this article on mushroom coffins, an excellent idea if there ever was one, and I got to thinking about how we all eventually become food (or energy) for the earth that we took food and energy from in our lifetime.

Perhaps that’s why in the fall we reach for comfort food – familiar ingredients and easy, warming meals. We are returning, in a sense, to our beginnings as we move irrevocably to our end.

This could be a sad and depressing thought, or it could be a meditation on how we care for ourselves and each other in these transitions: with love and kindness, or anger and impatience?

The sweet and the sour. Life and death. Here’s some dinner to mull it over with.

Sweet Potato And Sausage Hash With Preserved Lemon
(serves 4 to 6)

Comfort food at its finest, with leftovers for lunch the next day. Hearty, salty sausage is balanced with the sweetness of sweet potatoes and the deeply satisfying sourness of lemon. Adjust cinnamon and cumin to taste and season lightly.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
1 12-ounce package of kielbasa, cut into ¼” coins (see Recipe Note)
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced into ¼” slices
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼” cubes (see Recipe Note)
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon pepper
8 wedges preserved lemon, chopped small (see Recipe Notes)

Method

In a large frying pan with high sides and a lid, heat one tablespoon of olive oil or ghee over medium heat. Add kielbasa and brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining oil or ghee and then add onions. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add sweet potatoes and toss to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally until brown, about ten minutes.

When the sweet potatoes are browned, add spices, preserved lemon, and sausage. Turn heat down, cover, and cook until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. This could take between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the size of your vegetables.

Remove from heat, check for seasoning (salt and pepper), and serve.

Recipe Notes

• The smaller you cut your sweet potatoes, the faster this will come together.
• Look for kielbasa with no sugar, nitrates/nitrites, or other artificial ingredients
• If you don’t have preserved lemon, you can use 1 ½ lemons, cut into wedges. Unlike the preserved lemon, though, do not eat the fresh lemon.
• If your sausage is lean, drizzle the dish with ghee before serving.