By Week 415. Spring 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like fresh herbs and possibility and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.
Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.
Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.
I made asparagus soup this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
Asparagus soup was on the stove that night, yes — but it was scalloped potatoes I turned to later in the week, the kind of dish that asks nothing of you except that you show up and layer things carefully, one at a time, which felt exactly right. There’s something about a pan of scalloped potatoes — golden at the edges, soft all the way through — that belongs to every season of a life, every kitchen, every version of a person who is still, somehow, standing. I made these for the kids on a Thursday, and we ate them at the table, and it was ordinary, and ordinary has never felt so much like everything.
Classic Scalloped Potatoes
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk, warmed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Fresh thyme or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Make the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns lightly golden.
- Add the dairy. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and heavy cream, a little at a time, until the sauce is smooth. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 4–5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in 1 cup of the cheddar until melted. Remove from heat.
- Layer the potatoes. Arrange half the potato slices in an even layer in the prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly. Pour half the cheese sauce evenly over the potatoes. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and sauce.
- Top and bake. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling and a fork slides easily through the potatoes.
- Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg