Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Dr. Kim's nurse called Tuesday morning at 10:14 AM. I was at the clinic. I stepped into the supply closet to take the call. She said the MRI had been reviewed. She said "there is an area they would like to follow up on with a contrast-enhanced study." She said "Dr. Kim would like to schedule that for you this week or next." She said "he would also like to see you both to go over the findings in person." She said "I want to be clear — he is not rushing you. He is being thorough." She said "do you have questions." I said "I have a lot of questions. But I will save them for the appointment." She said "that is a smart choice." I asked when the contrast MRI could be. She said this Friday. I said we would take this Friday. She said 8 AM. I said 8 AM. She gave me the number for pre-registration. I wrote it on a patient note pad in the supply closet. I hung up. I stood in the supply closet for two minutes. I breathed. I went back to my patients. I worked the rest of the day.

I called Sean at lunch. I told him. He was quiet. Then he said "okay. We do Friday." I said "we do Friday." He said "what does it mean." I said "it means they saw something they want a better look at. It does not yet mean more than that. Many things look like other things on a first MRI. Contrast changes the picture." He said "okay. I believe you." I said "I am telling you the clinical truth. I also told her I had questions. I am asking my questions Friday after the scan, with the picture in front of us." He said "that is a good plan." He said "I love you, Kate." I said "I love you too." I hung up. I went back to my patients.

I am not going to pretend this week was normal. But I am also not going to write a seven-paragraph diary entry about the anticipation. I cooked simple food. Tuesday night: pasta with butter and parmesan and pepper. Wednesday: grilled cheese and tomato soup. Thursday: a roast chicken Sean made because he needed his hands to do something. Liam watched a lot of cartoons. Nora napped extra. Sean and I slept badly. We went to bed holding hands, which we have not done in about a year — which is nothing against our marriage, it is just that long-married couples do not usually do the clasped-hand thing, they sleep back to back or with an arm draped — and this week we held hands. It was the way we communicated what we were not going to say out loud.

The garden kept growing. The tomatoes got bigger. The lettuce put out another round. The peas are winding down. I harvested the last of them Thursday evening, a colander of pods, and Liam shelled them with me at the counter. He was careful. He split one wrong and ate the accidentally-loose pea. He said "good." I ate one too. Good. We worked through the colander. It took forty minutes. It was meditative in a way nothing else this week was. Shelling peas with a four-year-old in the light of a late-June evening, in a kitchen that was becoming ours, in a house that was becoming ours, in a life that might be about to —

I stopped the sentence before I wrote it. I left the peas alone. Friday at 8. I will write next week.

I said we ate simple food that week, and I meant it. Pasta with butter. Grilled cheese. Sean’s roast chicken. Everything we made had the same quality—warm, plain, requiring almost no thought. These garlic and herb mashed potatoes are that kind of food. You peel, you boil, you mash. Your hands stay busy. The kitchen smells like butter and garlic and something green, and for twenty minutes you are not thinking about Friday at 8 AM. You are just making dinner.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Boil the potatoes and garlic. Place the potato chunks and garlic cloves in a large pot and cover with cold water by one inch. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15–20 minutes.
Drain and dry. Drain the potatoes and garlic well in a colander. Return them to the hot pot and set over low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring gently, to let excess moisture evaporate.
Mash. Remove the pot from heat. Add the butter and mash with a potato masher until the butter is melted and incorporated and the potatoes reach your desired consistency.
Add the dairy. Stir in the warmed milk and sour cream until smooth and creamy. Adjust the amount of milk depending on how thick or loose you prefer your potatoes.
Season and finish with herbs. Fold in the chives, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes — The Simple Food We Needed That Week