Before I began preparing this meal, I had some leftover potatoes that had been boiled and treated with a rosemary-garlic dressing, off the shelf, and some fresh garlic. Plus a few leftover peas. I also knew I wanted to start using the cabbage I bought. So before I did anything else, I set out all three pans I own on the stove.

In one pan, a Teflon-coated round-bottom sauce pan, I put the potatoes and some water. I set it to medium-low heat and covered it with a plate (this has the side benefit of prewarming your plate for supper). My largest pot was on the larger coil in the back, and I set that to high. On the dial its medium, but I never need a higher temperature unless I am trying to start a fire. I poured some olive oil in the bottom of the pot and cut a quarter out of a head of cabbage, slicing the quarter into thin strips. I have never had an easier time slicing a head of cabbage into strips, so my Calphalon chef’s knife was making itself appreciated.

By the time I had sliced the cabbage I could smell the olive oil. When you start to smell olive oil in a hot pan, turn the temperature down–it’s about to start burning. I threw in the cabbage and reduced the temperature, and salted it and added some pepper.

I put some oil in the frying pan on the front burner and set it for medium. Then I had to figure out what I wanted to do with the boneless skinless chicken breast I had reserved for supper. I had not really figured it out yet, so on the fly I pulled out the thyme and a small plate. I dropped a handful of flour on the plate and sprinkled it with thyme. Then I added four or five drops of lemon juice to the oil in the pan. I pressed the chicken into the flour on both sides and dropped it into the frying pan. The oil had heated and the chicken began to cook. I sliced a clove of garlic and dropped it into the pan to keep the chicken company.

The cabbage was cooking quickly, singeing at the edges. I wanted it cooked quickly at a high temperature but it was getting done way ahead of everything else. I added a little water and some chopped dried onion–I didn’t have time to cut a fresh onion and didn’t want that much in there anyway. Then I reduced the heat to low, covered the cabbage, and let it wait for the rest of the meal, stirring occasionally.

I felt the chicken was cooking too fast on the outside and would burn before cooking through, so I had to reduce the heat. When I thought it had probably cooked about half way through I flipped it over, setting it on top of some of the chunks of garlic. I tucked the loose pieces under the chicken as it sat.

I am not sure if I could have gotten away with a little higher heat or not. I could see pink in a knob of chicken that hadn’t rested directly on the side of the pan and I used that to gauge how well the chicken was cooking through from the bottom. And it took forever. Right toward the end I flipped it back over, figuring I had slightly misjudged the depth of finish on the first side, and the the side I had down came up in a warm brown color with chunks of amber garlic clinging to it. So the surface had cooked pefectly.

When the chicken was finally done the potatoes had heated through nicely, and I set to the onerous task of eating it. The cabbage had cooked a bit beyond what I meant it to, but it still tasted quite good. The potatoes were also well flavored. And the chicken came out moist and tasty, perhaps a little stronger in the lemon and a little weaker in the thyme than I had meant, but very nice all the same.

You know you did something right when you want to lick your plate. Or else you just didn’t make enough and you are starving. But if your belly’s full and you still want to eat, you probably cooked the food well.