Jesse Halsey | unfinished fragment | c1933
Aunt Mary Ann
came in out of the garden, her apron filled with the first fruits of spring.
Meagre, most would judge now-a-days, but what a great feast it made in
celebration of the end of winter and the time when dried vegetables should give
place to fresh, and when something besides potatoes and turnips should be
served at a meal.
On the kitchen
table she deposited her spoil. First came rhubarb; pie plant, it was called in
those days. Tender, succulent, pink. Little stalks, not the giant variety.
Carefully, she washed it, cut it in half-inch pieces with unhesitating,
meticulous accuracy and, with a modicum of water and a few slices of lemon, it
went onto the back of the wood stove to simmer.
The horseradish
went into a dishpan of water. Presently it would be washed and scrubbed and
then grated painfully by hand, while the old Indian wept and rubbed her eyes
with the corner of her apron, its tang pervading the kitchen. Cider vinegar
from the barrel in the cellar, golden and aromatic, would be added. Then the
delicious condiment would be added to the sauce that, filled with raisins,
surrounded the dry cured ham, baking in a slow oven. But this anticipates the
supper hour.
There were
dandelion greens. Slowly picked over, one by one, washed three times, then
quickly boiled and “dreened,” salt and vinegar. Fit for the gods—and “good for
what ails ye.”
Such additions
came with early spring.
“And the onion
sets are sproutin’; the radishes are as big as peas and will be ready next
week, and the lettuce’s come up fine—not big enough yet—and yer beets and
spinach look promisin.’”
No comments:
Post a Comment