Back to Basics
Scanning the news lately has irritated me; but, there isn’t anything there that irritates me/inspires me/annoys me enough to write about.
So, I’ll talk about food this time of year. Tomatoes, corn on the cob, onions. And bacon.
When we were kids, we used to go out of the city to my uncle’s farm, about 20 or so miles, on most Sundays after church. Well water and no air conditioning; but, at that point in my life I didn’t know what AC was and the tang of the water was what you got if you wanted to quench your thirst.
In those days, any adult told any child what to do, and what the child was doing wrong about what he had been told to do. Sunday afternoons weren’t much different there than at home, except the semi-exotic farm venue. At home I might be instructed to cut grass. On the farm I was told to hoe the garden.
But the garden. Tomatoes, onions (what I call green onions), corn, lettuce, not so magically came together in August to make some of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.
I have two brothers, one three years younger, one seven. We have three cousins, sons of this particular uncle and aunt, about four, six and eight years older than me. They were in their middle to late teens, to my early teens in these years.
At a point in the late afternoon, Aunt Carm would instruct me (and my brothers as they got old enough) to go pick three dozen ears of corn, a dozen tomatoes, some onions and a couple of heads of lettuce (this is after strict instruction in what constituted a pickable item).
I (and they as they got older) would shuck the corn, peel the onions and rinse all of the vegetables (I know, tomato is a fruit). Strict instruction on shucking, peeling and rinsing was also given. Our cousins loved Sundays as they were free of what would otherwise be their duties.
Since “boys need some meat” Aunt Carm would fry up a pound or two of bacon and a Midwest orgy of eating food grown fifty feet away, perfectly fresh and still warm from the ground would ensue, washed down with milk from cows a little further away.
I’ve probably eaten better food; though, none of it is still in my mind and making me hungry as I type this.
6 comments:
YUMMY
Wonderful.
When I was a child, my grandpa always had a huge garden so fresh from the garden foods were a norm to me. My Mom's younger brother also always planted a very large garden -loads and loads of tomatoes -and I generally spent at least a week or two at his home every summer, about the same time as the tomatoes were ripening. Our suppers then usually consisted of my aunt putting out a couple loaves of fresh bread (hers was bought not home-baked, though), a jar of mayonnaise and a great big platter full of freshly sliced tomatoes. A salt and pepper shaker also adorned the table. And I remember three of my four cousins, my uncle and I digging into those tomatoes and that bread and mayo with such gusto. This was a feast beyond belief! (My younger cousin hated tomatoes so she dined on PB&J sandwiches!) Although my daughters will eat tomato sandwiches, they don't love 'em the way I still do. This year, with the way my garden has done (thriving beautifully) I may be able to enjoy a feast akin to those of my memories. If the corn in my garden ripens and is ok, maybe the kids will enjoy that as their feast. Much as I do love corn-on-the-cob, I stay clear of that veggie as much as possible because it tends to wreak mega havoc with my intestines these days and I don't need any more consequences in that area!
Adding bacon to your feast is just a great touch of glory to my tastebuds too! Hope you get to enjoy as much of these foods as possible, Dave.
Here in Rochester, land of the late Spring, we finally have local corn and all the summer vegetables. Good Witch and I have at least one meatless (don't count bacon) every week. Bon appetite! I get your drift, Dave.
During the summers I spent in Idaho we kids (who did as we were told and had no personal opinions whatsoever) shucked corn, picked cherries and onions, beans, peaches and anything else Aunts Mary and Grat had grown.
What my aunts didn't cook, they canned. I longingly remember freshly baked cherry pies and cobblers, peach cobblers and crumbles.
We had milk from the neighbourhood goats and cows, but mostly it was water from the well or homemade lemonade.
Isn't it lovely that we can take a few moments in life to remember simpler, easier times when everything was right (to us)?
PS-you know something? I've never met anyone with green eyes so I'll have to take your word for it.
Debo - stuff like that was a nice learning experience to us! As an adult I have tried to can and stuff and what a pain in the ***!
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