Snow is seldom forecast for the Texas Gulf Coast. Yesterday, December 4, 2009, we had the earliest snowfall ever. For hours, we had huge wet snowflakes that began to blanket every rooftop and garden, transforming our everyday views into Christmas card works of art. I kept coming back to the window and the porch to watch it. I gathered squash, greens, tomatoes, peppers and herbs that I did not want to freeze since our temperatures for the night would drop to the low twenties.

SHATTERING

When remembering my grandparent’s old house on an East Texas Hill, my thoughts reenter the red dirt road up to the house. We never went in at the front, but always drove around to the back, parked under the oak trees and, flinging open car doors, we ran to open arms and an open screen door in the back. That door took us into the large room known simply as the sleeping porch. It had windows all across two sides , was furnished with a big feather bed, the curved front bureau that now lives in my own front bedroom, some rocking chairs, a heater, and the oak dining table and china cabinet we now call ours.

I can picture going into the small kitchen just off the sleeping porch. There was a wood stove, a bucket of water with a dipper, and there Grandma produced peas and cornbread, fried chicken, homemade blackberry jelly, and my favorite treat, tea cakes. From the kitchen a door led into one of 3 front rooms which were separated by a long hall that had speckled blue linoleum dotted with white stars. On one wall sat a long chintz covered quilt box. That box is here in my house, too. On its surface sit family pictures, generations beyond my grandparents, but none of whom would have been possible without them!

At the end of the hall, the door opened onto the front porch. Two things pulled me there. One was a porch swing where I could sit and swing and read. The other was a large rose bush, planted at the corner where the house and porch met, just outside a bedroom window. It was a yellow rose, with large fragrant petals. My grandmother often filled a jar with these roses to put on the kitchen table. She didn’t have a car or an indoor bathroom, but she had roses. We would bury our noses in their softness and fragrance and thank God for this gift to us. When these roses had blessed us with their beauty for a brief time, and began to drop their petals on the table cloth, Grandma called this “shattering”. “Those roses have shattered,” she would say. I know that we use the same term for broken crystal and failed dreams, but in today’s bouquets, the shattering of the roses always brings a tender smile and a remembering of Grandma’s yellow roses.
Lord, I want to bloom today. Keep me together. Help me not to shatter.

PUMPKIN PARTY

I feel very celebrated! Ben and Kristen gave me a birthday party on November 14 that has to be the most unusual in 69 birthdays. We may not have had 69 ways to enjoy pumpkins, but it was close. Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spread, pumpkin scones, pumpkin popcorn, pumpkin bark, pumpkin candy, pumpkin soup, pumpkin lasagne, and the work of art pumpkin cake! Decorations were, of course, pumpkins - small, medium, and large. Charlie Brown may not have a corner on the Great Pumpkin anymore!

Lemon Harvest

Our Meyer lemon tree had a bumper crop this year. The tree is small and the branches were drooping all the way to the ground with the heavy fruit. The basket full of golden globes begs me to find ways to use them. We have already given bags of them to friends and family. An online article from the LA times advises me of 100ways to use Meyer Lemons! But the best use in my opinion is enjoying them in a variety of delicious recipes. These lemons are slightly different from regular lemons, presenting an edible peel and a sweeter flavor. The sweet tart citrus fruits are perfect for desserts, stuffing for chicken, or making simple sweet lemonade. Try this for a delicious autumn supper:

Meyer Lemon Risotto
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups pearled barley
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable stock
Grated zest of 4 Meyer lemons plus juice of 2
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1 cup spinach, chopped
Handful of toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium high heat, saute onions, shallots, garlic and salt in olive oil until onion softens.

2. Stir barley into pot and pour in wine. Let mixture come to a simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of stock at a time, while letting the barley absorb the liquid (this will take about 30 to 40 minutes). Stir often while adding liquid.

3. When barley is tender, take pot off heat and stir in lemon juice and zest, cheese and creme fraiche. Mix in spinach and top with pine nuts.

Which Witch?

When two of my grandchildren came to my house on Halloween dressed as witches, we made witch cookies with green faces, beady eyes, hooked noses and wild hair. Credits go to chocolate chips, cashew nuts and chow mein noodles for the bewitching features.

Soup's On!

Soup can warm your body, fill your hunger, boost your immune system….but it also can warm your heart, fill a need, and boost your spirits. I am of the opinion this can happen not only when it is eaten, but when you prepare it! There is something about the gathering of healthy ingredients, the chopping and dropping, the fragrance of herbs and the sounds and sights of a simmering, steaming pot that cheers the cook long before it is tasted.

Our family’s favorites have been made many many times, some of them for over forty years. The roots go back much further, because I learned to cook from both my parents and my grandmother. Chicken and Dumplings would have been a favorite at my grandmother’s table. I serve it at the same table, and cook it in one of the same pots.

There are many resources for soup and stew recipes today, but these are some of the ones enjoyed by the Parkers. You need little more than some hot bread and in some cases a few condiments to make a satisfying, healthy meal. I employ artistic license in my cooking…I feel quite free to add or substitute ingredients, and many favored variations of these same recipes exist. Why use dried herbs when I have fresh ones growing outside my kitchen door? If I have vegetables in the crisper that aren’t in the recipe, they will probably wind up in the pot. When those with dietary preferences are at my table, I will substitute turkey for meat, or omit a certain spice. Old recipes tend to ignore today’s low fat recommendations. Healthy improvisations are wonderful. The important thing is to have a starting place, and to enjoy cooking a great meal.

Great Soups to Try
German Lentil

Tomato Basil Soup

Vegetable Soup

Chicken Noodle

Gazpacho

Corn and Crab Chowder

Barley Burger

Chicken and Dumplings

Curry Soup with Chopped Apple

Cheese Soup

Chili

NOW AND THEN, ALWAYS FRIENDS

Skye missed her friend. Anna’s family was in Chicago for the summer. Skye longed for Anna’s return, only to learn that when they came back it would be to pack and move. Anna’s Dad was being transferred to Calgary, Canada! For three years Skye had answered “Anna” to questions about best friends. Anna answered “Skye” to the same questions. Now, in two days, Anna would go with her parents and her brother, Jack, to the airport where they would fly to their new home. This would be too far away to come back for play dates or even birthday parties. They would start first grade next week in two different countries! But today they would have fun doing all the things they had enjoyed doing together, their favorite things.

First, they chose scarves and hats from the dressup basket in Granmary’s front bedroom. Purple chiffon and leopard spotted satin floated from their shoulders. Tutus and capes and jewels hung here and there. Anna chose a comb with a tall feather to put in her hair, while Skye peeked out from a red straw hat. Angel and Bella, the cats, ran under the bed. The sight of the fashion parade to the tune of giggles made Granmary smile.

Skye took Anna outside to show her the fairy house she was making. It had a real door painted yellow and pink and green. Twigs and rocks and sparkling bits of broken jewelry surrounded it. They picked flowers and ran on the paths in the garden and fed the fish in Papa Joe’s pond.

Skye set the small round table and stools in the hall while Anna stacked the tea dishes. Granmary gave them a red checkered square for the table and brought tiny peanut butter sandwiches and tuna salad with apple juice to pour in the teacups. After their tea time, they went outside for a few minutes to dance in the rain! Then they watched a movie about a mouse who loved books and ate popcorn.

While Granmary watched Skye and Anna, she thought of her own best friend when she was just the same age. Mignon and Mary Ann dressed up and dressed alike. They played with their kittens and with their dolls. They had picnics and parties. They giggled. And when Mignon moved to what seemed like a whole country away, although it was only to Houston,they kept being friends. So Granmary smiled again and thought about her old friend. They were both grandmothers now. But they were still friends. She thought to herself “I will call Mignon and we will have lunch this week, so I can tell her about Skye and Anna.” Then she helped Skye and Anna string some tiny silver beads on a stretchy cord. The two bracelets were exactly
alike. The beads in the middle had their initials and said: SP FRIEND AL, but they wouldn’t really need the bracelets to remember.
~I wrote this story for Skye after
she and Anna had their goodbye for
now day at our house last month.