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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1957-08-22, Page 2Basement Kitchen Had Its . Charms The square . home built by Mr. Closson had on its first Door a kitchen that resembled in its appliances and furnishings the •other kitchens of the neigh- borhood. But the house also had a basement kitchen, which was reached by a narrow, twisting stairway. It was unlike any kit- chen we had even seen. Its floor was of bricks that were cool to the touch on the warmest August day. The walls were of split field stone which, h winter, glistened with hoarfrost. Be.veen the front windows were slate tubs and on the appositewall was a stove that had once gone to sea in the galley of Grandfather's Meridian. Beside the stove was s door that gave access' to the bark rOot cellar. On the outer wall was a door that opened into the apple orchard. Ethel found that the cellar room was one of great utility. ]During the summer, it served as a laundry. It was ideal for those _ seasonal tasks that were bound to cause confusion and conges- tion if they were performed in the regular kitchen. In March, she boiled down the maple sap On the onetime galley stove, and the stone walls of the room were covered with drops of water from the steam -filled air. In Oc- tobe'r, she and the children pre- pared the mincemeat there. They ground the meat and ap- ples, chopped the raisins, mixed in the spices and cider, and then slowly cooked the fragrant mix- ture in the great iron kettle. In May, she made soap in the base- ment. She set up her quilting frame there during the winter months and often spent her af- ternoons tacking a quilt. Cousin Herman also used the basement room, which, as the years went by, came to be called 'kitchen -under." In the fall, he sorted apples there; in winter, he went there to oil and mend the harnesses or to hew out an ax handle! in spring, he cut up kis seed potatoes there. On sum- mer Sunday afternoons, the work room became an art room, where he sat before his sketch book on the table. Sometimes he sketched the orchard or the Bay or the distantly blue "Seven Star Hill." But more often he drew a cartoon with the local judge or county sheriff or the town politician as the target of his aly humor. The children were not encour- aged to use "kitchen -under" as a play room. We went there only at the invitation of Cousin Her- man or Ethel. We sampled the syrup, we tasted the mincemeat, and we tested the firmness of the soap with cautious fingers. The art of quilt -tacking and the • process of sorting apples and cut- ting seed potatoes offered no at- traction to us, but we did enjoy watching Cousin Herman at his sketching, But we felt that we were usually onlookers rather than participants in the tasks That were performed in "kitchen - under." However, in July, the base- ment kitchen was the scene of a task in which we children played en important part. Late in the month, Ethel took us to an aban- doned farm on McHard's mill- stream to gather herbs. She bor- rowed Prince and Father's two- seated buggy in order that all the young children of the neigh- borhood could go along. We made an early start so that we might take the two-mile trip, spend three hours harvesting, and make the return journey in time for supper. Prince enjoyed the jaunt as much as we did. Once we had reached the Carter farm, Ethel left him unhitched so that he wandered free to sample clover and herdsgrass at his leisure. We first turned our attention to the pansy patch that had com- pletely overrun the barnyard. We gathered great armfuls of the golden button blossoms and tied them into bunches which we stored under the seats of the bug- gy. We followed the tumbled stone wall to harvest the 'cara- way topped with circles of brown seeds. We found the aromatic pennyroyal in the runout fields. We picked the pearly everlast- ing with its straw -textured, white blossoms.. When we final- ly turned Prince's head toward the hilly road to home the bug- gy and the arms of the occu- pants were filled with our pun- gent harvest. Ethel was pleased with our gleaning but she had keen eyes for the roadside shrubs as we made our way home. She was On the lookout for the gray -leaved thoroughwort and she talked of how much she would like to lo- cate a plant that was native to her childhood home in Unity. After we reached Ethel's home, all the plants were taken direct- ly to "kitchen -under," where they were plunged into water - filled tubs and basins that had Cousih Herman saw all the been prepared for them. When greenery that filled the base- ment kitchen, he always made the same remark, "It looks as though Birnam Wood had come to Dunsinane." And Ethel made the same reply. "No, Carter's field has come to Howard's farm." The next afternoon "kitchen - under, was the scene of a chore in which we children played a leading part. The tansy blossoms were cut from their stalks and stored in bags made of cotton screening. We toiled up the three flights of stairs to the attic where the bags were hung for a long autumn of slow drying. In Oc- tober, Ethel divided the dried blossoms into smaller bags, which were hung in the clothes closets. "No moth will choose to share a home with a bag of tansy," was Ethel's declaration. The pennyroyal was separated into small bunches which were hung to dry from nails struck into the attic roof. Eventually pennyroyal bags would be made for all the linen closets of the neighborhood. Ethel also shared the caraway seed and the ever - gathered. The seeds added variety to the breads and cookies, and now and then a daring cook added the spicy seed to a staid pumpkin pie. The dried ever- lasting flowers that we lasting blossoms made winter bouquets for every parlor in the neighborhood. I never ate a car-. away cookie or sniffed a dried bouquet without recalling our many trips from "kitchen -under" to the attic. Ethel valued her basement kit- chen as a laundry and as a se- cluded room where she could boil sap or cOok mincemeat or make soap or tack a quilt. Her- man rated the basement room highly as a workshop and an art room. But we children were as- sured that the sorting of herbs was the most worthwhile chore performed in "kitchen-under."— By Esther E. Wood in The Chris- tian Science Monitor. PUZZLED PARSON The minister had been asked to present the prizes to the winners of the local dog show, but when he got there he was outraged at the dress of some of the girls. 'Just look at that young per- son there with the cigarette, close -cut hair, and breeches,' he cried to a bystander, 'Is it a boy or a girl?' 'It's a girl' replied the other. 'She's my daghter.' 'Forgive me, sir' apologised the preacher, 'I never dreamed you were her father.' 'I'm not' was the reply, I'm her mother.' 'baOLq IN THE WATER --Pinned over Corin Cone's bureau in r home Is a collection of medals that would do credit to any athlete. She's packing to get set for another trip. l'he young swimming star wort the sliver medal In last year's Olympics and holds the National AAU 100 and 200 -meter backstroke crowns, ARSENAL FOR FLU WAR—Workers at a pharmaceutical labora- tory process eggs in which the Asiatic flu virus is cultured as a major step in making an -influenza vaccine. Several labora- tories are preparing to make quantities of vaccine should the disease become epidemic with the 'coming cold weather. The Asiatic flu, a relatively mild strain heretofore unknown here, has swept through much of Asia and parts of Europe, Authorities caution that the vaccine Is a preventive—not a cure— for the disease. ',TABLE eicura Most of us - whether we ad- mit it or not — don't eat nearly enough vegetables. Which is a pity, especially at this time of year, when so many of our vege- tables are just reaching the peak of perfection. Possibly the fol- lowing recipes, which use little or no meat yet are nourishing enough for main dishes, will be a help. • a a Perhaps you'd like to try this macaroni loaf which is served from the dish it's cooked in and has a colorful decoration of its own. Vegetable Bake 4 ounces elbow mararoni 4 strips bacon diced 2 tablespoons chopped onion 2 tablespoons chopped celery 1 cup cream -style corn 1 tablespoon lemon juice Ys teaspoon salt 3'4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 oup cooked peas 1 cup cooked julienne carrots Buttered bread crumbs Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender (about 8 minutes). Drain and rinse. Brown bacon lightly in skillet. Add chopped onion. and celery, and brown slightly. Combine with corn, lemon juice, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Fold in cooked macaroni. Pour into 1 - quart casserole, Place peas in center on top of macaroni mix- ture. Arrange carrots in spoke - like fashion around peas. Sprin- kle with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F. 15 min- utes. Serves 4. * « « 'This vegetable -nut loaf is served with a -bright red tomato sauce. Garnish it with fresh sliced cucumber, or sprigs of fresh water cress if you like, Vegetable -Nut Loaf % cup melted butter 3 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 1s/ cups soft bread crumbs 1 cup diced cooker carrots 1 cup cooked fresh peas 34 cup chopped walnuts 1% teaspoons salt % teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce s/ cup liquid from vegetables 2 eggs, well beaten % cup buttered bread crumbs. 6 walnut halves Saute onion and celery in but- ter until golden, but not brown. Combine with remaining ingre- dients except buttered crumbs and walnut halves. Mix thor- oughly and pack into ' greased pan 9-6-2 inches. Top with but- tered crumbs; press walnut halves into top of loaf. Bake at 375°F. for about 45 minutes, Cut into six squares to serve. Serve with tomato sauce. * * * Would you like to cook your loaf in individual custard cups? Try these timbales with creole sauce, Cheese -Vegetable :.Timbales 2 tablespoons butter i/ cup finely chopped onion Y cup fine bread crumbs 13% cups milk 1 teaspoon salt 3/s teaspoon pepper 1 cup grated sharp cheddar. cheese 1% cups drained, cooked peas 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 4 eggs, slightly beaten Saute onion •in butter until golden; add crumbs 'and milk and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining in- gredients; blend well. Pour into six greased custard cups and bake at 325'F. for 45 minutes or until knife inserted conies out clean. Serve with creole sauce. Creole Sauce We tablespoons each chopped onion and chopped green pepper 1/4 cup butter 54. cup flour 2 cups vegetable juice cocktail Ye teaspoon salt Dash pepper Saute onion and green pepper; add flour and blend. Add vege- table juice cocktail and season- ing. Cook until thickened, stir- ring constantly. • * a Mashed potatoes and cottage cheese are combined with mush- rooms and sour cream to make this unusual luncheon pie. Mushroom Pie 2 tablespoons butter le cup finely diced onion 2 cups hot cooked potatoes, mashed 1 can (3 ounces) chopped broil- ed mushrooms 2 cups creamed cottage cheese 34 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon salt 34 teaspoon pepper 3/2 teaspoon kitchen bouquet 2 eggs, well beaten 1 unbalced 9 -inch pastry shell Melt butter; add onion and cook over moderate heat 5 min- utes, stirring occasionally Add to mashed potatoes. Stir in mushrooms, cheese, sour cream, seasonings, kitchen bouquet, and eggs. Pour filling into pastry shell. Bake at 375°F. until puffy and brown, about 1 hour. Serves 6. * * * If you like a nutty taste In your sauce for vegetables, try this one made with peanut but- ter. Peanut Butter Sauce 1 tablespoon butter 34 cup peanut butter 2 teaspoons flour Palaver Over Red -Hot Lava ' When recently a 150 -ft. -wide strip of red-hot lava began to creep menacingly down the slopes of Etna, Europe's biggest active volcano, vulcanologists flew to Italy to carry out • on - the -spot investigations. It was Etna's biggest eruption • for seven years. Explosions every few minutes sent clouds of steam and- hot gravel hurtling from a crater a few hundred feet below the peak. The scientists, tested temperatures . and pres- sures and then announced: "This is not a serious eruption and will not last long." They were right. The "angry mountain," as some Italians call Sicily's 10,784 -ft. -high volcano, did no serious damage this time and no lives were lost. The flow of lava ceased and after a' troubled p er 10 d of several days the crater became quiet. Etna hold's a world record — of having been in eruption lon- ger than any other ,volcano. It is the most fertile and the most treacherous mountain in Eur- ope, its lower slopes abounding in lemon groves, orange gardens and vineyards. In other eruptions this cen- tury rivers enturyrivers of lava thirty feet deep and a mile wide, have sub- merged villages and rendered thousands homeless, but the Si- cilian peasants have such a stoi- cal character that they accept Etna's convulsions as a matter of course and always rebuld their homes in the vicinity after disastrous eruptions. Italy's King Victor Emmanuel walked right up to the advanc- ing lava stream during the great eruption of 1923 when masses of molten rock slowly but surely crushed houses and burned up 444 teaspoon salt Pepper 1 cup milk Melt butter in top of double boiler over hot water. Blend in the peanut butter. Add flour and seasonings and stir until smooth. Stir in milk slowly. Cook over boiling water until thickened, stirring constantly. vinesand trees in its path. One peasant gave him as a souvenir a piece of cooled lava, on theth, surface of .which a coin- had been pregsed when it was in a molten state. Superstitious Sicilians still be- lieve that a race ofthirty-foot giants' once' inhabited Etna, the descendants — says a legend of marriages between the gods and. womankind. When visitors doubt the legend, the peasants 'declare that stone coffins for men at least -thirty-foot tall have been fOund On the volcano's slopes. Engineers :