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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1962-11-08, Page 3Picking Berries `Way Down Ecist Berry -picking +vas not looked epee ea a task by my brothers and me, who from June to Oeto- ber scoured the Friend's Corner fields and pastures for berries, In June, we gathered wild strawberries, never plentiful in our seaboard neighborhood. Be- cause Father discouraged us from group -picking lost we trample ,the meadow grass, each of us sought out the berries alone un- der the terms of an agreement that divided our farm, Otis' ter- ritory was the pasture; Ben's, the meadow across the brook; and mine the fields around the farm- house, Pleking the small red berries in the fragrant grass was a happy Pastime, The warm sun, the freshoff-shore breeze, and the singing of the sparrows that nested in the bushes added to our pleasure, Hulling the berries was what Mother called "a mean chore" but it was One that she cheerfully assumed because she liked to serve us shortcake and strawberries and cream, In July, we picked blueberries, which, during the years of my . child:hood, grew nearly every- where at Friend's Corner, In the pastures, along the roadsides, in the meadow margins, and In woodland clearings were the ]ow bushes laden with berries, But there were never too many ber- ries for the families of the neigh- borhood where muffins, flap- jacksjacks, cakes, and pies fea- tured blueberries every clay. My brothers and I had a good deal of rivalry as to which one of us could pick the most blue- berries, Each of us worked out a different system of picking. Otis found a good patch, knelt beside it, and picked methodical- ly until every berry was gone. Ben's system was to bend over a clump and snatch only the largest clusters. I ran from knoll to knoll seeking the bushes that had the largest berries. It was usually Otis who brought home the fullest pail and the one with the fewest green ones in it. But Ben brought home more than berries because he always Combined collecting with berry- In,g. Spruce guan, shells, drift- wood, and colored rocks were only a few of the prizes that he found while in the berry patch. Father enjoyed picking blue - !terries and after a busy day at 4h egranite yard he found rest In a twilight visit to the pasture, where we children joined him in packing the dew -wet berries and listening to a whip -poor -will which called from a stump at the pasture's edge. August was the month to •gather raspberries, which grew 9n the out -down in the woodlot, Mother was unwilling to have us children go there alone. If the work was not too pressing at the bsad, Father took a day off and ecame the "berry -captain" of a real expedition into the woods. Annie, Ethel, Mother, all the children of the neighborhood, POMPON HAT - Adding novelty to fall millinery fash- ions in London is this pert little pi l Ibox topped with a large pompon ball. Two other pompons of the same tweed fabric dangle from the sides. and several dogs made up the caravan, which went well equip- ped with luneh baskets and empty pails, We followed the road over which in winter our supply of wood was hauled. It went through our familiar grove, crossed the swamp where we stopped to cool our feet in the thick damp moss, cut through a birch growth, and led us to a clearing, where, through the years, Father and Uncle had cut their firewood. After the trees had been cut, raspberry Banes came up through the slash and on the third summer were cov- erect with breries, which like so many red thimbles, were ready to fall into our pails, writes Es- ther E, Wood in the Christian Science Monitor, After a picker tied his pail to his waist with a rope or his belt, he ventured into the slash to do battle with the snags, branches, and briars, He was annoyed when the largest berries often fell into the brush before his eager fingers could reach them, and he became discouraged be- cause the berries "settled" in the pail. But by late afternoon, even the lunch baskets had been filled so that the pickers 'went home with the happy expectation of having raspberry pie next clay and canned raspberries next win- ter, "Nothing like raspberry sauce and hot biscuits when the wind blows cold," Father always remarked, There were blackberries to be harvested in September, Because the canes soon became too old to bear, we were always having to seek out new thickets.' For sev- eral year,s our lower hen yard yielded a rich crop of the purple berries; later, the clearing along the telephone line became a reg- ular blackberry lane; and once an old cellar hole at the shore was filled with mammoth canes that bore large and luscious : berries. When the blackberry season was over, we .turned our atten- tion to cranberries, which grew along the meadow brook., Cran- berrying always held a touch of adventure for us because, years before, Grandmother had lost her wedding ring as she picked ber- ries in the bog and we were al- ways hopeful that we would find the gold circle in the yinea as we parted them to lock for berries. Alas, we never did. Otiswas the most enthusiastic berry -picker in the family. It was he who always harvested our smell crop of black -dotted currants, which Mother made. into jelly, It was he who sought out the hard -to -find gooseber- ries, which were made into Fath- er's favorite jam. Every few years, when the wild pears did' not blight, he picked several quarts of pear berries, which. Mobher canned for winter sauce. In his enthusiasm for berrying, Obis sometimes picked berries,. that did not fired a welcome in the home kitchen. Large purple huckleberries grew on the ledges back of the school house. Otis never failed to appear in Moth- er's kitchen carrying a large pail filled with berries, and repeating the lines: - H U uckle B U tickle Huckleberry pie Mother always gave hien the' same welcome: "Pour -a quart of:= the berries into a pan and 1'11 make you a pie, though likely you'll be the only one to eat it. Throw the rest to the hens." Otis could not resist gathering string cherries which in August hung like beads of red crystal from the cherry trees that edged the stone wall; He knew from experience that Mother would refuse his offering, but he al- ways gave several quarts to Aunt Harriet, who insisted that as a child at play she had picked the berries and eaten them with re- lish. We suspected that it was from loyalty rather than liking that Aunt used the cherries to make ;jolly and punch. When the berrying season was over, we enjoyed the canned settee and jam that had been made from the berries, JWICY JOB -- It looks like a tremendous grapefruit ready for some giant's breakfast table, but structure above is really half a radome When completed,it will house radar equipment at Eylingdules, Yorkshire,, England, where a lial- listic Missile Early Wirning station is under construction, A':CHBISHOP CONDUCTS SERVICES — The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Right Honorable Arthur Michael Ramsey (right), primate of all England and spiritual leader of 42 million Anglicans, conducts Episcopal services at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, N .1 At left is the Arch- bishop's chaplain, the Rev. John Andrews. TABLE TALe Jane Andttews There was a tirne when the cranberry was considered mostly in terms of sauce to accompany the' Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey. The rest of the year, ex- cepting perhaps far an occasional pie, it was more or less neglect- ed. Today, however, this fruit of glistening bright color and pleas- ing* flavor has really come into its own. Quick breads, cakes, pancakes, pudding all take well to the addition of cranberries; to say nothing of sparkling beverages, conserves, marmala- des; and relishes. The fallowing recipes show a few of the many ways of using this handsome fruit: CRANBERRY MUFFINS a/ cup cranberry halves Y/ cup confectioner's sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder ess teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons sugar 1 egg, well beaten 1. cup milk 4 tablespoons melted shortening Combine cranberry halves with confectioner's sugar and let stand 10 minutes. Sift dry ingre- dients, add beaten egg, milk,- and shortening. Add the sugared cranberries last and mix well but do not beat. Bake at 350°F. for 20 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins. STEAMED CRANBERRY PUDDING 1 cup sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking powder h teaspoon:salt 3e`i cup brown sugar 1/2 cup fine bread cremes ?'ii cup chopped suet 1 eup cranberries. washed and drained 1 egg• 13 cup water Thoroughly mix ingredeuta and- turn into a buttered mold, Steam- two hours. Serve with your favorite pudding same.. Serves 6. - A novel and delicious version of cranberry pie, a company dish, is the following, writes Ethel M. Eaton in the Christian Science Monitor. FANCY CRANBERRY PIE 2 cups cranberries, washed and drained 1 cup seedless raisins Si cup broken nut meats 3 cups water Simmer slowly until mixture thickens, then add: 2 teaspoons butter 1 teaspoon lemon juice Pour into a pastry -lined deep pie plate, put 00 • top crust and bake at 375` F. until crust is golden brown. When ready to serve, decorate the top with a few nut meats. and dabs of whip- ped cream. CRANBERRY -ORANGE - PINEAPPLE MARMALADE 1 No, 2 can crushed pineapple 2 eups granulated sugar 1 pound cranberries 2 oranges 14 cup seedless raisins Si cup chopped crystalized ginger VI cup chopped blanched almonds (optional) Drain the pineapple well and reserve the juice. Measure juice and add enough water to make two cups of liquid; Combine with the sugar in a large sauce» pan and heat over low heat, stir- ring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and cools for five minutees. Add drained pineapple, the grated rind of one orange and the pulp of two, the raisins, and the gin- ger. --Cook for about seven min- utes .or until thick. Add the al- monds and pour into glasses. Makes three pints. e * * CRANBERRY -ORANGE - APPLE RELISH (Uncooked) 4 caps cranberries 2 unpeeled oranges, quartered and seeded 2 unpeeled apples, quartered and seeded 2 cups sugar Put cranberries, oranges, and apples through a medium grind food chopper. Combine with sugar and mix thoroughly. Store in covered jars in the refrigera- tor or freeze, if desired. In addi- tion to its use as an accompani- ment to the main course, it may be used for molded cranberry salads. Fold one cup of well - drained relish into any flavor gelatin. Follow directions on the package but use only one and one-half cups of water instead of the two cups called for. * „ CHEESE -AND -ONION PIE Pastry for 1 crust 9 -inch pie 3 eaps grated Swiss cheese :(rise medium grater) 2 tbsp. flour 6 sausages, cooked 2 medium onions, sliced thin 4 eggs 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup milk 1 tsp. salt Is tsp. nutmee Ss tsp. pepper Dash of Tabasco lic'at oven to 450 degrees. Roll pastry thin and line a 9 - inch pie pan, building up a high fluted edge. Cunbine cheese and flour and sprinkle evenly in bottom of prepared pie shell. Arrange sau- sages on top of cheese in a design like the spokes of a wheel. Sepa- rate onions into rings and put between sausage spokes. Beat eggs lightly. Add cream, milk and seassenings and blend What Do You Know About NORTHWEST AFP?C.? 41014 MILES 300. Spy Story With An The Trimmings The story began innocently enough. William John Vassall, then a 30 -year-old bachelor working as a clerk in the naval attache's office at the British Embassy in Moscow, had been invited out to dinner. His host was a Pole named Mlchilsky who had dined before with Vassall and had introduced him to sev- eral well-educated and socially charming Russians. This time he was introduced to three more "friends" who suggested visiting a restaurant near the Bolsboi, Theater. But instead of taking a table in the main dining room, Mlchilsky led the way to a pri- vate room upstairs. There, the five men dined together, then broke out the brandy bottles. What happened after that was spelled out in full detail last month when Vassall was charged with violation of Britain's Offi- cial Seerets Act and held in cus- tody for trial later at the Old Bailey. It seemed a classic ex- amtple of how a government offi- cial can be blackmailed into betraying his country. In a statement that prosecutor Mervyn Griffith -Sones presented to the court, Vassall allegedly said: "I was plied with very well Pour carefully into pie. Bake '0 minutees at 450 de- grees, then reduce temperature to 300 and bake about 40 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the centre comes out clean. Serve immediately, (Serves 6.) k M 8 COTTAGE -CHEESE CUSTARD 1 cup whipping cream 2 eggs, beaten 1 8 -oz, carton cottage cheese 2 tbsp. oz,) grated semi- sweet chocolate 1 tbsp, grated orange rind ?s cup sugar le tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. grated lemon rind 1 tbsp. grated orange rind Heat oven to 350 degrees. But- ter a 11/2 -qt. casserole. Scald cream and pour slowly into eggs, stirring constantly, Press cottage cheese through a sieve and add to cream mixture along with chocolate, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with rotary beater until well blended. Stir in lemon and orange rind. Pour into prepared casserole. Set in pan of hot water -(1 inch deep) and bake about 50 minutes •or until a silver knife inserted near the centre comes out clean. Serve slightly warm or cold. (Serves 4.) :trona, braitdy. Atter half an ha?ir, I retneinhcr everybody -tak- ing off their jackets. Somebody assisted me to take off mine, 1 remember the lighting being strong. More of my clothes were removed. There was a divan in the corner .. P" On this divan, Vassall was photographed "in various cern- promising acts." The next day, two Soviet officials showed him the compromising photographs, and threatened to expose him if he did not become a -t:'ret agent. "They -told me," he said, "that if I mentioned' ti'u meter to any- body at the embassy 1 would not be allowed to leave Russia and they would make an internation- al incident of itI had no allot setiva" , Even so, Ve :,all, who is the son cf the curate of fashionable St. James's Church, Piccadilly, and a wartime RAF photograph- er, tried at first to palm off in- nocuous bits of information on his tormentors. When they again threatened him, he capitulated fully, From mid -1955 to July 1956, Vassall passed along secret in- formation and embassy docu- ments. When transferred home to the Admiralty in London. he was instructed to contact Soviet agents there by telephoning Ken- sington 8955 and asking for "IVIiss Mary." 1HIe also contacted an agent named Nikolai by drawing a circle in pink chalk on the trunk of a tree in the Duchess of Bedford Walls. When he and Nikolai met on the street, the identification sign was the ques- tion; "Can you tell me the way to Belsize Park tube station?" Tracked down at last on Sept. 12 by British M16 agents, Vassall told everything. He explained to his captors how to use his special thin -bladed knife to release the catch on the false bottom of a corner cupboard at his Dolphin Square flat, There. and else- where in the apartment, were 140 frames of exposed film which the prosecution charged would "gravely damage the State's se- curity" in the hands of "a poten- tial enemy." For his services to the Soviets. William John Vassall received more than mere protection from scandal. His spying fees roughly. doubled his modest Admirality income of $2,000 a year. And what he managed to save he pa- triotically invested in British Government savings bonds. These days you had bettor think twice before promising the moon. ISSUE 44 — 1962 Fashion Hint Quebec Beaver I' •