Strong Arms:Anna

My Gran (my Dad George’s mother) and my own baby. Even as she beautifully aged Gran was fit and maintained strong muscular arms and hands from her active lifestyle and hard work.

Gran on my Dad’s side was a fantastic cook. She took me on errands to the farmers market where she bought casing and ingredients to make her own sausage. I watched as she stuffed the casings until they looked like they would burst. After cooking them she sliced the large sausages into small pieces the way pepperoni is sliced. They tasted amazing. I especially liked the taste and texture of the whole mustard seeds dispersed with the meats.

Life happened in the kitchen. My grandmother’s meals were made from scratch. Fast food meant making a sandwich with deli meat and cheese. Cooking was a daily activity and kitchens were large enough to hold the table and chairs which was where family and visitors gathered. Cookbooks were never used and ingredients were measured only in the cooks’ mind. The value of fellowship over homemade, good food was implanted in my being by watching Anna keep her loved ones fed for years.  I learned how to be comfortable with kitchen experimentation though I also appreciate cookbooks.

Gran made her own sauerkraut using a lengthy method of rinsing and wringing the cabbage slices before preparing. A big family favorite dishes was Gran’s stuffed cabbage.  I watched as she carefully filled the soft cabbage leaves she had carefully pre-streamed with her mixture of meat, chopped vegetables and spices.

           Stuffed Cabbage the way Gran would pile the rolls on a plate on the kitchen table