Saturday, November 21, 2009

pickled beets and flowering cabbage

This is one of the two flowering cabbages that I managed to grow from seed. I picked it last week and put it in the house so that I could enjoy it for one last week before winter really settled in for good. My Grandma Ethel would grow these in her yard. They would grow about waist high. I have no idea how she did it. People would stop and take pictures of her flowering cabbages. (Mom, do you have any pictures of them? or of Grandma with them?)
Some other things that she grew that I remember were columbine, marigolds, and petunias. They had a hedge of lilac bushes that were thick and beautiful green. But, they never blossomed. I think that had something to do with the fact that Grandpa kept them pruned back and he was actually cutting off the "next seasons blooms". They had a snowball bush that I always thought was beautiful. And the Forsythia bushes that bloom in the spring always remind me of Grandma.

And the beets...My Grandma made the best pickled beets. It's been years, but I am going to try to grow beets next spring and see if I can replicate the taste of pickled beets like Grandma Ethel used to make. And my other favorite food from Circleville was "Noodles". I would beg my Grandma to make homemade noodles. My mouth is watering right now. I can feel the texture of the noodles in my mouth. My Aunt Dolores has tried to make noodles like Grandma, but she says that she can't seem to get it just right. Grandma didn't have an exact recipe--she just made them from memory. Oh well. I'll stick with the pickled beets for now. I don't really want to attempt Grandma's noodle recipe until I have a little more time on my hands.

1 comment:

Amara said...

I wonder if her plants reseeded themselves and so got really well established and comfortable. That's the only time I can grow things really big. Don't you wish those "from memory" recipes were all written down? A lesson to all of us and OUR traditional recipes. They're a part of our heritage you don't get back when the creators pass on.