Working at Home, Part Two

I sort and pull stems off green beans. A Mennonite farmer ran across her yard in her bare feet to get this bucket of newly picked beans for me. They are sleek and long. I leave them whole and toss them into my dented graniteware canner for a brief blanch in boiling water. Afterward, I plunge the steaming greens into icy water, pat the tender flesh dry with a flour sack towel, and stuff them into one-pound freezer bags. The remainders are a savory side to warm sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and spinach on wheat toast—midsummer’s lunch.

My last bag of cresthaven peaches, from a farm stand just north of Carbondale, near Dix, Illinois—yes, peaches in Illinois, and pecans, and cypress trees—is for the 58^th wedding anniversary of my father- and mother-in-law. I peel and cut up six cups of the soft fragrant fruit, mix them with sugar, a little flour, and freshly-zested nutmeg. The amber juices begin to flow as I slide the mass into the piecrust. As it bakes, if you close your eyes and breathe, it is summer and you are in the orchard.

It is late when I pull out the entire section of Pickles and Relishes. There is a sweet crock recipe where you put an unweighted plate on top of the cucumber-vinegar mixture. It has a note at the end:  The pickles will be crisp the Spring following.  There are two recipes for Dill Pickles. One calls for:  2 quarts of rain water and grape leaves in each jar. On the other, Aunt Elsie writes: This is good. The final pickle recipe follows. Sit down to read it.

Soda Sweet Pickles

 Copied from Prairie Farmer

Cut & wash 2 gal. cucumbers & pour over them 1 gal. water & 1 pt. salt. Let

stand for one week & then pour off liquid. Pour on clear boiling water to

cover. Let stand 24 hours & drain off. Pour over boiling water with lump of

alum size of walnut. Let stand 24 hours. Drain off & cover with boiling mixtures

as follows. 2-1/2 qts vinegar 8 c sugar 2 tbsp celery seed stick cinnamon.

Pour this mixture over pickles & let stand 24 hours. Drain off & heat 4 mornings.

Pickles will keep without sealing as long as covered with mixture.

My day seems a primer. Dear women of the nineteenth century, how amazing and powerful you were in the kitchen with vinegar and cucumbers, a hot stove, and a good supply of alum.