Read Online Manroot by Anne J. Steinberg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anne J. Steinberg
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October afternoon. Katherine felt a quiet happiness, for the beauty of the Missouri landscape always made her heart quicken. They walked slowly now, their sacks heavy.
Slightly out of breath, Frieda stopped and looked around. “I suppose we could take a short cut.” She glanced down at her stout stockings and reasoned she was wearing her old shoes; mud couldn’t hurt them any.
“ I know one that’ll save us about a quarter of a mile,” she suggested, and Katherine followed her, leaving the worn path as they cut through the woods. They went slower, as they had to avoid treading on the wildflowers and the rocks.
“ Oh my!” Katherine looked down and saw the lovely violets crushed beneath her feet.
“ What is it?” Frieda asked, stopping and putting down her sack.
“ I’ve crushed them,” Katherine said, gesturing at the tiny flowers.
“ It’s okay; they’re hardy. They’ll spring back up in no time.”
Katherine knelt down and gently coaxed the lea ves up. “My mother loved violets,” she said quietly. “She had some once in a big pot on the window, but they died. Sun was too hot in New Mexico.”
Katherine ’s reference to her mother made Frieda pause. She pushed away her impatience.
“ Violets like the damp – they’ll be okay.”
Unwilling to leave her destruction, Katherine asked, “ Maybe I could take ‘em – nurse ‘em back?”
“ Okay, but it’s getting late,” Frieda said, handing her the small trowel.
They were glad to get back to the warmth of the kitchen .
Mr. Taylor and the Missus were in St. Louis for the day, and since the Judge had left and the women didn’t have to cook, they prepared sandwiches of cheese on thick bread with strawberry jam and ate the fresh mulberries that Bruce had picked yesterday from the bushes behind the orchard.
Frieda separated the apricots into two separate piles. “These we’ll make jelly with, and these we’ll dry for crystallized apricots.”
They peeled the maypops, cut them in half and took out the seed. Frieda prepared a pot with water, and from the icebox she took out the lime Mr. Taylor had brought her from St. Louis. She squeezed the lime juice into the pot and added the sliced maypops. “That’s all we do for now. We let them stand for twelve hours, then we boil them in weak alum water, then reboil in clear. We drain them, put in white sugar, three-quarters of a pound for each pound of apricots. We let them stand again…boil them one more time, flavor with ginger root and dry ‘em. It takes two days. Crystallized apricots is one of Mr. Taylor’s favorites.”
They prepared the second group using the seeds as well as the pulp. After boiling the maypops for thirty minutes, they strained them through cheesecloth, then reboiled them, adding one pint of sugar to each pint of juice, until the mixture jelled. Then they cooled it and sealed it into jars with wax on top.
Katherine broke the tip of her pencil and with her teeth she nibbled the wood until she had a new lead… for she was busy writing; she had copied down every recipe of Frieda’s since she had been here. This was very flattering to the older woman.
“ You just sit, child. Them rosehips is nothing to it.” Frieda dropped the plump knobs into boiling water, and covered the pot. “Now tomorrow we strain it, bring it to a boil and add two tablespoons of vinegar. Then we bottle it. It’s a good tonic for just about anything!”
Katherine closed her notebook. “Monday I’m going to Bailey’s general store. I need another book – this one’s full.”
“ Well, it’s no good wasting money. Notebook’ll probably cost you a dime,” Frieda warned, and she looked through the tablet, searching it for a blank page.
“ I know, but I’ve got a silver dollar.”
“ You do? Where did you get a silver dollar?” Frieda asked, a worried frown coming over her face.
“ The Judge…he tipped me a dollar.”
“ Hum,” Frieda warned. “Nothing in this world is
Slightly out of breath, Frieda stopped and looked around. “I suppose we could take a short cut.” She glanced down at her stout stockings and reasoned she was wearing her old shoes; mud couldn’t hurt them any.
“ I know one that’ll save us about a quarter of a mile,” she suggested, and Katherine followed her, leaving the worn path as they cut through the woods. They went slower, as they had to avoid treading on the wildflowers and the rocks.
“ Oh my!” Katherine looked down and saw the lovely violets crushed beneath her feet.
“ What is it?” Frieda asked, stopping and putting down her sack.
“ I’ve crushed them,” Katherine said, gesturing at the tiny flowers.
“ It’s okay; they’re hardy. They’ll spring back up in no time.”
Katherine knelt down and gently coaxed the lea ves up. “My mother loved violets,” she said quietly. “She had some once in a big pot on the window, but they died. Sun was too hot in New Mexico.”
Katherine ’s reference to her mother made Frieda pause. She pushed away her impatience.
“ Violets like the damp – they’ll be okay.”
Unwilling to leave her destruction, Katherine asked, “ Maybe I could take ‘em – nurse ‘em back?”
“ Okay, but it’s getting late,” Frieda said, handing her the small trowel.
They were glad to get back to the warmth of the kitchen .
Mr. Taylor and the Missus were in St. Louis for the day, and since the Judge had left and the women didn’t have to cook, they prepared sandwiches of cheese on thick bread with strawberry jam and ate the fresh mulberries that Bruce had picked yesterday from the bushes behind the orchard.
Frieda separated the apricots into two separate piles. “These we’ll make jelly with, and these we’ll dry for crystallized apricots.”
They peeled the maypops, cut them in half and took out the seed. Frieda prepared a pot with water, and from the icebox she took out the lime Mr. Taylor had brought her from St. Louis. She squeezed the lime juice into the pot and added the sliced maypops. “That’s all we do for now. We let them stand for twelve hours, then we boil them in weak alum water, then reboil in clear. We drain them, put in white sugar, three-quarters of a pound for each pound of apricots. We let them stand again…boil them one more time, flavor with ginger root and dry ‘em. It takes two days. Crystallized apricots is one of Mr. Taylor’s favorites.”
They prepared the second group using the seeds as well as the pulp. After boiling the maypops for thirty minutes, they strained them through cheesecloth, then reboiled them, adding one pint of sugar to each pint of juice, until the mixture jelled. Then they cooled it and sealed it into jars with wax on top.
Katherine broke the tip of her pencil and with her teeth she nibbled the wood until she had a new lead… for she was busy writing; she had copied down every recipe of Frieda’s since she had been here. This was very flattering to the older woman.
“ You just sit, child. Them rosehips is nothing to it.” Frieda dropped the plump knobs into boiling water, and covered the pot. “Now tomorrow we strain it, bring it to a boil and add two tablespoons of vinegar. Then we bottle it. It’s a good tonic for just about anything!”
Katherine closed her notebook. “Monday I’m going to Bailey’s general store. I need another book – this one’s full.”
“ Well, it’s no good wasting money. Notebook’ll probably cost you a dime,” Frieda warned, and she looked through the tablet, searching it for a blank page.
“ I know, but I’ve got a silver dollar.”
“ You do? Where did you get a silver dollar?” Frieda asked, a worried frown coming over her face.
“ The Judge…he tipped me a dollar.”
“ Hum,” Frieda warned. “Nothing in this world is
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