My Mom was a born story-teller. And I was born hearing her stories. When my brothers and I were young, she would tuck us in bed each night with rock solid truth from Eggermeier’s Bible Storybook, then prayers. If there was time and we were still awake,she read us picture books. We were particularly fond of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit.When we were grade-school age, she began reading us chapter books like Winnie the Pooh, classics and Hardy Boys mysteries. But, we begged instead for the stories from her childhood. And so each night would end with one of her telling.
She was unsure why we would find her life so fascinating. After all, she lived in an ordinary family in an ordinary place. In her mind, nothing from her past could be credited with our insatiable hunger for her tales. But, for us, it was a favorite activity. And we were riveted to each memory she could conjure, despite her exhausting day of house and yard work.
Night after night, following our bedtime snack, then the ritual of baths, pajamas and tooth brushing, she would allow all of us to curl up in one bed for story time, then she would plunk down in the chair by the bed and delight us with one story after another.
The amazing thing is that she never had a repeat. And they were all true. Being the daughter of a pioneer and the youngest of six, she gleaned plenty from previous decades. Born in the 20’s, living through the Depression, becoming a farm girl, living in Washington, D.C. during World War II and coming back to Minnesota to marry a hometown boy, provided her with much to relay to eager ears.
My favorite story was of the time, shortly after they were married in 1950, when Dad was in North Dakota overnight on a cattle-buying venture. It was dark and windy and, after a solitary supper, Mom was reading and strumming the guitar to pass the time during the long, lonely evening. Suddenly, she was aware of some motion outside the oldfarmhouse. Thumps and bumps and a rustling of bushes near where she was sitting, caused Trixie, the collie, to growl and her neck hair rose visibly. Mom, glad the curtains were drawn, flew to the stairway and, from the darkened hallway window, could make out a man with a ladder about to position it near her upstairs bedroom window. The only phone was by a kitchen window, right about where he stood right now. What could she do? She did the sensible thing and got the shotgun from the closet, threw open the window and fired a shot. The next thing she saw were taillights speeding away down the driveway. She flew to the phone and called her brother. My uncle came within minutes and made Mom go to his house for the night. She had no stomach for sleeping with a gun by her bed. She never knew who it was that dropped by for a visit that night. It may have been a simple case of window peeking, terrorizing in its own right.
There wasn’t a murder on that Meeker County farm that night. But there could have been. It was a long time before she stayed home by herself. And though she carried a gun in the Alaska wilderness, to my knowledge, Mom never fired a gun again.
BEDTIME SNACK
Bananas
Peanut or almond butter
Miniature chocolate chips
Raisins
Peel and quarter bananas lengthwise. Dry flat side of bananas and spread with peanut or almond butter. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and raisins. Serve.
WINNIE THE POOH’S HONEY CAKE
1 box yellow cake mix
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup pecans
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Spread half the batter into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan. In a smaller bowl, mix together brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Sprinkle mixture over top of batter. Spread the remaining batter over the top of the pecan mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to make a glaze. When the cake is removed from the oven, stick a toothpick into the top of the cake several times. Spread glaze over the cake. Cool.
SOLITARY SUPPER
1-1/2 cups pearl barley
3 teaspoons oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms
14 ounces chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Heat a deep 12 skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add barley and toast for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Place in a large bowl. In the same skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil and cook chicken about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to bowl with barley. Place the remaining teaspoon of oil to skillet and cook carrots, celery and onion for 7 to 8 minutes until crisp-tender. Stir in mushrooms and cook about 10 minutes longer until liquid evaporates and vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Return chicken and barley to skillet. Stir in broth, water, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until barley is tender and chicken is well done. Serve with fresh parsley sprigs.
