My Church Crone-ys

I like older women.

Okay, sure, my marriage is an exception: Mama is four years younger. But she likes older women, too. So it works out.

What I mean is I really enjoy talking with women who are not at the same point in their lives as I am. When I was a child--a maid, in pagan parlance--I wanted to listen to the mothers, wanting to talk to my mom's friends. Now that I am a mother, I receive so much from the wisdom of crones, or older, wiser women, again in pagan parlance. Similarly, I also find myself conversing with maids, now, when I wouldn't have given young children much attention when I was not much older than a child. That's not to say that I don't enjoy, support, am inspired by, my mother friends. I just like balance.

And Tuesday was lunch with my church Crone-ys. And what a delightful lunch it was! We talked politics, sex, cultural anthropology, recent books, (not much religion, so as to avoid any church gossip or politics), recipes. No word of school, clothes shopping, potty-training, stretch marks, developmental stages, or discipline. Though almost all of them have stories to tell, advice to give (and have, too, on other occasions). Children flow in and out of the conversation; it's not all-motherhood, all-the-time. There's balance, something my Crone-ys help me achieve by encouraging the other aspects of me. And maybe I bring that to them too: a little reminder of daily mothering and having young children.

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Miss M's BLUEBERRY GRUNT*

2 cups soft bread cubes

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 pint blueberries

Soften bread with water. Add all but berries. Layer bread mixture and blueberries in a greased, shallow 1 quart pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Serve with cream.

Yield: 4 servings

*Grunt is baked, uncovered or steamed.

Slump if cooked, covered, on top of the stove.

Another recipe:

BLUEBERRY CRISP

4 cups blueberries

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Spread berries in shallow baking dish or a deep 9" pin pan. Sprinkle with lemon rind. Blend remaining ingredients and sprinkle over berries. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. If 1/2 recipe is made bake for only 15 minutes. Best served warm.

Yield: 6 servings.

Miss M

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Miss M's Clover and Rose "Honey"

5 lb sugar

Petals of 8 fragrant double roses

6 cups water

12 red clover blossoms

Cherry size lump of allum

20 white clover blossoms

Boil sugar & water until thick & clear (232 degrees) - takes about 1 1/2 hours until sugar is golden. Add alum and boil 4 minutes longer. Remove from stove and add flowers. Let stand 10 minutes. Strain and pour into sterilized jars.

Affectionately,

M

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Watermelon Rind Pickles

3 quarts water

3/4 cup salt

Put in cut rind and let stand overnight. Strain and rinse.

Cover with water and cook until fork tender--drain again.

Combine sugar and spices--

4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon whole cloves

6 sticks cinnamon

But spices in cheesecloth bag. Boil 5 minutes.

Pour over watermelon rind and cook until transparent--about 10 minutes--pack and seal.

my Grandmother J

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(Another) Miss M's Zucchini Table "Pickles"

1 part each: white vinegar, olive oil, and soy sauce

zucchini spears

Combine and enjoy!