'Ma : 4 Spades
4 Spades
Publication date: 2021-11-08
I wandered into my grandma's memory. It was before "the war". Life was lifting. Potential, progress, yes, possibility was the sound. Then, the war. Restriction, reserve, resolution to support.
Grandma's voice echoed as it passed.
The voice came down:
Take your joint (a chicken, a leg of lamb, a shoulder of pork, whatever!) and ROAST it! Love the time, love the place, gather round, be together and feel.
Ahaa! That joint will give you fat, tasty fat, and juices, flavorsome juices. Take them! Do not let them charcoal on your oven pan! Take them! We have gravy to make.
Mmmmmm. The roast with that gravy. The roasted vegetables too, with that gravy. Mmmmmm.
Next morning, 'ma's playing with mum as bread is toasted. We're gonna have a little of that roast again! But, 'ma knows the bones. They've been captured, and trapped with some more vegetables in a pot.
Insidious odours infuse the house. Something is cooking, and no inspection is allowed. Herbs, new vegetables, even spices are added. A dough's been made, the oven fires again and the house is screaming with salivation for fresh bread and what is that soup!
Across plates, stories are retold.
A part of 'ma's unknown magic is keeping that soup going for a day or two. More veges and herbs. We're back with Mum, but on Wednesday ...
Let's play Canasta. Just a little fun, and a pie.
That pie is more vegetables, and a few more herbs, with the love of a bit of flour and ghee from 'ma.
Us kids didn't know. It was weeks connected by a carefully spread joint. The pastry was the wrapping.
Sources
None.
Culture
Paul Kelly ‘How To Make Gravy’ – Christmas Special on Double J, Triple J, their youtube channel, uploaded 2014-12-09. Song originally released on an EP “How to Make Gravy” in 1996 by White-Label Records.
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