Robin Redbreast

Robin Redbreast
Birds can represent the fluttering, darting thoughts of intuition. This is why little birds helped Cinderella help herself.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Cinderella #319 Lentil Stew and a Crust of Bread


Cinderella #319 Lentil Stew and a Crust of Bread
Hey Cinderella! How's about something
for the turtles!
Why let the turtledoves get all the snacks?
Once upon a time, there was a girl whose name was Cinderella. She toiled all day on the hearth of her step-mother's home. Her stepmother was the kind of person who is never satisfied, and often makes things much harder than they need to be. For example, one of her favorite things to do was to throw a basin of lentils into the ashes, then order her stepdaughter to pick them out.  Another ploy was to demand that Cinderella accomplish some gargantuan task before sundown or face a beating. Often this was to harvest a wheat field, or spin one hundred pounds of wool. Fortunately, Cinderella had a lot of friends in the animal world. They helped her in many ways, including cows who let her pull their horns to receive food and drink, and birds who flock to help her sort lentils from ash. As you may imagine, Cinderella learned how to hustle some good meals out her days pickings. Here are some of her  favorite recipes: 
Cinderella's Lentil Stew
Sort three pounds of lentils from the ashes on the hearth.
Put the good ones into the pot, and the bad ones into the crops of all the pigeons and turtledoves.
Cover with half of a bucket of water (usually all that's left in the bucket after carrying it back from the well some miles away.)
Add celery root, beetroot or rutabaga as available. 
Simmer from noon to sundown.
A Crust of Bread
Thresh one pound of wheat. Mix the flour with a scant handful of yeast, and half as much salt. Set yeast to rise in small amount of warm water. Return to well for another half bucket of water and mix with the flour, salt, and yeast mixture. Knead for ten minutes and leave to rise while taking cows to pasture. Push down and put in well-greased iron skillet. Bake over back coals, covered, while you feed the chickens. Cool before slicing.