Recipes

THE SUMMER KITCHEN

Minnie Klemme

I remember the summer-kitchen

With a calendar four-feet long, 

Where the coal lamp made shadows

And the range was iron strong.

I remember yeast loaves baking,

The caning berries and jell, 

Stone jars of dills and cabbage-

The kraut we liked so well.

I remember the smell of kettles,

of bacon and ham in brine, 

The old black sausage stuffer,

The sausages so fine.

I remember the summer-kitchen

That cooked for the harvest hands,

For the threshing crews and shellers-

The many farm demands.

I remember the food\, the largess

That came from its mighty store:

The ever- ready handout-

And always the promise for more.

When I come one day to God's heaven

And can choose a mansion of my own,

Build mine with a summer-kitchen,

Make the sidewalks of native stone.

The let me stand in its doorway

To welcome the sinner and saint,

In a circle of kerosene lamp light

With never a sigh or complaint.

I remember the summer-kitchen,

The blueprints are stored in my heart-

As warm as the range and the kettles, 

As bright as its calendar art.