I’ll be attending my grandma’s funeral today. In addition to being an exceptional, loving woman, Ethel Bloom was a major inspiration for this blog. That’s why I thought it only fitting that I share a few things about her here.
From my Grandma Bloom, I learned:
- When life gives you bruised apples, you make apple sauce. (And hers was always the best–courtesy of a Foley Food Mill, I’m told.)
- When your kids pick a pint or two of wild blueberries, you make a blueberry pie. (Especially when you’ve sent them out to collect the berries.)
- On the rare occasions you treat yourself to a lobster (usually her New Year’s Eve party with two adoring grandchildren), you darn well better get all the meat out of that crustacean–even the legs.
- And, as I wrote in the introduction to my book, eating a chicken drumstick meant finishing with a clean bone.
Based on the above, it came as no surprise when my aunt told me today that my grandma used to make her own pickled watermelon rinds. The idea of finding a use for watermelon rinds is beautifully sensible, but pickling your own takes it one step further.
We had it good with Grandma Bloom. She expressed love through food–often Toll House Cookies–but also through words, hugs and kisses. Her fridge was always filled with leftovers (because nothing was too small to save), but her heart was ever more full.
Comments
8 responses to “A Grand Example”
Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful person. Thank you for sharing her story!
Sorry for your loss! My Grandmother also made pickled watermelon rinds, along with cherry pies from cherries picked by us when we were kids!
A grand example indeed. May her memory be an incredible blessing and may your work continued to be inspired by the way she lived her life!
I’m so sorry for your loss! She sounds like a remarkable woman. Thanks for sharing her with us.
Thanks, guys. In her honor, my cousin made some Toll House Cookies (choc chip) that were out of this world. They will not be wasted.
So sorry to hear of your loss. Thanks for sharing your special grandma. Chocolate chip cookies sound like a great tribute!
My sincerest condolences Jonathan. Sounds like your grandmother will be sorely missed.
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss.
My grandma made watermelon pickles, my mom did, and I do. Growing up, I thought everyone did, and was surprised to find that that is not the case.