Skip to main content

ODE TO FOODS OF SUMMER

 Ode To The Foods of Summer


Written by Joan Rowden Hart ©June 2018

Nothing works better to relieve summer’s stress
Than preparing the season’s first beans
Sitting in a recliner with bowl on your lap
Anticipating the meal of your dreams

Those delicate green pods are awaiting the mantle
Of bacon’s smokey goodness just right
Vidalia’s sweet onions add just the right touch
To whet even the least appetite

Small pearls of potatoes so tender and white
Are the next layer of this tasty meal
They will melt in your mouth in a buttery flash
Creamy sweet with just a hint of red peel.

Tomatoes of red sliced thin and arranged
On a plate with red florals to match
With white and green onion stems artfully laid
To provide a bright color contrast.

Cucumbers cut neatly in quarters or slices
With a rich sour cream dip on the side
And a second mixture of vinegar marinade
Sometimes it’s hard to decide.

Yellow cobs of sweet corn steaming hot from the pot
Draped with butter and pepper and salt
Those glittering gold nuggets of juicy temptation
My taste buds they truly exalt.

Hot yeast rolls  in the oven have been rising a while
With globulous goodness they shine
Fried chicken piled high on large oval platters
The drumsticks will always be mine.

Summer peaches in cobbler is the finishing touch
Butter crusting the lattice on top
But only a small bite can I manage to eat
I’m so full I am ready to drop.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie) Americans need a day dedicated to gratitude. I have noticed that in the lineup of most of our holidays that Thanksgiving is perhaps the one least given over to secularism - the one we still observe in a traditional fashion. We need it to keep our focus clear and to teach our children what it means to be thankful for family, friendship and faith. We need a time to gather around the table with extended family and enjoy turkey and dressing and gravy, two kinds of potatoes, cranberries, hot rolls, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We need it, not for the calories, but to create an awareness that there are those who don’t have those blessings, because in the hectic pace of our everyday lives we tend to forget those in need. Family and food are important, but above all else, Americans need a rededication to our faith. Faith brought the pilgrims to the ne...

ANNIE, THE CAT'S MEOW

  I first met Annie back in February 2004 after Milan told me to let him know what I wanted for for Valentine’s Day and he promised would get it for me no matter what it was. He has often joked that he should have have put some conditions on that. But he didn’t, and so I headed straight to the Humane Society animal shelter. It had been two long years since we had put our beloved Maine Coon cat to sleep, a big pile of what appeared to be nothing but fur, but had a huge heart hidden inside. We had named him Ollie in honor of Col. Oliver North who was our news hero at the time. I entered the cat compound at the Humane Society. There were only two cats inside, a brown tabby who ran to the other side of the pen away from me, and a little black and white girl who came running over to me and when I picked her up, she snuggled her head under my chin and began to purr. It was love at first sight. She was new there and they had not given her a name so I called her Annie. She was alway...
  THE TASTES OF SUMMER Tender green onion blades,  tipped at the end With a white marble bulb, their flavors do blend With soup or a sandwich, I do recommend For these are the tastes of summer. Cucumbers growing green, awaiting their turn For slicing with vinegar and sugar, I yearn So cool and refreshing, my praises they earn These too are the tastes of summer. Sun ripened tomatoes, So juicy and sweet A smidgeon of salt, such a heavenly treat Just thinking of them makes my heart skip a beat A favorite taste of summer. Hot corn on the cob with the tantalizing name Of peaches and cream, it’s in my hall of fame From one end to the other of the cob I exclaim That this is the true taste of summer. Green beans, new potatoes, cooked up in a pan Just simmering slowly all day is my plan Some salt, bacon drippings, there’s no better than The taste of fresh beans in the summer. Green lettuce wilted down with some crisp bacon bits Add some vinegar, and sugar, it’s always a hit I have to a...