Don't Know Why, But In The Midst of All This Snow, Marash Girl Is Remembering Summer Saturdays In Sturbridge Before The Tornado

Years ago, several years before the 2011 summer tornado hit Massachusetts, Marash Girl and her family would not only summer in the old cabin on top of Wilbraham Mountain, but would often spend time there at the end of a work week, leaving late on a Friday afternoon from the eastern side of the Bay State to arrive in Wilbraham about an hour and a half later, traffic allowing. On such weekends, Marash Girl would often drive on Saturday afternoons down from the top of Wilbraham Mountain, east to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to join the artists, writers, musicians, and poets of the area, all meeting at a restaurant's coffee shop, if only for a cup of coffee and some words of encouragement. (Marash Girl was honored to be welcomed into the group . . .) But as Marash Girl's father would have said at this juncture, "Those days are gone . . . forever!" N.B. Should any of you reading this blog be one of the artists, writers, musicians, or poets that used to meet in Sturbridge in those days, please comment below! Or email!

The Little White Church On Plum Island

Marash Girl woke up today remembering . . . no, not the Little Brown Church In The Vale, but the little white church on the island . . . Plum Island! Is this the church she remembered?

Or was it this one?

Marash Girl must have been 7 or 8 years old -- or younger -- when the family was visiting Plum Island for a week and she first saw the little white church. She remembers asking her father why they weren't going to church there . . . it was Sunday, after all. She doesn't remember his answer . . . all she knows is that because it was not THEIR church, she couldn't attend!!! She was so disappointed. Marash Girl thinks that that was probably one of the only Sundays in her childhood that she had not attended church, or at least, one of the only days in her childhood she had not attended Sunday School! N.B. Images taken from the internet.

For Sale: Lemonade in the Shade on a Hot Summer's Day!!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Bridge Along The River Charles On A Late Spring Day

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Tuesday Was The Anniversary Of The Tornado That Blew Away The Cottage On Top Of Wilbraham Mountain!

Tuesday, June 1, was the anniversary of the tornado that destroyed the cottage at the top of Wilbraham Mountain! But the tornado was kind enough to leave the family its source of water . . .

Photo by Karoun Charkoudian Copyright 2021

A Postcard From Plum Island

Woke up this morning remembering a picture postcard that was popular in the old days -- a postcard sitting on a rack in the corner bookstore on Plum Island in Newburyport, Massachusetts. On the picture side of the postcard was a cartoon image of a bikini clad beach beauty, and on the message side of the postcard were printed the words, "Wish you were her!"

Remembering Henry and Rose (Bezjian) Nofal

When Marash Girl began thinking about summer, especially summers along the North Shore of Massachusetts, summers on the shores of her favorite summer island, Plum Island, she remembered the following. Many years ago, when Henry and Rose (Bezjian) Nofal were visiting Marash Girl's family in Newtonville, Massachusetts, (the Nofals had driven all the way from Troy, New York,) Marash Girl's father decided to surprise his children (Marash Girl and her siblings) and Henry and Rose Nofal with a trip to Plum Island, an island off the North Shore (of Massachusetts). Living in Troy, New York, they rarely had the opportunity of experience the Atlantic Ocean! Arriving at Plum Island (Newburyport, Massachusetts) after driving north for one and a half hours, the Marash Girl's father and his family decided to take their guests for a leisurly walk along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoying the warmth of the sun and the music of the surf, they suddenly heard the screams of a swimmer . . . a swimmer who had been caught in the notorious surf undertow of Plum Island. Without hesitation, both Henry and Rose dove into the surf and rescued that swimmer, bringing him safely back to shore. What a wonderful and courageous couple they were! Marash Girl misses those summers on Plum Island and she so misses you, Henry and Rose!!!

Remembering Miss Tobin and the Sixth Grade Class at the Old Claflin School

The members of her sixth grade class were so disobedient, noisy, rowdy, that theirs was the first class to be denied the traditional week-long, sixth grade cammping trip to a local summer camp site. (Was it Cedar Hill?) Marash Girl, to this day, grieves (although that's too strong a word) the loss!

A Quick and Easy Summer Lunch!!!!

Getting lots of zucchini from your garden?  Eggplant, too?  Use Grandma Jennie's favorite go to recipe for a quick lunch or Sunday supper.  (Not sure, but Marash Girl thinks the meal may have originated in Aintab!)

Simply rinse the eggplant or zucchini (preferably eggplant or zucchini fresh from your garden, not veggies that have been stored in your refrigerator for days) under cool running water.  Slice thinly.  Beat several eggs in a low soup bowl, dip the sliced veggies into the egg mixture, and fry quickly in hot light oil, turning the slices once, and, when browned, placing on a platter which has a covering of several layers of paper towels to absorb the oil from the freshly fried vegetables.  (Be sure the paper covered platter is not close to the flame, but rather on the opposite side of the stove from the flame!!!). Sprinkle the zucchini and/or eggplant with salt (and red pepper, if you're tastebuds  veer towards the Middle East), and serve (while still hot) with fresh, sliced tomatoes . . .  You may serve theses slices in a sandwich, or simply tomato and eggplant (or tomato and zucchini) on a bed of fresh lettuce.   Yum!!!

Jajuk - An Armenian's Summer Delight

Jajuk - cucumber and yogurt and mint and garlic.  A simple and deliciously cooling appetizer or accompaniment to a summer's meal is jajuk -- Armenian yogurt (madzoon) with peeled, crushed garlic (one clove of garlic per quart of yogurt, or none, if you hate garlic), some chopped up fresh mint from your garden, or if you do not grow mint, some dried, crushed mint leaves, and salt to taste.  That's it!!!  Enjoy . . . and let me know how you like it!

Watermelon Rind Candy

Marash Girl guesses that once you've experienced starvation, or near starvation . . . once you've seen people dying of hunger . . . you never again waste a bit of food . . . and that includes the rind of the watermelon.  The old ladies that Marash Girl knew, the survivors of the genocide of the Armenian people, loved to serve watermelon removed from the skin.  Many ate watermelon with a fork, we kids ate it off the skin.  Dad salted his watermelon and carefully ate the innards of every seed that was in his piece of watermelon.  And the old ladies carefully peeled the green rind off of the melon from which they had taken the red watermelon to serve, and prepared it for making watermelon candy by simmering it in sugar syrup on their wood burning stoves!!!!  Marash Girl never learned to make  watermelon candy, (although the recipe is now on the internet), but she used to eat it when she was a kid.  Delish!!!

Summers, Watermelon and Cheese

Do all Armenians love watermelon?  All in Marash Girl's family certainly did.  The kids ate slices of watermelon, usually off the skin, walking around in the back yard, and spitting the seeds into the grass.  The grownups would have their watermelon removed from the skin, sliced into chunks.   Grandma Jennie often served watermelon with cheese (more often than not, home made cheese), or watermelon with salt for Marash Girl's father who loved his watermelon with salt!

And since most Armenians had known hunger, they  never wasted food.  Marash Girl vaguely remembers that folks used to peel off the green outer skin of the watermelon (leaving the white of the rind) and use the white of the rind to make candy.  Marash Girl's family did not.  Her father would grind the watermelon rind in his compost grinder and use the ground watermelon rinds to fertilize his magnificent vegetable garden.

Fried Eggplant à la Grandma Jennie

A quick and favorite summer's meal that Grandma Jennie (known as Mummie to Marash Girl) loved to prepare (and Marash Girl loved to eat) was Eggplant Goverma, known in English as Fried Eggplant, and probably originating in the Armenian community of Aintab.  Mummie would thinly slice a fresh, ripe eggplant (after washing the eggplant, of course) leaving the skin on and, just before placing the slices into hot oil to fry, she would dip the slices into a shallow bowl of freshly beaten eggs.  Dipping the egg-covered eggplant slices into the hot oil (backing away quickly because sometimes the hot oil splashes back at the cook), she would fry the eggplant, first on one side, then on the other, until both sides were lightly browned eggplant.  Then, carefully removing the eggplant slices onto a somewhat distanced platter (covered with a paper towel in order to drain off the excess oil), she would lightly salt the slices, and serve the fried slices of eggplant immediately, accompanied by slices of garden fresh tomatoes, to her eagerly awaiting family members.  Delish!!!

On a summer diet?

On a summer diet? Try water.  We water our plants, but do we water our bodies?  We need more water than ever these days, but often we confuse thirst for hunger and eat, or we are thirsty but we consume  sugary drinks, (or worse, cancer causing artificially sweetened drinks) to assuage our thirst.  Keep water in the refrigerator,  in a favorite mug or glass, so that whenever you open the refrigerator to see what’s there for you, you’ll see your favorite glass full of refreshing, clear, cold water.  

Remembering Arppie's Three Bean Salad!!!

As temperatures hit the 90's, Marash Girl remembers the wonderful summer days spent in Wilbraham, with all the family members, each bringing a special something for the picnic table.  Arppie's special something took no time at all to prepare, and yet it was everybody's favorite!!! She would simply open a can of black beans, a can of kidney beans, and a can of chick peas, making sure that the contents contained no preservatives or artificial ingredients . . . draining the cans and rinsing the beans well in cool fresh water.  She then added chopped fresh parsley, the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon, some olive oil, and, of course, salt, pepper, and a dash of Armenian red pepper.  There you have it!!! Her secret?  Preparing the salad the day before the picnic, and allowing it to marinate in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours!!!

                            
                                      We miss you, Arppie!!!  

N.B.  Could she have learned to make this salad from her good friend, Esther Hawsley?

STORMING THE BASTILLE: BASTILLE DAY ON WILBRAHAM MOUNTAIN

"The French National Day is the anniversary of Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a turning point of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790." (From the Internet)

Karoun: I love the brie cheese memories, so sweet!  Here's what I remember of the theatrics, I think I was really young because I was watching. Uncle George and a woman (who was only there that time, I don't remember who she was, but I think she was a friend of Mum's not of Uncle George) were sitting under the bastille -- large sticks laid against the tree that's at the corner of the woods closest to the cabin porch, where the flags are raised. They were sharing bits of french bread (that was supposed to be stale). Then all of you guys came running at the bastille yelling and screaming and knocked the sticks down and freed them. I think it was a little scary for me lolll.

Lorig: That's right. We leaned a bunch of big sticks against the tree and then we knocked them down.

I think it was probably one of Uncle George's girlfriends, but I am sure she never came back again after that. LOL

I think we did it a few times. One time I think Uncle George got knocked on the head with one of the large sticks. I remember him being a really good sport about it. I felt really bad. Because I am pretty sure I organized the entire dramatic scene. It is the kind of thing I would have done. :)

Karoun:  I don't remember Uncle George getting hit! You probably did direct it. I have vague fond memories of being in your "plays" with the cabin's porch as the stage.

Deron: I recall hanging the French flag next to the American flag. I also recall NOT wanting the Brie cheese.

Nisha:  I think Lorig and I liked the Brie but we kept leaving bits of the skin around because we only liked the creamy inside part 😄.  Of course, Papa would say “but that’s the best part!” And also tell us not to leave the skin bits on the cheese board 😂.  And practicing whatever French we could remember!

Marash Girl:  Juillet Quatorze was the only day we took the Armenian flag down to hang the French flag next to the American Flag!

Lee Powell, Cows, and Thunder & Lightning on Wilbraham Mountain

This photo (borrowed from the internet) brought to mind Wilbraham neighbor Lee Powell's personal memory of having narrowly escaped death by lightning on her farm as she ran for cover, her cows hit by lightning falling behind her  . . .  and the day Marash Boy and Marash Girl just made it back from their run along Ridge Road to their mountain cabin, as furious bolts of lightning struck behind them   . . . one of the most ferocious thunder and lightning storms that the couple had ever encountered on Wilbraham Mountain.  The experience, of course, was worsened by having heard Lee Powell's memory!  Are you still up there on Wilbraham Mountain, Lee Powell?

Marash Girl Meets Eleanor Roosevelt at Harvard University, August 11, 1960

Working for Henry Kissinger at the Harvard International Seminar during  vacations from her college studies, Marash Girl was honored to make the acquaintance of Eleanor Roosevelt who had been invited to speak to the Seminar participants.  Marash Girl was charged with helping Eleanor Roosevelt become acclimated to Harvard University and Harvard Square.  "Mrs. Roosevelt had traditionally visited the members of the International Seminar each summer, meeting in informal session and making brief remarks, reported the Harvard Crimson of August 11, 1960," though that was not the case for the next few summers that Marash Girl was on the staff.  The summer of 1960 was the only summer  that Eleanor Roosevelt visited during the four summers that Marash Girl worked for Henry Kissinger at the Harvard International Seminar. 

From the internet comes the following. 

Mrs. Roosevelt Speaks

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED

August 11, 1960

Eleanor Roosevelt made a quick visit to the University last week unnoticed by almost every student. Speaking informally to 48 members of the International Seminar. Mrs. Roosevelt commented on "The Values of Democracy." Her 40-minute speech, followed by a brief question-and-answer session, was all off the record. Boston newspapers, bearing of her visit, attempted to cover the closed seminar session. Only the Boston Globe succeeded in interviewing the former first lady, as she indicated she would "probably" make a few speeches on behalf of Democratic nominee Senator John F. Kennedy '40.

n.b. Eleanor Roosevelt passed away on November 7, 1962.

Ice Cream Soda [without the ice-cream and with far fewer calories]

Ever try mixing milk with gingerale for a cool summer drink?
(Use an all natural gingeral with no preservatives. . . Marash Girl uses Polar Gingerale.)
Try it (half milk/half gingerale), you'll like it!

Fresh herb harvest got you flummoxed?

Overwhelmed with the crop in your herb garden?  Wishing the garden would last all winter? It can!
As with fruit (see previous blogpost), try freezing the herbs by removing leaves from stem, placing leaves in ice cube tray, covering leaves with water, and the next day you'll have herb cubes.  Store in plastic bag, and when you're ready to use them, simply thaw out an ice cube, chop the herb in question, and add to your sauces or soups and simmer for a bit..  (Can't really add frozen herbs to fresh salad, but you could blend them up with your salad dressing and use them on your fresh salad that way!)