Thursday, July 16, 2009

In the Beginning

EASYSTREET PROMPTS
suggests this title.
On the blog above you will see antique TV sets. I have chosen something else antique, and dear to my heart.

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning was The Mincer
And the strong right arm of the cook.
My mother let me stand in the kitchen
So that I could get a good look.
First it was screwed to the table,
With a very firm twist of Mum's hand.
Monday was Washday at our house;
Meat-cakes were in great demand.
We'd had our Big Meal on the Sunday;
The joint and the gravy and such,
And now we would eat the leftovers,
The meat-cakes that I loved so much.
The cooked meat was fed into one end;
The spirals came twizzling out,
Each one like a very small sausage!
It was magic, without any doubt!
My mother then scooped up the minced-meat
And added ....well, what did she add?
I only know they were delicious!
And an equally big hit with Dad!
I think there was onion, all grated
(She must have wept buckets I fear).
When she started I fled from the kitchen
So I never suffered a tear!
There must have egg-yolk to mix it,
But, however much I may age,
The taste and aroma I'll treasure
Is the wonderful flavour of SAGE.
Those meat-cakes were straight out of heaven!
Not a morsel was let go to waste.
There's never been anything better
For aroma and texture and taste.
And we owed it all to The Mincer!
Such a miracle of design!
Have you got one in your kitchen?
I haven't got one in mine.
*

A seasonal but equally nostalgic look here:

7 comments:

Jinksy said...

Wonder if that is a Spong mincer? As a child, I was as fascinated by the manufactures name, as much as the squirly worms it created, and was overjoyied when I got married, to find I could still buy a Spong !

Historical sites with charmine said...

OH MY! We had one like this at home when i was a child,think mum still has it....must be worth a small fortune now.

Patty said...

Believe it or not, I have a grinder like that, stored up high in the cupboard above the frig, which I can't reach unless I stand on a chair.

I haven't ground anything through it in years. But our kids use to love watching me use it. I can also remember when grinding some vegetables and such, I had to put a small pan under the part that screwed onto the table, because liquid would drip from it and the pan caught it. First time I used it, I didn't realize that and had to clean up the floor when it started to drip, then I set a pan down there to catch the rest of it. I use to use it to grind up some vegetables when I was making like a relish, didn't have a food chopper or processor back then. LOL Well they may have had them, but I didn't, just this little old meat grinder.

Loved the poem.

Jo said...

Hi Brenda, I still have one of these mincers, but only for show although it still "works". Your post brings back memories of my mum making these exactly as you describe. Thanks!

quilly said...

Oh we had one of these when I was a child. Every time I use my food processor I mourn it! One setting to do everything! Veggies, meat (cooked and raw), potatoes ... I can't tell you the salads, meat patties and sausages we made with ours! I wonder wherever it went?

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

We used to have one similar to this in every family - to grind roasted coffee pods. Freshly, roasted, and freshly powdered, the aroma was something to die for.

Kat said...

made a resolution never to read such poems when hungry..!!!!

Wow, reading that made the tummy growl demanding meat cakes :)))