Letter to Mom · Friday October 21, 2011 by Julie
Yesterday I met a guy named Bubba and bought some radish seeds from him. Bubba turned to Bob, who was standing next to me, and said, “You know, all German crossword puzzles have a clue in there somewhere that asks for the name of a German town that begins with an X. Even though German does not have the letter X, there’s a town named Xanten.” We nodded and smiled, knowing that of course German has an X – Xanthippe, Xenie, Xereswein, Xylograph, Xylophon.
After we left the store, Bob said, “Bubba also claims that salmon drink tea.”
“What does he mean, salmon drink tea?” I asked.
“He says they gather where leaves have fallen into the seawater because they want to drink the tea. He has a small steamboat.”
“What do you mean, he has a small steamboat?”
“He was married to a gal who repaired clocks and compasses. They had a flour mill, and when I was little, I used to sneak flour from the bags of it my mom bought because it was so delicious. They raised Clydesdales for years, but then Bubba found his wife in bed with a massage therapist and broke his arm when he punched the bed. He had to have surgery anyway because he had been milking goats for too many years. The massage therapist cooks the best Thai food. He learned how from his nanny.”
I started laughing. “What?” said Bob, but suddenly he started laughing too.
We went back to his place and ate vanilla ice cream with Persian Carrot Jam – Morabbâ-Ye Haveej on it. Here is a recipe:
5 C carrots, pureed
4 C sugar
2 C water
2 Tbsp slivered orange peel (to remove bitterness add cool water, boil for 3- 4 minutes, discard water, repeat 2-3 times)
Juice of 2 lemons/limes
5-6 cardamom
1 tsp rose water
Bring sugar and water to a boil, boil 5 minutes. Add carrots, continue boiling, stirring frequently. Skim foam, cook until it’s syrupy instead of watery, at least 45 minutes. In the last ten minutes of cooking add remaining ingredients. Pour into sterile jars, cap, and keep refrigerated.
