Porcupines
On the left is a beautiful portrait of Mom (commissioned by Dad for an occasion - either a big birthday or anniversary?) by our family friend, Lucy Brooke. When Lucy learned of Mom’s death, she sent us her study photos. The middle image features the mountain dulcimer that Dad had made as a gift for Mom’s high school graduation (they were together even back then!). It is made from leftover pecky cypress wood which was used in the house my Volberg grandparents built. (Note Mom’s cool Capezio shoes!) The right image shows Mom with Rosie, one of our cats. Despite the look on Rosie’s face, they really loved each other! Side note: these were taken on the front porch of 126 Mallette St.
As it was noted at her funeral, Mom was a surrogate mother to many people far and wide. She would effortlessly take someone under her wing and help them to recognize their strengths - all without them even realizing it. I think that’s why my sister and I felt so encouraged to pursue our interests. We never doubted our support! Although, I do remember a rather stern conversation with my father where he told us we should become plumbers or electricians as “back up”. I don’t know why he would be concerned that his children who trained in rather esoteric, and in my case, downright obsolete, professions (film photography and baroque cello) would be at risk of unemployment?!!
Mom was a nurturer. And, this extended to furry children as well. We always had cats: Shiner & Beamer when I was an infant. (Sunshine & Moonbeam. It was the 70s.) Beamer was found as a stray. They thought she was dark gray but then put her in the tub and she emerged a brilliant white kitty! An unfortunate run-in with a mockingbird rendered Beamer tail-less. I don’t remember much about these cats but I recall that they would hide behind the piano when I entered the room. Probably a good move.
After Shiner and Beamer died, my Uncle Frank gave us money to adopt kittens for Christmas one year. I picked Rosie (Rosemary - named after what I thought was the main street in Chapel Hill. I was wrong. She should have been named Franklin.) and Elisabeth picked Tessa. They were tortoiseshell cats, and they perfectly matched our wonderful craftsman house with all of its colors and textures. They were indoor/outdoor cats and they were damn smart. We had a chain lock on the back door (for some reason placed extremely low) and they would rattle that when they wanted to go out. When they were ready to come in, they would jump onto the narrow window ledge just behind the kitchen sink to let us know. These cats had places to go and things to do! They weren’t going to wait around for us humans to remember to open the door.
In grade school, hamsters were all the rage. My friends all had them and I was DESPERATE for a hamster. Mom surprised me one day by bringing not one but two (!) home from Doobie’s Pet World in the mall. I named them Tootsie & Fudge. (Laugh all you want, but I was a huge Judy Blume fan.) Anyway, Fudge killed Tootsie in an unfortunate Cain & Abel type situation and I was slightly less enamored with hamsters. That didn’t stop me from worrying about Fudge when he got out of his cage one morning and disappeared. Our house was large and it was, frankly, pretty likely that I’d never see him again. Well, that wasn’t going to happen on Dale Reed’s watch! I remember the secretary of Glenwood Elementary School coming into my classroom to report that Fudge had been found. Hallelujah! Mom searched high and low and found that little furball in the bottom of the subterranean furnace room. She must have searched all day. Mom cared about me. And, Mom cared about Fudge!
When Mom got diagnosed with terminal cancer, we spent a good amount of time talking about how she would like to live out her final days. Mom wanted to die in her house, surrounded by her family, and with a cat. Here’s the problem, they didn’t currently have a cat. Mom and Dad traveled too much for that to be sustainable. So, Dad put out an APB amongst friends requesting a “loaner cat”. And you know what? Miraculously, he found one! Foxtrot (or as my sister and I called him, “Foxy”) belonged to the son of a neighbor who was working abroad. He came for a visit and ended up staying until a little after Mom’s death. I remember finding him very comforting in the hours after she left.
So, in honor of Mom’s affinity with all creatures great and small, I’m sharing with you her recipe for Porcupines. They are essentially meatballs with a kind of yummy sloppy joe type sauce. The rice sticking out of the meatballs earns them the “porcupine” name. They are total comfort food. Mom suggested I make them for my kid when she wouldn’t eat anything of substance. I made these recently and subbed Beyond Meat for the beef. My suggestion, if you do that, is to saute the “meatballs” to toughen them up a little bit before putting them in the dish to cook. The raw Beyond Meat doesn’t stick together as well as the beef.
PORCUPINES
serves 4
Tomato Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
sauté till tender
1 can tomato soup and about ½ can water
[or 1 can tomato sauce and 2 more tablespoons brown sugar]
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
a little pepper
Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
½ cup uncooked rice
¼ cup minced onion
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Make meatballs (maybe 1 1/2” diameter?), arrange in baking dish or tureen (meatballs can be stacked), pour sauce over (make sure it fully covers meatballs or the rice won’t get cooked)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour
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