A year ago September, my mother-in-law, Ardis Arneson, passed away.
Ardis was a woman of immense common sense. “Don’t hurry,” she would tell me, “there is no point, you only get old.”
This time last year, we were cleaning out Ardis’ apartment. Everything was neat and orderly.
“Put everything in its place, and you be able to find it,” she would say on her visits to Alberta while she sorted out my linen closet this summer.
Having grown up in a pioneer family on a rocky farm in Saskatchewan, Ardis had skills that transcend fast food, shopping malls and email. Letters were written by hand, she made everyone flannel pyjamas for Christmas and her freezer was full of peas, carrots and saskatoon berries.
My husband Mark did not want much from his mother’s home. We brought home a large bowl for mixing cookie batter and a hand-knit woollen sweater.
The great keepsake Mark saved is Ardis’ recipe box. Within the box, Ardis’ fondness for order is apparent, as are the varied interest of her lively mind. In Ardis’ recipe box is the story of an insightful, practical woman who had a flare for style.
Let’s see what I will find in it today.
On a yellowed recipe card dated 1979, I find a plan for her vegetable garden.
The heading says, Veg. Go Together. Ardis’ garden, before she moved to her apartment, was the entirety of her backyard. It was a large lot. In this particular garden she grew potatoes next to garlic and turnips between peas and beans. The onions were planted beside lettuce, parsnips and spinach.
Marigolds, dahlias and nasturtiums brighten the boarders. Ardis was delighted when we made a body cream with her marigold petals. “After all these years, I finally have a use for them.” Although Ardis had a fine eye for beauty, she loved to have a use for everything.
What else in this box today.
Oh, my favourite — Gooseberry Relish:
4 cups of prepared fruit
1 tsp cloves
7 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 package of certo
¼ cup water
¼ cup cider vinegar
First prepare fruit. Stem and crush 2 quarts fully ripe fruit. Add 1 teaspoon each cloves & cinnamon, ¼ cup water and ¼ cup cider vinegar. Bring to a boil; stir constantly. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Measure 4 cups into large saucepan. Add 7 cups sugar. Mix well. Place over high heat. Bring to full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. At once stir in certo. Skim for 5 minutes to cool slightly to prevent floating fruit. Ladle into glasses.
Last summer, Ardis and I picked the gooseberries on the bush in the backyard. I told her about the recent research into the gooseberries anti-oxidant effects. “They think it may help prevent to spread of cancer.” Ardis was amazed. “We took bushes and bushes out at the farm to make room from more potatoes.”
This past Thanksgiving we used the last of Ardis’ gooseberry relish.
Plants make anti-oxidants to protect themselves from the sun radiation. Like Ardis, nature is economical and everything has a use. Most of the medicine plants make for themselves, like anti-oxidants, can be used as medicine for humans as well.
What is an anti-oxidant? A simple definition is: anti-oxidants protect cells from oxidation. A more thorough explanation is: think of someone on oxygen. No one is supposed to smoke while on oxygen because oxygen is a volatile combustible. Kerr-boom! When an oxygen molecule is loose in the body, it tends to burn through cell membranes and disturbs DNA sequences. This disruption creates renegade cells which are blamed for enhancing the aging process.
If an oxygen molecule is attached to another molecule, for example hydrogen, it losses it’s volatility. This is the role of anti-oxidants from plants in the body. They bind loose oxygen molecules, also called free radicals, so they can cause no harm.
Berries, like the gooseberry, are usually high in anti-oxidants. Rose hips, (last weekend was the perfect time to harvest wild rose hips), are extremely high in anti-oxidants. Saskatoons and raspberries also have substantial levels of anti-oxidants.
For good health, try Ardis’ gooseberry relish. It will be worth the effort. And take her advice slow down.
Herbs for Life is written by Abrah Arneson, a local clinical herbalist. It is intended for information purposes only. Readers with a specific medical problem should consult a doctor. For more information, visit www.abraherbalist.ca. Arneson can be reached at abrah@shaw.ca.