Brussel Sprouts and Jumbo Toes

Holiday Expectations

Folding dollhouse by Vicki Smith

Hello!

Portrait by a Neighbor

Before she has her floor swept

         Or her dishes done,

Any day you'll find her

         A-sunning in the sun!

It's long after midnight

         Her key's in the lock,

And you never see her chimney smoke

         Till past ten o'clock!

She digs in her garden

         With a shovel and a spoon,

She weeds her lazy lettuce

         By the light of the moon,

She walks up the walk

         Like a woman in a dream,

She forgets she borrowed butter

         And pays you back cream!

Her lawn looks like a meadow,

         And if she mows the place

She leaves the clover standing

         And the Queen Anne's lace!

The poem was written by Edna St. Vincent Millay and published in A Few Figs from Thistles collection in 1920. I first read it in a poetry collection for children that belonged to my mom. I think that I found the poem appealing because I could picture this independent woman living in a cozy, little house doing things her own way. Millay was born in Maine in 1892 to a mother who shared and nurtured her love for literature. She helped take care of her two younger sisters after her parents divorced in 1903. Millay’s mother, Cora, and the three girls moved around New England eking out a meager living. She describes in her diary working long days at home cooking, cleaning, washing, and ironing and the strain that this put on her body. So perhaps, the idyllic setting of the poem that I picture was not what Millay had in mind.

The three sisters were independent of thought and outspoken, attributes that were not appreciated by authority figures as they went through school. Finances would not allow Millay to continue her education beyond high school until a well-to-do admirer of her poetry offered to pay her way through Vassar College. Edna St. Vincent Millay was a Jazz Age feminist who grew up in a liberal, artistic environment that tolerated women smoking and drinking. She had numerous transient affairs with both sexes, something that was not so uncommon among women of Vassar at that time.

The moment that Thanksgiving ended we began to see signs of Christmas in our town as pumpkins mingled with evergreen wreaths on front porches. It all made me think of the pressure that we put upon ourselves with shopping, decorating, gift wrapping, and baking. This year, despite the turkey reaching the ideal temperature long ahead of schedule and some plumbing problems with our well as I was finishing up preparing the stuffing, the meal was one of the best I have ever prepared. So going forward into the Christmas season, I plan to take things in my stride, the way I have always pictured the protagonist in the poem.

Sauteed brussel sprouts were an easy addition to our holiday table. I simply cut them in half, sauteed them for about 15 minutes in olive oil, drizzled them with honey and lime that I heated in the microwave, and topped them with pistachios. On Wednesday I made an apple pie using Melissa Clark’s buttery recipe for pie dough. Since I had some extra dough after lining the pie plate I did what my mom always did when I was growing up and made what she referred to as Jumbo Toes. I cut the scraps of dough into strips, sprinkled them with sugar and cinnamon, and rolled them up into pinwheels. These were consumed directly from the oven as they are best eaten while still warm. Over the weekend I made pie crust with the sole purpose of making Jumbo Toes. I made some with cinnamon and sugar and some with fig jam in honor of Millay’s A Few Figs from Thistles.

Jumbo Toes

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

10 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2-4 T. ice water

Fig jam and/or cinnamon and sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add butter. Begin to blend in butter with a large fork or pastry cutter. Use your fingers to blend and flatten the butter pieces, rubbing them into the flour until they resemble flour-covered cornflakes.

Slowly add ice water, one tablespoon at a time. Mix with your hands until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten into a dish with the heel of your hand. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 2 days.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board into a square shape that is approximately 10 x 10 inches. Cut the dough into strips that are one inch wide and ten inches long. (this doesn’t have to be exact, the ones in the picture were 1 1/2 inches wide). Spread each strip with a thin layer of fig jam or sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar. Roll into pinwheel shapes.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Vicki