Saturday, November 29, 2008

Ambrosia

Ambrosia- Am-bro-sia ( Greek) - food of the gods, a Southern delicacy

In Mississippi, my Nonnie would cut up oranges. Lots and lots of oranges. Whoever could use a knife would volunteer to cut the oranges. I even remember my cousin Steve, who was only into watching and playing football, cut up oranges. His favorite thing about Thanksgiving and Christmas was the ambrosia!

Orange sections cut up, pineapple, coconut, pecan pieces, maybe a little sugar and a cherry on top. This is Ambrosia with a capital A! A Southern tradition in my family.

It could take all afternoon to cut up enough oranges to fill up the largest bowl we had, which was usually the top of the cake dome. This took time. And there were so many of us that we had to cut a lot, because it would disappears so fast! There would be trouble if anybody wasted a bite of their ambrosia. Take only what you can eat. It was like pure gold!

Your fingers will sting with the acid from the oranges and you will probably get a callous from the knife blade. But the reward is worth it! Ambrosia is delicious, but it really brings back the wonderful memories of everyone peeling oranges, visiting with each other, and sharing in the fruits of our labors!

Just taking that first spoonful of ambrosia up to my mouth reminds me of my sweet grandaddy having his first bite. Joy!

1 comment:

Leslie said...

Yum!! I can see Nonnie, Grandaddy,mom,dad,and Aunt Betty peeling oranges right now. Aunt Betty's red hot apple cider ready for us when there was a break.Nonnie's divinity and Japanese fruitcake(not your normal fruitcake) for dessert. Mom's date nut balls and buckeyes. Christmas music playing all day, and the guys watching Mississippi football games on TV. Oh the Life!!!
Love you,
sis