Tag Archives: mother

Corned Beef

Corned Beef

to: my mother who made the best CB ever

Katherine Mansfield paid tribute 
to the Corned Beef;
well browned. But red is the true Corned Beef.
(Brined by the butcher or yourself.)

She mentioned plenty of gravy
so I doubt KM's was brined.
and horseradish sauce along with baked(?) Potatoes.

My best version Corned Beef: white sauce,
be it a horseradish or mustard, but
make it white
along with mashed potatoes (plenty pepper
and butter.)

Here we go from simmer
to a near two hour slow boil,
and what a good cook must add.

One tablespoon of golden syrup 
(if you haven't got golden syrup, honey will do.)
half a cup of malt vinegar.
Then sprinkle in a dozen or so cloves.
My friend sprinkles in peppercorns and bay leaf.
(She says start with cold water and bring to a slow boil.) 
Add sliced carrots:
peel a brown onion,
quarter and add to the water
along with the 3 c's Corned Beef, Cloves and Carrots.
Place in an own pot, sliced cabbage:
which must not be over-cooked.

May twenty-twenty-three be the year of Corned Beef.

Benita Helen Kape (c) 18.1.2023
(Helen: also my Mum's name.)
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Another World

An elite couple
dancing on the beach.
Raindrops cannot
dampen spirits.
Nor show they a care
to butler and maid
whose umbrellas
attempt to shield them.
Selfishly the waltz
continued.

Little maid, as I muse
so like my mother.
Did you get a chill?

Benita H. Kape (c) 11.1.2022

Notes: This poem is based on a famous Scottish painting
by Jack Vettriano named “The Singing Butler.”
Self taught Jack Vettriano faced much snobbery.

Today for: https://dversepoets.com/2022/01/10/quadrille-143-muse-cues/ We are to write a quadrille incorporating the word “muse.” I muse often on my mother and the very different life she had.

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