Paige - Rindge, NH
The working title for the book about my sister, Paige and her kitchen, is called Hungry Family. With a partner, two children and another child on the way, there is always cooking or eating going on in her New Hampshire kitchen. On most days, consumption and creation happen simultaneously. On longer visits, I enjoy the transition from visitor to adjunct family member.
On Saint Patrick’s Day, Paige gave me full reign of her kitchen while she caught up with family on the other side of the house. I listened to Irish-Afro music, made Pad Thai and drank box wine. Cooking in my sister’s kitchen makes me feel essential and loved. Everyone eats like they’re starving and nothing is ever wasted with two compost buckets, one for the chickens and one for the garden.
Paige’s kitchen is my happy place, mostly because it’s her happy place. She cooks the food she craves and makes enough for everyone. It’s hard to believe that she doesn’t cater to her children’s taste but a combination of shrewd shopping and planning create options for everyone. Monday is soup night. She alternates making soup with another family and drops off on nights she cooks. Tuesday is Taco. Wednesday: Salad and Samis. Thursday: Pasta. Friday: Pie. Saturday: Meat and Veg and Sunday: Beans!
On this particular day, the last week before the Spring Equinox, two feet of snow accumulated in 24 hours.
The power blinked off at 7:30 Tuesday morning and stayed off until Thursday. In situations like this, Paige resorts to using a Coleman camp oven. Her partner Blaine kept the generator running intermittently through the day so the fridge would stay cool and the electric water pump had power. In situations like this, the cold weather has its own benefits and challenges. The unheated sun porch keeps things colder than the intermittent fridge and they can always melt snow for water. Lucky to have the warmth of a wood stove, it occupies the center of the kitchen, built into an original brick fireplace that dates from house’s inception in the 1800’s.
When I asked Paige what her favorite kitchen tools are, she touched the valves of her three pressure cookers she keeps on top of the stove. She loves to use her pressure cookers to expedite beans or meat she pulls from the freezer. She buys beef and pork directly from farmers she knows. She cans the vegetables she grows in her garden to extend eating beyond the growing season. One of her favorite pots belonged to her partner pre-family, a simple metal camp pot with a red insulated handle. They use it to reheat coffee all morning.
Right now her garden is still slumbering under a blanket of snow but there are signs of spring if you know how to look for them.
My sister, in her 40th week of pregnancy, reaches for the branch of a hazelnut sapling, “This is the flower she says, it’s small but I know what to look for.”