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Herald & Lantern 13 lanuary '82

27

TeaTure^

The Day the Gingerbread House Came Crumbling Down

by Libby Demp Forrest "ft’ll talce a year to restore," red-haired, freckled Nora Dougherty, 11, explained as she described the aftermath of winning the gingerbread gingerbread house featured in the Dec. 16 issueof the Herald & Lantern. "I was so thrilled when the Whale's Tale (gift show] called and I had found out I had won the gingerbread house. I thought it was the best Christmas present.” But inside of 15 minutes after it was delivered the Dougherty's late-VictoHan Cape May home, just around the corner from the Whale’s Tale, Bandit, the part beagle, terrier “and m%ybe shepherd" family dog, caused a Rube Goldberg fracas that brought down the roof of the ginger-

AS.IT APPEARED in the Animal Welfare Society benefit display at the Whale’s Tale before Christmas.

FRESH WINTER SALAD GREENS

Watercress is a common wild food that grows abundantly near streams in every state, as well as in southern Canada. This little plant makes for great winter salads, but thrives all year round. Even when the temperature plunges well below zero, you can still count on that cress. If you decide to cultivate the wildling, it'll probably be the easiest "garden" plant you'll ever attempt to grow ... especially if you're lucky enough to have a spring or stream on your property. Once you've planted a few sprigs of wild cress in the water, you’U find that this member of the pepper family will thrive and multiply with great speed. About all you should have to do is harvest sortie of the foliage from time to time, which seems only to encourage the plant to grow even faster. MOTHER-reader Wulf Knausenberger reports that, during the winter. Watercress leaves stay at or near the surface of the water bubbling from his family's spring in New Jersey ... and Wulf harvests them by snipping off the upper part'bf the plants with a pair of scissors or a knife (carefully, so their roots won't be dislodged). By late spring, the cress starts growing in earnest and becomes too coarse and too peppery for most folks' taste. That's when it also starts producing hundreds of tiny white flowers. Once the blooms have passed their prime, Wulf does a once-s-year thinning, to create room for new growth. But what if you don't have a spring of clear, pure water. or you can't find a crop growing at a nearby stream? No problem. You can raise enough watercress for your family right in your home! Take a fair-sized fish Unk, put a^small amount of good compost and soil in its bottom, and poke in a few slips of the plant (Nasturtium officinale). Then fill the conUiner with water up to about two or three inches above the soil level. The «tems should quickly root themselves and be off and running. Other than harvesting a few tops from time to time, you should have to do little for the cress but siphon out the tank's old water whenever it becomes cloudy and refill the container with fresh. You can use the tasty plants in more than just salads or the dainty little watercress sandwiches that are popular at bridge parties. They make good "boiling greens" when served like spinach, and are great as a stir-fried addition to a wok meal. Before you head for the nearest stretch of running water, though, heed this word of warning about gathering wild cress from just any stream. Nowadays, you have to be aware of the amount of pollution in the water in which the cress is growing. If you suspect that your favorite brook is contaminated, soak your foraged harvest in water containing dissolved Halazone tablets. The tablets can be purchased at almost any drugstore, and should be uied according to the label's directions.

For FREE •ddiiionil inlofmaiion on wild foods Of 00 THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS* $»nd y ouf nsme and •ddfMS snd ask (of Reprint No 816 Salad Greens All Winter Long Mail to Doing MORE With LESS'. PO Bo» 70 Hendersonville N C 28701. or care oMhis paper %

"I couldn’t believe it," Nora said, her green eyes narrowing, "It’s ironic, in a way, when you think about it. because we adopted Bandit from the Animal Welfare Society which benefilted from the gingerbread hoiise drawing. I think Bandit was very ashamed of herself after it happerted because I started to cry. I got hysterical. I couldn’t stop'cryihg.” BANDIT PERKED UP her ears as Nora mentioned her name and jumped up on her mistress, but Nora said, "Down, Bandit. Let me finish telling what happened According to Nora, the gingerbread gingerbread house was delivered to the Dougherty home and placed on a “JPe think the cat got vacuumed up... ” marble-topped table alongside the vestibule door. The table Is ordinarily a catchall for school books and other paraphernalia deposited by Nora and her 10-year bid brother Tim, also red-haired and freckled, as they go to and from Cape May City Elementary School. The large wood-framed mihror over the table allows them to check »n their appearance or make a face or two before hurrying out the door. •Everyone was very excited Christmas Eve when the gingerbread house arrived," Nora recalled. "The Whale's Tale had just called and I had run over there to have my picture taken with the gingerbread house /or (he newspaper just like I was a real celebrity. It was so ex citing. I" AFTER THE GINGERBREAD gingerbread house was ensconced in the Dougherty's house, which has its own socalled gingerbread ornamentation outside, Nora went to straighten the rug in front of the table, which stands next to the vestibule door, which opens inward, when Bandit jumped up on Nora, which caused her to fall against the gingerbread house, and as she fell against the table, the mirror came crashing down on top of the gingerbread house. T thought why does everything happen to me? Nora remembers. "Arid then I started to cry. I went rushing to Mom." Mrs. Mary Dougherty'assessed the damage with Nora and Tim and while the gingerbread gingerbread house had sustained serious structural injury, she consoled Nora b> telling her she'd help rebuild the house. "I know it's going to take a lot of work,"‘Nora said as she munched on potato chips. "We still have the basic sections although we’re missing most of the non pareils and gumdrops and candy canes because Tim and I ate them Scmetimes when I look at the peanut brittle fences I get awfully tempted to edt them too. Then we'll have to make sbme more. When we get started putting Vhe house back together we’re going to buy a lot of candy to fill in the empty places. It's going to be a Ipt of fun." NORA SAID SHE MIGHT use gingerbread fill’ to fasten the sections of the house back together. "I had

AT RECENT gathering of Middle Twp. High School alumni, Brenda Keith of the flass of *81 shows high school guidance director Francis Larkin some of the work she’s been doing at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

Trees Being Used W. CAPE MAY - The borough is picking up discarded Christmas trees throughout the community now thru Jan.'22. The trees — to be used to help stabilize the S. Cape May dune — should be piaced in the front yard where they will be visible from the street

Spring Plants Talk AVALON — Production of Spring Plants, featuring a demonstration on how to start plants from seed by a Cumberland County College representative, will be provided during the 10 a m Jan. 18 meeting of the Garden Club in the Avalon Room of borough hall.

!t» SOVERBON CTATI of AFFAIRS

I HEAR YOU'RE INTO ATHLETICS

THAT’S TRUE. I'M AN AVID BOWLER

A CLOSEUP* shows the icing 'gingerbread' on the gingerbread gingerbread house — before it came crashing down.

• hoped to save the original fcihgerbread gingerbread house forever and forever." Nora said "We had talked about varnishing it so we could take it out every Christmas. But when we’re done with the'restoration' we're still going to varnish it." The marzipan children, marzipan Meatball the dog and marzipan Santa Claus are mostly intact although MOat ball is missing one ear and some parts of the marzipan cat k are missing! "We think the cat accidentally got vacqumed up when we were cleaning orte day. But I'll make another cat and I'll figure o^l a way to make a new ear for Meat ball. I don’t think dog ears arc too hard to make," Nora said. Asked if she had considered gobbling up the marzipad figures. Nora said sometimes she feels tempted. When asked if she would eat'them head or feet first, she said matter-of-factly,' "Oh, neither. I'd just gulp them down all at once. Yum, yum." BUT NORA ADMITTED she hadn't found the ginger bread portions of the house as appetizing as she had thought they would be. "After the house fell apart, I nibbl ed a little bit oftthe house," Nora said, "but I didn't really like the taste too much. I preferred the candy portions a lot more. They were delicious " . Nora says she's looking forward to rebuilding the gingerbread gingerbread housq. ‘it's going to take a lot of w«rk, w she said, "and a.lot of supplies." "I hope I don’t go broke," Mrs Dougherty added. As Nora sees it. the gingerbread house rebuilding will go in spurts. “It'll take a-good year to do," she said "We'll probably get into it for awhile and then slacken off You know how it goes with restoration." Nora says she’s kepi busy, with school work, reading, playing the piano, rolldi- skating, horseback riding, play ing with Bandit and "fighting with my brother " Asked if she enjoys school, Nora said, "Oh, you can say I like school, but put in parenthesis ‘ha, ha ' Everyone will know what you mean.". (Reporter's note: Proceeds of the, drawing for the gingerbread house drawing amounted'to $200 benofitting the Animal Welfare Society.) Libby Demp Forrest is a freelance writer in Cape May

Special Events For Children

COURT HOUSE - TWO special events for children are being staged this month at the County Library. A feature film starring f Rebecca Page about a young girl's fight to sa ve an over-the-hill show horse is -being shovyn this Friday evening at 7:30? TbC girl's diligence in working with the horse and her final victory at a county show make this an excellertt film for youngsters and a treat for people who love horses. Pinocchio’s 100th anniversary is being celebrated by the library in a special event scheduled for Jan. 20 at 6:30 p m The party will include dramatic

tellings of two Pinocchio adventures and a puppet workshop where par ticipants will transform socks and plastic bottles into puppet characters Each participant is asked to bring an empty plastic bottle to the party Auditioins Set CAPE MAY j- Auditions for the Jersey Cape Performing Art Guild’s production of the children’s musical Oyster Crackers, Undershirts and Mauve Lemonade, will be 7 p.m. January 22 and 23 in city hall auditorium For more informatiort call 844-00^. DAVID BOYD

SO FAR I'VE SEEN THE ROSE BOWL, SUN BOWL ORANGE BOWL. TANGARINE BOWL, PEACH BOWL. SUGAR BOWL. COTTON BOWL. GATOR BOWL, FIESTA BOWL CALIFORNIA BOWL, HALL

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