People like to eat, people like to drink. Eating and drinking is something that is rooted deeply in our way of life. Cooking is part of a culture. Preparing food is creating something. Cooking is a way of life that gives form to the relationships between people. Eating together brings sociability and is a symbol for solidarity. It's sharing a piece of intimacy.
"I never prepare it with beer, like the recipe normally goes, mine is with treacle."
"I learned it from my cousin Eugenie, who went out hunting a lot. That was in the fifties of last century." My grandmother told me this, while we were standing in her kitchen and prepared rabbit with plums. Finally, after six months, my grandmother and I looked for some time to prepare her favorite dish. This morning, at 10 o'clock I walked into the kitchen of my mother's mother, a 79 year old woman who is known as a sweet busybody, where she already was preparing the rabbit legs. It was nice, cooking together with her, while talking about her and mine family background.
"And what about your parents?" I asked. "What where they like? What was the name of my great grandfather again?" She thought about it for a while and then became restless. "I don't know anymore." she confessed timidly. "That is what is happening when you become older, you start to forget." She walked to the cabinet in the dining room where the pictures of her parents are standing on. "Come on father", she asked to the man at one of the pictures, "what's your name again?" The picture kept silent and my grandmother started to search for some documents, so she could remember the name again. "Aha, here it is, his name was, of course", and she nodded her head, "Edmond."
Rabbit with plums
Ingredients for 3.
3 rabbit legs
some cut up bacon, lets say 200 g
1 coarsely diced onion
20 dried plums
some good butter
little bit of vinegar
a spoon of treacle
pepper & salt
Instructions.
In large pot or Dutch oven, heat the butter. First brown the bacon & onion. Add the rabbit legs; sauté until tender. Put some salt & pepper on it and pour some water in the pot. Keep warm for about two or three hours. Add plums & syrup. Sprinkle some vinegar on the meat. Cover & simmer 45 minutes. You can serve applesauce and fried potatoes with it.