Saturday, February 9, 2008

Reading Rapunzel

Very Reverend Vegetables

The earthy hag Mistress Gotel condemns Rapunzel in the severest manner and her accusation is telling: “Ach, you godless child,” she cries. Rapunzel’s crimes are apparently lying and godlessness, strange concerns we might think coming from a sorceress. Mistress Gotel seems to know that where God is not seen or even glimpsed, failure and misery follow. The fairy tale does not prescribe or explain a precise understanding of God. But rather it is the affront on faith itself that is so corrosive.
Here is how the poet Thomas Gray described the area where he lived: “Both vale and hill are covered with most venerable beeches and other very reverend vegetables…” Mistress Gotel would have certainly approved of this sentiment.


Very Rapunzel Salad:
In the spirit of Frau Gotel and her garden, the ingredients for a Very Rapunzel Salad should be all organic, seasonal produce, grown in your own community wherever possible. To make the Michigan version of a Very Rapunzel Salad I add dried cherries, sliced pears, locally made goat’s cheese, and toasted chopped walnuts. To make the Most Rapunzel Salad: I use greens that have been grown in my own garden (or a community garden or garden of your choice that you can visit and where you can harvest the herbs yourself). The greens must be cut in the very early morning hours before it’s too hot and the ground is still cool. How you approach the herb is entirely up to you and your local ordinances.

1 bunch organic greens, washed and dried
½ cup toasted and chopped walnuts (or locally grown nut)
1 apple, sliced into ½ inch pieces OR
1 pear, sliced into ½ inch pieces (OR: a locally grown fruit)
1 handful Michigan dried cherries
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
Crumbled goat’s cheese or stilton cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons vinegar

For the Most Rapunzel Salad:
Germanic tribes considered Herbs potent healing agents, but even more potent were words.
Incantation while cutting the herb:
If you’re still reading you must have an inkling that only you alone can write the incantation. Use the same incantation as the prayer before eating the salad.


Further reading, the fairy tale Rapunzel:

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2015/02/happy-valentines-day-rapunzel.html

FairyTaleChannel.com