For those of you who are loyal column readers, you know that I typically use punctuation as a means of inferring meaning into my written statements. Most writers do because a punctuation mark guides a reader into not only how they express what they read, but also how they feel about what they read.
Whenever I feel excited or emotional about a statement or even a word, I add an exclamation mark. Sometimes, I turn ordinary statements into complex thoughts of wonder simply by adding a question mark. Mostly, I use periods because I prefer to string together a story, adding only intermittent moments of excitement or wonder. In this column, you may have noticed that I started with a bit of a paradox.
Smash is certainly a word that should incite feelings of excitement or even wonder. But I have, quite purposely, chosen instead, to use a period. I shall tell you why…
We have a small orchard with several types of fruit trees. Our orchard trees are still on the young side and have only, somewhat consistently, produced peaches. I use the word consistent to mean that our apple and pear trees have not yielded much, if any, of a crop over the years whereas our peach trees have. Although last year a late frost wiped us out completely. But I love peaches, and I absolutely love making peach preserves. Never one to consistently speak in puns, when it comes to peaches, I will always declare that peaches … are my jam. And when it comes to making my peach preserves, I guard my recipe and my process like that of a lioness guarding her young.
This year, we have had a banner crop of peaches. And they are delicious. They are perfect for eating and, more importantly, they have contributed to making my preserves extra excellent. But, because we had so many peaches, my home pots were too small. I needed to use a large, commercial-sized pot.
And so, I gathered my ingredients and my most important cooking utensil, my potato masher, and headed to a commercial kitchen to make my preserves. Upon viewing the pot size and depth, I quickly realized that my short potato masher was not going to be effective. I put it aside and found a long-handled smasher better suited for the task. It didn’t matter. In full secretive disclosure, it is not important WHAT I carefully smash my peaches with, only WHEN and HOW I smash my peaches, mushing them into a juicy and chunky pulp. Smashing too early and too aggressively ruins the peaches’ ability to most effectively release their precious flavor. Smashing too late and too gently, makes the peaches stringy and tough rather than soft and succulent. I would even go so far as to imply that, for me, the smashing of the peaches is the most important part of the process and absolutely should not be a smash! But rather, a simply stated and highly effective…smash. After gently yet authoritatively smashing my peaches at just the right time in the cooking process, I cleaned up. But I got distracted and couldn’t find my potato masher. Several hours later I did find it, tucked inside my purse next to my wallet. I giggled…
Shhh! Shhh!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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