Good Friends, beware! The only life we know flies from us like an arrow from the bow . . . the Caravan of Life is moving by. Quick! To your places in the passing show. (Omar Khayyam)
I am here today to tell you a tiny tale from the annals and collected volumes of a little-known group known as the Sisters Six. It is a rather uninteresting tale (except perhaps to those involved), but just in case the author chooses to share other, more explosive tales from these annals, the beloved reader must have a bit of a back-story. So without further ado:
Once upon a time there were No sisters. There was only one small, lonely little girl, who prayed every night for a sister. After a long time, her prayer was answered, and a little sister came to grace her life. She soon found, however, that sisters weren’t all they were cracked up to be. That first sister took lotsa getting used to. But Sisters are Sisters for life, and so they grew up together, and loved and learned from each other.
Eventually, she grew up and went out into the world to seek her fortune. Now the little sister was left alone with No Sisters, and she learned that this business of having no sisters was a lonely affair, too. By the time that she, too, had gone out into the world to seek her fortune, both sisters agreed that they needed More Sisters.
Now it just so happened that there were four other girls growing up at the same time in all different parts of the country, and each of them had No Sisters. But Time and Fate had their way, and through the twists and turns of life, all of them came to know each other.
How, you say? Truly, the Angels must have been at work in the whole affair, for their lives were very different. One was a mother and teacher; one was an athlete with an incurable wanderlust; one a rather absentminded (if the truth be told) professor; one a shrink who worried and wondered; another a horse-woman and computer-whiz; and the last, a lover of all life.
But Angels will not be thwarted, and sister souls will seek each other out regardless of time and space.
And so, in this mysterious way, the Sisters Six came into being.
So much for the origin of these quirky, eccentric sisters. Suffice it to say that they had a mighty fine time on the occasional occasions upon which they would gather. At these times, their habit was to prepare and eat only “Mermade Bits,” a take-off on the 1990 movie Mermaids, starring Cher as a whimsical single mom, who only created bits and pieces (rather than entire meals) for her kids.
Mermade Bits finally resulted in a world-famous Sisters Six cookbook entitled Mermade Bits and Banquets, which made the six sisters fabulously rich. Included below is one of my very favorite recipes from this book:
Mushroom Almond Pate
1 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup butter, 1 small chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 lb. sliced mushrooms, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves, 1/8 tsp white pepper, and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Spread almonds in shallow pan and toast in a 350 oven until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Melt butter, and sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme, and pepper until onion is soft, and most of pan juices have evaporated. In a food processor or blender, whirl almonds to form a paste, and with motor running, add oil and whirl until creamy. Add mushroom mixture and whirl until pate is smooth Serve with crackers, chapaties, or whatever you like as a carrier.
Yum. Try it, food of the gods, or if not, certainly food of the mermaids. And with sliced fresh tomato with chopped basil, whoooo doggies . . . .
