In the spirit of the Christmas
I crave a bite of Christmas cake
No, not just any cake is Christmas cake
I mean cake made like my mom's, yes like your mom’s too
I can still imagine and see it
Feel it, smell it and taste it
Truly I never tasted any other cake like Mom's
I am sure every mom has her secret recipes
So every mom's cake tastes distinct as the mom
For want of a better name, I called it home-made cake
And I remember the contents so well
The real deal was how and where Mom baked it
The contents included nutmeg, raisins, colourings and flavourings
For the baking, we had no gas or electric oven
So Mom resorted to baking the old, natural way
We made fire with wood and we used the big iron pots
Inside the pot was a foundation of sand that we pre-heat
Then we placed the baking pans filled with the cake batter
And we covered the pot with its iron lid
We placed some burning firewood on the lid to balance the heating
Mom checked the progress often by carefully lifting the iron pot lid
Before long the cake was ready evenly baked and brown
If a few were over-baked, we children knew how to discard them
If you know, you know
This Christmas I reminisce on Mom's long-gone Christmas cakes
I equally miss her rich Christmas stew, afia-efere and usung-abia
So, if your mom is still around, enjoy her while she lasts
And may you live long to reminisce about her in future.
Obo Effanga
(December 23, 2024)
#OEpOEms
