Easter Ham

Linda Burton posting from Sacramento, California — I grew up on Easter ham. Mother baked it long and slow, brown sugar on the top, fragrant cloves rowed up in diamond-pattern style. Potato salad made with egg, and mustard, pickle relish too. When I became the Mom, I changed the pickles out for celery; it was the 70’s, and freshness was in vogue. In recent years of living on my own, I’ve favored eating out; sit back and be catered to, I say.

Where in Sacramento would I find some Easter ham? I browsed the internet, made a list of brunches at the big hotels and fancy restaurants. Do I really want the $50 elegance? The stand-in-line, the crowd? I’d need a nap, lose an afternoon for sure. So, something else. The internet revealed a matinee, Woody Guthrie’s American Song. It just so happens I’ve been humming one of Woody’s tunes as I’ve been traveling west. » read more