It's WHATEVER Time or Who is Esmeralda and Why Does She Visit Lilydale?

Welcome back to The Whatevers. I hope you have enjoyed the stories and recipes so far. Let's take a look at the goings on at Lilydale, NY.

Who Was Esmeralda and Why Did She Visit Lilydale?

 I remember the first time I saw Esmeralda pull up in her brightly colored wagon. She was so different from all the others who came to visit at Lilydale. It was like all the colors in the world just got brighter and brighter, like the colors exploded and sparkled.

She pulled up in back of the hotel kitchen and when Mama saw her pull in she got a terrible expression on her face. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and ran out the back door right to the wagon. The minute Esmeralda saw my Mama she fell from the truck and into Mama’s arms. It was such a curios sight because I never saw Mama act like that before.

They were hugging and crying at the same time. I thought Mama was happy but she kept looking around the yard to see if others had seen the new arrival. She was tense and nervous as she quietly spoke to this strange woman.  Esmeralda opened the small door to the covered wagon and out jumped two young girls, dressed in the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen in my life. Nothing compared to the simple dresses I wore everyday. They even had headdresses on that matched their dresses.

At the same time Papa came around to the back of the hotel and he too had this very strange look on his face when he saw the new arrivals. He quickly ran over to Esmeralda and grabbed her in a big bear hug but I could see he was also nervous. He quickly went to the horses and moved the wagon behind the barn where no one ever wandered while Mama ushered Esmeralda and her two daughters into the kitchen. They were speaking a language I had never heard before even though I heard both of my parents speak in different languages, Mama often spoke German while Papa spoke Italian and French.

Analetta and Rosella hid behind Esmeralda as they moved into the kitchen. They were as curious to see me as I was  to see them. Finally Mama brought them over and introduced us to each other. I would soon discover that Esmeralda was my Papa’s sister who many years ago had run off with a Gypsy Prince. She was never allowed to come back home but somehow Mama and Papa stayed in touch.

When the Gypsy Prince died suddenly Esmeralda started off hoping to find this place called Lilydale. She knew that Mama and Papa had finally moved to this strange place. Little did I know the extent of the entire goings on at Lilydale but I was soon to find out the real truth.

It was decided that Esmeralda would help Mama in the hotel kitchen but there was no room for them to stay. It wasn’t really a problem because the small wagon really was where they preferred to sleep; it was the only home they had ever known.

It was getting close to the hotel dinnertime and Esmeralda pitched right in to help Mama make her famous meat pies. Mama called them Bierocks but I called them delicious! All the young ones were sent to bed while Mama and Papa caught all the news with Esmeralda. I wish I could have stayed and listen because I could tell this story wasn’t over and that it really had just started!

Here's the RECIPE:

BIEROCKS/RUNZA {10-12}

Frozen bread dough or 16 ounces hot roll mix

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups cabbage, shredded

2 cups onions, chopped

1 shredded carrot {optional}

3 minced garlic cloves

OPTIONAL:

1 teaspoon caraway seed

1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubes or 1/2 lb swiss cheese, grated or 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Brown ground beef, onion  and minced garlic in skillet.

DO NOT DRAIN!

Add shredded cabbage & carrots, salt and pepper to meat and onions and cover. Stirring occasionally.

While cabbage and meat mixture is cooking, follow the recipe steps 1 - 4 on the Hot Roll mix. Don't form into shapes.

When dough is ready, pull off small balls of dough and roll out.

Place meat mixture into middle of the dough.

Fold the dough around the meat mixture.

Place on baking sheet and cook at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Here are links to the other creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what these fabulous artists have created.

• Catherine Matthews Scanlon
• Cuchy Sanchez
• Nathalie Kalbach  
• Vickie Chrisman

If you would like to play along it's not to late to join in. Here are all the details that you need to know.

Here is how it works ~

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Nathalie and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
• There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

HERE IS THE PHOTO FOR THIS MONTH'S WHATEVERS:

Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me. I'm looking forward to next month's Whatevers.