Mangia! Mangia!
Neighborhood of bedbugs, edible weeds
ANTOINETTE JACKSON

It's the first home I remember: 3403 West Ohio, a three-story red brick building on the North Side of Chicago.

Strong and sturdy, it was like a fortress against the outside world.

During the cold winter days, most families stayed indoors.

If they didn't pull down their shades at night, we could look inside their homes.

As they sat around the radio, some adults read books and newspapers.

Others played cards or did jigsaw puzzles.

The older children did their homework at the kitchen table while the younger ones played with coloring books and paper dolls.

At the first sign of spring, like creatures awakening from hibernation, whole families came down out of their apartments. Foremost was to gather the first dandelions and mustard greens of the season before they produced yellow flowers and the leaves became bitter.

Using their best knives, the men dug up the spring delicacies then put them into brown paper shopping bags held by children like me.

The women cooked the fresh picked mustard greens with pasta. Wild dandelions, tossed with extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, made the best salad ever.

Antoinette and playmate Robert circa 1940

With warmer weather, the older men played bocce ball on the lawns in front of the apartments.

The women sat outside visiting with each other. Young mothers watched their younger children pedal their tricycles or play games on the sidewalk.

By summertime, the ragweed in the lot next to us was as tall as a grown man. It didn't look nice and wasn't safe to play around.

In retrospect, I wonder if all that ragweed pollen contributed to my lifetime of allergies.

Mom and Dad jokingly called our home the "Bedbug House."

One evening, we came home from visiting my Grandma's house.

Daddy flipped on the light switch and Mom screamed.

There, looking like a border of black icicles around the molding was an army of bedbugs marching down through the ceiling.

In the morning, my mother called the building superintendent who then called the exterminator.

The dastardly intruders stayed away for a while, only to return for another dose of DDT.

Mom said Mrs. Goldberg and her daughter were not very good housekeepers and that's why they had bedbugs.

Daddy explained the Goldbergs' only child Lily was a spoiled little girl who grew up to be a spoiled adult.

All day long she sat on the sofa reading magazines and eating bonbons. She became so overweight that no young men ever courted her.

Mr. Goldberg blamed his wife for not rearing the child in the proper ways of homemaking and nutrition.

He often admonished her in front of an open window.

"You spoiled my Lily," Mr. Goldberg was overheard saying.

It became a phrase that Daddy loved to mimic. Later in my life the story became a lesson in cleanliness.

In the summer of l944, when I was five, we left the comfort of the old neighborhood and moved to our own house on the South Side.

Sometimes, especially in the springtime when the first dandelions appear, I can almost see the old men playing bocce ball on the lawn. I can smell the ragweed and hear the mothers chattering.

And just for a moment, I feel like that carefree child who rode my tricycle while my dear sweet mother watched over me.

Mustard Greens with Linguini

Fresh mustard greens have a pungent and slightly bitter flavor. The tomatoes, garlic and olive oil in Mom's recipe cut that bitterness and enhance their naturally peppery taste.

1 bunch fresh mustard greens 1 cup water 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon tomato paste 8 cups water 1 tablespoon salt 3/4 pound linguini

Wash and drain mustard greens.

Cut the tough center rib away from each leaf, then cut each leave into 2 inch pieces.

Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add greens and salt. Simmer for about 15 minutes until just tender.

While greens are cooking, bring pasta water to a boil. Add salt and linguini. Cook to al dente and set aside.

Drain and set aside mustard greens, reserving water.

In a large pan, lightly brown garlic, stir in tomato paste, and carefully add drained greens.

Bring to a simmer, add pasta and heat together, adding reserved water if too dry. Remove from heat and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Or in East Texas, serve as a side dish with hot corn bread.

Serves four as a side dish.

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Antoinette Jackson is a Bullard-area resident. You may reach her at Antojxn@aol.com.