Breakfast Time
pestle and mortar
Even before breakfast, six-year-old Larkin was hard at work outside at the mortar, a tree stump that had been hollowed out in the shape of a bowl. There he began the daily task of grinding corn kernels. The ground corn was then made into corn pone. Grinding corn into pone was hard work. Even if Larkin was hungry, he could not work too fast or the corn would fly out of the mortar. Larkin and his older brothers would have had sore but strong arms from grinding. For entertainment during grinding, Larkin probably sang songs. Most days, breakfast in the Holland Pierpoint house consisted of day-old porridge that had been left in the hearth overnight and reheated. On special occasions, the children would have enjoyed corn cakes baked in the ashes of the fire.
When was the last time you actually made your own breakfast - from scratch?
