We were riding over our pasture lands checking the hay quantity and recognizing several wild plants in the tall fescue grasses, my memories journeyed back in time.
As a child I made lots and lots of mud pies and sand creations. When I was about five or six years old, I had a “stove” made from a two by four laid across saw horses in our front yard where I created all of my feasts. I suppose I have always been somewhat of a want-to-be chef at heart. 
I used “ingredients” from the surrounding countryside to create my culinary masterpieces. I loved to find “maypops.” They were a vining plant with large beautiful purple flowers that would take over wherever they were allowed to grow.
That pretty purple flower would turn into a round green ball, a maypop, which I used extensively in my food provisions prepared whole or cut into sections. There are small shrubs that grow wild loaded with tiny dark black/purple berries called poke berries.
They are poison to eat but were great to use as dye for my sand cakes. A chinaberry tree grew in our yard, and these small green beads were makeshift vegetables. After a day of scavenging for ingredients I would be covered in “beggar lice” and had to be picked from head to toe.
One thing that brought all this to mind was a conversation I had with one of our doctors yesterday at lunch. He asked if I knew what a possum grape was. “No,” I said, “I don’t.” I asked if he were kidding or if there was such a fruit and he assured me it was. I do remember my mother coming up with the saying if I were silly grinning, “You look like a possum eating grapes.” Wonder if that has any connection? I have looked up this information and I assure there are “possum grapes” growing wild in the woodlands.
They are more plentiful in the northern parts of Arkansas. There is even a town called Possum Grape, Arkansas. The town is about 20 miles north of Bald Knob. The little berries are also called “little fox grapes” and wild muscadines. They are ready to be picked by the end of August or first weeks of September and are used to make possum grape jelly and wines. I would certainly be a taste tester of either.
Possum Grape Jelly – 5 pounds of Possum grapes, stems and all dumped into a large pot and add 3 ½ cups of water. Simmer for 20 minutes and strain through a strainer or cheese cloth to remove skins and stems. This should make about 5cups of clear grape juice. Add one package of Sure Jell and bring to a boil. Pour in 7 cups of white sugar and bring to another boil. Remove from burner and pour into prepared jars. Everyone says this is delicious on a hot buttered biscuit.
Peggy Sims is a Kosciusko resident that writes a weekly column for The Star-Herald.
