At first they are three unassuming Portuguese women in their 70's. Dressed alike in black as is the tradition of the older widows both in the Azores and New England, Together in their uniformity they resemble three pieces from a chessboard. Their joy at seeing their family is apparent and their faces glow. They are also easy with their hugs and kisses for the strangers in the group, and beaming, they usher us into the house.

They are introduced to us as my friend Sherri's grandmother and aunts, and we are introduced to them. Sherri's grandmother Maria Elvira offers in Portuguese: "A casa pequena, mas o cora grande." They are all Portuguese words I knew but I had never heard the phrase before. It means "The house is small, but the heart is big." If this was a promise it was surely kept for I never had such a gracious and generous host. She prepared breakfast and dinner for us on most days, and often encouraged us to take cheese sandwiches with us on our daily trips.

I have always noticed that words used to describe bad food and cooking always come easy and are always accurate. However, to trying to craft words to describe great food is impossible. That is because great food transcends language. Such was the case with Maria Elvira's cooking. It was great, all of it, and I tried to taste everything she had to offer and often that was quite a lot. Dinner was always a perception/reality kind of thing. You would perceive that you were going to eat Portuguese-style pork cutlets, however in reality, you were going to start with cutlets, then favas would come, then olives, bread, cheese, fish and anything else one of the aunts might walk in with! Pork, fish, beef, chicken, chourico, morcella, eggs, pudding, homemade ice cream. All of it sublime, all of it prepared by 70 something year-old food magicians in a traditional Portuguese kitchen. You always left the table near bursting. You would sit outside and then dessert offerings would come! It is a lucky thing for Portuguese men that they farm and do other active work, or else they would weigh 500lbs. She was not only generous with her food, when I asked Maria Elvira how she made things she was always generous with her recipes and methods as well.

As I said, at first they are three unassuming Portuguese women in their 70's. Then you come to realize they are like a little granny motorcycle gang. Funny, sharp, observant and quick witted they were often the people with the funniest things to say. Sherri's brother Kevin confided in me that when he was alone with all three of them they loved to talk about sex and expected him to be as blunt as possible with them. They all laughed easily and mischievously often. Despite the years etched on their faces, their beauty shone through bright and clear. I can only assume they were a trio to reckon with in their younger days.

Kevin would walk up to his grandmother or aunt and jokingly make a fist or other threatening gesture and they would just punch it out of the way and laugh! The women also moved quite quickly. Outside Maria Elvira would move so quickly in her garden that she appeared to be ice skating. They are truly remarkable women and the light in this world will dim a little more when they, and those like them are gone.

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