Grandma's Kitchen

I re-posted this on Facebook and got a few good replies, so I thought I'd share them on my blog.

• My HS classmate Becky Nelson Case said she'd have Pepsi and Pinwheel cookies. She even included a photo of the cookie package. I am shocked to announce that I do not remember Pinwheels. I thought we'd had them all! 
• Another HS friend says she'd have a homemade donut - doesn't that sound delish? 
• A pal who is the top boss at the Iowa City Landfill says sugar on tomatoes - sounding good this time of year!
• Classmate Toni Robinson Mason says homemade noodles and chicken along with divinity. I should not be reading this whilst hungry. Our "pretend" grandma, babysitter Lulubelle Herbert used to make homemade noodles - to used after she served used fried chicken the night before. We were eating good when the folks went out of town!
• The very best hairstylist says half & half on bran flakes with a touch of sugar. That sounds so very grandma-like, doesn't it? 
• Cathy Hjortshoj Hansen, another Atown friend, says sugar cookies were it. Nothing like fresh sugar cookies! Lulubelle made those too. 
• Longtime friend and HS classmate Ted Simpson stumped me with Pfeffernusse, Spaghetti-O's, and Sugar Pops. Talk about opposites! He says they are peppernuts. The other two were staples in the Bullock household. 
• When I saw this Meme, I thought of the times I stopped at my grandparents' home after walking downtown for library books and candy. Momo (my grandmother) would whip me up some ice milk (lower calorie ice cream?) and Hersey's Syrup out of a can. My sis Betsy says she'd have honey on her ice milk. Momo did also whip up some other good food - our Thanksgiving meals. I like reading her journals when she describes the meals she whipped up. 

Me with my grandparents and dog Charlie - I was a little weepie as my parents just gave me a horse for my bday! 

I'm sorry I didn't know my mom's parents well enough to even remember my grandma cooking. When we went to their house in Cedar Rapids it was always special and went to restaurants. Maybe my older sisters have some memories. 

Isn't it wonderful that we have these memories of our grandparents and food? If you read the list, most of it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but somehow our grandparents made it magical! If you have memories from your grandma's kitchen share them on this Facebook post. 

After a morning of buttery buttery toast

When we stayed at my parents' in Atlantic, I'd hear her enticing them with the breakfast menu - "buttery buttery toast". Mom did turn into a very good cook after we all left home. Too bad she died so young - only 68. 

So far Paul and I are grandparents to dogs - who are easy to please! They all like squeaky toys and Franklin is the quickest at ripping them to shreds. 

Treats From My Youth

I saw an advertisement on Facebook for an ice cream cake roll and my "Wayback Machine" clicked on.

The cakes I remember weren't as pretty as the one above. Back in the olden days we could buy them in the store - smashed into a box, and the cake was kinda stale. Still, I loved it. Along with all the delightful treats people would bring to school for their birthdays.

Remember those little ice cream cups with the wooden paddles? And there were ones with chocolate swirled in too. Yum! Some moms delivered cupcakes - I liked those better than the fancy cupcakes you can buy in stores today.

Back at home, we were lucky to have access to lots of sweet stuff. We used to make this stuff called "Shake A Pudding".

Mom made the cooked pudding too. It would get a nice layer on top. I loved chocolate! What about Tang(the drink of astronauts) and Nestle's Quik? (the drink of some rabbit). That was good to eat with Twinkies.  

What about Carnation Instant Breakfast? We'd get the variety pack and the good flavors would go fast. (I confess I'd eat breakfast along with slurping down the drink - a powder that you'd mix with 2% milk delivered by the friendly milkman). Eventually Pop Tarts were invented - and then they decided to frost them. Brown sugar cinnamon were my favorite but later they invented - you guessed it - chocolate!

I still love all those things. It's a good thing I keep myself from buying that stuff. And some of those things aren't even made anymore. Self control. Why can't lettuce and vegetables taste like Shake-A-Pudding?