Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, November 18, 2013

Snack Time

How do you spell 'delicious'?
There was a bright spot to every school day.
And no, it wasn’t that magical moment each morning when we first stepped into the hallowed halls of learning and knowledge.
Sheesh.
It was that moment, when the whole thing was safely in the past.
The long bus ride to school.
The sweat and toil.
The long bus ride home.
Ta-da!
That moment.
When Mom would usher us into the house and the smell of warm deliciousness would sweep over us like a welcome blanket.
Snack time.
The wonderful reward for having made it through yet another school day.
And mom made it special.
Homemade snacks like pudding, cake or pie.
Hot chocolate.
Sometimes the extra-special spudnuts.
Fresh, warm bread with melty butter.
It made all of the pain and drudgery worth every drop of effort.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Then, as we grew older, Mom stepped back a bit and let us create our own snacks.
In the process, something was lost. But something else was definitely gained.
Our snacking of preference grew and changed as our skills did.
At first, my brother, George, would simply spread cheese on crackers and create a giant stack.
Which was then happily consumed, layer by layer.
I would toast bread – just barely – and spread it with peanut butter.
Peanut butter is better all soft and melted.
Just FYI.
Then Mom got a new invention, a Teflon frying pan.
And I discovered the magical world of omelets.
With lots of melty cheese.
Hmm . . . I’m beginning to see a pattern there.
Mmmmmmelty things.
Moving on . . .
Then George was introduced to tapioca pudding.
Made from scratch and eaten while still warm.
And sometimes shared with his sister.
Until she was shown the amazing chocolate wonderfulness of puffed-wheat squares.
I should explain here that the puffed-wheat is simply a medium to get the chocolate syrup to your mouth.
And it does it well.
Did you know that a hungry teenager can eat an entire pan of puffed wheat squares and still have room for supper?
It’s true. And I proved it on many an occasion.
Moving forward many, many years.
Yesterday, I dug out my tattered old recipe for puffed-wheat squares.
It was stained.
And worn.
But still readable.
I mixed and cooked.
Added, pressed down and cooled.
Then, with my daughter and granddaughter, sliced and consumed.
And, just for an instant, relived the best part of growing up.

16 comments:

  1. After school snacks...I'd forgotten....remember Tang and Nestle Quick?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I do! Mom always diluted both. I made them right . . .

      Delete
  2. Ahh I miss those days. Alas my kids will never know the joy of homemade snacks after school. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're just trying to get back into it. Wish us luck! :)

      Delete
  3. I don't recall having after-school snacks - maybe because we had our evening meal fairly early ... our kids had snacks because our supper was later. Your childhood sounds like a fragrant, delicious one!

    So, would you consider posting that recipe? If I promise not to eat the entire pan in one go?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to share the recipe, my friend!

      Yummy Deliciousness
      1 Cup butter (or margarine)
      1 Cup brown sugar
      1 Cup corn syrup
      6 Tbsp. cocoa
      cook over slow heat to boiling. Boil 2 minutes.
      Then pour over:
      12 Cups puffed wheat
      Press into large cookie sheet
      Cool, cut and eat!

      Let me know when they are ready! :)

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Diane!

      I may need to acquire a herd of cows to look after, to work off the calories, but you'll help me with those, won't you, after we have our snack? :)

      Delete
  4. Oh, such memories! I inherited my mother's old cookbook (given to her as a new bride in 1946) and some pages are splotched like that. My favorite was always the no-cook cookies (butter, sugar, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and uncooked oatmeal). That page is nearly worn out. Thanks for the memories!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, the no-bake cookies! Couldn't get enough of those!
      What a treasure to have your mom's cookbook. I inherited her recipe card collection, stains and all. But her recipe for fluffy Angel-food cake topping isn't with them. And I looked! Sigh.

      Delete
  5. Just sweet memories for sure; I loved this one!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Replies
    1. Thank you! What did you make after school? I'm sure I ate it!

      Delete
  7. The after school snack of choice in our house was brownies, sometimes iced, most often not. I started that tradition on the first day of school for my eldest and continued it for many years. Then I got a job and the kids had the run of the kitchen. I have no idea what they ate and didn't care as long as they still ate their dinners.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh! Brownies! I make them and ice them while still warm, so the icing melts. (More melty stuff!) Then eat them still warm with a fork. Mmmmmmmmmm . . . okay, heading to the kitchen now...

      Delete

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