In honor of Father’s Day, I’m dedicating today’s post to my wonderful Dad. Although nearing octogenarian status, he has managed to remain a kid at heart all these years.
Among the many things my Dad and I share is a sweet tooth. Growing up on a farm, I used to spend hours traipsing after Dad as he irrigated, worked fields, harvested, and ran to town for parts. When I was pretty small, he was renting an acreage just a few miles from our place. If we took the long way around to get there it meant driving past the little country store in our community. No trip was complete unless we made a stop. The store was dark inside with old wooden floors and was a fascinating blend of odors – spices coming from the meat case, cleaning supplies and candy. It was the candy that always got my particular attention.
Located directly behind the check-out counter was long set of shelves that you could walk all the way around, drooling over all sorts of sweet temptations. There were lemon drops, candy cigarettes, bubble gum and all kinds of chocolate. Some favorites that Dad and I liked to share were Neccos, Bit-O-Honey, Big Hunk and Butterrum Lifesavers. When it was hot, sometimes we skipped the candy and went right to the freezer for an ice cream sandwich or an icy cold bottle of Coca Cola.
Before we got out to the pickup, there was always the reminder of “now don’t tell your mother.” I’m sure Mom wondered how, with all her diligent policing of my toothbrushing activity, I always had so many cavities. But spilling the beans would have been the end of those great trips and all the sweets, so Dad and I both kept quiet.
Through the years, Dad and I shared a lot of candy. I was recently excited to see one of my very favorite candy bars – the Idaho Spud – is available online. http://www.idahospud.com/candy-idaho-spud-bar.php If you’ve never had a Spud Bar, you’ve got to try one. A soft, cocoa-flavored marshmallow center is dipped in dark chocolate then sprinkled with coconut. As good as it is at room temperature, they get even better when frozen.
Whenever I see Idaho Spuds or Neccos in a store, they remind me of my Dad and all the good times we had, especially in the summer.
So Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! And to all you Dads out there. May your day be one filled with all the things you enjoy the most!
Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Happy Father’s Day!
Posted in Desserts, Holidays, tagged Father's Day, Tribute to Dad on June 19, 2009| 4 Comments »
“One Lovely Blog Award”
Posted in Desserts, Referrals on June 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Thanks to my friend Linda at http://lindamccormick.wordpress.com/ for awarding me this “One Lovely Blog” award.
She is so sweet and I am very honored she would pass this special honor on to me. In keeping with tradition, I now pass it on!
The rules for this one are:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered (Being new to blogging, I don’t have quite that many yet).
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
My choices are listed below in no particular order. They are a random assortment of friends, business associates and blogs I just find appealing.
Harriette Jasper, http://photoalbums4u@wordpress.com (Digital Photo Albums Made Easy). We took a Social Media Made Simple class together. She knows what she is doing and is such a lovely person!
Jennfier Fong, http://liajen.wordpress.com (Direct Sales and Social Media). Jennifer taught our Social Media class and is so good at what she does.
Julie Anne Jones, http://julieannejones.com/blog/ (Direct Sales Coach). Julie Anne is a gifted coach with a wealth of ideas.
Diana Pemberton-Sikes, http://www.fashionforrealwomen.com/blog/ (Image Consultant). Diana has such great and realistic information about fashion and tips you can use every day.
Ann Basham, http://asimplekitchen.wordpress.com/ (Kitchen Specialist). Ann was another member of our Social Media class and is so knowledgeable about kitchen tools, has great recipes and is very talented.
Enjoy the award and pass it on!
Dessert is No Trifling Matter
Posted in Easy Recipes, Entertaining Ideas, Fast Recipes, tagged busy host, crowd pleasing recipes, Entertaining Ideas, quick and easy ideas on June 9, 2009| 3 Comments »
One of my favorite desserts to make is a trifle. It is fast, easy and for whatever reason, guests always assume you’ve gone to a lot of effort to prepare it.
It has an elegant presentation and the best thing about it is you can change it up to whatever flavors you are craving or fruits that are in season.
You can make a one large dessert in a trifle or pedestal bowl or you can make individual desserts that are quite eye-catching and appealing.
The basic ingredients for a trifle include:
Cake, cut into bite-sized cubes
Pudding
Whipping Cream, whipped and lightly sweetened (add a dash of Confectioner’s Sugar)
Fruit
The wonderful thing about trifles is that you can use any combination and come up with something so tasty. You start with the cake cubes, then layer pudding, fruit and whipping cream and continue layering until your bowl or container is full. If you are in a really big hurry or have company drop by unexpectedly, you can use a pre-made cake, instant pudding, a can of pie filling and frozen dairy topping and have a show-stopping dessert ready in mere minutes.
My favorite combination is pound cake*, chocolate and vanilla pudding, strawberries and raspberries and real whipping cream. On the layers, I alternate the chocolate pudding with the raspberries and the vanilla pudding with the strawberries. Top with a layer of the whipping cream and then shave chocolate curls across the top and finish with one glorious berry.
You can use any type of cake but pound cakes, angel food cakes and sponge cakes work well. You can also use any type of fruit. In the summer, fresh peaches, nectarines and berries are so good. In the winter, I like to use tropical fruits like pineapple and mandarin orange sections. You can use kiwi and bananas or any type of pie filling. Use any flavor of pudding. Spring is a great time to try lemon with sponge cake and berries. Autumn is a perfect time to blend gingerbread with pumpkin pudding and candied nuts or cinnamon cake with apples and caramel sauce.
The combinations you can create are only limited by your imagination. Have fun with this and I guarantee your guests will not only be impressed, but delighted with the delicious blend of flavors.
What is your favorite combination? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment!
*For information about the pound cake I use or the serving pieces in the photo, please subscribe to my newsletter.
Quick Cleaning Your Bathroom
Posted in Entertaining at Home, Quick and Easy, tagged Entertaining at Home, quick and easy ideas, quick cleaning on May 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »
If you are running behind and have guests arriving at your door any minute, make sure you do a quick cleaning in your bathroom. This is one area that people will notice if things aren’t quite up to par. Take just a few minutes and follow these simple tips to have your bathroom looking spiffy in a jiffy!
If you have a love affair with white or light colored linens – let it go! Royal blue, navy, plum, cabernet, emerald green even black linens will keep your bathroom looking fresh and be much easier on you!
Empty the garbage can. There is nothing worse than an overflowing garbage can to make guests feel uncomfortable.
Drop one of those blue cleaner tablets into the toilet tank and no one will know that your bowl is in less than pristine condition. Wipe down the sink, the tub edge and toilet seat. Give the mirrors a quick swipe with glass cleaner.
Give the shower curtain a shake, straighten the rugs and give the floor a fast wipe with the glass cleaner towel from the mirror.
Light a fragrant candle, set out a fresh hand towel and you are good to go!
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