MOM
I don’t know if the Great Depression was an influence on
Mom when she made oatmeal cookies and fruitcake, but let me just say, her
ingredients were not the norm.
Now I know the Depression did cause some differences in
the things people consumed in their daily lives like canned milk. Pop used
canned milk in his coffee his entire life as opposed to cream, half & half,
or even plain milk. There was no Coffemate or Creamora type products back in
the day, but even when they evolved, Pop had nothing to do with them. I would
not have thought this use of canned milk had anything to do with the Depression
until I met a couple who lived down the street who were older, about the age of
my parents would have been. The couple invited us over for homemade ice cream
one summer afternoon. To our surprise, the ice cream was made from canned milk.
So, I concluded from this event that canned milk must have been a staple in
households during the Depression instead of regular fresh dairy products.
Gumdrops
Well, apparently, dried fruit including the dreaded
raisin, must have also been hard to come by during those Depression era years because Mom made oatmeal cookies with an alternative to raisins—gumdrops. Not
being a fan of the raisin, I loved those oatmeal cookies.
Gumdrop Oatmeal Cookies
But Mom expanded her
unique “raisins” to include dried fruit and she made fruitcakes the same way
she made oatmeal cookies with delightful, colorful, sweet gumdrops. I know.
Some of you may feel that gumdrops have no place in the iconic fruitcake, but,
in my opinion, those gumdrops took the traditional, but miserable fruitcake to
a whole new level of exquisite and tasty cuisine. Those little sugary nuggets
of spicy flavors perked up that dreary cake. I did not miss those raisins or
those little bits of chewy dried up fruit one bit.
"Fruit Cake"
Some of you may judge or turn your nose up at Mom’s
unique substitute for dried fruit, but I can tell you right now from my
anti-dried fruit (especially raisins) taste buds, I loved her innovative “fruitcake”.
My sister visited me one day about a year or two ago with a little present. She
made oatmeal cookies with gumdrops instead of raisins. Memories of Mom washed
over me in a cloud of warmth and love. I hadn’t tasted those wonderful cookies
in over 40 years.
Just for fun because it’s Christmastime, I’m giving away
a Kindle copy of the Christmas anthology, WISHING
FOR A COWBOY which includes my story, A
Husband For Christmas to someone who comments.
A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS
blurb:
Jane Pierpont and her son, Robin, survived
the Titanic, but her husband went down with the ship and the emotional scars of
that night have kept her and her son locked into that frightening event. Robin
is terrified of deep water and Jane has nightmares and survivor’s guilt. She
yearns for a family, a loving husband and maybe another child, but she feels
disloyal to Michael’s memory whenever Teekonka Red Sky comes near her.
Teekonka Red Sky loves Jane and her son, but all his efforts to help them past their painful memories of the night Michael Pierpont died have been unsuccessful. Unwilling to give up, can his Lakota beliefs help him bring peace to Robin and free Jane to love again?
Teekonka Red Sky loves Jane and her son, but all his efforts to help them past their painful memories of the night Michael Pierpont died have been unsuccessful. Unwilling to give up, can his Lakota beliefs help him bring peace to Robin and free Jane to love again?
Excerpt:
He laughed, the sound
rich and deep, interrupting her. “I know your name…Jane.” He spoke her name
softly, reverently as if it were a treasure. He chuckled a little. “My first
name’s about as long as my last.”
“Does Teekonka mean
something in Lakota, like brave or warrior, or some such thing?”
“It means ‘talks too
much.’ Figures, doesn’t it?” He did laugh then, and Jane couldn’t help laughing
along with him.
He touched her face at
the corner of her mouth with his finger. “Your face brightens when you laugh.”
Jane backed away.
“You’re just flirting with me now.”
He flashed her a wide
grin. “Yes ma’am, I am, but I also mean it. You are very pretty.”
She stood speechless unable
to respond to him. She couldn’t remember the last time a man complimented her,
let alone blatantly flirted with her. It felt good, like a warm hug on a cold
day. He bent his head and kissed her. His lips, warm and supple, took hers in a
tender way, so sensual, yet asking nothing more. Jane’s heart beat against her
ribs, and heat flooded her core. All too soon, Teekonka pulled away and
grinned.
Buy link:
For the short story, A Husband For Christmas:
For the anthology, Wishing For A Cowboy: AMAZON
Sarah
J. McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres
including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a
retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her
four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides
her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several
instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and
short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints Painted
Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. Some of her fantasy and paranormal books may
also be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery and Victory Tales
Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:
