Snacks

I am certain you are tired of me telling you that my family did not have much money when I was a child. What I do not mention is that there were few ready to make foods. Those available were too expensive.

We made everything from scratch. Cakes, pies, and cookies we just "whipped up". Sliced bread was available and inexpensive but I enjoyed making it so we had homemade bread and sweet rolls every week.

In the evening we watched TV or played games. Snacks were made for us to nibble.

Popcorn was cheap and easy to make. We heated lard in a pan then put in the corn. The pan had to be shaken or the popcorn would burn. After it popped it went into a big bowl and was salted. Mmmm-mmm.

Add fudge to have an even better treat. Fudge was basically sugar, cocoa, and water. It is cooked to the right consistency. Oh but we are not done yet. It still had to be stirred (constantly) until it began to stiffen. Then it is poured into a dish to set. Cut it into squares. It is a great snack.

One year Daddy bought a bushel of popcorn still on the cob. We were going to save money on popcorn. All we had to do was shell all the popcorn off the cobs. The problem is that popcorn is really hard and really stuck in the cob. We shelled all night and still were not done. I had a blister the size of a marble on my thumb.

Taffee was especially fun. We did not have it often. Mom would cook it up. Then we would cover our hands with butter. Each of us got a piece about the size of a teaspoon. We worked it and pulled it until it hardened.

Sometimes we got lucky and were given a large piece. More than one person was needed to pull the taffee. It was always fun.