Evie remembers jelly donuts...
"... coated with velvety powdered sugar, the light cakey donut left not a trace of the usual greasy film that said 'store-bought.' [... L]iterally jam-packed, front to back so every bite risked spurting some of the filling out the other end -- filling that was in a league of its own, too, thick and tangy and intensely raspberry. Not that pallid, sugary-sweet, gelatinous stuff that donuts were filled with these days."
The jelly donut I covet came from a Van de Kamps (before it turned into a mega-brand) "Dutch" bakery in the corner of the Thriftimart on Roxbury and Little Santa Monica near where I grew up in Beverly Hills.
Just for the record, I also miss rootbeer Popsicles but I have no soft spot for Twinkies which I gather are about to reappear on store shelves with twice the longevity. Why are they coming back and not my beloved jelly donuts?
So today, sharing food memories. Any treats from your childhood you'd love to find today ... or perhaps are happy to never see again?
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I wasn't lamenting the demise of Twinkies, either. And longer shelf
life--ugh! As for childhood favorites, I loved Fletcher's Corn Dogs from the Texas State Fair, but you can still get them at the fair and they're just as good. I liked Dreamsicles but have no idea if you can still get them!One childhood treat I've resurrected in the last couple of years is root beer floats, but with Whole Foods Market's 365 Root Beer (the best of the naturals) and organic vanilla ice cream.
Ice cream--oh, my, we did make homemade ice cream when I was a kid, but I think that may be another post!
RHYS BOWEN: I yearn for the old fashioned candy shop, with the big glass bottles of hard candies.
My favorite real treat there, because it was expensive, was called buttered Brazils. It was a Brazil nut in a little crisp bed of toffee. (I've never been fond of anything too sweet, apart from cotton candy which I adored and then felt sick afterward)ROSEMARY HARRIS: I never "got" cotton candy. Probably a good thing for my teeth. No..I had other sweet treats. None of which I actually miss.
In my first book, Pushing Up Daisies, I had the body found with an empty box of candy (that was actually the case with the body that was the inspiration for the book.) I
found a website called oldtimecandy.com - purely for research mind you - and what fun that is! All the candies you loved as a kid - and many are still available. Faves - Broadway rolls - ribbons of strawberry licorice. Loved 'em. And the insensitively named Chocolate Babies. But Twinkies? Not interested. I was more of a Devil Dogs girl.
Hallie, you're the foodie, have you had a cronut yet? Some New Yorkers are going crazy for them. It's a cross between a croissant and a donut and people are lining up to get them. Insanity.
HALLIE: Cronut? Never heard of 'em. But I found a photo - they look delicious. Remember when Beard Papa Cream Puffs were hot?HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yeah, cronuts. I have to admit being weirdly curious. Like the bacon sundae at--Wendy's?
ANYWAY. Old time candy? Teaberry Gum! And Black Jack gum. And Chuckles, which you had to eat by licking off the sugar first. And those candy bars that were in four parts, remember? I always
tossed the mashmallow one. One of my first summer jobs (c. 1965) was at the candy counter at the local dime store. I overdosed on peanut butter crunch things. I also never understood Pixy Stix, which were essentially straws full of colored sugar which you just poured into you mouth and onto your teeth.
Cotton candy? Weird, but fun to play with. There's a chic restaurant in Boston that serves it for dessert!
ROSEMARY: Skybars! I threw away the marshmallow bit too!
HALLIE: Give me your marshmallow! If you worked and worked it with your fingers you blended the chocolate in and turned it into warm taffy.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It doesn't look like they sell Dreamsicles anymore, Debs, but you can make your own Dreamsicle cocktail!
Childhood food I miss? Well, my Spencer grandmother used to make the most heavenly southern Sunday dinners. Fried chicken, fried okra, green beans cooked with bacon, biscuits slathered in honey, mounds of butter-soaked mashed potatoes... you can see why she converted to heart-healthy food as they got older. In this case, it's not like the food isn't still available - it's just that it would take about three meals to induce a heart attack if I ate it now.HALLIE: I am SO HUNGRY!
So Reds, is there a favorite treat you wish you could find... or enjoy the way you did when you weren't worried about sugar and chemicals and calories and... ?
