“Sweets, always there, ever faithful, never disappoint.”
Spring is taking a brief hiatus. The morning is cold, only in the mid 40’s. The weather prediction is for partly cloudy, and every now and then the sky lightens behind the clouds, and I can see a bit of blue, but then the clouds return and the light disappears. I don’t mind today despite the chill and the clouds. It is the perfect day to stay home and be warm and cozy. The coffee is hot, and I have chocolate biscotti, perfect for dipping.
My father used to bring donuts home after Sunday mass. Though he never remembered my favorite, I found one or two I liked, lemon and glazed. His favorite was a plain donut. He always buttered it.
My father had quite the sweet tooth. He used to keep a bowl of Hershey miniatures beside him on the table. He hid chocolates under the couch, but we knew his hiding spot and helped ourselves. His favorite ice cream was vanilla drowned in Hershey’s chocolate syrup. When we were in Belgium, I found a wonderful chocolate shop across from our hotel. I bought a bag of chocolate truffles for the road. My father wasn’t enthused as he had never seen a truffle before. I made the mistake of giving him one. While I was driving, I could hear the rustling of the truffle bag. It wasn’t long before the bag was empty.
Every time my parents visited, I made my father a chocolate cream pie, his favorite. He never shared. We didn’t mind because I had made it for him.
My father loved mashed potatoes, creamed onions, cheddar cheese on his slice of apple pie, turkey legs, instant coffee, asparagus from a can, Milk Crackers and anything chocolate. He loved to snack.
We called my mother the seagull. I remember her having a cold hot dog sandwich with cucumbers for breakfast once. She never drank coffee or tea. She drank Diet Coke in the morning. When she visited, I used to give her some hot coffee and a few biscotti. She loved dipping the biscotti into the coffee. Every Christmas I made her orange cookies, her favorite. I remember one Christmas my sister and her family visited. My brother-in-law loved the orange cookies so my mother hid a few. She wasn’t a big sweet eater, but she loved those cookies.
My mother used to make peanut butter balls every Christmas. She used to freeze a few to surprise me long after Christmas. My sister makes them every year. They are one of my favorite Christmas from her. I freeze a few to savor long after Christmas.
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April 24, 2022 at 11:11 am
Hi Kat,
I’m a chocoholic and a candy lover. If my doctor told me I had diabetes, it would be a hard decision between a longer life but without chocolate and sugar. 🙁
My father wasn’t a fan of sweets. He thought a bowl of sliced bananas with sour cream was a sweet treat. I can’t remember if my mother liked sweets or not since she’s been gone sixty one years and I was only 13. My daughter, who is named for her grandmother, also loves chocolate and other sweets. My son, the vegan doesn’t eat sweets nor drink or eat dairy or alcohol.
When I was in Brussels I also found good chocolate. One of the best things my wife discovered in Trader Joe’s are a package of three bars of Belgium chocolate for less than three dollars. We discovered them while waiting in the checkout line. Belgium chocolate bars that are less expensive than Hershey bars. Go figure?
April 24, 2022 at 7:02 pm
Hi Bob,
I also love candy and chocolate. I even love red licorice and hard Peeps. The other day I bought a Payday, the first one in years. It doesn’t have chocolate, but I needed the salt fix. It was quite tasty.
My mother liked my cookies and chocolate biscotti, but she wasn’t a huge sweet eater. My father more than made up for her. My sisters eat sweets but we don’t eat that many. I know if I buy some it will be gone in a heartbeat.
Those Belgian chocolate truffles were beyond delicious. Belgian chocolate has been around for a couple of hundred years. It is considered some of the best in the world. In Ghana, they grew cocoa and did produce some chocolate bars, but they weren’t all that great. We used to buy Cadbury. Since then, though, Ghana has produced some very tasty chocolate.
I must have missed those cookies in Trader’s Joes. I just remember Belgian butter cookies. Next trip, I’ll hunt for them
April 24, 2022 at 9:30 pm
The Trader Joe’s treat was Belgium chocolate bars, not cookies. I’m sure Belgium cookies would also be good.
April 24, 2022 at 9:39 pm
I knew they were chocolate. I was just telling you that the only Belgian stuff I remember from Trader Joe’s are those cookies.