Hello my Foodie Friends! Halloween is only a few short days away and for the little chefs out there the excitement is building.
In the Reardon household it’s the same now as when we were children except back then there were only a few days a year that we were allowed to have candy.
My mom’s kitchen always had bowls of fruits and vegetables depending on the season. Rarely did you see any candy, potato chips or bad snacks.
If we wanted something sweet it would be an apple, orange, tomato or cucumber from the garden. But on Halloween night my brothers Danny and Billy, sister Patty and I would be almost too excited to eat our dinner, which we had to do before we went trick or treating.
Mom knew she had to prepare something we would all like and it was always her homemade chicken soup. It would get our little bodies fueled up and were ready to take on the neighborhood.
In my childhood it was a big thing to have homemade costumes and our moms worked overtime to have the cutest kids. Back then, store-bought costumes were considered a sign of no imagination.
Off the four of us would go, with orders to stay together or else. I was told that since I was the oldest it was my job to keep an eye on my brothers and sisters or I would lose my candy. We filled our pillowcases with lots of goodies and then headed home with tired feet.
The next two weeks were spent dipping into our stashes. Some of us dipped more than others. The end result every year was that Billy and Patty still had candy left and John and Danny were out.
The difference was that while John and Danny were dipping into their stash of candy, Billy and Patty kept eating fruit and the vegetables. Sometimes, good habits are as hard to break as bad ones!
Remember that “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”
Take care,
John and Paula
