Hello my Foodie Friends!

Halloween is only a few shorts days away and for the little chefs out there the excitement is building. 

In the Reardon household it was the same when we were children as it is now except back then there were only a few days a year that we were allowed to have candy and bad snacks.  My mom’s kitchen always had bowls of different kinds of fruits and vegetables depending on the season. There was never any candy, potato chips or bad snacks.  If we wanted something sweet it would be an apple or orange or tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Candy and snacks had not taken over America yet.   

Halloween night John 8, Danny 7, Billy 6 and Patty 5 would be almost too excited to eat our dinner, which before we went trick or treating we had to eat! Mom knew she had to prepare something we would all like and it was always her homemade chicken soup that we could not resist. We got our little bodies fueled up and were ready to take on the neighborhood. 

Also in my childhood it was a big thing to have homemade costumes and our moms worked overtime to have the cutest kids. Store bought costumes were a sign of no imagination.  On Halloween evening, the four of us would go off with orders to stay together or else.  I was told that since I was the oldest it was my job to keep a count on my brothers and sisters or I would lose my candy.  My sister Patty was always the first to run out of gas followed by my brother Billy. So we would have to get them back home and Dan and I would start out again. My brother Dan could outlast us all but my problem was that he always had to stop and admire someone’s car or truck. The Dads of these houses were always impressed that a 7-year-old knew more about his car than he did. We did manage to fill our pillow cases with lots of candy and then with tired feet head home. 

When we got home the two kings of the Foster Lake Development would brag about how much we had and how little Billy and Patty had lost by going home early.  The next two weeks were spent dipping into our stash of candy.  Some of us dipped more than others and the end result every year was that Billy and Patty still had candy left and John and Danny were out! You see while John and Danny were dipping into their stash of candy Billy and Patty kept eating the fruit and the vegetables and they forgot about the candy.  Good habits are as hard to break as bad ones. Fill up your treaters with something that will keep them warm during the chilly Halloween evening this year. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutler store to assist with your heartwarming treats. Remember my Foodie Friends that “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

 Take Care,
John & Paula