By Nancy Jill Thames
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| Store Bought Italian Cream Cake |
On the eve of the Fourth of July, my husband and I were invited to a party at our daughter's boyfriend's parents house. Nice! So far, so good. Now, this particular daughter was born to us late in life along with one of her brothers. This means we have one foot in the current generation and the other in an older one. This is what I observed being with guests from both eras: for the party food, the older generation guests brought mostly homemade - guacamole and chips and a special white cake with cool whip and fresh strawberries sprinkled with blue sugar for the occasion. The younger generation brought several store bought cakes. I can remember when there were no such things as store bought cakes, except for Twinkies maybe and Snowballs. Things are different now. More women work and don't have time to bake. I get it. Even though I consider myself a full time author, being from the older generation I am conditioned to baking something special for holiday celebrations because that was what my mother did. My contribution was a chocolate picnic cake - you know, the one with the boiling water and cocoa.
One guest brought a store bought Italian cream cake. Yes, I had a piece (and also a piece of the white cake with the cool whip and fresh strawberries) and it was good. But when I had a conversation with the lovely lady (from the younger generation) who brought it, she said she had a recipe for a much better one.
Hmm. Anyway, the other revelation I had was when we cut into the watermelon I bought for our own celebration and discovered seeds! Oh, no! But it had stripes! Sorry. I reflected and told my younger daughter and her boyfriend that I could remember a time when there were no seedless watermelons. And I also remember it was customary to eat a whole quarter of watermelon - not just a tiny triangle slice! Maybe that's the way my parents filled us up. And did any of you ever salt your watermelon? I didn't but I knew people that did. Heaven forbid if someone saw you do that today!
The Fourth of July used to mean hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill or fried chicken, with corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon quarters and homemade ice-cream and cake. I'm sure these traditions are being carried on somewhere in the good old USA. But what did I serve this year? It was weird! BBQ chicken that my husband slaved over, baked potatoes with all the trimmings because someone in the family may not like potato salad, potato salad (homemade of course), jalapeno potato salad (we live in Texas), fresh spinach salad with hot bacon dressing (an unusual side for the Fourth), watermelon triangles with no rind, baked beans straight out of a can (Bush's brand with bacon and brown sugar) baked in the oven, peach cobbler (Marie Calender's) and ice-cream (store bought) and picnic chocolate cake (yes, I made two). Here's the kicker. No one ate the second cake. It's sitting on the counter waiting for my husband and I to eat the whole thing. The younger generation is health conscious, in fact, the older one is too. Another sigh.
I suppose then that this generation is coming to less focus on actual baking and more focus on earning money to buy the store bought versions. Me? I'll eat both! Just out of curiosity, did you buy a dessert for the holiday or did you make one?
I hope you enjoy the rest of this fun holiday weekend.
See you in my books!
~Nancy Jill
Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction
in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award
winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s
List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.
When she isn’t plotting her next
book, she spends time with her six
grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and
plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active
member
of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW
CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion
of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com
Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.
Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free!
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