chapter 5-more Christmas

It seemed we were at Auntie & Uncle Clay’s for Christmas more often than not. That may have made it easier for my dad to do the Santa trick. He would go out to the back yard to smoke a pipe, and somehow Santa always dropped the presents off at the front porch while he was out. We may have figured out the game before we admitted it, but we wanted to keep believing in Santa. Diane even convinced me she saw Rudolph in the sky one year. I should add here that Auntie Margaret, for all her rigidity, did spoil us a little too, in a more practical way. She worked part time in a department store and enjoyed choosing quality bed linens and dresses for us. It seems she also took time to read to me , despite having dropped out of high school to chase boys herself!

1 year old me on Auntie's lap, my mother in the background

It was one of these Christmases when I got my Easy Bake oven. It cooked things with a light bulb! We had a lot of fun stirring up the little mix packets, sliding them through the oven and eating the results, nearly instant gratification. However, it was not long before we graduated to the real oven. I think scrambled eggs was one of the first things I learned. Then we got the idea from our Brownie handbook that we should cook breakfast for our parents on Sat. morning since we were up first. The only problem with that was that we didn't know how to work the coffee pot, so my dad still had to make his own.

Soon, around ages 8 and 9, Diane and I were trying our hand at real cake recipes, and were foolishly pleased when we could make it turn out “as good as a mix!” We also ordered a Peanuts cookbook at one of the Scholastic book sales at school. The recipes were easy, but they were real cooking, I still make Lucy’s Applesauce pie today , though I have changed a few things, like I don’t peel the apples any more.

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                            Applesauce Pie

Serving Size: 6
-= Ingredients =-
6 medium Apples; cored and sliced
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg
1 dashes Salt
1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour
6 tablespoon Butter ; softened
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 dashes Cinnamon

-= Instructions =-
Slice apples into medium saucepan. Add sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cook over medium heat ( covered and stirring frequently) until extra liquid is gone. Stir and mash until large lumps are gone. Turn apples into a pie plate and cover with topping.

Topping: Blend flour, soft butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with fingertips and sprinkle over applesauce. Bake at 375 until top is brown and crusty, about 20 min.

Variation: I sometimes add 1/2 cup of quick oats to the crumb topping.