The Kids' Table and Don't Eat the Pie
Did you have to sit at the kids' table for family holidays? I appear to be rather happy about sitting with all of the "older" cousins. I was the second-youngest of 12 cousins on my mom's side of the family. (Yep, that's me with the bangs)
My parents would invite the whole family for a cook-out on summer holidays. Aunts, uncles, cousins. The kids would play games in the backyard while the men drank beer around the grill, and the women were in the kitchen exchanging salad recipes. I remember Croquet and Jarts. Jarts was deadly, and to this day I cannot understand how the adults let the kids play this game. Do you remember it? It consisted of several large, heavy-metal, pointed, arrow-like game pieces, with either red or blue plastic wings, like missile wings. One would hurl them into the air in an attempt to land in the center of a plastic ring on the opposite side of the yard, like bocce. All with the opposing team standing behind the ring, where they were sure to be empaled by one of these erratic missiles. No one had good aim. I remember one of my cousins flinging a Jart into the back wall of the neighbor's garage, leaving a hole in the aluminum siding. We'd work up an appetite, that's for sure.
By the time the food was ready, everyone was too hot to sit outside, so the adults would eat in the dining room, and the kids would get the basement. We were the lucky ones, it was cool down there, and the rest of the house didn't have air conditioning.
My mom was a great cook. She never made anything we didn't heartily enjoy. Except for pies. She could not master a pie to save her life. She finally figured out a "jell-o frozen pie" which, if I recall, was jell-o or pudding, mixed with cool whip, shaped into a pre-made graham cracker crust. Even those were rock solid from being frozen. They required brute force to cut into with a fork. One of my cousins jabbed the fork into his slice of pie so hard, that it shot off his plate and sailed across the room. Like a mis-aimed Jart!
I fondly remember those gatherings and hope that the impending July 4th weekend will allow us to, at the minimum, visit our adult kids, have a meal and perhaps enjoy a sunny day around the pool, and in the A/C, despite the pandemic, since we have all been individually sheltering.
Right now, I'm coaching a "re-set" group. A few of my former Whole30er's wanted to do a 10-day mini Whole30. But, this week for my Facebook Paleo Cooking Live segment, I'm featuring "paleo" desserts. No desserts allowed on a reset. I live a constant dichotomy.
For the record, I strongly believe "paleo" and "desserts" is an oxymoron. I prefer to call them "grain-free" and "natural or no-sugar" desserts. But paleo is easier. And sometimes I just comply for simplicity's sake.
This week's Paleo Cooking Live segment on Facebook was all about desserts you can feel good about eating. I'm convinced there are healthier options out there that we can all master, with a few key ingredients. These desserts stand up to their sugary, glutenous counterparts, and I defy anyone to tell me differently. Give them a try and let me know how your family likes them. Or maybe just don't tell them!
