Sift together:1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
3 heaping Tbsp. cocoa
1 quart scalded milk (hot but not boiling says Dione... cuz I had to check with Mom)
Add dry ingredients slowly, stirring constantly. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and about 1 Tbsp. butter. Mmmm...
6 comments:
I don't remember if Grandma McGraw ever made this for me. This pudding reminds me of Mom and feeling very spoiled when she'd make it on a cold rainy day.
When I think of Grandma McGraw, I think of butterscotch pudding, butterscotch candies, cinnamon candies, sweet rolls and sliced tomatoes with sugar on them!
I was in charge of making most of the pudding at our house when I got old enough. Jello brand pudding, the kind you cooked, never instant because Mom said it wasn't as good.
It was one of the first things I cooked and I remember feeling rather impressed with myself, because it required a certain level of patience and skill...you know, what with all that stirring that was required to keep it from burning. I probably made it at least a few times a month, usually chocolate or butterscotch, occasionally banana just for kicks.
I frequently made it on Saturday nights then I'd snuggle up in bed with Mom and we'd watch Love Boat and Fantasy Island if I could stay awake that long.
I think I remember this actual pudding at Grandma McGraw’s. She used to put it in the Green Stemmed desert bowls, which Mom then did with her own. If I’m remembering correctly. And sometimes in the other bowls, which I got some of. Dessert and Grandma McGraw’s reminds me of Grandpa allowing Marianne and I into one of his many work station wagons and taking us to Downtown Richmond to get ice cream at Bud’s Ice Cream, because they had to have That Kind & no other. Or sometimes Bab’s Drive-Thru Dairy at the end of McBryde, which I just loved the concept of. A drive thru milk store. When we just had a dumb ole milk man at our house, who RARELY brought chocolate milk.
These were wild rides to Downtown Richmond, because I believe he smoked Cigarettes and we were probably not supposed to tell Grandma. (However, he did allow me and Ginny Lopez to steal his cigarettes for an entire week at Lake of the Pines when we were Serious 13-yr old Smokers in his guest bathroom, and he acted like he never knew, so the loyalty ran both ways.)
What I remember about Grandma McGraw’s: If you lost a tooth at your own house a week earlier, the tooth fairy was so dumb, that she’d slip up and come over again at Grandma McGraw’s house when you slept over. And even better, if your cousin Marianne had lost a tooth, the tooth fairy always paid off BOTH granddaughters. It was The Bomb, the coolest thing ever. I recall Marianne and I spending a fair amount of time trying to remove our teeth when we slept over. “Just wiggle it some more”… “Let’s do that ‘tie it to a door knob’ thing.” There was some serious cash to be had, and we were desperate to get our share.
Best of all, unless you were exceptionally rowdy, you were allowed to slide down the wooden staircase from Bud and Delbert’s room on your butt into the kitchen when you were done trying to loosen all your baby teeth in the boys’ bathroom. Scads of exotic 4th grade teaching supplies were stored in Duane and Delbert’s old bedroom—chalk, and paper, and everything. It was “Let’s Play School” heaven. Forbidden fruit, you just couldn’t “make a mess.”
See now... I don't think I've ever heard most of these stories. I have some of the green stemmed bowls... what do the other bowls look like?
I remember Bab's! When I was with Grandma & Grandpa Nelson, they'd often stop by there on our way home from church for milk. I seriously wonder why the drive-thru store concept never caught on... what with every other drive-thru thing in the world... I'm thinking maybe you could order online then swing by to pick your stuff up without hauling all the kids out of the car. But back to the memories...
That totally cracks me up about Grandpa McGraw and the cigarettes... Who knew Grandpa had that side to him? Hee hee...Reminds me of when we were on our way to the pool and he picked up those hitch-hikers and I knew Grandma would just kill him if she ever found out. I'll have to tell that story when I have more time... 'twas probably only exciting in my little 5-year-old mind.
Was I there that week with you and Ginny at Lake of the Pines? Maybe not... but I totally remember you out on the deck sunbathing with the radio blaring and "Rock the boat don't tip the boat over..." or "Rhinestone Cowboy" blaring on the radio.
I only have a few memories of the McGraw house on McBryde... one was when a bird crashed into their front window and Grandpa brought it inside and we carefully nursed it back to health... I think I remember sleeping with you in Duane and Delbert's old bedroom and kicking you all night... but maybe that's from a story you told me... I remember it seeming like a major production when Grandma scrubbed the floors... and I was banned from the place and would escape to Grandpa's workshop. Can still hear him singing, "Way down upon a swaneeeeeeee river..."
That's so cool about the tooth fairy thing... I'll have to remember that for my future grandmothering days... and I'm insanely jealous over all those teaching supplies... Playing school was one of my all time favorite things when I was a kid. I know we ended up with a bunch of those supplies when we moved... the Dick and Jane books and all... but I just know it would have been way cooler to be able to play with them at Grandma's.
Hey, thanks for reminding me about those green stemmed dishes. . . I have 10 of them and they are up for auction. . . do I hear a bid, before the garage sale???? Mom
Well Darin, I am shocked, totally shocked. Didn't know my dad would let you have cigarettes, but thinking back, I always thought that you would be the smoker in the family.
You started "smoking" when you were about 2 years old. You would sit on the fireplace, with a long piece of white chalk, put it to you mouth, and deeply inhale. You also always had your legs crossed. One day after watching you take 2 or 3 puffs, I said to you, "Darin, nice girls don't smoke". . .You once again took a long drag on that chalk (excuse me) I mean cigarette. Then without even blinking said to me,
"Rene smokes!" End of argument. Mom
Post a Comment