After a particularly busy day at work, and a two-hour commute on snowy
roads, I arrived home to be greeted by the familiar scent of chicken a la king
(it's the red pepper that gives it away for me). My husband had gotten home
before me made supper since he knew I would be late. He had also picked up a
chocolate cake for dessert. Not a fancy bakery kind of chocolate cake, just one
of the little single layers with the chocolate icing stars that you get in the
freezer section.
Not terribly exciting you might say but for me, that simple little cake
brings back wonderful memories of visiting my grandparents' home. Although my
grandma was a great cook and a wonderful baker, my grandpa used to love those
little frozen cakes (frozen chocolate cream pies were also a favorite), and he
would always make sure there were a few in the freezer in their little kitchen.
My grandparents were not what you would describe as well off, Grandpa worked
at a local Texaco station and Grandma cleaned houses. They lived in a basement apartment
in Toronto, where they had moved to be closer to their daughters and their
families. I am sure money was tight but you could never tell by how they set
their table. There was always plenty to go around and treats to boot.
I don't know about you but there are certain foods that instantly remind me
of certain people or of moments in my past. Who among us doesn't have memories
of arriving home from school to the scent of freshly baked cookies (in our
house these were courtesy of the Pillsbury Dough Boy but you get the picture),
or the delicious smell of a turkey roasting in the oven as your relatives
arrive for Thanksgiving dinner.
Holidays are inseparably intertwined with the smells of different food, for
me at least. The smoky, sweet smell of a ham for Easter, along with the
distinctive scent of the scalloped potatoes that were always served with them.
Freshly baked apple pies with their hint of cinnamon and nutmeg that were
served at every family gathering except for birthdays when a moist and delicate
layer cake was identified by its warm sweet scent of vanilla.
I feel very fortunate to have these wonderful memories that can be triggered
so easily by something as simple as the scent of baking cookies. I know it sounds
a little like a Norman Rockwell painting and of course, every holiday wasn't
perfect. Having a houseful of relatives is bound to create some, shall we say,
comical moments.
One that stands out in my mind was a Christmas Eve at my grandparents' place.
The uncles and cousins were in the living room with Grandpa watching the Leafs'
game and Grandma was in the kitchen with the aunts waiting for the pies to be done
so she could put them out for lunch (not the noon-day meal but the lunch she
always put out in the evening when she had company). Suddenly, we began to smell
something burning, that sticky, cloying smell of burning sugar and fruit.
Grandma opened the oven to see one of her precious pies in flames! Hearing the
commotion, we all ran from the living room to see her trying to fan out the
flames with the nearest tea towel. Realising this wasn't going to work, Grandpa
decided to try out his shiny new, red fire extinguisher...needless to say, the
freezer chocolate cakes came in very handy that night.
miss kimmy
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