You Can't Go Back....But You Can Bring Memories To Life

Memories are a wonderful thing...to me anyway. I can maneuver around the not-so-good and concentrate on the laughter, visits, smells and tastes that float to the surface.
When I was a child I would make requests for certain items for mom to fix for supper. Like: mock angel cake, rivlets, mom's creamed corn (not the stuff out of a can), jello with slices of bananas, and Uncle Jake's fried mush for breakfast on frigid mornings. These were a few items I would request on a regular consistency.

As I grew older I forgot about many these scrumptious food items. This week I  took a chance to look on pinterest for rivlets, and low and behold there was a recipe that looked like how my mom made them. They are actually a noodle that are broke up in pieces other than cut into lengths. Rivlets are pictured bottom, mom's creamed corn is at the top.

Rivlets
3/4 all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
Combine flour and salt. Mix in egg until mix resembles coarse crumbs. Drop in boiling chicken broth. They cook for about 12 minutes.

To cream canned cream corn. Pour corn into pan and mix a thickening agent of flour and water. Pour into corn and it thickens into a creamy goodness.

The two recipes were always served with a roast, ham, chicken or some type of potatoes. We sat around a kitchen table that was placed feet from a coal stove in the center of the kitchen. We were physically, mentally and lovingly warm. Daddy had taken the time to stoke the fire for his little chicks, while mom worked her tail feathers off preparing a hot, home cooked meal. While preparing the rivlets and creamed corn this week I thought this is hard work, but my family enjoyed it and that was all I needed.
As a child, potato chips, Hostess cupcakes, bologna or any other luncheon meat was a treat. Believe it or not....we ate steaks, hamburger, fresh cured ham, and no-telling what else mom slipped onto our plates to keep us fed. Potatoes were fried, boiled or mashed or made into a most tasty soup. Au gratin and scalloped were never heard of. There wasn't lasagna, tacos, pizza, boxed dinners or much pop. Fresh milk, eggs and butter were always in our fridge. We didn't know any better until on a rare Saturday, mom would break out the bologna and chips. We used Miracle Whip as a potato chip dip too.

We made it. We didn't feel abused until we backed up too close to the coal stove then we couldn't have reached the hot line due to being on a party-line. That is another whole story in itself.