Blogger: Wendy Lawton
It’s time to again pull up one of my classic blog posts just in time for you to do some Christmas cooking. A few years back I shared about a favorite cookbook and then shared one of my mother’s specialties. She’s been in heaven nine Christmases now but I still make her Rocky Road every year for my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Here’s what I blogged seven years ago:
The cookbook I can’t do without at Christmastime is a three-ring binder that my mother made for us during the last decade of her life. It has all the family favorites along with bits of wit and wisdom. She even took photos of some of her creations, like our much-anticipated annual gingerbread house. Mom had a word processor and used her two finger method to type all this out for her children and grandchildren. To say we treasure this cookbook is an understatement.
I’ve taken one of the recipes from the book to share with you. It’s the recipe for Rocky Road Candy. My mother inherited this recipe from her mother-in-law, my grandmother. As a young woman in the early decades of the last century my grandmother was a chocolate dipper at Blum’s in San Francisco. Fancy chocolate dippers are the ones who dip the chocolates creating the distinctive swirl on the top that tells exactly what filling is inside. (Did you know you don’t have to bite your chocolate to find out? You simply read the chocolate swirl on the top of a fine candy.) My grandmother never lost her enthusiasm for making candy. Every Christmas she made Rocky Road. When she was gone, my mother took over. Each person in the family would get a tin of Rocky Road at Christmas. It didn’t hurt that by that time Keith and I owned a thirty acre almond orchard. We upped the almond quantity in the recipe. This is the second Christmas my mother’s been gone and it’s the second Christmas I’ve made the Rocky Road. We’ve simplified it over the years (no longer making our own chocolate) but it still tastes as good.
Here’s what you need for a 9 x 13 pan of Rocky Road:
- 5- 4.25 Oz. Hersheys Milk Chocolate bars
- 5- 4.25 Oz. Hersheys Chocolate & Almond bars
- A handful of chopped almonds
- A bag of marshmallows
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler stirring occasionally. Make sure not to overcook. You want the chocolate shiny and silky.
Line the baking dish with parchment or waxed paper. One by one dip the marshmallows into the melted chocolate and place close together on the waxed paper.
When the pan is filled sprinkle the extra almonds over the top, shaking the pan gently to work them into the crevices.
Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the marshmallows, using a spatula to spread it. Shake the pan once more to make sure the chocolate seeps into all the crevices. Let cool. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to help set before cutting.
Cut into squares, cutting through the middle of each marshmallow. If you have an electric knife, it makes the job easier.
Store in a cool place.
So what does this have to do with writing or the business of being an agent? Nothing. And Everything. My mother created a book for us that will never be seen outside the family but it is a book that speaks to who we are and how we lived. Not all books are meant to be published.
In our quest to be published we have to remember to do the kind of writing that won’t be published but may mean far more than our books. Maybe it’s creating a scrapbook, keeping a journal, maintaining a Baby Book, writing Christmas letters, writing an article for the church newsletter, creating lessons for a Sunday School class, writing letters to elderly family members or… or… or…
What things have you written that will never be published?
First, I love the new heading picture!
* Looks like a wonderful recipe, Wendy, but not for me. I just can’t, any more.
* However…may I offer my ‘training table staple’?
– 1-1/2 cups Minute Rice
– 1/2 cup unflavoured Brewer’s Yeast powder
– 1/4 stick Imperial margarine (tastes best!)
* Combine and mix in a medium-sized bowl with water so that everything ‘floats’. Nuke for 3 minutes, covered, then stir and nuke for another 3 minutes. let stand for at least an hour in the microwave, and enjoy. Tastes good cold, as well.
* OK, ‘good’ is a relative term, but it’s really nutritious, and when you need to get full value for every bite you can keep down, it’s an excellent choice.
* It does need a name; MRE – “Meal Rejected by Ethiopians” – is already taken, so I’m thinking of calling it Waye…WHAT Are You Eating?????
* Nah. When Barb seems me making it, her expression is “WHAT The *** Are You Eating?????” And that does not lend itself to an acrostic.
In my enthusiasm for describing my culinary masterpiece (did I hear someone say abomination???) I completely overlooked the question of naming that which I have written that shall never emerge upon the sunlit stage of publication. So, at the risk, nay the CERTAINTY of being maudlin, here goes.
* My best writing has been offered here, at the Books and Such blog. This is where I pour my heart and my passion, where I check every word (and still frequently screw up), where I hesitate and hesitate again before pressing SUBMIT.
* Why? Because in becoming a very modestly successful novelist and blogger, I’ve stumbled into wealth beyond my wildest imagining…I have a family. I never had one before. When I was ten, I started carrying a pistol, and needed it. I have a wife, a very patient one…but she’s had to deal for lo these many years with her Wild Injun. I don’t do well with people. At all.
* But here…my God, you guys mean the world to me. I’m often the first to post a comment not because I’m competitive, but because each Books and Such post is like Christmas Morning…c’mon, guys. let’s get UP and open the presents that Janet and Wendy and Rachelle and Cynthia and Rachel and Michelle, and Kathleen have laid out under our digital tree!
* Sometimes I get it right, more often I get it half-right, and too often I stick both feet in my mouth, but this wonderful warm loving home gets the very best that I have to offer.
* So it’s maudlin, and sentimental, and way corny. I stand by every word.
And I guess I should add the disclaimer that Barb has enough Cherokee blood to qualify for tribal membership, so she has the right to call me a Wild Injun.
They are words worth standing by (your words are better than your cooking).
Andrew, that is so very sweet and hard to share. I have only been here a short while, but your words have entertained, made me think, and and made me smile. You have been added to my prayers and I eagerly look forward to your posts. I am so glad you have a family now. God provides in some of the most unexpected ways. *Virtual hug (or high five of you prefer)* May you continue to have a growing family.
Andrew, in my humble opinion, this is not maudlin. I love how God has created a family here in this space. Though I don’t often have time to comment on people’s comments, I love reading them and learning from them. And from you. I often marvel at where you take your answers. I am almost always guaranteed a glimpse at a different perspective from my own.
*You are a central part of this family. So thankful for you.
Amen, Andrew, but I would add reading both the Books and Such post AND your comment are daily encouragements for me. Never worry about what you say here because friends — and family — should not judge. (Not even your Brewer’s Rice recipe.)
Andrew, a word is a seed, and it never has to be published to change the course of a life, a community, a world. Jesus was the Living Word, but the words of scripture were written by men moved by the Holy Spirit. We too, are living epistles.
Just sayin, I like Wendy’s recipe a WHOLE lot better than your rice, butter, and brewers yeast creation. Of course, toss in a handful of M & Ma’s and I might just take a bite–a very small one. 🙂
Yes, Andrew … every blog post from B&S is like Christmas morning. I always look so forward to reading their posts … and their responses are gold. The first time I braved to comment, I couldn’t believe that Janet wrote me back. Such a blessing. And you all wrapped your arms around me and made me feel that I was a legitimate writer. That first day I commented, I had more blog views than I’d ever had. 🙂 And … I’m so thankful for you, Andrew. You have your own special place in my heart.
Yes, Andrew. We’re your family here. And most of your posts are delicious.
I treasure my Grandma Rosie’s cookbook, but true confession: I have never used any of her recipes. Her bread recipe starts, “grease 12 loaf pans” (I own two). The noodle recipe directs, “put clean towels over the backs of your kitchen chairs.” Somewhere in the middle of the book she notes, “I don’t own a measuring cup so when I say one cup, I mean one regular tea cup” (you should have given out tea cups with the cookbook, Granny). She reminds us not to give the leftovers to the dogs, “Don’t let the poor things go hungry.”
* I hear her voice on every page. She was a great cook, but a miserable housekeeper. I once asked one of my many cousins if her bathroom was really as dirty as I remembered, and his instant response was “Dirtier!” Grandma was bossy, opinionated and generous. Her cookbook reminds me that we don’t have to be perfect to be loved.
I love this glimpse into your heritage, Shirlee!
Ah, you have given me hope! Perhaps my children will not remember me for my housekeeping foibles but for my homemade rolls with the herbed olive oil on top! One can hope …
So sweet, Shirlee. I wish I had my great-grandmother’s tea-cake recipe. My grandmother had it, but all her recipes burned in the fire. But, of course, all recipes were recorded in her head anyway. My grandmother did everything without a recipe. Her “cup” was a coffee cup size. I always teased that she just didn’t want anyone else to make it as good as her. 🙂 No one could.
Shirlee, your first paragraph could be the beginning paragraph in a book. ❤️
I love this article. Those special memories will always be with you. My children and I have written picture books together that they illustrated. They are special treasures that are kept in my memory box. When they are older, I will make copies for them. Thank you for the moment of nostalgia. This has been a very hectic, crazy, emotional, overwhelming month, to the point of not feeling the slightest like Christmas. This at least gave me pause and get my mindset in the right place. Now to get my heart set right and prepared with Bible study.
Chocolate swirls are a code? Mind blown.
Books that won’t be published? My scrapbooks of the trips I’ve done with my mom.
Okay, back story…when Mom was 22 1/2 and the mother of a 4 and 2 year old,and very pregnant, her husband left her for his girlfriend. My grandfather, Mom’s dad, was a bona fide cowboy, thus, spoke fluent “shotgun”. We never saw that certain husband again. Mom worked hard and got an education, and then after a while met and married my new Dad, who adopted us. Life went from housing projects and frightening crime, to houses with cherry trees and birds and sweet peas on a vine…
None of us forgot from whence we came. So when Mom took me on a Mediterranean cruise for my 50th, you can imagine the discussions we had. One of which made us both choke up? “Did you ever imagine, sitting in that tenement on Yukon Street, keeping an eye out for roaches and rats, that one day, we’d be sitting on our balcony, sipping tea off Santorini at sunset?”
It was quite a trip, and I made the biggest scrapbook ever in the history of scrapbooks. I poured my heart into it. It was the least I could do. I was thrilled that my parents loved it.
Also, a tip…never use your fancy pants cruise ship fine art auction number card as a fan. That will a) mark you as a hick who’s never been to an art auction, or on a cruise ship, b ) you can’t afford that Rembrandt etching that they’re auctioning while you wave that number in the air, and c) your Mom will almost break your hand when she swats that number out of your paw.
True story.
Now, if I want to make my Mom lose it, I fan myself and ask her what we’re bidding on.
Awww, Jennifer, your story made me tear up. You have such a special family. And I mean that in the good “special,” not the sarcastic “special.” 😉 Loved this.
Jennifer,
I’m so glad you didn’t have to cough up the cost of that Rembrandt and thanks so much for sharing the story of your childhood. It seems we have something else in common besides red hair. 🙂
By the way, here’s a Chicago Tribune article that decodes most swirls: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-04-03/features/9404030064_1_chocolatiers-strings-candy
Beautiful story, Jennifer … beautiful life. 🙂
Beauty from ashes. Life is full of such things. Thank you for sharing this part of your history with us. It helped make you who you are and shaped the person we’ve come to appreciate and admire. Beautiful.
Oh, Wendy, you have my mouth watering! How cool that your grandmother worked as a dipper! I’ve seen television shows about those and they looked so graceful, twirling their fingers above their chocolate creations to create the distinctive swirls. I wish my late sister-in-law had known the “swirl codes.” We had to hide the candy or she’d take a bite out of each piece to see what it was. She’s been gone five years and I miss her so.
As far as something I’ve written that will never be published, I have several manuscripts in my Written folder, but I’ve also created a recipe book for my family, written church newsletters, Sunday school, Bible study and women’s group lessons. And I can’t forget the years of curriculum for my old training department at a certain “colorful” insurance company.
And yes, even though those bits were never pubbed, each one served to teach me something about communicating, even if it only helped me gain confidence.
Thanks for the recipe and thoughtful post, Wendy!
Wendy, I loved this post. And thanks for the recipe. I love the tradition and the memories that must be tied with this cookbook your mother made you. And rocky road candy? Yum! I have a boy who enjoys cooking and baking. I bet he’d love to try this recipe.
*I’ve written in journals since I was a teen. And, I even wrote some poetry back in those days. I’ve kept scrapbooks of our family and written the stories that accompany the photos that portray our life together. And, I actually began putting my writing out there by contributing to our church’s newsletter.
*I hope you and your family have a beautiful Christmas season!
You’ve made me cry this morning, Wendy. This is so sweet. And when I read these posts that you wrote so long ago, it breaks my heart that I didn’t find your website sooner in my life. *In one of my novels, my main character has to bake desserts quite a bit, so I included my grandmother’s banana pudding recipe, which is divine. *Things I’ve written that will never be published? A few songs, poems, a middle grade novel. But the thing that has blessed us the most is my journal on each of my children. I’d write down all the funny, sweet things they’d do and say. I use a few of those when I do public speaking, and we love to read through them all and laugh till our sides ache. 🙂
I love the new picture! So pretty. And I know what you mean about the writing that was never meant for publication being some of the most priceless work we will do. I’m in the process of backing up nine years of blogs that contain so many of the crazy stories involving my three sons and years worth of their crazy quotes. Whenever I update my blog it warns me that I might lose everything and after years of hoping that I could back it all up in one fell swoop, I’ve decided I must preserve these words the slow way. Blog by blog, cut and paste, into a word document. As I go through the blog, I’m realizing that you are right, the words that really are meant for my family and the blogs I write for the small camp where we work, these are some of the most important words I will every pen. It is a good reminder not to focus too much on the words I hope will be published so that I feel like a failure as a writer if they are not. I mean, because I wrote this down on a napkin and then my blog and then moved them to a file to keep, I will have these gems to pass on to my boys.
Dec. 2011
Sweet Boy#2–Told his little brother, “Your hair’s being munched off because it’s badguy hair.”
All three boys–Held a heated discussion over who would be the winner in a battle between a bear and a “war bunny.”
Sweet Boy#1–I start to leave the dark bedroom before he has finished putting away his jammies and he explains why he needs me to stay. “Momma, you’re like my light.”
Sweet Boy#3–Asks for a “Puppy Seed Muffin.”
Sweet Boy#2–“Let’s play Bunny Brothers.”
Sweet Boy#3–“I like to pee on the floor!!!”
Kristen, I LOVE all your stories about your sweet boys! Cracks me up. So real. I bet when the Heavenly Father needs a chuckle, He says, “Let’s go see what the Wilks boys are up to.”
Ha ha, well, He sent us these crazy and funny boys. The least He could do is check in on them once in awhile and share a laugh. I’m sure He does, actually.
Yes, Kristen … kids are the funniest things. 🙂 We’ll always cherish these memories, no matter how bad our memories may get over time, because we can go back and read them.
First, I thought that was a new picture of the Books and Such women, but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t zoom in on my phone, but I thought that was Cynthia in the middle. Nice!
Also, I enjoyed the post, AND the recipe which I am going to use for the goodie trays I make and give out. Easy enough, tasty, and homemade. Just the way I like my goodie making.
What may never be published?
My journals.
My personal letters received.
Funny books I created for children just to laugh that sit on my shelf and have never been offered up.
My personal cookbook of recipes collected and dishes I created.
My studies of God’s word or topical studies.
My drawings of how the mind functions, and how trauma is stored, and how it is released to God for healing.
My binder of many poems. The binder itself is called, “Brave Butterflies” after a short poem, and wire sculpture I had created for a showing at the Minnesota Arts Board in the past.
It goes like this:
Up from the trash and trials of life arise,
Beautiful, brilliant, brave butterflies.
Written 2010
There are WIPS and there are book ideas laid out. But, none of it may ever see publication, but I know it is not lost to my Father’s eyes and heart. I must simply persist as long as He places it on my heart.
If you ask me what is my bravest writing this far, it is writing here on this blog. A newer writer making comments among those with greater experience, more knowledge and insight of the writer’s world and publication, and less typos. I have a choice: I can let my inexperience and errors push me away or I can continue on to learn and grow. I continue on even if I am never published, I will continue on.
Loving all the comments.
This is such a touching post, Wendy. I love that you are passing your family’s tradition on. Something I’ve written that will never be published are the dozens of journals I started when I gave my heart to the Lord. I find scribbling my thoughts down to be therapeutic as I wrestle with this thing called faith. I hope my journals will someday serve as a testimony of God’s faithfulness for my family. They may also lend to research for my memoir when the time is right.
Wendy, this recipe looks divine!
My kids may get to try this…
What a great picture of you all!
This was such a sweet post today. In the old days, I wrote letters to my grandmothers. The letters we sent back and forth were precious and ‘writings’ I’ll keep forever. Thanks for sharing, Wendy!
My mom spent 13 years giving inspirational talks at her church each Wednesday. When she retired from that effort, my dad gave me all her notes. It took a year of editing and self-publishing, but now she has plenty of copies of “Every Wednesday Morning” to share with friends and family. It was worth every minute!
How delightful! My sister and I are tossing around the idea of culling family recipes to make a family cookbook for family members. We had a family reunion this fall, the favorite moment was when my sister baked pillow soft sugar cookies likemy maternal grandmother used to make every time we visited her. My cousins and siblings, mother and uncle, were transported back to grandmother’s white-with-pine-green-trim cottage that was always a
place of cheer and love. I like to bake some of the old family recipes for my dad. He enjoys them so much. I made his mother’s spice cake with crumb topping just last week. When he was a boy his mother made it for his birthday. Dad is eighty-eight and has the stories to tell. It’s all about the love.
Ooooh, those sugar cookies sound awesome! I love soft sugar cookies! Let us know if you ever share the recipe!
My grown children look forward to certain recipes every Christmas. NO EXCEPTION. Most of them came from my grandma, the favorites I grew up with. I cherish the perfect scroll of her penmanship on those recipe cards and the memories of us together in her kitchen.
Wonderful post (and comments). I’d like to try my hand at making your rocky road this year. I’ll let you know how it goes…. I am not the sharpest knife in the kitchen, if you know what I mean 🙂
I am still questing for publication, but I feel the works I create (even the unpublished) means something. I work in severe special education, and I write up all kinds of documents for the school district. I write IEPs for my students, assignments for my masters program, scrapbooks for my children, very inconsistent journal entries, and of course the annual attempts to write meaningful messages in student yearbooks to inspire them to be their best.