http://gagasisterhood.com/general/grandmas-candy-dish-brings-back-sweet-memories/ Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:16:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://gagasisterhood.com/general/grandmas-candy-dish-brings-back-sweet-memories/#comment-520 Carolyn Kennedy Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://gagasisterhood.com/?p=1780#comment-520 My paternal grandparents came from Greece and learned to make candy. Hand dipped chocolates and ribbon candy were part of my life. I could watch my grandmother work the chocolate with her fingers until the chocolate was the right consistency and then roll nuts or raisins, finishing each candy with a special chocolate swirl. My grandfather and uncle owned a candy business and after school I would go there and could choose something from the glass counter. Some of my favorites were dark chocolate wintergreen patties and the peanut clusters. At Christmas time I'd watch my grandfather work the flavored sugar syrup on the shop's marble counter until it was like spun glass and then shape it into the traditional ripples of ribbon candy. People would line up down the street from the shop, waiting to purchase one or more of the white boxes of ribbon candy my grandfather made. My Norwegian mother definitely had a sweet tooth also and we often made pans of fudge and then raced to see who could eat the last piece. Eventually I got married, but to a man who was allowed maybe one or two candy bars a year. One day I came home from grocery shopping. I had fortified myself for the chore with a Clarks Bar. When I got home, my husband pulled the wrapper, sticking out of my coat pocket, and waved it in my face. "What is this?" he demanded to know. Maybe it was because I was pregnant at the time but I felt accused of some dreadful crime. Today my nine year old granddaughter is following in my tradition. She loves nothing more than to go to a candy store and while they are not penny candies any more, there are still bins to select from, and her father allows her to fill her bag halfway, and then it is weighed and paid for. One day after we got home, she climbed onto her bed, started eating her candy, and said, "There is nothing better than to sit in bed and eat candy." My paternal grandparents came from Greece and learned to make candy. Hand dipped chocolates and ribbon candy were part of my life. I could watch my grandmother work the chocolate with her fingers until the chocolate was the right consistency and then roll nuts or raisins, finishing each candy with a special chocolate swirl.
My grandfather and uncle owned a candy business and after school I would go there and could choose something from the glass counter. Some of my favorites were dark chocolate wintergreen patties and the peanut clusters. At Christmas time I’d watch my grandfather work the flavored sugar syrup on the shop’s marble counter until it was like spun glass and then shape it into the traditional ripples of ribbon candy. People would line up down the street from the shop, waiting to purchase one or more of the white boxes of ribbon candy my grandfather made.
My Norwegian mother definitely had a sweet tooth also and we often made pans of fudge and then raced to see who could eat
the last piece.
Eventually I got married, but to a man who was allowed maybe one or two candy bars a year. One day I came home from grocery shopping. I had fortified myself for the chore with a Clarks Bar. When I got home, my husband pulled the wrapper, sticking out of my coat pocket, and waved it in my face. “What is this?” he demanded to know. Maybe it was because I was pregnant at the time but I felt accused of some dreadful crime.
Today my nine year old granddaughter is following in my tradition. She loves nothing more than to go to a candy store and while they are not penny candies any more, there are still bins to select from, and her father allows her to fill her bag halfway, and then it is weighed and paid for. One day after we got home, she climbed onto her bed, started eating her candy, and said, “There is nothing better than to sit in bed and eat candy.”

]]> http://gagasisterhood.com/general/grandmas-candy-dish-brings-back-sweet-memories/#comment-248 Susan Adcox Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://gagasisterhood.com/?p=1780#comment-248 My dad is 93 and still lives alone. He eats a whole grapefruit every morning and he loves other fruits and salad. I feel sure that his healthy eating habits have prolonged his life. My dad is 93 and still lives alone. He eats a whole grapefruit every morning and he loves other fruits and salad. I feel sure that his healthy eating habits have prolonged his life.

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