A little food nostalgia ... and hurray for Sanders

Simple scenes from our childhood often can be recalled more strongly than anything else. We're so busy, I believe, that the simple everyday pleasures don't make it into our long-term memories as often, unless we make a point to focus on them. Food often can be part of our memories, both of our own lives and people. 

For example, I cannot see the Michigan brand cottage cheese or Keebler® Fudge Stripes without thinking of my Gram (Ruth) LaBerge or Bill Knapp's® desserts without thinking of my Grandpa (Ed) Seebaldt. (Even though the restaurants are no more, the desserts live on and are distributed by various companies.)

One scene I still can picture from my childhood is sitting at a Sanders counter in Detroit near our old house on the west side. I remember the way the counter looked and that I was sitting with my Mom, eating a hot fudge ice cream puff. I was about five years old. 

I've had my share of sundaes and other ice cream concoctions, but very few I remember like the ones I consumed at Sanders, which probably is why the company is doing so amazingly well right now, as described in this Detroit Free Press article. Well, that, and the fact that Sanders' dark hot fudge sauce is the best I've ever had. 

Sometimes nostalgia meets the present. These are the places I remember going to that were fun and kid-friendly.Sanders is still around in Michigan, but Farrell's, where I (and my cousins) had a few birthday parties, and Friendly's, whose desserts came pretty close to Sanders' quality, aren't in Michigan anymore. (I was happy to see, though, that they both are still around in some parts of the country. I did go to a Friendly's restaurant in New York about five years ago, again with Mom.Their milkshakes still are the best!) 

What foods or restaurants make you nostalgic and why? Tell me why they're so wonderful. 

Review: Heart Smart Cookbook

A classic cookbook which was published in 1991 by the Detroit Free Press/Henry Ford Health System, this was a recent garage sale find that I reacquainted myself with (my original copy disappeared somewhere between Novi and Mt. Pleasant more than 10 years ago); its contents take into account people's tastes while catering to the wisdom of the time.

Overall, it's a great cookbook. (How many cookbooks tell you how to make your own natural peanut butter and your own turkey breakfast sausage?) I've made quite a few recipes in it in the past. These are real recipes that people would make and eat.

The one thing that's a little outdated, perhaps, is the emphasis on total avoidance of egg yolks and minimizing all fat (including healthy oils, such as olive oil), but that's a small thing. The one bit of nutritional information it is missing is fiber, which wasn't considered as important to healthy eating as overall fat content in 1991.

What I didn't know until I tried to look up the original publish date of this book, is that a second one has been published. I hope to get a copy soon and see if Heart Smart II cookbook is even better.