Food is Love

I learned a great truth from my Mamaw as a little girl. Basically is boils down to the simple statement - Food is Love. This always leads me in two different directions. One - If you love someone, you will feed them. (Whether they are hungry or not.) And two - If someone loves you, they will love the food you cook. I know if your last name isn't Rentzel you might not understand this, but trust me, it is true.

My Mamaw was born in 1925 and grew up in Glades, PA. She is a strong, giving and loving woman, rich with opinions and traditions. She is also one of the best cooks in my life. Some of my favorite dishes she makes are - Hog Maw, Chicken Cacciatore, Fried Livers & Mashed Potatoes, Red Beets w/Eggs, Potato Salad, Lemon Sponge Pie, Chocolate Cake w/Peanut Butter Icing, Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs, and Poof (Watergate Salad).

This past Christmas she kept telling me how much she liked my new shoes..... so I bought her a pair to match! She asked me if a "Grandma can wear silver shoes with sparkles?" and I replied that they can wear whatever they choose.

I love her so much and I'm so blessed to have her in my life. The silver shoes look good. Right?

Loopholes

This year instead of making multiple New Year resolutions I decided to make monthly goals instead. My January goals were not to drink soda and not to watch any TV shows. The "No TV Shows" was an excellent goal. Sometimes I waste my brain watching to much TV and it made sense to me to get that impulse under control. But to stop drinking soda for a month is just a crazy, seriously ridiculous goal. Why would I want to do that??? Well turns out I really didn't want to - so check out my loopholes.

1 - I had several bottles of sparkling apple juice because it is not soda, it is juice that just happens to have carbonation. Really it was "premium quality 100% juice from U.S. grown fresh apples, with no concentrates, no added water, no preservatives, no sweeteners and no additives of any kind".

2 - One cup (plus a refill) of "Orange Drink". Yes - Not Soda - definitely in the same family as punch and really, punch is not soda.

3 - Two bottles of single serve Kool Aid. Once again, punch, not soda.

4 - One big glass of lemonade. I took a vote among the roommates and they all voted that lemonade would never be considered soda.

I'm going to have to make February a little tighter - less room for any possible loopholes.

Wish me luck!