By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
I was having a conversation with a young girl a while back and we were getting ready to cook a meal. I asked her to get the potatoes she did and then asked why they had dirt on them. I told her that potatoes grow in the ground and she was astounded. It is so sad that children do not know where their food comes from. Momma Said, “It would probably blow her mind if she found out where peanuts come from.”
My Granddad used to have a farm that had a lot of fertile river bottom ground. It was very sandy and he grew peanuts all the time. The cantaloupes were huge and the watermelons were so sweet they were like candy. I miss those days playing in the dirt while we dug potatoes and peanuts. It was like being at the beach you really didn’t even get dirty the soil was so sandy.
I wish I had that farm today but I guess it was not meant to be. Probably turned into a housing development for all I know. I had a lot of fun visiting there in the summers. I knew every good tree to climb and all the best places to just have good, clean, honest FUN. I was a child of the sunshine and hated to be indoors. I helped put in the gardens, work in the hay fields and run for miles.
I envy people who inherited family land it is something that cannot be replaced. I see lands that used to be operating farms just lying fallow. I guess the grandparents passed on and the heirs just don’t give a hoot. The grandparents probably slaved every day to carve a lifestyle out of basic wilderness to give their family a chance to survive and now they are gone and so is the pride. Momma Said, “I was willing to keep things going but never got the chance.”
Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 (16 ounce) package brown sugar
- ½ cup condensed milk
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8×8 inch greased pan. Chill until firm and cut into squares.