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| My Grandma Gipson and my sister Sherry outside the office of the MFA Farmers Exchange in Ava, MO (ca. 1954). |
Among my earliest memories are climbing to the rafters of
the warehouse on bags full of seed, watching the “egg man” in his thick glasses
grade the eggs, and playing house in the kitchen of the meeting room. The exchange office had a water fountain with
the coldest water I had ever drunk, and the Pauline, the indulgent clerk, let me
sit up on a high stool and punch numbers into an adding machine. The sweet,
earthy smell of the warehouse, the cool green tiles on the meeting room floor where
I’d lie on my stomach on hot summer days, and the taste of the orange pop
Grandma let me buy for a nickel from the big red soda machine are sensations
I’ll never forget.
At Halloween each year, I’m reminded of one of my happiest
memories from the MFA days. If we were really good (and sometimes even when we
weren’t very good at all), Grandpa would give my sister and me pennies to spend
at the nearby dime store. My most frequent purchase was those goofy wax
lips, which I’d wear as long as I could before I chewed them up into a hard
nugget of gray paraffin.
While wax lips are gluten-free, they’re not among the candy
selections I’d make today. Give me a Snickers bar or a Reese’s Peanut Butter
Cup any day of the week (but not every
day of the week). Fortunately, those candies are also gluten-free, as are many
of the most popular brands.
Consider passing out gluten-free candy to the goblins and
superheroes in your neighborhood this Halloween. For a complete list of Gluten-free
and Gluten-safe Halloween Candy (compiled in 2012), go to:
Fall parties at school are also common this time of year.
Here is my list of gluten-free snacks that can be easily adapted for
classrooms:
Rice Krispies Treats made with GF Rice Krispies
Apple slices with caramel sauce (Check label, but it’s
usually GF)
Frozen grapes (Doug’s favorite healthy snack; use seedless)
Chex Cereal, divided into little baggies (not Wheat Chex)
Dried Fruit
Nut Thin Crackers and canned cheese (Check label)
Cheese sticks
Popcorn or popcorn balls (My personal favorite)
Fruit kebabs (on toothpicks)
Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate
Gummi worms
Meringues
GF Goldfish
Fruit Rollups
Trail Mix (Sunflower seeds, M&Ms, GF pretzels, dried
cranberries or raisins)
Raisins
Individual pudding or gelatin cups (Check labels)
Celery sticks with sunflower seed butter
Carrot sticks and dip
Individual bags of Lays or other GF potato chips
For some super cute snack ideas, go to Pinterest and type in
“Gluten free snacks for kids.” Find Jordan Nicole’s board for some ideas that
you could even have the kids make.
Pie Crust Update:
I made a couple of pumpkin pies today with the Kinnickinnik
frozen pie crusts that I bought yesterday. My pumpkin pie recipe filled both of
the 8” piecrusts that came in the box—with enough left over to make a crustless
pie in a little ramekin. You know what? The frozen crust wasn’t half bad! It
had a nice texture and tasted great! I’d say it’s a fine alternative to rolling
out your own.
Correction:
My mom took exception to my credited source for the Pumpkin
Pecan Perfection recipe that I posted yesterday. She said that she was indeed responsible for my having
that recipe—NOT Midwest Living Magazine.
According to Mom, she got the recipe from our hairdresser and told me about it. At that point I somehow hi-jacked the recipe and started making it for all the family gatherings, and she lost credit for having
discovered it. So, there you go, Mom. I’ve come clean.
