Meet My Connection

I mentioned before that the Sugar Baby's future father-in-law procured for me a bag of Aero Bubbles (which I inhaled) and I hadn't even met him. I finally had the good pleasure of getting liquored up dining out with him and the future mother-in-law last weekend during a blissfully child-free evening, where The Future MIL presented me with a gem that she unearthed during a cleaning frenzy. It's a cookbook, simply titled, "Candy Cookbook." This is a brilliant little publication from the year MCMLXVI (I was absent the day we learned Roman numerals, so this could be a gift from the future for all I know) and it includes every possible date nut roll and fudge recipe you could ever want.

The first chapter is an instant draw: "Candy Favorites From First Ladies." Apparently it's a requirement that you know how to make candy if your husband is to be the president or governor. (Which begs the question, if Hilary had won, would Bill have had to put on an apron and start whipping up some peanut brittle?) Then it moves on to chapters of beaten candy, fruit candy, drop candy and, my favorite, nut confections. Take, for example, these two randomly chosen pages where you'll find the following recipes:

Brown Sugar Pralines

Buttermilk Pralines

Best Creamy Pralines

Creamy Brown Sugar Pralines

Cream Pralines

Creamy Pralines

Creamy Pralines (no, not a typo; there are two Creamy Praline recipes)

Creamy Creole Pralines

Creamy Praline Patties

Louisiana Cream Pralines

Creole Pralines

(and then, if you turn the page, Delicious Pralines, Easy Pralines, Mexican Pralines, Orange Pralines, etc., etc.)

Let me tell you, this book has it all. But perhaps the very best part is the introduction. In case you can't read it, here's what it says:

"Candy is Fun Food ...

... fun to make and fun to eat. And candy is energy food for young and old alike. The things that candy is made of-- sugar, corn syrup, molasses, honey ... butter, eggs, milk, cream ... chocolate, nuts, fruits, jams-- contain the basic proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that children and adults need in their daily diets."

Didja get that?! CANDY IS ENERGY FOOD! Woohoo! Yes, dear reader, this is your official license to eat candy! Hey, it must be true because the Candy Cookbook says so!

So today, the future MIL came over for a playdate and she had a surprise for me-- a bag of chocolate Skittles. "The Connection found these at the train station on his way home," she said. "I asked him if he tried them and he said, "Oh no, they're for Ms. Yum Yum," causing her to wonder what he might've had as his afterwork commute snack. I'm quite sure it was a banana or perhaps a bottle of water and some celery sticks. I haven't tried the Skittles yet. I'm going to wait until No-Nuts gets home from work so I can get her opinion, too.