What's your "Guilty Pleasure"? We all have those 1 or 2 things in life that just make us happy, above most others.
I love food. I make no bones about it. I've watched cooking programs all my life. I rejoiced when the Food Network came into being. Now there is also the cooking channel. If I could, I'd go to Culinary School, just for the joy of cooking.
Savory foods are wonderful. To me, there's nothing that says home more than to walk in a home and smell dinner cooking. I made chili Monday. It was the first pot of the season. It looked great in the pot but, the real pay off was when my wife came home and stopped in her tracks when she came in the house. "I smell delicious Chili!" The smile on her face said it all. She was home! It's the best feeling in the world when I have made a meal that everyone enjoys.
Although I love savory foods. There's something about desert that I really just admire. The smell and look of a well put together desert just really does it for me. I envy and respect anyone who can bake and decorate a cake.
I watch "Cake Boss" all the time and am just floored by the work he does by hand with a piping bag.
When we were growing up in NewJersey, in Mom's list of errands was a stop at the local bakery. What a wonderful place! The smells of pastry mixed with freshly baked bread was just something. If I was good, I might even get a sugar cookie as a treat from the lady behind the counter. I miss real bakeries. There are few left.
My mother was not much of a baker. But, during the holidays, she would bake treats that just couldn't be beat. Jelly Roll, Pound Cake and the like. Mom used to have to hide the baked deserts from us kids. My brother Mickey's favorite cake was a Marble Cake made by our Grandmother. To this day, I can't eat Marble Cake without thinking of Mickey or Grandma.
Cup cakes are a great treat. I could never keep cup cakes in the house while the children were growing up. What could be better than a piece of cake that was designed to come with you? Last year, after my Heart Surgery, my youngest daughter and I made cup cakes decorated with broken hearts and brought them to the Cardio Thoracic and the Cardiology clinic. My daughter made cupcakes decorated with "googley" eyes on them for the Ophthalmology Clinic when they started taking care of my Glaucoma. (Yes, I'm falling apart.). We bring the goodies to the Naval Hospital often, to show appreciation not only for the Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Corpsmen and other support staff. It's nice to give a surprise to people occasionally. It supports the troops.
We show our care for people with food. It's a long standing tradition which crosses most cultural lines. I have visited homes in every part of the world and from the "Richest" to the "Most Humble", I was always offered food when I arrived. No guest to my home can be there long without being offered food of one sort or another. My son's coffee is legendary.
Coffee might be a guilty pleasure for me. Those who know me know that I love my coffee and rarely turn down a cup of the hot black brew. I'm drinking a cup now. The smell of good coffee is intoxicating. It reminds me of so many good things in my life. There is always coffee available in my home. Coffee also has significance to me as a Sailor. Shipboard, there is always coffee available. If your shop didn't have it's own coffee mess; you could always get a cup of hot coffee on the mess deck. Ships run 24 hours a day and the Sailors aboard are often times fueled by Navy Coffee. The United States Navy even has it's own special blend of coffee.
But, I have not yet mentioned my absolute favorite, above all others, guilty pleasure.
An Ice Cream Cone. Not a bowl of ice cream. Not a Sundae. A banana split is confectionary delight. I do enjoy one occasionally. But, for my money, given a choice; Vanilla Ice Cream on a traditional hard cone (I think they call them sugar cones in the store) can't be beat. When I was thinking about writing this, I had to decide which flavor is my favorite. There are so many choices and I decided on good old fashioned Vanilla. It's simple and unpretentious. You can do so much with Vanilla but, on my cone, I'd like nothing but ice cream, please.
Thank goodness for sugar free ice cream. There are some brands out there that taste wonderful. Otherwise, it would be a long time between cones for me.
Who remembers walking down the street or the boardwalk or on the beach with an ice cream cone? It wasn't just the taste and refreshing cold of the treat. We always tried to keep the melting ice cream from escaping. We didn't want any to be wasted.
At one point, I guess I was a young teenager; my Mother had decided that the language of us kids had become way to "Salty". She instituted a fine system. Quarters would wind up in the swear jar. There was only one problem. When Mom felt that the jar was full enough, she would take us to Dairy Queen. These were the days when Dairy Queen only sold ice cream. No burgers or hot dogs or fries. Certainly nothing as elaborate as today. We would all get ice cream cones.
An ice cream cone can always make me feel better. I had one last night after dinner. It made me feel much better, after the emotional day.
So, my friends, I suggest that if you are feeling low, need cheering up or just want a treat; have an ice cream cone! There are more flavors than you can imagine now a days. I'm sure you'll find one you like. It will put a smile on your face. I promise. No need to feel guilty.
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