The facts of life

So today I walked to my favorite consignment shop to buy some clothes that fit and I stopped into the new Salvadorean place next door for a bit of lunch. I was reaching for the small carton of Tropicana Not From Concentrate orange juice when I spotted the Stewart's Cherries and Cream soda. I couldn't resist.

It's not the same as Big Red, which was always my favorite in the realm of red cream sodas, but you try finding Big Red here in Washington. I don't know if you can even get Big Red any longer, so the Stewart's was the closest I could come.

Frankly, the Red taste in Big Red was never cherry, even if it was supposed to be. The Stewart's tasted either a lot or a little like Robitussin, depending on your palate. Mine said "a lot." It seemed sweeter than necessary and with not enough vanilla flavoring. I came away from drinking the soda feeling that I'd been seduced by the old-fashioned label, the fact that it came in a glass bottle, and the picture of the cherry vanilla ice cream cone on the front.

Have I mentioned my fondness for cherry vanilla ice cream? I used to get mine at Polar Bear Ice Cream in Dallas. The one across from Kidd Springs Park looked like an igloo, honest. For whatever reason--I say that because I never considered that there was a reason when I was 10--Polar Bear had the best cherry vanilla. I have never found its equal with the perfect balance of ivory vanilla ice cream and red cherry chunks with a little bit of sauce.

My conclusion is that everything, particularly sweets, is better when you are 10. I know that banana pudding with vanilla wafers was better; Ding Dongs were a lot better. Shortbread was bettter, because that was before my mom got a job and forgot how to cook, although I have to admit that I still get a major charge out of shortbread from time to time.

Brownies from a mix were better, but scratch brownies are better now that I bake them myself. My favorites are the chocolate cherry brownies, which feature a lot of butter, a lot of chocolate, a little bit of flour and dried cherries cooked until they plump up to tender little bits of goodness. Add the plumping water to the batter... mmmmm.

Mom still likes the chocolate covered cherry cordials that you get at Christmas; I can't stand those, but they were quite a treat when I was 10. See what I mean?

before - after