Can I Borrow Cup of Sugar?

Before I even made the trek home to Delaware, my mother was making me a to-do list for my visit. I got this e-mail from her two days before I left....

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FYI----------- 1. DE is now a no hand held phones while driving state.  They don't need any other reason to pull you over, and tickets run over $100, so BE CAREFUL !!!!!

                  2. We're invited to a cookout at Winnie and Mary's on Sunday evening.  I'm doing deviled eggs, of course, and you're  making the pretzel salad.  Hope that's OK with you.

See you soon!!     

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I love my Mom. It's her recipe, but somehow being the family Pretzel Salad chef has become my trademark. Lucky for her I enjoy doing it.

I had the same job last summer when I was home, although we ran into some snags last time. First off, the cookbook she had the recipe in was missing a step. It didn't say to put any sugar in with the crushed pretzels and butter, so when I baked the crust, it didn't harden. Luckily I noticed it in time to make a second attempt. But then we realized the bigger problem -- there was no sugar in the house.

While this may seem strange to a lot of people, it actually makes a lot of sense since my Mom is diabetic and doesn't bake that much. I was grabbing my keys to head out to the store when she said, "Just go next door and ask Sue (her neighbor) if you can borrow some sugar."

 

I don't know about you, but the last time I saw anyone pop next door to borrow a cup of a sugar, I'm pretty sure I was watching a "Leave It To Beaver" or "I Love Lucy" show. Who borrows food from their neighbor any more? But then I reminded myself it's one of the great things about small town life -- people still actually know each other well enough to do things like that.

Sue is a lovely woman, but sadly also equipped with a pantry devoid of sugar. So it was my sister-in-law to the rescue, and the baking continued.

Fast forward to this visit, and the first thing I asked Mom when I arrived was whether she had sugar. This time, she did, which was actually kind of sad, because I didn't have an excuse to bug Sue. Luckily she dropped by and I got to say hello, even if I was without a measuring cup in hand.