Hard Choices: Ones Gotta Go

Strawberry Shortcake, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding, Apple Crisp #1GottaGo

Honestly, this one is so easy for me so...goodbye banana pudding! I wonder why though. I love bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla wafers and together they are extremely delicious. They make that perfect texture combination; smooth, light, crunchy. Maybe it's too simple in comparison to the other three? Like actually baking something makes it more extravagant and satisfying? In my head, it makes sense that the baking process requires more effort than just whipping together pudding. If it was a banana cream pie, though, this would be a completely different discussion. Especially a Sharon Wales banana cream pie.

That brings me to the winner of this group, peach cobbler. Once again, a Sharon Wales peach cobbler is always my preferred choice but Grandma is getting older and has trouble getting around these days. My Aunt Dee could bake too. We lost her a few years ago. It's kind of left a void in the family and the baking. I enjoy baking, so I try.

My Aunt Dee's boss, Cheryl, had gone to Georgia. She brought back a crate of peaches for my grandma. That was by far the best peach cobbler I've ever eaten. So sweet and juicy with a buttery crust. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. As the ice cream melted, it soaked into the cobbler as if you had added a splash of cream as an after thought. I can picture the family gatherings and holidays in my head. Everyone is younger. Everyone is there, Aunt Dee, Grandpa, Carter. I see the newly remodeled kitchen in the Wilkinson house. The large, but not large enough dining room table.

I hear my aunts talking about how Grandma always babied my dad. He had two classic responses all lined up for them and the dessert table was actually the key to deciding which zinger you got from him. If there was a banana cream pie, my dad would say that he was the favorite, with a large grin, and cut himself a large piece of pie. If there was no banana cream pie, he'd shake his head, put on a devastated smirk, and remind everyone that he clearly couldn't be the favorite. Grandma hadn't made him a pie.

Wow! I had planned to write about each food and why it got to stay, but it boils down to this. Banana pudding, you have got to go. I'm sorry, but you're no banana cream pie.