By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! Such beautiful weather we are having. I love it. I guess I will cancel my plans to move to the retirement mecca of Boca Raton.
I was born in the City of Paris, AR and lived in the City of Booneville until I was seven. Then we moved to Mansfield. I missed all my cousins and the play dates we had, but my dad worked at the sawmill in Mansfield, so that is why we moved. Booneville was where most of my mom and dad’s families lived. That was some 54 years ago. Mansfield is my home now, but I still go to Booneville once a month or so. Some of the cousins meet at a Mexican restaurant, eat and visit. I have one aunt left, and she comes to meet with us also. We have a good time. If the weather permits when you arrive in town, there is an older gentleman dressed as Batman standing by the side of the road waving at everyone. It just makes my day when he is out there. I also like to go to the Walmart in Booneville and get groceries. I was just shopping and looking at stuff and I pass this tall, kind looking gentleman. I speak to everyone, so I said, “hello.” He looks in my cart and says, “looks like you are going to have more fun than I am.” I had all kinds of junk in there and stuff to make cupcakes for my great niece’s birthday party. I said, “yes, I am making stuff for a party” He wanted to know if I was a good cook. You know me, no modesty at all, as I reply, ” I am a very good cook.” That seemed to pique his interest. Then he asked me, “what do you like to do for fun?” I didn’t tell him, but I Have a lot of things I do for fun. We go on our merry way. I am checking out with all my groceries, and he is checking out at the same time, and he says, “I can help you with those groceries. I will load them in your car for you.” I replied, “I got it, I don’t have that much.” He was really nice, but I don’t have time for such goings on.
A few days later, my cousin went to the Booneville Walmart and a man asked her if she was married, if she had kids and if she did, would they be jealous of him. She told him yes, and that she had been for 40 years. He must have thought that to be unbelievable because he said, “so you have been married twice?” She said, “no, just once.” He told her that he was looking for a girlfriend. He said he had a girlfriend, but it didn’t work out and he broke up with her. While my cousin was shopping, she heard him ask three more women the same thing. She called and described the man to me, but it was not the same man. The moral to this whole story is if your single and looking, Booneville Walmart is the place to be. Ya’ll have a great week and enjoy the weather.
If your spouse is still alive, tell them how much they mean to you and how much you love them. This week’s recipe reminds me of my childhood when I would walk to the Kerr McGee gas station owned by Mammy and Pappy Reece and get me a cold Grapette out of the machine.
GRAPE CRUSH CAKE OR CUPCAKES
4 egg whites, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups grape soda
1 white cake mix (dry)
1 package of grape Kool-Aid
4-6 drops of purple food coloring
Preheat oven to 350-degree, spray your cake pan or get out your cupcake liners. These are super cute for a kid’s party. You can get those colored paper straws in purple and white and stick in the side when you are finished decorating or use sprinkles. Add the egg whites, oil and grape soda to a mixing bowl and use your hand mixer and mix until well-combined. Add the cake mix, grape Koop-Aid and few drops of the food coloring and mix well, until the purple streaks are gone. Fill your cupcake liners or cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I would start at 15 minutes and go from there. Less if you are doing cupcakes. I would just buy the white frosting in the can. To make it go further, I add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar and mix with my hand mixer and add the rest of your purple food coloring till it’s the color you want. If you want to make homemade frosting, you can.
