Bettie Week 13: First Bite of Heaven
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https://www.thespruceeats.com/perfect-banana-split-recipe-305712 |
Ever since my sister and I were little, whenever our parents took us to the store or to a restaurant, we would always ask the same question every time we laid our eyes upon something new: “Can we pretty please get that?” And the answer was always no. My father was particularly strict with us to the point where our family friends would joke that if they left their children with him whenever they were disobedient, they would be behaving properly after a single day.
One of the items that my father did not allow in the house was sugar. Pure sugar. And that meant no Sour Patches, Airheads, Haribo Goldbears, Nerds, rainbow sour belts, or milk chocolate (dark chocolate was fine)—you name it. In stores, he would zoom past the candy and ice cream aisles, forcing my sister and me to chase him down with our short legs, missing the opportunity to be mesmerized by the candy extravaganza.
During winter breaks, my family and I would usually go on our annual skiing trips, leaving on Friday nights and coming back on Monday or Tuesday evenings. On one of the trips, when I was about six years old, we made a small stop to grab some dinner at Denny’s before we continued heading on to Reno. I remember being half asleep, groggily walking through the doors of the restaurant before finally plopping myself down at one of their booths, being enlightened by the three crayons and the kids menu. As a typical child, I ordered chicken tenders with fries and a side of mac and cheese and vanilla yogurt.
When we all finished eating, as per usual, the waiter came around and asked whether we wanted to take a look at the dessert menu or have the check. My sister and I were waiting for our dad’s classic response of taking the check, but this time, he asked for the dessert menu. Our ears immediately perked up, and we became fully awake after hearing those foreign words. My dad? Dessert? Sugar? Those words never went with each other. But being excited to finally be able to order dessert for the first time in a restaurant completely overtook us, and we decided to choose what seemed to be the fanciest option—the banana split.
As the dessert was set in the center of the table, I couldn't help but marvel at the stunning display: three perfect scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, flanked by a banana split in half on each side, with whipped cream filling every crevice. Topped with cherries, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and a sprinkle of colorful toppings, it was all elegantly arranged in a footed glass bowl.
At that time, in my six years of life, I had never seen anything more heavenly than that dessert, and until this day, I never forgot that first bite of pure bliss.
Hi Bettie, I absolutely love your description of how you felt when you had a dessert for the first time. I personally cannot imagine not being allowed to eat any sugary foods when I was a kid as gorging on chocolate cakes and brownies was a huge part of my childhood. My dad actually has the biggest sweet tooth in our family so far from preventing us from eating sugar, he would eat it himself. However, he has become more strict when getting older so now I can relate to how you must have felt whenever your dad said no to the dessert menu. It's always a dejected feeling when I become extremely excited to eat the molten chocolate lava cake, but then my parents see the calorie count and the fact that it has eggs and immediately turn it down. Overall, I love the storytelling aspect of your blog as it really brought me into the mind of six-year-old Bettie.
ReplyDeleteHi Bettie, Your blog was amazing. I loved reading this. It felt like I was right there with you experiencing the excitement of your first grill desert!. Your storytelling made me feel like I'm in the movement so vivid, from the way you described chasing your dad past the candy aisle to the sheer surprise of hearing him ask for the dessert menu it really builds up that force by a banana split even more satisfying. I remember the first time I had it I loved it. Do you think that movement changed your perspective on foods or treats or any kind of desserts in any way, especially since it was such a rare experience for you growing up? Overall your blog was really good, Looking forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteHi Bettie! I love the way you wrote and stylized your blog! It read as smoothly as a storybook and I was hooked the entire time. Unlike your father, my parents were actually big fans of sweets. We would go out to cultural events and be free to explore the plethora of foods—including baked goods, jellies, and such. My mother in particular adores dessert foods, which is why my sibling and I were able to grow up eating so many desserts. If she was in the mood to eat a cake, we would find ourselves with cake at home. This still holds true today, which is unfortunate because I myself do not enjoy cake very much. When I was younger, my whole family would travel to Paris Baguette every month and take our pick of our favorite sweets. I hadn’t realized the large part that desserts played in my life until now. Maybe in the way that being deprived of sweets made you crave it more as a child, having too many sweets has made me detest them today. Thank you for sharing!
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