December 26: Candy Cane Day
Food of the Day for Year Goal
Day: 213

When I was a dumb little kid, my grandparents gave me a Pretzel Jetzel for Christmas.

I loved it and it has remained one of my favorite Christmas gifts of all time. It may have been my first cooking gadget. I have such fond memories of mixing pretzel powder with water to create the batter, pouring it into a pretzel mold, sprinkling salt on top, and sending the molds through the plastic pretzel factory on a conveyor belt, where the pretzels would be cooked by a hundred-watt light bulb. The baker on the box promised it would make “zenzational pretzels!” (The baker was supposed to be German, so having him say “zenzational” gave him an air of authenticity. Also, the word “jet-age” meant that this was the most advanced pretzel-making system anywhere, and would meet the kind of rigid specifications required by NASA and other high-tech snacking organizations.) Trust me, my Pretzel Jetzel was way more cool than an Easy-Bake Oven.

I was pretending to be a Pretzel Jetzel entrepreneur while other kids were making bite-size cakes for their dolls. I had high hopes of selling zenzational pretzels and lemonade on the street corners of Roswell, New Mexico. I loved my Pretzel Jetzel and played with it for hours, even when the results fell a little short of zenzational and my dream of selling pretzels on street corners waned.

This year, there was a special present under the tree from Santa. Imagine my delight when I opened the box and found my own Pretzel Factory complete with plastic molds.

It’s an updated model of the Pretzel Jetzel! Just take a look at these pretzels and be prepared to be amazed!

I wonder how Cole would feel about a pretzel cart instead of car for his 16th birthday? We will paint Zenzational! on the cart and make our fortune. My dream lives on…

Santa brought Chloe, the daughter of Emily (wow mom, friend, and my Food of the Day partner), a cotton candy machine for Christmas.

Santa brought Chloe, the daughter of Emily (wow mom, friend, and my Food of the Day partner), a cotton candy machine for Christmas. Chloe must have been a very, very good girl last year! I am going to call Chloe right after the first of the year for a play date. We will make cotton candy and pretzels, and have a winter carnival! We will hire brother Emmet to help swirl the cotton candy.  Any kid who snags a cotton candy machine from Santa is a friend of mine. Emily had the bright idea of celebrating Candy Cane Day by tossing some smushed candy cane pieces into the cotton candy! She was worried it wouldn’t be sweet enough.

Did you have a favorite toy as a kid? One that brings back fond memories? Besides the Pretzel Jetzel, I remember Baby Magic, Susie Smart, Barbies, a Lite-Brite, red Samsonite luggage… What do you remember? Do Share! Odd Loves Company.

♥