Oh, I laughed and cried and laughed some more while reading this. You described our childhood so well! And I feel really grateful that at this point in my life I have come to a better appreciation of that "make do" environment we grew up in, and our mother's penchant for cutting off the moldy end of the cheese, right before our eyes, and serving it up.

Those were tough times indeed, and I had a very different view of things then, and a very special disdain for pears as dessert fare. Not only did I look upon their palid, gelatinous appearance on a plate and find myself instantly reminded of hard labor -- how we had to go pick our fruits and vegetables in heat and cold, through mud and cobwebs, and then also help process them, which seemed to me to be pure torture, as a child -- but also it was not at all what I craved in a dessert item. I wanted cookies and ice cream and cake and chocolate!

But today, I'm thankful. Not only for the ability to throw together odd concoctions from whatever I have around the house and call the end result "dinner" (and have people actually enjoy it and proclaim it delicious), but I've also truly come to appreciate the resilience and ingenuity we developed from growing up poor as church mice with a mother who could make creamed eggs on toast seem like a special treat.

I'm honestly surprised we didn't have chickens, aren't you?

Your recipe looks fabulous. I'm excited to try it!