When I was a girl, one of my parent's favorite things to do was to take a drive. We'd all pile into the Crummy and set out on an adventure. Inevitably, we'd end up on the steep and twisty roads of the Salmon River, where my mom would hunt for river rocks to bring home. Once the Crummy was full of rocks, we'd stop at the little country store for an It's It (a chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich).
The ice-cream was a really big deal for us, as our mom wasn't big into sugary treats, so we'd make them last for as much of the ride home as we could.
Now that I'm a mom, I love family drives too. And I especially enjoy packing treats for us to enjoy.
Packing is half the fun because you can make it all pretty - which makes everything taste even better.
Tips:
Vessels like old enamelware (as seen below), wooden pop crates, and wire baskets work really well for holding the goodies.
Vintage thermoses are perfect for keeping cocoa hot.
Mugs can be stacked with little cloth cocktail napkins in between each one, which not only provide cushioning for the glasses, but also can be passed out to your family members once you pour the cocoa.
Caramel corn, nuts, or trail mix packaged in handy little paper bags are a simple, tasty, toteable treat.
P.S. Did you know that "Crummy" was the name of the vehicle that would haul the logging crews around on the job? My dad was a logger and during fire season, my mom would oftentimes become the driver for the fire crews. And since we were a family big on nick-names, our family car was always called the Crummy.
Image by John Granen.
