Isn’t it funny how when you are a youngster that everything seems so much larger than when you become an adult? You grow up, you go out into the great big world, then you come home. Home just doesn’t seem as big as it was. I grew up on a farm out in the middle of some beautiful countryside on the river. Then, one day, it was time for me to go to school. I was so very excited. Yes, I was excited! I am an only child and the mere thought of getting to go away from the farm and spend the day with a room full of other children was just the greatest thing. I was thirsty for knowledge and anxious to learn and I get to do it with other kids. Could it get any better? But wait, it does. I was one of a fortunate few that got to attend one of a handful of one room public schools still left in America. Yes, almost like the one on “Little House on the Prairie”, only with electricity and running water, AND a full lunchroom. All six grades in one room. The most we ever had in attendance was 21. Can you imagine the whole school was only a population of 21. We had one teacher for all grades and one lunchroom lady. They both were motherly/grandmotherly figures and we loved them both like family.  Our lunch lady was Ms. Earsale. My lunch lady was also my mother’s lunch lady at the same school. Even when I was in school lunches lacked a lot to be desired but when Ms. Earsale worked her magic on the commodities she was given to serve they tasted fantastic. Pinto beans and cornbread, vegetable beef soup, rice pudding, the ever popular lunchroom rolls and everyone’s favorite – Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. I think we could all eat our weight in those cookies and to this day I love them and they remind me of my childhood. Try as I may, I can never quite get them right. They’re either too soft or too hard. Ms. Earsale could whip up a batch in her sleep, with one hand tied behind her back, and they always turned out the same….simply delicious! So here you go, it’s a basic recipe give it a try:

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 3/4 cups white sugar                                    1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup milk                                                     3 cups quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup butter                                                 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter and cocoa. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from

heat, stir in the peanut butter, oats and vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet (on wax paper). Let cool until

hardened enough to eat. (I usually have a couple before, eaten with a spoon)