Lost Childhood Foods

When I was growing up in Saskatchewan I used to go out with my dad and our dog named Lunar to the farms to deliver fuel. This is the way I'd be able to have impromptu play dates with my friends. The farm wives would hear the gas truck pull into the farm yard and they'd put the coffee on and dig out some kind of homemade treats for us. Farm wives had cupboards and freezers full of squares and cookies they could pull out at a moment's notice. Sometimes there'd be fresh baking or candy. I remember one neighbor used to make penuche, which is a delicious sweet, soft treat.

Once in a blue moon, we were served a pan of what was called "farmer's cheese." It was made in an 8 by 8 inch pan and cut into squares and it had a gelatinous "squidgy" texture that melted in your mouth. It was savory and buttery, like brie without the crust. I have never seen that cheese outside our community in Cactus Lake Sask. It may be a German treat, since most of the people who settled there were from that country. It is not the cheese many call "farmer's cheese" which is made from ricotta.

The CBC radio program called North by Northwest is doing a series on lost childhood foods, based on the success of their searches for lost childhood books. Do you have a food from childhood that you miss?

One other food I have never seen since my childhood is an ice cream treat we used to buy at the beach which was like a Revel, only in strawberry flavor with little cookie crumbs on the surface. I can't remember what it was called. I remember reaching for the ice cream and getting a shock from the cooler because I was still wet from swimming in the lake.