Chicken, Potatoes, and Raisins!

Oh, the joys of eating chicken! Chicken Cordon Bleu with melty sweet Swiss cheese and crisp crumbs on the outside is one of my favorite chicken dishes. Chicken in yellow gravy, made from a can of creamy chicken soup and poured over potatoes can still make my mouth salivate.

That day so long ago, we ate chicken and self-picked dandelion greens with young nettles, and it seemed every bit as delicious to the little girl I was, as an expertly prepared Chicken Cordon Bleu would taste today.

After we ate, Mutti saved the rest of the chicken. The next day, she cut it into small pieces and heated them in a yellow gravy. We had boiled potatoes with it. What a delight!

We had potatoes every day. They were cheap and grew well in Germany after the war. I never got tired of them, and I still love them.

That evening, supper consisted of raisin bread with margarine and an apple. Carmen said, “Yuck! I hate slimy raisins,” and picked them out.

“Don’t be so dumb,” Mutti said. “Raisins are good for you.”

But Carmen pushed her little pile of raisins away.

Josefa watched with wide eyes. “Yucky,” she said, and picked out her raisins, too.

Mutti said, “Little brats.” She picked up Carmen’s raisins and ate one. “Oh, well. More for the rest of us.”

I, too, poked a raisin out of my slice of bread and tried it. Carmen was right. They were slimy and gushy and icky. But I wanted to make Mutti happy. I swallowed it.

Mutti smiled. “At least Sonja eats them,” she said. “She’s a good eater.”

Pride swelled my breast. I smiled at my sisters across the table.

Vait took a swallow from his coffee cup. “She eats so much, but never gains weight. Maybe she’s sick.”

I wasn’t worried about being sick. Mutti was pleased with me, and Vati was thinking about me. I resolved to always be a good eater, so Mutti would approve.

Today I have learned to love raisins, especially in hot oatmeal. And I do have to rein in my appetite so I can stay healthy!