Trina Machacek: The marshmallow of life

Isn’t marshmallow an interesting event in life? I know marshmallows are a food, but really whenever you grab a bag or a jar it becomes an event. Not like grabbing a handful of leaf lettuce. No, the use of marshmallows becomes an event.

My nieces and nephew loved coming to my house for hot chocolate and toast when they were little. It didn’t happen often because of time, space, work, and life. But when they blessed my door, oh what fun. Hot chocolate and toast was often a Sunday night dinner staple when I was growing up. But! Yes, a marshmallow-y “but.” Marshmallows were seldom added for my little guests. I regret that. So much so that now I give them to myself. You know to kind of make up for my earlier marshmallow short comings. I’m an adult now and can do that you know. We all can. How nice to be a grown up. Sometimes.

I decided recently to buy one of the jars of marshmallow. I’ve never done that. I am a bagged marshmallow girl. They toast easier than a glob out of a jar. Oh, I have seen jars of marshmallow sitting in cupboards of friends and family but never had the opportunity to have my own. So, on a lark at the grocery store I made the decision to see just what all the fluff was about. Oh, my stars!

So, you know when you grab the last pair of jeans from the closet to wear because all the others are dirty, and you go to put them on and discover why they were on the bottom of the pile. For some silly reason they just sat up there and grew smaller. It’s the closet fairy, I am sure. Little fling winged bugger she is! You slide them up over your back side and then – hump. Well reverse that and that is what you get when you buy a jar of fluffy marshmallow cloud and open it up. Poof doesn’t even come close to the surprise of winter whiteness that has been put in those jars at the factory that comes out and could put an eye out, I am sure. I will tell you this. Have your hot chocolate and a spoon ready. It gets busy for a few seconds.

Oh and use a bigger mug. You are not going to want to stop with just one scoop. It’s the cat’s meow to dollop some of that extra sugar in your cup. Well to be honest, it doesn’t really dollop all that well. It is the most stubborn, sticky, gets everywhere and does not go away easily, stuff to use. Oh yes, on TV it looks so easy. The little lady makes a mound on a full mug of some concoction and maybe even uses a kitchen torch—fire and I are never a good twosome I must admit. HAHA but the lady on this one commercial makes a mound and toasts it up a bit and maybe even adds a sparkler for her amazed guests. Sure. That really happens right?

I am lucky to have been alone when I tried this little treat for myself. By the time I was drinking out of my mug there was marshmallow EVERYWHERE. The poor spoon. I haven’t even been able to find it yet. It ended up sticking to my hand and I flicked my hand and heard something land behind the stove. Never, I am sure, to be seen again until my stove needs to be replaced. Oh, let’s not talk about what else would be found under there. We have all been there too. When replacing an appliance, you really quickly clean as the appliance is moved so nobody sees what has found its way under there! YUCK. Oops got stuck somewhere else, didn’t I? Get it? Got stuck.

Moving off the mug let’s take a quick look at putting a layer of this fluff on the annual yam dish for super dinners of holidays. I have to admit I want to be first up to that casserole. Unfortunately, I have never been first yet. Seems there are many who want to have the crunch of the toasted goodness on their plate, and I am not one to push in line just to get at that dish. I always think I can make it myself. But I never have. By the time the spoon of yam and fluff are in my hand it is a double scrape along the side of the dish to get just a taste. And it is always one of the hardest dishes to wash after dinner. Life can be sticky, but every flick of a stick is proof of life. Enjoy.

Trina Machacek lives in Eureka. Her books are available online wherever you buy books or email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com to buy signed copies.