Summer Picnics

Dieters beware! If these descriptions from the book don't put you in the mood for a summer picnic, nothing will:

"The summer picnic gave the ladies a chance to show off their baking hands. On the barbecue pit, chickens and spareribs spattered in their own fat and a sauce whose recipe was guarded in the family like a scandalous affair. However, in the ecumenical light of the summer picnic every true baking artist could reveal her prize to the delight and criticism of the town. Orange sponge cakes and dark brown mounds dripping Hershey's chocolate stood layer to layer with ice-white coconuts and light brown caramels. Pound cakes sagged with their buttery weight and small children could no more resist licking the icings than their mother could avoid slapping the sticky fingers."
~I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Mouthwatering, yes? I imagine the array of food, and am ready to take part in the feast. The ritual of the summer picnic described in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is full of food, full of fun, full of life.

Here's one of my favorite recipes for ice cream pie to take to a picnic or potluck on a summer day, ready in minutes!

1. Fill a Keebler ready-made cookie crumb crust, any variety, with softened ice cream, any flavor. The good thing about using the ready-made Keebler crust is that it comes with a tin and a cover for the pie.
   
2. Top with whipped light cream, and chocolate shavings, if desired.
   
3. Cover and place in freezer; remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Importance of Books

Maya Angelou often talks about the love of reading she and her brother, Bailey, shared in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It was an activity they truly enjoyed, and they'd read together in the evenings in Stamps, Arkansas, whenever possible:

"There was going to be a storm and perfect night for rereading Jane Eyre. Bailey had finished his chores and was already behind the stove with Mark Twain."
~I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

And:

"Pots rattled in the kitchen where Momma was frying corn cakes to go with vegetable soup for supper, and the homey sounds and scents cushioned me as I read of Jane Eyre in the cold English mansion of a colder English gentleman. Uncle Willie was engrossed in the Almanac, his nightly reading, and my brother was far away on a raft on the Mississippi."
~I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

These are warm and secure moments as the children (and Uncle Willy) are engrossed in their books (before the arrival of an unexpected visitor, Mr. Taylor). The importance of books in Maya Angelou's life was central; she credits her adult friend, Mrs. Flowers, for her lifelong love of reading, who, in Maya Angelou's words, "had given me her secret word which called forth a djinn who was to serve me all of my life: books."

Also see post, The Power of Books.
Your comments and questions are welcomed.