Except for the hominy and beets, Mamaw’s kitchen cupboard was usually a delectable smorgasbord of mouthwatering treats. If you visited your grandparents or a beloved Aunt and Uncle, I bet you remember some staples of sustenance kept in their kitchen. At Mamaw and Papaw’s, the cupboard was the bottom cabinet closest to the kitchen table. Thankfully, it was well within our reach and it always contained Carnation Instant Milk, Sugar Pops, Whoppers, Cream of Wheat, Chipsters, Marshmallow Circus Peanuts, Jiffy Pop, and Del Monte Peaches. Of course, there was also the food that didn’t come from the pantry, meals that started in their hands, went to the oven and ended up on the table like a magic trick. I’m not talking about those—those roused a whole body of sensory neurons.

Cabinet food was for emergencies, like when you slept too late and missed the scrambled eggs and bacon; for individual consumption, like when you passed through a quiet kitchen on the way out the door; or for shared moments between two people who loved each other very much, like Mamaw and me: “Greg, you want a snack? Let’s see what we got…got some Sugar Pops, Whoppers...Oh, you want some Del Monte Peaches? We sure got a lot of Del Monte peaches.” And she always did.