The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Chatty Cathy . . .

Operation . . .

Creepy Crawlers . . .

Wood burning set . . .

HO Slot Car and Race Track . . .

Electric Train Set . . .

Easy Bake Oven . . .

Still . . .

NFL Football Game . . .

Lite Brite . . .

View Master . . .

Reel to reel tape recorder . . .

Brownie Camera . . .

These are power toys of the 1960’s. Either they plugged into the wall or they needed batteries . . . lots of batteries. Some of them you may recognize, others may be a mystery to you, like the Still, but that will be the subject of another day.

One of my favorites was my Kenner's Easy Bake Oven. If you weren’t around in the 1960’s or if you have forgotten, it was introduced in 1963 to look like a conventional kitchen appliance. Little girls and boys mixed pre-blended baking ingredients with water and slid the small pan through the oven’s slot. There was a window to watch it cook with a 100-watt light bulb that burned hot enough to bake cookies, cakes, pretzels and candies. I hoarded the tiny boxes of expensive, special mix. Sometimes the chocolate cake would disappear from my toy chest. My older brother would mix it to use as gooey mud for his army men to trudge through.

I would take the greatest of care in preparing the cakes. Mom said I couldn’t jump around or it would fall, like cakes she made in the big oven. Now I know the mixes were fool proof and it probably just gave her a few minutes of peace and quiet instead of me bouncing off the walls and driving her crazy.

After the cake was done, I would bring it to the dinner table for dessert. You may remember that each round pan was about the size of a squished English muffin. My mother would carefully cut it into four pieces as my brother held his hands on his throat gagging and running from the table screaming, “She’s trying to poison us. We’ll all die.”

I was a little offended, but that quickly faded as I watched Dad and Mom savor every bite saying it was the best cake they ever had. My brother’s piece would be left on the counter, but it wasn’t there the next morning. Years later, the truth came out and I learned that as soon as I left the room he came tearing back into the kitchen to eat his piece. Brothers! Now my Easy Bake Oven is my bread maker.

For today’s gift, I made two kinds of bread for my neighbor who is a big support to me. I made plain white bread and onion cheese bread for her to share with a couple she invited for dinner this evening. My bread maker is my grown-up “greatest thing since sliced bread.” Hopefully my friend will think so too.

In Giving and Baking,

Robin