Fluffy Foo

Some of my dearest friends are mothers that I have met through our Catholic Boy Scout troop. These women are examples in action of “Do a Good Turn Daily.”

When my mother died a few months ago, I came home to a clean house and dinner in the refrigerator. When I went to sift through the aftermath of a robbery at my mother’s home following her death, they showed up to help me.

“No one should have to do this alone, and I’m not going to let you,” I was told as I was handed my favorite smoothie.

I was moving soon myself, so I had to quickly make sense of her effects as I had my own belongings to coordinate. My friends spread throughout the house, and just seemed to intuitively know what to do in ways I could not. Piles of photos and documents began to take shape as they worked, and I insisted that those were the only things that I wanted. That is, until my sweet friend walked out of the kitchen with a box.

“What about this?,” she asked.

“Nah.”

“Once you get rid of it, you can’t get it back. At least look at it.”

I sat down and opened the lid. Inside were family recipes for dishes I hadn’t eaten in years.

Even the gelatin salad recipes from the 70’s brought a smile. And then we found a recipe card in my grandmother’s handwriting for…wait for it…Fluffy Foo. We laughed over the name until we held our sides, incongruously surrounded by black powder the police had used to dust for prints.

It should have been a somber day, but I will remember the laughter and friendship more than anything.

The robbers might have taken the silver, but the recipes, photos, and camaraderie were far more meaningful to me.

I searched for similar recipes online, and Fluffy Foo also goes by a more sophisticated sounding “Lemon Bisque.” At a recent get together with friends, I asked if I could make Fluffy Foo for dessert with the caveat that the finished product might be tragic.

I followed every instruction, comparing it with Lemon Bisque recipes for clarity. The result was, in a word, underwhelming. I can’t endorse the recipe, but the real sweet treat is having friends who lighten your load with laughter.