Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

 
 

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup peanut butter

 
 

Preparation:

 
Place two cups of sugar and half a cup of milk in a pan. I can hear the sound of my grandmother humming as she was turning on the oven. The humming was as beautiful as a bird. After boiling the ingredients, add one teaspoon of vanilla. She would always say "Vanilla makes everything better," and she was completely right.
 
We repeated this tradition every Christmas. Most kids looked forward to Christmas for all the presents but not me. I looked forward to the amazing fudge that I knew we would have. The whole family loved the fudge we made. They thought that it was the best food they had ever tasted. Maybe they exaggerated a little, but I didn't notice back then. It was the best of the best to me.

Sometimes she would let me mix and cook everything (with her supervision, of course.) And sometimes she wanted to do everything, but I didn't mind at all. I loved to watch her in action. She looked like a pro. I could only dream that someday I could cook as well as her.
 
Then we added the peanut butter. That made the fudge come together. It was looking so delicious. That was the main, and my favorite, ingredient. She would then stir the ingredients. By then, she would always start complaining about how her arm hurts. "Why can't you do this part?" she would jokingly ask. She would continue to go on and on about how cooking was such hard work. I would always agree with her, even if I thought differently. The last thing I wanted to do was make her mad at me. To me, she was the smartest person in the world.
 
After the ingredients are mixed well, pour them into a greased pan. This was the part she would actually let me do. I was very careful not to spill the mixture. It was like a trophy to us. I spilled it once and she wasn't too happy with me, but she knew that it was an accident. For some reason, Grandma never seemed to make any mistakes. She probably did, but didn't let me see. It wouldn't have changed my view of her at all. She would always be perfect to me.  
 
Now it's time for the worst part: waiting. It was so tempting to just dig in right then. The fudge was mouth-watering. It felt like forever before the delicious-looking fudge finally cooled down and we got to dig in. Forever finally came and Grandma cut the fudge and gave me the first piece. It was amazing, as always. Every time I eat this fudge today, I think about all the good times and memories Grandma and I made together. The fudge I make today, will never be as good as it was when the greatest grandmother in the world made it.