My family is interesting, and we have always been into trying new things, yet we still manage to keep a few of the same traditions. One of these traditions out of many that we have kept is we have a big family barbecue every summer at one of my family members’ packed houses, filled with the aroma of freshly baked food or dessert dishes.

This summer, we all decided it would be a good idea to host the barbecue at my house, which ended up being a time of chaos as many family members scrambled to put a dish together in the crowded yet small kitchen. A big part of these barbecues is that every family member will try to make some type of “different” or “weird” food that somehow will not make you want to throw up, so, ours being a competitive family, we turned it into a major competition between us.

While my sister and I jokingly added weird smoothie ingredients together, struggling to make gross mixtures like mushy bananas and brightly colored carrots taste good enough to take a drink, and my aunt made spaghetti tacos, my mom decided that she was going to make cupcakes.

As the rest of us saw her making them, we realized that they were a weird flavor: watermelon cupcakes with a strong watermelon-flavored green frosting. She made them by using a regular cake mixture, then adding some sweet watermelon flavoring and a generous amount of pink food dye. We saw that they were probably going to taste normal, so we thought that she wouldn’t be able to win, because her cupcakes were “basic.”

Later that day, we began to try the different dishes family members made, whether they were delicious or disgusting. Then, it was time for us to try the watermelon cupcakes. No one expected it, but somehow they were an out-of-the-box flavor and still tasted great. Then, my family voted that the sugary cupcakes won, but I was one of the people that didn’t actually like them.

I thought that the smooth and a little too sweet flavored frosting overpowered the subtle but perfectly baked cake at the bottom.

Now, my mom still sometimes makes the cupcakes, even though it is more of a joke since she knows that I don’t eat them. She is planning to bring them to the next family barbecue, but maybe in a different fruit flavor, such as oranges or strawberries.

In the strangest way, I love the memory that goes along with the cupcakes because it reminds me of the exciting time I had during the blazing heat of the summer with the rest of my family. Even though I don’t like the flavor, the memories will always stay the same.

by SIENNA EAGLE