Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Don’t be Cruel

Whenever I’m watching TV and I hear Willie Nelson sing “You Are Always on my Mind – one of my favorite songs – I can’t watch it. I begin to tear up and change the channel. It is an ad by the ASPCA depicting the pictures of small animals that have been abused by either their owners or some callous individual.
The haunting look on their faces tears my heart out. And I think about the perpetrators of this vile act. And I ask myself, why aren’t these vile creatures given the same punishment as abusers of human beings. After all, these poor animals can’t speak for themselves, can’t be represented by a lawyer, they have no advocate in a court of law
Turning the page, there are millions of dog and cat lovers whose only fault is loving and protecting their pets, many times to the point of including them as a family member. And to that point, I’d like to tell you about my grandson, Sam, who is an incurable cat lover. It happened about two weeks ago.
Sam has had many cats, beginning in his toddler years with a kitten named Socks. And through the years there followed many strays he took care of that eventually died, ran away, or disappeared.
Sam lives in a condo in Knoxville, a large building with many residents. For weeks, Sam and several other residents had been feeding a stray cat that hung around the building. Two weeks ago, Sam noticed that the cat was walking with a limp. He knew it had been hurt and he couldn’t ignore it, so he took the cat to the vet — it seemed to have no owner.
The vet gave the cat a thorough examination, inoculated it, made sure it was healthy, then informed Sam that it was pregnant and was due to give birth to four or five kittens at any time. With instructions from the vet, Sam took the cat home, made a bed for it in his laundry room, left it food and water and proceeded to wait. In the meantime, he’s watching over it like a midwife.
We’re still awaiting the birth of a litter of kittens. The vet says that when they are old enough, he can notify animal adoption centers and they can find a home for them.
I know it will be hard to say goodbye to a litter of cute, fuzzy little kittens, but thank Heavens they will be taken care of by a loving family So the story will have a happy ending. And I am extremely thankful for my grandson’s compassion for innocent animals that cannot defend themselves.
Last Word: If you are aware of an animal being mistreated, REPORT IT!

With gardens coming in, you probably have a tsunami of squash on hand, even enough for your neighbors. This is an excellent way to fix it.

Zucchini/Squash Casserole

3 cups thin sliced zucchini and/or squash
1 cup Bisquick
1 onion sliced -red
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated cheddar
2 TBSP chopped parsley
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp each: oregano, pepper, marjoram, garlic powder

Mix and pour into a 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.