Bena Mae’s Kitchen: I’ll take my grapes unfermented

I have never gotten into wine. Nor beer, nor any alcoholic beverage for that matter.
I’m not against other people who like the stuff if they can keep it under control. But as for me. I just don’t like the taste. And knowing my susceptibility toward becoming an addict when it comes to things I really like (chocolate, for example) I don’t know if I could take it without becoming a tippler or a closet drinker
I’ve observed that most wine drinkers are really insufferable snobs. My observation comes from watching them on TV or reading about them in novels and occasionally watching them in social situations. They sniff it, hold it up to the light and slosh it around to impress other wine drinkers that they are an authority on the fermented grape.
Several years ago my husband and I were invited out to a posh restaurant. It was a high-end restaurant, the kind we didn’t frequent in our eating out days. I was a little nervous, feeling that I was out of my comfort zone and hoping it looked to others that I was completely at home in such ritzy surroundings.
My nervousness really hit a peak when the waiter brought a bottle of wine to our table, uncorked it, and poured a small amount into my husband’s wine glass and handed it to him to sample. Oh, Lord, I thought to myself, what will he do? We had never run into this situation before. Our attempt at being a part of the hoi-poloi would reveal that we were frauds.
But without hesitating, my husband picked up the glass, sniffed it, sloshed it around and took a sip. Bravo! I thought. Just like we had seen in the movies time and time again.
During my socially active days, I attended many functions where alcoholic beverages were served. But I ignored the punchbowl and resisted the urgings of the others to “Come on, have a drink” and opted for a ginger ale or Seven-UP. It saved me the aggravation of informing wine drinkers that wine or anything laced with alcohol was not my cup of tea.
My biggest gripe is with people who try to foist an alcoholic drink on me when they know I do not imbibe. “Oh, come on, You might like it.” It’s a matter of taste with me, also, I stay away from anything that is mind-altering. Then there is this, too. I don’t want to get pulled over by a traffic cop and given a blood alcohol test.
I can just see the headlines now: 87 YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER ARRESTED FOR DUI.
So, thank you just the same. I’ll take my grapes unfermented. With no apologies.

By now you are probably, or will be, over run with zucchini. Try fixing it this way.

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 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.