Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Neighborhood Watch

“Bena Mae, I saw you throw that rock,” a neighbor called from her porch. “Now you march right home and tell your mother or I’ll tell her myself!”
I dropped my head and tucked my tail and headed for home before news got to Mama that I had been fighting. Word got around fast in our neighborhood. We kids had at least a dozen surrogate mothers whose prying eyes missed nothing. It was not so secret a pact that they had made up among themselves. They were constantly on the alert for any offense the neighborhood kids committed that might need disciplinary action.
Let them catch us smoking corn silks down in the cornfield. It got reported before the smoke reached the top of the cornstalks. Stealing apples off a neighbor’s tree? No need to lie out of it. Swiping a bottle of pop from the back of the pop truck while the driver was in the store? Capital punishment was waiting for us when we got home. We couldn’t get away with anything.
Our mothers were never offended when a neighbor called and reported our transgressions. It was their version of Neighborhood Watch. They couldn’t be everywhere, so they depended on one another. Outwitting them was a challenge, sharpened our wits. It was a game of US against THEM. Sometimes we actually won.
But it gave us boundaries. Stepping over the line had its consequences and we knew it. And my generation can say that in our case, it really did take a village.
I’ve often said that a small town is like a big family. And it’s true for the most part. When tragedy strikes, everyone is affected. Let there be illness in a family and everyone pitches in. When there is a happy event, it is shared by all and sundry.
But the term NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH has changed drastically since I was a kid. No longer are parents on the lookout for errant children and their harmless pranks. They are inside their homes, their doors fitted with dead-bolt locks, peeping through their curtains when they hear strange noises outside. They are always watchful, on guard.
Their children don’t play outside anymore or walk to school unattended for fear of a child predator lurking in wait to grab them. It’s a terrible scenario, one that we never could have foreseen happening.
Today we have tall signs on street corners that read NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, that have replaced the in-personess of a caring mother who watched over the neighborhood children. It’s not an acceptable substitute, but it’s the world we live in today.

Cheesy Chicken,
Cheddar and Wild Rice Casserole

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 4.6 oz boxes of wild rice, prepared (I use Uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice blend)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
for the cheese sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
3 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.
Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in chicken, prepared rice, salt, pepper and garlic salt.
Reduce heat to low.
Prepare cheese sauce: melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Whisk in flour, salt and pepper and cook for about three minutes, until roux turns golden.
Slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.
Whisk until thick and nearly boiling, then stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese until melted.
Pour cheese sauce into chicken/rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Top with additional 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese and panko breadcrumbs, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted, golden and bubbly.