Bena Mae’s Kitchen: This week in crazy

Under the caption of Just When You Think You’ve Heard it All comes this story I read in The New York Times, so it must be true:

Chickens just don’t go changing sex and laying eggs all of a sudden, but that’s exactly what one Tuscan rooster named Gianni did when a fox killed all his female companions, leaving him with only males. (Just like in “Jurassic Park”!) Scientists are more than a little baffled at the sudden change. It’s unclear whether or not Gianni’s eggs are viable, or whether or not something in his DNA allowed for the sudden transition. Lab tests are currently being planned to determine just what the cluck is going on. 

Wonder what the possibility is for scientists to determine that we females may one day be expendable after all.  Just asking.

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Here is one of my pet peeves that I wish Oprah would do something about. We all know that she is one of the most influential people in the world. For example,  she has gotten gazillions of people to read who never picked up a book before she started her book club. All she has to do is suggest something and presto!, legions of women rally to her call. So help me Oprah if you can:

I’m standing in line at the cashiers’ counter at the drug store. I’m dog tired, knowing that I have to make several more stops before I get home, but that’s not the end of it. There are groceries to carry in and put away and supper to fix. I stand on one foot, then the other, trying to ease my aching feet. The lady in front of me is rifling through page after page of coupons, trying to find the right ones that apply to her purchases. And I’m thinking, why didn’t she clip the coupons and have them ready before she gets to the counter. But there’s more.

Some of the coupons can not be applied to some of her purchases. So she takes them back to the aisle clear across the store and exchanges them for the right items. In the meantime, the poor cashier has to keep everyone else waiting while this twit sorts and resorts her money and her coupons. Just when I think she’s through, the poor cashier has to call the store manager to okay one of the lady’s  problem transactions. All the while, the obtuse customer has taken no notice of the line that is growing longer and longer. And I’m getting angrier by the moment with thoughts of inflicting upon her some of the tortures that were used back in the middle ages. Put her on the rack, I’m thinking.

This scenario is a true one and one that I’m sure you’ve experienced at least once in your life. So Oprah, are you listening?

And Oprah, while you’re at it, say something about the customer who ignores the “10  Purchases or Less” sign at the cashier’s aisle and blithely pushes ahead of you with a loaded cart. 

A special treat for Mother’s Day dessert.

Copycat Applebee’s Dreamsicle Cake

1 (18.25 oz) orange cake mix

1 (3 oz) orange favored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. orange extract

1 (8 oz) tub thawed Cool Whip

white chocolate shavings

Prepare cake as directed on package and bake as directed in a 9×13-inch baking pan. 

Poke holes in cake while still hot with a wood spoon handle. 

Make gelatin with 1 cup boiling water, pour over cake while hot. Now cool cake completely. 

Make vanilla pudding using the 1 cup milk, stir in extracts. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread this over cake. Sprinkle with white chocolate shavings. 

Chill in refrigerator at least one hour before serving.