Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Waiting for the Big Bang

It’s the last Sunday of the decade, and there are lots of things to be worried about: global warming, the H1N1 flu, the economy, joblessness. But all that is nothing compared to what we were frightened of 10 years ago this very week.

It was Y2K, the millennium, or, as some thought, the end of the world as we knew it. The problem was that computers that had been programmed to recognize the year by the last two numbers – as in 99 for 1999 – would never recognize the year 2000. Computer screens all over the world would go blank at that critical moment, midnight, Jan. 1, 2000.

Nobody knew what would happen. Jet planes, suddenly deprived of computer control, could fall out of the sky. At midnight, the lights might go out all over the world. They didn’t have Twitter in those days, but if they did, the text would be:  OMG Y2K.

Seriously, folks, this was serious. It was widely believed that if computer systems were not made Y2K-compliant, chaos would ensue.

And so it went. Skeptical and half-believing, my family and I chose to spend the evening together and wait for the big bang…or not. Living downwind of Oak Ridge, as it were, we had one ear trained for the sound we hoped would never come.   The other ear and both eyes were fixed on the television watching an Andy Griffith marathon. Being in such close proximity to the nuclear city, we felt especially vulnerable should all the dire predictions actually happen. We knew there was a lot of stuff that could explode in that area,  given the right circumstances. In the meantime, Andy and Barney and Floyd kept us laughing and somewhat preoccupied.   Every now and then someone would look hesitantly at the clock.  

And every now and then we would switch the channel and watch the celebration in parts of the world that were in another time zone, where it was midnight already.  And we’d ask ourselves, “In what country is Y2K supposed to start? In the U.S.? Or farther west?” Were all the countries supposed to be in sync when the big bang occurred?”

Finally, the hands of the clock rested on 12:00 midnight. Nobody spoke a word.  Silence. Waiting. Looking at one another, our hands folded in our laps. We heard no warning whistles. We saw no fire in the sky. Only fireworks in the neighbors’ yards. Oak Ridge was as quiet and docile as any other night of the year. Thank God.

And the folks of Mayberry and my family and I continued on with our ho-hum uneventful  but happy lives.

This would also be good over sliced peaches or pears.

Sliced Apples with Cinnamon Pudding

Serves 8

1 cup low-fat milk

8 tart apples (Granny Smith or other variety)

granulated sugar (optional)

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 large egg

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

In a 1 or 2-quart stainless-steel saucepan, whisk the egg, cornstarch, salt and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in another saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook over low heat until the butter and sugar blend together. Add the milk and heat until the sugar dissolves. (The sugar will get hard when the milk is added; it will melt again as the milk heats.)

Whisk a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture.

Gradually whisk in the rest of the milk mixture.

Over medium heat, whisk the combined mixture constantly until it comes to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat.

Pour into a bowl. (If you don’t want a skin to form on the top of the pudding, sprinkle it lightly with granulated sugar.) Refrigerate. Cover with plastic wrap when cool.

Place 1 sliced apple into each of 8 serving bowls. Top with a few tablespoons of pudding.