Bena Mae’s Kitchen: A Fall Symphony of Color

It has long been my desire to visit the New England states during the fall season to view the changing colors in that part of the country. But judging from the foliage along I-75, especially atop Jellico Mountain, there cannot be any part of the country that boasts a more beautiful array of reds, yellows, maroons, golds or bright oranges.

This year the leaves have been in sync with one another and have produced a patchwork quilt of colors that blankets the hills and valleys along this part of the Interstate. And unlike the Rockies, or the Great Smoky Mountains, this part of the Southern Appalachian range gives a more up close view of the colors. Plus, the beauty of this area is that there is no slow-going bumper-to-bumper traffic to mar the joy of the scenery. (Have you ever been stuck in slow moving traffic in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg?)

I am reminded of a trip some friends and I took to view the colors in the Smokies a number of years ago. As is usual this time of year, several thousand other color-seekers had the same idea. We had planned to stay the weekend so we started early looking for rooms at a motel. I was the designated person to get out of the car and go in and ask the motel clerk if there were any vacancies.

In Pigeon Forge, the first few stops brought a “Sorry, no vacancies” from the clerk. I was not too perturbed because there was plenty of time to seek a room farther on up the road.  But as the morning wore on into the afternoon, I was beginning to feel like it was a lost cause. Some of the clerks even laughed at me for even suggesting that they would have a vacancy during this, their busiest season of the year. Still, we soldiered on with hope dying by the minute.

At long last I found a clerk who tried to be helpful. After hearing my tale of woe, she picked up the phone and called another motel that might be able to put us up for the weekend. When I asked her the location, she replied, “It’s in Knoxville.”

Knoxville…..15 miles from home.

Even though the fall season is followed by grim thoughts of winter, it is still my favorite. I get all cozy inside thinking of cool evenings and warm comfort foods….turnips and pork ribs, beef stew and cornbread, hot cocoa, pumpkin pie and fresh molasses on hot buttered biscuits. Then there are the fashion colors, the plums and oranges and maroons, echoing the colors of nature. Memories of the excitement of new sweater sets and plaid skirts crowd my mind. What a thrill it used to be, stepping out in my new fall outfit.

I don’t see why anyone raised around these parts would seek a warmer climate where the seasons stay the same the year around. Stay tuned until the middle of January when I will have a completely different take on this.

This dessert is different and oh sooo delicious.

Pumpkin Dessert 

1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix

1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk 

1 cup sugar 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 cup butter, melted

1 (18 oz.) Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix

2 cups pecans, chopped

Topping:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese 

1 cup powdered sugar 

2 cups Cool Whip 

Mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together, blending well. Spread this mixture in the bottom of a well-greased 13 X 9 inch baking dish.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pumpkin mix, breaking up any clumps. Add one cup chopped pecans over this mixture and then pour the melted butter over the cake mix and pecans.

Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees until the top is a light golden brown and the middle is set. Cool completely.

Topping:.

Once the cake is cooled, in a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. Then mix in the Cool Whip. This mixture will be fairly thick.

Spread the topping over the cooled cake and sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans. 

Keep refrigerated.