Bena Mae’s Kitchen: A favorite story of mine

Cat lovers are a special breed. And cat owners treat them as the number one Royal in the household. I know this from experience with my own family. They are passionate and completely without reason when it comes to the feline member of the house.

My affinity for the little creatures began when I started reading James Herriot’s “All Creatures Great and Small” several years ago. Herriot was a country vet from the Yorkshire Dales in England. He treated all the farm animals in the Dales but my favorite stories were about the small animals,cats and dogs and even birds.

Herriot begins his story about Oscar the cat that appeared at his house from nowhere. He and his wife Helen, took Oscar in and grew to love him. One night Oscar disappeared which caused them great concern. The two of them made a foray through the whole town looking for him, but to no avail. Helen was beside herself with worry. In a few minutes there was a knock on their door. A lady stood there with Oscar in her arms.

“Here is your cat,” she said. “He was at the meeting of the Ladies Institute at the church. He sat through the entire meeting like he was interested in what was going on and left when the meeting was over.”

This went on night after night, always between the hours of 8 and 10 o’clock. Then someone would appear at the Herriot’s door with Oscar in their arms. He had either been to prayer meeting at the church, choir practice, a social function in town, or anything where there was a group of people.

 In time, Oscar was reclaimed by a farmer from 30 miles away and the Herriots sadly let him go. Later they decided to pay him a visit. The farmer and his wife gave them a warm welcome and asked them in. Looking around, they couldn’t see Oscar anywhere.

When Helen asked where he was, the farmer’s wife replied, “Oh this is Thursday night. He’s at the yoga class in town.”

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 Update on my grandson’s kittens I told you about some time ago.  You may recall the article in which I described my grandson’s taking in an abandoned cat that was in need of some tender loving care, only to find out from the vet that the cat was very pregnant with five kittens and was getting close to their delivery date.

After a time, the kittens grew and grew and are now somewhat bigger in size.  With Sam’s good care and attention, they are happy and healthy and in need of a good home. Two of them have been adopted by his friends and he searching for other families in which to place the other three.  But Sam is very particular about who he gives them to.  They must pass a rigid test assuring that the kittens will be well treated and loved before he lets them go.  Any takers?

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Nothing could be easier…
 
BISQUICK APPLE COBBLER
 
Cooking Vessel Size: 3-quart baking dish

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cans apple pie filling
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups Bisquick
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup milk

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread pie filling evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
Place butter in microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted, about 20 seconds.
In a separate bowl, mix together Bisquick, sugar, milk, and the melted butter until a soft dough forms. Spoon dough on top of apple pie mixture in large, round dollops until most of the dish is covered. (Small areas where pie filling peeks through are fine.)
Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown.