Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Hunkered Down

Well, here I sit, hunkered down like most people in the mid-south. For once, the weather forecasters got it right, IT SNOWED! About 5 or 6 inches of the white stuff.

I’m in pretty good shape as far as the necessities go…milk, bread, coffee, cokes, chocolate bars, and a meatloaf I made yesterday that will do for sandwiches in case the power goes off. 

The city crews cleared the street in front of my house which is fine in a way. Except they left a big pile of snow at the entrance of my driveway that prevents me from backing my car out to the street. So thanks for nothing.

You won’t believe what I’ve been watching on TV… Ice bears in Alaska. It’s about polar bears existing in one of the coldest spots on the planet, like 80 degrees below zero. Am I being a masochist or what?

Anyway, days like this take me back to a time when a big snowfall was fun. And I remember some of the things we did as kids that we could never do today, like making snow cream. (At that time we didn’t have to worry about acid rain or pollution or anything falling from the sky that was too dangerous to ingest.)

We would take a dishpan, clean, of course and scoop it full of snow. Then we would pour in a can of Carnation or Pet milk, sugar to taste, a spoonful of vanilla flavor, and the finished product would taste better than anything Baskin-Robbins has to offer. What a wonderful taste-treat it was, but we had to eat it quickly before it melted. I find it a sad fact of life that kids of today will never experience the simple joy of eating a bowl of vanilla snow cream made from clean fresh snow.

Snowball fights and sledding down the hill using a garbage can lid for a sled were a given. We stayed outside until our clothes were dripping wet, going inside to dry off around the big warm morning stove in the living room when our mothers insisted we come in. We argued “just a few minutes more” because we were reluctant to lose a single moment of such a fun day. Sadly, I don’t see any kids out playing in the snow today. Where is their creativity, their sense of adventure?

At the time we gave no thought to living in a day that time and circumstances would cloud over. That one day the simple things we enjoyed would be replaced by technology and modern inventions. It is my opinion that we lost something in the bargain.  

Memories, and the making of them.  Somehow, things like the latest iPod or iPad fail to evoke anything compared to the  sweet nostalgia of remembering a day of playing in the snow with the other kids in the neighborhood.

Enjoy the Super bowl with these tasty appetizer quiche squares.

Appetizer Quiche Squares

1 pie crust mix, about 11 ounces (pie pastry enough for 2 crusts)

1 egg white, slightly beaten

16 ounces sliced bacon

3 cups grated Swiss cheese, 12 ounces

6 large eggs

4 cups light cream or half-and-half

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash cayenne pepper

Prepare pie crust mix. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry dough to an 18×15-inch rectangle. Line a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with the pastry; brush bottom and sides with egg white. Refrigerate.

Fry bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels then crumble. Sprinkle bacon over bottom of pie shell. Preheat oven to 375°.

Sprinkle shredded cheese over the bacon layer. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and cayenne until well blended. Pour over bacon and cheese. Bake at 375° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and firm in the center. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. Cut into small squares and arrange on serving dishes.

 Makes 4 to 5 dozen.