Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Weather stories

For days now we have watched in awe as the northeast has been hit by the monstrous blizzard Juno. It was an unprecedented force in many ways, below zero degrees, 3 foot snowfalls, closed highways, power outages, cities that were shut down to all walking or driving traffic.
And we thanked Mother Nature for sparing us the cruelty that was being felt by our neighbors to the North.
Suffice it to say that we haven’t had a terrible winter as far as winters go. But it’s only February and we have a long way to go before we see a crocus popping up out of the ground.
But even in the worst of circumstances we still have our moments when we find a flash of humor to lighten up the direst of bad times. I cite the following story as an example:
It was snowing heavily and blowing to the point that visibility was almost zero when the young lady got off work. She made her way to the car and wondered how she was going to make it home.
She finally remembered her daddy’s advice that if she got caught in a blizzard she should wait for a snow plow to come by and follow it. That way she would not get stuck in a snow drift. She was feeling pretty smug and sure enough in a little while a snow plow went by and she started to follow it.
After quite some time had passed, she was somewhat surprised when the snow plow stopped and the driver got out and came back to her car and signaled for her to roll her window down. He wanted to know if she was alright as she had been following him for a long time
She said that she was fine and told him of her daddy’s advice to follow a snow plow when caught in a blizzard.
The driver replied that it was okay with him and she could continue if she wanted to, but he was done with the Wal-Mart parking lot and was going over to K-Mart next.

*****

Then there was the woman in Chicago who thought snow was a four-letter word:
“I’ve seen snow twice in the 10 years I’ve lived in Austin, Texas” the man said. “Twice at home in Texas anyway. About five years ago I was working for a couple weeks in Chicago during the early spring (much later than even they should see snow) and it started snowing. I was walking in from the parking lot next to a woman. I didn’t know her, but I delightedly told her “isn’t this beautiful?”
She looked at me a little grumpily and said “I don’t know who you are but I think I’ll slap you.”

Delight guests with this fruity bread pudding made with their signature Cinnamon Raisin bread.

Panera Bread Pudding with Apples, Pecans and Raisins
Source: Panera Bread
 Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 loaf Cinnamon Raisin White Bread torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecan halves
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or rum
8 small baking apples (about 2 pounds) such as Fuji, Gala or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple, quince, or blackberry jam or jelly

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the bread and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until well coated.
Add the sugar, pecans, orange zest and juice, cider, and vanilla extract.
Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes until a sauce begins to form.
In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, layer the bread mixture with the apples and dot the top with the jam or jelly.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly.

Serves 4