BAREFOOT IN THE SNOW AND COOKING BACON

Ah, yes. Walking barefoot in the snow! How well I remember that and how happy I am I do not need to do it any more.

When I was eight years old my Mom and Dad decided I was old enough to have my own bedroom. I had been sleeping in the living room on a day bed that I shared with my sister, Grace. We pulled it down every night to make a double bed and we made it up every morning. When Grace graduated from High school she somehow had found a job in California doing housework and cooking for a family there. I don’t know how she got the job (I’ll have to ask her sometime) but she went right to California after graduation.

Remember, after I was born, Daddy built a lean-to on our house and that lean-to became the kitchen, pantry and a screened porch. Actually, it wasn’t really a porch. It was a room with screens for windows (no glass). Daddy had an old canvas that he cut in half and he nailed the canvas over the screens in that room. Only problem was that the canvas was quite worn and had some holes. It did offer some privacy but not much protection from the elements. When it snowed, if there was any wind with the snow, I would wake up with snow on my bed. However, I thought it was quite wonderful to have my own room. I shared the room with a huge cupboard with doors that closed tightly. Mom kept the milk in there and I will be telling you more about that at a later time. I don’t remember what else was kept in the cupboard but there must have been something else.

Anyway, I had a bed and a couple of hooks on the wall to hang clothes.

You may remember that we only had stoves in the kitchen and living room. Though the stoves were great in those days, they didn’t retain heat like the new stoves available today, so when the fire went out the rooms got cold in a hurry. Absolutely no heat got into my bedroom and it was cold. That’s why I heated bricks or smooth rocks in the oven, wrapped them in towels or something and put them in my bed to warm it enough I could stand to climb into the bed. Now, I had a pretty good bladder but occasionally I would feel the urge to visit the outhouse in the middle of the night. My shoes were by my bed and a couple of times I put my feet into my shoes and wore them to the outhouse but those shoes felt like ice cubes. By the time I got back from the outhouse, my feet were so cold, I couldn’t get them warm the rest of the night (the bricks and rocks were cold by then so they were no help). The next time I had to go to the outhouse, I decided my feet couldn’t get any colder if I went barefoot and that’s what I did. There was one problem. I couldn’t stand to put my toes down into the snow so I pointed my toes toward the sky and just got the bottom of my feet on the snow. It worked! When I got back to bed my feet weren’t nearly as cold as when I wore my cold shoes. And, yes, I really could point my toes toward the sky. I got so used to walking barefoot on cold surfaces that when I put bare feet on any surface, my toes automatically pointed upward. Jack used to get the biggest kick out of that. He thought I was quite talented. (Wow! What a talent!)

Do I still point my toes upward? Well, it’s been a long time since I had to walk on really cold surfaces and gradually my toes began to touch the floor. And, as a result of getting older, I found I needed to put my toes on the floor for extra stability. I can’t just scoot around with only my feet under me. When Shanna mentioned about walking barefoot in the snow and toes pointed upward I thought, “Gee, I wonder whether I can still do that.” I tried and due to the lack of practice pointing them skyward they don’t go nearly as straight up. I guess I can start exercising those muscles every day and get my talent back if I want to. The question is: Do I? Well, let me try it for a while and see whether it’s worth the effort. When I was young, it took no particular effort.

COOKING BACON

I love bacon but it was always SO messy to cook. Even if I used a splatter screen over the pan, it was messy and you have to deal with the bacon curling in your stove-top pan. But now I have the perfect way to cook bacon with no curling and it doesn’t cook in the grease.

If you have a cookie sheet (with sides at least one inch) put a cooling rack (like you’d use for cooling cakes or cookies) into the cookie sheet. Lay your bacon strips on the cooling rack. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven is up to 400 degrees, put the cookie sheet in the oven. I can’t tell you exactly how long it takes because at 7000 feet in altitude it is different than if you’re at sea level or somewhere between. Just keep an eye on the bacon the first time you try this and keep track of the time it takes. You can cook your bacon crisp or limp—however you like it. When it’s just right for you, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Your bacon will be nice and flat—no curling—and cooked to perfection. What’s even better, all the grease is in the bottom of the cookie sheet and the bacon isn’t sitting in the grease. You can wash the cooling rack in your dishwasher. And, you can pour the grease from the cookie sheet. You can either dispose of the grease or you can put it in a container and put it in your refrigerator to cook with later—if that’s what you like to use. If you cook beans and add a little bacon grease to the pot, it makes the beans a complete protein and they’ll be better for you. Yes, you do need a little fat in your diet. I’ve been cooking bacon like this for about a year now and it is wonderful. I keep wondering why it took me so long. Try it—I think you’ll like it. Let me know what you think.

Hey, here’s an EASY recipe for absolutely the most deliciously decadent brownies you’ve ever tasted:

TOFFEE BROWNIES

1 pkg. brownie mix with walnuts (it needs to be at least 17.6 ounces and up to 19 ounces is better)
Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 (5 or 8 ounce) candy bars with toffee chips and almonds--recommended Symphony brand

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions

Line a 13 x 9-inch cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spray. Spoon in half the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.

Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares. Dust the top with a little powdered sugar. You will want to lift the brownies off the foil at this time and store in a container you can cover tightly.

(The first ones I made I used 5 oz. bars. I bought some more bars and didn’t notice that I had picked up the 8 oz. bars so I used them anyway. They were so gooey and wonderful that it was almost immoral. However, the 5 oz. bars are delicious, as well.)

I love you all.