By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
I remember as a child playing games playing games that kids today would probably laugh at. How many of you out there remember playing with jacks, tiddly winks, pick-up sticks, barrel of monkeys, Lincoln logs, paddle ball? We had an erector set, lawn darts (the very dangerous kind but we didn’t know), tinker toys, silly putty and play doh.
We played croquet, Twister, jigsaw puzzles, Old Maid, Go Fish, checkers, Candy Land, Shoots and Ladders, played with marbles and much more. Kids out there today would be bored out of their minds, nothing technical to contend with. Momma Said, “We used our minds and muscles not just our thumbs.” We were outside most of the time. In the summer we would catch lightning bugs, and big giant night crawlers and in the fall we would press leaves and make books out of them. Winter time was snowball fights and sled rides.
Even today it is hard for me to stay inside I guess it is in my genes. Mom was the same way, she hated to be inside. The only time she sat in the house was one hour a day when she would watch General Hospital. I don’t think she missed an episode the whole time she was alive. She would set the VCR if she wasn’t’ going to be home and watched it later.
It just seems like yesterday that we experienced all these great things and it is hard to think myself and all my siblings are in our 60’s. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast sometimes but I can remember the fun we had playing all those games. They helped with dexterity, hand and eye coordination, muscle memory and we had to use our brains. I think of all the games I mentioned above, jacks was my favorite. Momma Said, “It’s not too late to be a kid and just play.”
Asparagus Quiche
Ingredients
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
10 slices bacon
1 unbaked refrigerated pie crust, store bought or homemade
1 egg white, slightly beaten
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 ½ cups half-and-half
4 large eggs
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Directions
- Cut half the asparagus into ½ inch pieces; leaving remaining spears whole. Set pieces and whole spears in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool.
- Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly browned and crisp. Drain and crumble. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
- Transfer pie crust to 9 inch pie plate. Trim edges and flute or crimp as desired. Brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle bacon and chopped asparagus into pie crust; top with shredded cheese. Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour over cheese in crust. Arrange whole asparagus spears on top.
- Bake until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature before cutting.