I Think Back and Wonder Were They Crazy?

This morning I went upstairs to get coffee and it was 56 degrees! in the house!  Well, it might be a little warmer than that because the thermometer is on an exterior wall.  So my mom says it's a few degrees warmer than what it says.  Still that's cold for inside.  I like to keep my house between 70 and 72.  I've already told you how I loved to hang out in front of the space heater.

Yesterday, my mom and I ran to town.  As we walked out of Walmart, I was struck by the cold air.  I really should start wearing a coat.  The cold air reminded me of being a kid and walking to the bus stop in the cold.  It was uncool to wear a scarf back then, but I really should have.  Too many mornings, the inside of my nose would freeze.  When I was in elementary school, there wasn't a temperature too cold to go to school.  Now I believe the rule is -25 degrees and school is canceled.  Fortunately when I was a kid if it was below 0, we didn't go outside for recess.  We got to watch movies.  I remember watching Star Wars.  I think we had a week of below 0, so we would watch a part of it at each recess and at lunch.  I now wonder if Star Wars was appropriate for 1st - 4th graders.  What is that movie rated anyway?

In 5th grade, I started going to the Christian school in town.  Girls had to wear dresses every day. And we had to go outside for recess.  We would wear shorts under our dresses so we weren't so cold.  I think back and wonder were they crazy?  A few years later they started letting us wear slacks every day but Wednesday.  That helped a lot.

As I was preparing to write this blog, I googled "how cold is too cold to go to school."  One person said 7 degrees is too cold.  Other people responded to her saying 7 degrees is a walk in the park.  Some people were talking about school being let out at 30 below.  I would imagine kids in Alaska go to school with a temperature less than that.  Cold is relative to where you live.  After living in Texas for 7 years, it has taken me a little while to get used to the cold again.  I would much rather deal with cold than with heat.  You can always put on more clothes.

We tend to eat more when it's cold and we tend to eat soup.  Hot chocolate is a good warm up when you've been outside for a while.  I feel like I've given you enough soup recipes for now, and I don't have a good hot chocolate recipe.  So you are going to get my Apple Crisp recipe that I've had since I was in elementary school.  It is such a good comforting warm dessert.

Apple Crisp
4 cups apples* (any kind except red delicious)
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375.  In a mixing bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, oatmeal & nutmeg.  Cut in butter with a pasty blender.  Core and slice apples, and place in 8" x 8" pan.  Pour mixture over apples.  Bake for 30 minutes.

*I use fried apples so the apples are more tender.

Fried Apples
3 medium apples
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp sugar
water to cover

Core and slice apples.  Place all ingredients in a sauce pan or a deep skillet.  Cover and simmer until apples are transparent.