A RECIPE AND "WORDS FROM MY SOAPBOX"

Do you have a surplus of green tomatoes in your garden?If you like fried green tomatoes, you'll like this casserole!

This is what you need:

3 cups of coarse bread crumbs (I make my own out of leftover ends of various breads)

1 tablespoon sugar (either white or brown)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4-5 medium green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons butter, broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 6-cup casserole. Combine sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Arrange 1/3 of the tomato slices in the bottom of dish. Sprinkle 1/3 of the sugar mixture, 1/3 of the breadcrumbs and 1/3 of the cheese over the tomatoes in a layer.

Repeat with a second layer of tomatoes, sugar mixture, bread crumbs, and cheese.

For a third layer, add remaining tomatoes, sugar mixture and bread crumbs.

Dot with butter.

Cover casserole and bake 1 hour. Uncover and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving.


Makes a good side dish to enjoy with meat.






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That's the recipe, now for some "Words from my Soapbox!!"


Please refer to my previous post about learning to read with Dick and Jane.


I am so amazed when I go into a first grade classroom today. It is as different as night and day from my experiences as a first grader. Even the physical aspect of the room is different. It seems so dark, the ceilings are low, and the room appears so crowded. Some kids are seated at round tables in a social enclave with their backs to the teacher, and some are lounging on the carpeted floors. The room is filled with interest centers where you can feed the fish, pet the gerbil, play house, finger paint, play on the computer, etc. etc. There are educational toys and games, lots of books, art projects hanging from the ceiling, bulletin boards loaded with calendars, pictures, and learning aids. There are jars of reward candy; sometimes even breakfast is being served. There are literacy aides helping kids, with other children going in and out of the classroom to other special classes. I've seen coffee pots, microwaves, refrigerators plus CD players and lights that can be dimmed for atmosphere in the classroom.


Oh my!!!! Even though I am an adult, I sometimes feel overwhelmed and unable to focus in this situation. Do the kids feel that way, too, I wonder?


In spite of all of these resources and the fact that the majority have been to preschool and kindergarten; there are too many children who are unable to read and are lacking any self-discipline. I know all too well that the schools are not solely the problem or the solution. I'm well aware of what teachers are faced with today, as my son is a high school teacher and my husband substitute teaches in the elementary schools. Discussion at our dinner table is often about this subject and the huge numbers of emotionally-needy kids out there. My hope is that every child can experience a joyful thirst for knowledge followed by the inner reward of learning. But, it appears to me that this is becoming a rare thought process in the children of the 21st century.


I certainly don't have the answer; I'm not even sure of the question!! Any comments?



Thanks for stopping by,


Sally