Easy Fudge — Something Sweet for the End of a Long Week

Morels Tuesday. Found a flush near the old oak. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 86. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Green beans cooked low with bacon. The garden producing. Connie picked. I cooked.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called from Louisville. Hospital is busy. Floor nurse to charge nurse to nurse manager — she is the most successful Hensley alive.

The week held. The mountains were the mountains.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

The week asked a lot — the construction job in Lexington, the wood-splitting, the trip to Earl’s grave, Connie’s tired back she would never mention. When Amber’s photos of Nadia and Marcus and little Betty came through the phone, something in me wanted to make something sweet, something simple, something a man with a sore back can still pull off at the kitchen table. This fudge is that thing. Mama would approve. It does not ask much of you, which is sometimes exactly right.

Easy Fudge

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min + 2 hr chilling | Servings: 36 pieces

Ingredients

• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare the pan. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving a little overhang on the sides so you can lift the fudge out cleanly. Lightly butter the lining.
2. Melt together. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. Stir constantly until everything is fully melted and smooth, about 8–10 minutes. Do not rush it with high heat — low and slow keeps it from scorching.
3. Add flavoring. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt until fully incorporated. Fold in nuts if using.
4. Pour and spread. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
5. Chill. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm all the way through. Overnight is fine too.
6. Cut and serve. Lift the fudge out using the parchment overhang. Place on a cutting board and cut into approximately 36 small squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 110 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 30mg