Mennonite Girls Can Cook (22 page)

M
y living generations stretch from my mother to my granddaughters. I loved watching my daughter, Romay, and now my two granddaughters, Elise and Elora, grow up. I have observed their natural interests and gifts. As I look back over the years to my own childhood, I remember four insightful moments that determined my life path.

The first came when I was about four years old. I was sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen when I leaned over to see the pictures in the book my aunt was reading. There were none. I was excited when she told me that the funny black marks all over the pages were words: I couldn’t wait to learn to read.

How I love books! Each new book in my hands stirs in me a great feeling of anticipation. Books feed my love of learning, and what I learn I love to share, whether it is in a teaching situation, in private conversation, or in my writing. Now I am learning how to cook and bake gluten-free foods, since my daughter, granddaughter, and I have Celiac, an auto-immune genetic disorder involving the intolerance of gluten.

Another defining moment came when I was around ten years old. I was riding my bike, house to house in my rural neighborhood, selling raffle tickets for my school. One elderly couple invited me in. In the few minutes I spent in their home, the love they showed each other made a lasting impression on me. I noted the gentle way they spoke to each other, the tenderness in their glances, the way they read each other’s thoughts. They became the model for the kind of marriage I wanted. I married young, just after my 18th birthday, and after 45 years of marriage, my husband and I still love each other!

A career-determining moment came one day when we were visiting my aunt and uncle. Admiring a lacy crocheted swan sitting on the dining room floor, I was amazed that my aunt had hand-crafted it. I decided that one day I, too, would make beautiful things with my hands. Since then, a sewing machine has been an important part of my life. I have been a dressmaker and an alterations specialist. I have operated a drapery/decorating business, and have done a few other things in between. Being self-employed for most of my working years has allowed me great freedom to fit all the things that are important to me into my life, including being home for my daughter, and later being available for my precious granddaughters.

The greatest moment that determined my life path came when I was eight years old. As I listened to a German storybook being read to me, I became convicted of my need for God’s forgiveness. When I asked Jesus into my heart, I was filled with joy and decided I wanted to be a missionary in Africa. I never went to Africa, but my love for God and my desire to know him is at the core of my being. Of all the books in the world my very favorite is the Bible and I never tire of its truth and beauty.

...............................................Serves 6

• 1½ pound / 750 g ring farmer sausage, cut into 2-inch / 5-cm pieces and sliced in half
  
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
  
• 6 carrots, sliced
  
• 2 pounds / 1 kilogram green beans, cut into 1-inch / 2.5-cm pieces
  
• 2 large onions, diced
  
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml summer savory
  
• ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
  
• ½ teaspoon / 2 ml pepper
  
• 2 cups / 500 ml hot water
  

1. Place the sausage in the bottom of a heavy pot or in a large crock pot.
   
2. Layer the vegetables over the sausage in the order listed.
   
3. Sprinkle the seasonings on top.
   
4. Add hot water and cover.
   
5. Bake in the oven at 350° F / 175° C for 3 hours or in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
   

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Lovella

Lovella says

...............................................Serves 6

• 3 pound / 1½ kg pork loin or rib roast
  
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml butter
  
• 2 apples, cut into ½-inch / 1.5-cm pieces
  
• cup / 75 ml dried apricots, chopped
  
• cup / 75 ml prunes, chopped
  
• 3 tablespoons / 45 ml frozen orange juice concentrate
  
• 1-2 tablespoons / 15-30 ml fresh thyme, minced
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• ½ teaspoon / 2 ml cinnamon
  

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter; add apples and cook about 5 minutes, stirring until lightly browned.
   
2. Add apricots, prunes, and juice, and continue cooking until fruit is tender and liquid has evaporated.
   
3. Season with half the thyme, salt, and pepper. Cool.
   
4. Cut a pocket into side of roast. Fill it with this mixture. Tie the roast shut with kitchen twine.
   
5. Season roast with remaining thyme, salt, pepper, and add the cinnamon.
   
6. Spray the roasting pan with oil and bake uncovered at 350° F / 175° C for 30 minutes.
   
7. Cover and bake another 60-75 minutes, until meat thermometer inserted in center shows 160° F / 71° C.
   
8. Remove from oven onto plate, tent loosely with foil and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
   

Tip:
Add cut up potatoes, yams, carrots and left over fruit filling to the roasting pan for the final hour. When the roast is resting, remove the vegetables onto a serving platter. Mix a tablespoon of flour with 1 cup of water and add it to the drippings in the pot, stirring to make a gravy to drizzle over the roast. Season to taste.

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Anneliese

Anneliese says