Breath of Spring

by Hubbard, Charlotte

  Sauce:

  1½ C. brown sugar

  5 T. cocoa powder

  1¾ C. hot water

  Mix brown sugar and cocoa powder and sprinkle over the cake batter. Pour hot water over all. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, or until cake feels firm beneath the sauce. Serve warm with ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

  Kitchen Hint: You can rewarm leftover cake in the microwave. Separate into pieces with sauce over each piece, cover, and heat in 30-second intervals until it’s as warm as you want it.

  Ham Loaf

  Here’s a nice alternative to meat loaf, and it picks up a tangy sweet-sour taste from the glaze as it bakes. You can ask someone at the meat counter in the grocery store to grind your ham—or use a hand-cranked grinder, as Amish women do, or use a food processor blade, as I do. When cold, this loaf slices well for sandwiches!

  1 lb. ground ham

  1 lb. ground pork

  1 large onion, finely chopped

  2 eggs

  C. cracker crumbs

  C. Minute tapioca

  ¼ C. milk

  Glaze:

  ¼ C. cider vinegar

  ½ C. water

  ½ C. brown sugar

  1 T. mustard

  Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the ground ham, ground pork, onion, eggs, cracker crumbs, tapioca, and milk. Mix thoroughly and form into two loaves. Place in a sprayed/greased roaster or baking pan. Mix the glaze ingredients in a small pan and boil for a few minutes, then pour the glaze over the ham loaves. Cover and bake about an hour and a half, basting occasionally. Glaze will thicken as it cooks down. Allow to cool about 15 minutes before slicing, and serve with glaze.

  Kitchen Hint: Minute tapioca isn’t just for pudding or thickening fruit pies! In this recipe, it gives the ham loaf a firmer texture so it won’t break apart when you slice it.

  Another Hint: You can also bake your loaves in a large crockery cooker for about 6 hours, but the glaze won’t thicken as much.

  Lime Bars

  Here’s a twist on traditional lemon bars—same soft-gooey-sweet-tart filling, but made with lime instead of lemon!

  2 C. flour

  ½ C. powdered sugar

  1 C. butter or margarine, softened

  4 eggs

  2 C. sugar

  4 T. fresh lime juice

  Zest from one lime

  4 T. flour

  1 tsp. baking powder

  2 drops green food coloring

  Powdered sugar for topping

  Preheat oven to 350°. Grease/spray a 9” x 13” pan. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and butter or margarine until well blended. Press dough into the bottom of the pan, and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar, lime juice and zest, 4 T. flour, baking powder, and food coloring. Pour over the crust and bake 20 to 25 minutes more. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cool. These will freeze well with wax paper between layers of bars.

  Creamy Chicken Vegetable Soup

  Here’s a potful of comfort food for a chilly day, and the tomatoes give this version of chicken soup a little something out of the ordinary. Serve with warm, crusty bread for a satisfying meal.

  1–1½ lb. of chicken legs and breasts

  4 bouillon cubes (chicken or vegetable)

  3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

  3 large stalks of celery, sliced thin

  2 large potatoes, cubed

  1 large onion, coarsely chopped

  1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes

  Basil, salt, garlic, and lemon pepper

  3 bay leaves

  1 can cream of chicken soup

  In a large pot or Dutch oven, cover the chicken pieces with water and boil them about half an hour or until the meat’s cooked through. Reserve the broth. Cut the meat from the bones and into small pieces. Meanwhile, add the carrots, celery, potatoes, onion, and tomatoes to the broth with the bouillon cubes and seasonings, to taste, and the bay leaves. Add in the cooked chicken pieces. Simmer, covered, for about an hour, adding more water or purchased chicken broth as needed.

  Remove the bay leaves. Add the cream of chicken soup last, stirring until it’s blended into the broth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

  Kitchen Hint: If you like a more filling soup, add a cup of uncooked rice or macaroni after the vegetables are soft. You’ll need to add another cup or two of broth (or of water and bouillon cubes) to accommodate the way the starch will absorb the liquid as it cooks.

  Beef and Bean Stew

  Here’s a great filler-upper supper for a cool evening, and since it’s made from canned ingredients, it goes together quickly. Serve in bowls, or over split biscuits or corn bread.

  1 lb. ground beef

  1 large onion, diced

  1 20-oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained

  1 can chili beans, undrained

  1 can hominy, drained

  1 can corn, drained

  1 T. cornstarch

  ¼ C. water

  Dash of Worcestershire sauce

  Salt, pepper, garlic powder, dill weed, basil, or other

  seasonings

  In a large skillet, brown beef and onion until cooked through; drain the grease and return this mixture to the skillet. Stir in tomatoes, beans, hominy, and corn and bring to a low boil. Mix the cornstarch and water, then add to stew as a thickener. Add Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings to taste, and simmer over low heat for about 15 more minutes. Serves 4–6.

  Kitchen Hint: Like beans? You can add another can or two of any sort of drained beans (pintos, kidneys, blacks, etc.) You can also serve this fragrant stew over rice or mashed potatoes.

  Easy Warm Peaches

  I came up with this idea one morning “on the fly,” when I wanted a warm fruit to serve over baked oatmeal. Warm peaches also taste good with granola sprinkled over them.

  1 small bag frozen sliced peaches OR

  1 large can of sliced peaches

  Cinnamon

  Place sliced peaches, still frozen, in a skillet over low heat. As they thaw and cook, stir to distribute moisture (add a spoonful of water, if needed) and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. When peaches are heated through and liquid becomes syrupy, remove from heat and serve. If using canned peaches, pour just enough of the syrup into the skillet with the fruit to keep it moist, and stir over low heat, adding the cinnamon.

  Kitchen Hint: You can also prepare warm peaches in the microwave. With frozen fruit, heat for two-minute intervals until all the slices are warmed through and the cinnamon is evenly mixed in. With canned fruit, use one-minute intervals.

  Annie Mae’s Apple Pie

  Looking for a way to perk up an old standby? What a difference it makes to use brown sugar and fresh lemon rind along with your favorite firm apple—my choice is usually Jonagold, Honey Crisp, Braeburn—or a mixture of them.

  6 C. tart, firm apples, cored, peeled and sliced

  ¾ C. brown sugar

  2 T. cinnamon

  Dash of salt

  4 T. all-purpose flour

  Grated rind of one lemon

  1 T. fresh lemon juice

  3 T. butter

  Pastry for a 10” double-crust pie

  Preheat oven to 375°. Place apple slices in a large bowl, add brown sugar, spices, flour, the lemon rind and the juice, and mix until apples are coated. Place filling in the bottom crust and dot with butter. Slice the other crust into strips and weave for a lattice top; flute the edges. Cover the edge with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Makes 8 large slices.

  Kitchen Hint: I can never get the foil to stay around my crust edge, so I use a nifty adjustable silicone pie shield instead. You can find them in kitchen gadget shops or online.

  Sugar Cream Pie

  Here’s a something-from-nothing dessert made from simple ingredients already on your shelves. The filling is very much like a classic blancmange, except the Amish add butter, pour it into a crust, and call it pie!


  2¼ C. milk

  ¾ C. sugar

  ¼ C. cornstarch

  ½ C. butter or margarine

  2 tsp. vanilla

  1 baked 9” pie shell

  Cinnamon to taste—2 tsp. at least

  Pour the milk into a medium pan and stir in the sugar and cornstarch. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is blended smoothly and starting to thicken. Add the butter/margarine, still stirring, until the mixture resembles a soft pudding. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Pour the filling into the pie shell and sprinkle the cinnamon over the top. Chill.

  Kitchen Hint: This is also tasty in a graham cracker crust. You can’t freeze this pie, so gee, you’ll just have to eat it all while it’s fresh!

  Upside-Down Pizza

  Plain folks are eating more Italian-style food these days, and one-pan meals like this one are popular with cooks who must feed large families on a limited budget.

  1 lb. hamburger or sausage

  Salt and pepper to taste

  1 small onion, diced

  1 medium green pepper, diced

  2 C. pizza or spaghetti sauce

  1 T. Italian spices

  2 C. shredded cheese (mozzarella or Colby are

  good)

  1 C. flour

  2 eggs

  1 C. milk

  1 tsp. vegetable oil

  ½ tsp. salt

  Brown the meat with the salt, pepper, onion, and green pepper. Drain off excess grease and add the pizza sauce. Grease/spray a 9” x 13” pan and preheat the oven to 425°. Spread the meat mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Mix the flour, eggs, milk, oil, and salt. Pour over the meat and bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes until browned. Cool for 10 minutes to set before serving.

  Annie Mae’s Favorite Macaroni Salad

  This is a fabulous salad that serves a crowd. The difference is in the dressing. Amish cooks tend to add sugar to their dressings. If you’re watching your calories, you can omit the sugar and still have a tasty dish that’ll be a hit at potlucks and picnics.

  3 C. uncooked elbow macaroni, shells, etc.

  3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

  3 stalks celery, chopped

  1 medium onion, chopped

  1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

  3 T. dill pickle relish

  2 C. creamy salad dressing (e.g., Miracle Whip)

  3 T. yellow mustard

  ¾ C. white sugar

  3 tsp. white vinegar

  2 tsp. celery seed

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Bring a pot of water to boil, add macaroni, and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the chopped eggs and vegetables. In a smaller bowl, blend the rest of the ingredients, then combine this dressing with the macaroni, eggs, and vegetables. Cover and chill at least 2 hours (or overnight) before serving. Serves 10–12. Keeps about 3 days in the refrigerator.

  Kitchen Hint: I make this salad with whole wheat macaroni, which adds fiber and doesn’t change the taste a bit. I also like to mix pasta shapes, using a cup of each!

  Look for the fifth Seasons of the Heart novel,

  HARVEST OF BLESSINGS,

  next February.

  “Welcome back to Willow Ridge, Nora. It’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

  How weird is this? Sixteen years ago, Nora Landwehr had never imagined herself returning, much less accepting the keys to a prime property from the man who’d been the bishop when her father had sent her away. But this little Amish spot in the road had changed a lot. And so had she.

  “Thanks, Hiram,” Nora murmured. “I hope I’ve done the right thing.”

  “At least you’ve arrived while your parents are still alive—if you can call it that.” His gaze followed the road toward where the Glick house stood a ways back from the county blacktop. “Mending fences in your situation will be much like opening Pandora’s box. Once you raise the lid, all your secrets will swarm out like hornets, whether you’re ready or not.”

  His choice of words made her wonder if she’d been wise to confide in Hiram Knepp . . . to even go through with this transaction. But it was too late for second-guessing. As her gaze swept the panorama of Willow Ridge farmsteads, Nora was amazed at what she saw. From this hilltop perspective, Willow Ridge looked like an idyllic little town where nothing hostile or cruel could ever happen—like Mayberry, or Walton’s Mountain. But appearances could be very deceiving. “So, does Tom Hostetler still live there where all those buggies are parked?”

  “He does. He’s the bishop now.”

  “This being Thursday . . . is that a wedding or a funeral?”

  Beneath Hiram’s short laugh, Nora imagined the bwah-hah-hah-hah of a melodrama villain. “As you probably realize,” he replied wryly, “a wedding, in retrospect, might indeed be a funeral of sorts, depending upon how it all works out. Annie Mae’s marrying Adam Wagler today.”

  Nora thought back . . . waaay back, to when Adam must’ve been about school-age and Annie Mae Knepp had been a toddler—

  And you’re not there to see your daughter marry, Hiram? She bit back her retort. Her Realtor had hinted that Hiram had committed even more heinous sins than she had . . . and after all, her father hadn’t attended her wedding, either. If Hiram had been run out of Willow Ridge, she and this man with the devilish black goatee had a lot in common.

  Nora didn’t want to go there.

  She was looking for a way to move Hiram along, so she could figure out where her major pieces of furniture would fit before the moving van got here. And yet, if everyone in town was at the wedding, this would be a fine time to look around....

  “I’ll have my crew remove the Bishop’s Ridge entryway sign tomorrow.” Hiram’s voice sliced through her thoughts. “That way you won’t be living in my shadow.”

  Nora didn’t miss the irony there. Every Amish colony lived in its bishop’s shadow—and she sensed the cloud over Willow Ridge had gotten a whole lot darker of late, even if Hiram no longer resided here. “That’ll be fine. Thanks again.”

  “What will you do with that big barn? I miss that more than the house.”

  Nora smiled. No need to tell this renegade everything, for who knew what he’d do with the information? “I have some ideas,” she hedged. “Figured I’d live here a while before I committed to any of them.”

  Finally, Hiram was headed down the road in his classic, perfectly preserved black Cadillac. Nora closed her eyes as the summer breeze caressed her face. She’d really done it . . . spent her divorce settlement on this house and acreage with the huge barn, in the town where she’d probably be greeted with hatred and hostility as she stirred up old grudges like muck from the bottom of a farm pond.

  But blood is thicker than water . . . isn’t it?

  Once the shock and accusations ran their course, Nora sincerely hoped to reconnect with her family. To ask forgiveness and make her peace while creating a purposeful, productive new life. Was she acting even more naive and fanciful than when she’d believed Englischer Tanner Landwehr was her ticket to a storybook ending?

  Nora glanced at her watch. Still an hour before the van was to arrive. She slid into her red Mercedes convertible to cruise town while she could still pass as an English tourist—not that anyone would see her. Everyone from Willow Ridge and the nearby Plain settlements would be at Adam and Annie Mae’s wedding.

  Once on the county blacktop she turned left, away from town, and drove past a timbered mill with a picturesque water wheel. With its backdrop of river rocks, wildflowers, and majestic old trees shimmering in the breeze, the mill at Willow Ridge was a scene straight out of a Thomas Kinkade painting.

  Nora turned back toward town. Henry and Lydia Zook’s home looked added-onto yet again, and Zook’s Market had expanded, as well. The white wooden structure sported a new blue metal roof that glimmered in the afternoon sunlight. A handwritten sign on the door proclaimed the store closed today for the Knepp-Wagler wedding.


  Purposely not looking at her childhood home yet, Nora focused on the fine new house built on what had been the northeast corner of her father’s farm. Across the road sat a building that housed the Sweet Seasons Bakery Café and a quilt shop—more new additions, although she recalled the blacksmith shop behind them, and the large white home down the lane, which had belonged to Jesse Lantz. From what she could tell on the Internet, Jesse had passed on and Miriam had opened a bustling business. Who could’ve guessed an Amish woman would have a website with delectable pictures of her meals and bakery specialties?

  A little way down the road stood the Willow Ridge Clinic, with what appeared to be a horse-drawn medical wagon parked beside it. Yet more startling changes . . . but as Nora headed down the gravel road on the left, the Brenneman Cabinet Shop looked the same as always. So did Reuben Riehl’s place, and Tom Hostetler’s dairy farm, where black-and-white cows grazed placidly in the pasture with the red barn in back of the tall white farmhouse. Dozens of black buggies were parked along the lane and around the side of the barn, yet the place looked as manicured as her former lawn in Ladue. Not so much as a scrap of paper or a missing shingle marred the Plain perfection of this scene.