web1_BillyStrings_Weintrob_6.jpg

Bluegrass phenom Billy Strings to play at Wilkes-Barre’s F.M. Kirby Center

web1_pies-003.jpg

Nanticoke woman bakes sweet potato pies to benefit youth music program

<p>Grandma has always been a very special person to me. Tonight, we celebrate her 80th birthday. Since Grandpa passed away two years ago, we simply appreciate Grandma in a new way, knowing that life is nothing to take for granted.</p><p>As a little girl, I loved going to Dawdy&#8217;s (Grandpa&#8217;s) house. Much to my delight, when I was 8 years old, they moved from the large Amish community in Homes County, Ohio, to our little community here in Flat Rock Ill.</p><p>Dad, his brothers, and other friends helped them build a house only a half mile down the road. It really seemed too good to be true. We especially enjoyed the times we stopped in at their house on the way home from church. It never took Grandma long to get out her popcorn popper and pop enough popcorn for everyone.</p><p>Occasionally, I even got to go to their house for the night when my parents would go on a trip that wasn&#8217;t practical for me to join them on. They would always spend time playing Candy Land with me, which left me feeling special and loved.</p><p>Years have passed since then. I have come to appreciate Grandma in new ways. I sense in her a deep commitment to God and acceptance of the difficulties that come up in life. That is the way I want to be when I&#8217;m her age. The practice stage starts now, right?</p><p>Back to her birthday party. Grandma has always been the type to plan surprises for others, especially for her children and grandchildren. Her 80th birthday seemed like an excellent opportunity to spring a surprise on her.</p><p>She was surprised, indeed, when her children and grandchildren kept popping in on the evening of her birthday. When we arrived with our little ones, she met us at the door, giving me a big hug and telling me how delighted she was that we had come. I assured her that it was well worth the chilly 1-mile walk. (We had a little enclosed cart that we pushed with the youngest three snuggled into it.)</p><p>The hours that followed were filled with visiting, eating, and, of course, some good games of Carom, which is a favorite activity at Grandma&#8217;s, especially so for the uncles and older-cousin boys. Interestingly enough, the Carom board they use is the one Grandpa made over 20 years ago. I always think it&#8217;s fun to watch how involved grown men can become and how much fun they have when playing a simple game!</p><p>Besides the Carom game, Grandpa made many unique items for his children and grandchildren as well as some to sell. In his younger years, he had a welding shop where he fixed and fabricated all kinds of things in addition to running their dairy farm. Fixing buggies was also on the list of things he did at one point; in fact, he made a covered wagon-type buggy for our family when I was 5 years old.</p><p>To me, Grandpa could do anything. In more recent years, Grandpa made lots of smaller items, such as houses for Purple Martins and foot benches that us grandchildren bought from him. This generated a little money for him and Grandma and proved to be an excellent source of keepsakes for most of their 48 grandchildren. These benches were not like any ordinary little benches; many of them had a variety of five to seven different types of wood, all crafted into one beautiful piece.</p><p>Spending an evening at Grandma&#8217;s does seem empty without Grandpa, yet we know how eager and ready he was to go to his home in heaven, which helps us a lot. Sometimes I just long to sit down and talk with him again and ask him all kinds of questions. At any rate, life is where it&#8217;s at right now, and I just feel blessed to have had the connection I did have with him for the past years.</p><p>After a while, it was time to bundle everyone up and head for home once more. It was a good evening and well worth going to bed a bit later than usual.</p><p>By the way, my children are now the ones who like going to Grandma&#8217;s (their great-grandma) when I need a baby sitter while I go to town and can&#8217;t take them along. She always takes time off from her quilting to spend time with the children and gives them pretzels and crackers to snack on.</p><p>It&#8217;s a blessing for me to see my children, the next generation, enjoy my grandmother!</p><p>Following is a recipe for baked chocolate fudge cake that we&#8217;ll be having tonight at Grandma&#8217;s birthday party. It is an old recipe that we have used countless times to be served with ice cream.</p><p><strong>Baked chocolate fudge cake</strong></p><p>3 tablespoon shortening</p><p>3/4 cup sugar</p><p>1/2 cup milk</p><p>1 cup flour</p><p>1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder</p><p>1/2 teaspoon salt</p><p>1 cup brown sugar</p><p>1/4 cup cocoa</p><p>1/4 teaspoon salt</p><p>1 1/4 cup boiling water</p><p>Cream together shortening and sugar. Add milk and next three ingredients alternately with creamed mixture. Pour into an ungreased 9-inch pan. Mix brown sugar, cocoa and salt. Sprinkle over top of batter. Do not stir.</p><p>Pour boiling water over all. (The water and cocoa mixture will go to the bottom of the pan as it bakes, creating a chocolate fudge.) Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until cake seems to be done. Serve hot or cold with ice cream, whipped cream or milk.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_AmishCook365logocol-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_AmishCook365logocol-3.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Gloria Yoder</p><p>The Amish Cook</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Readers with culinary or cultural questions or stories can write Gloria directly at Gloria Yoder, 10568 E. 350th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427-2019. To see more on the Amish, go to www.amish365.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Amish Cook: Grandma’s 80th birthday a reason to celebrate, bake cake