The Amish Cook: Gloria's Simple Chicken Nuggets with Tangy Sauce

THE AMISH COOK

BY GLORIA YODER

Writing is something I enjoy, in fact in many ways after writing for a while I feel like I've come back from a refreshing walk. As a young school girl I loved writing stories, I would never tell anyone, though. Everyone else seemed to hate writing, especially when it came to stories. Why should I be any different than anyone else? In spite of my love for writing I never felt like I could really do it well enough, I always felt self-conscious about my  writing, in fact I didn't even like when my mom would proofread the letters I sent to friends, though I did want her help to correct my mistakes, both real and imaginary.

In the back of my mind, I dreamed of someday writing a book, but didn't really expect it ever to happen. (Now I dream of writing a book about our foster children, their parents, etc. We’ll see.) As a teenager I spent some time writing in my journals; whether it was jotting down events that took place in my day, how I felt when my day turned inside out or writing out prayers, somehow it just made me feel better.

A couple of years into our marriage I received a phone call from Kevin Williams who was asking me if I'd do some weekly writing for him. I wasn't sure. Part of me felt like it would be a dream come true on the other hand I just wasn't sure about it, after all, who said that I really could do it? I didn't know Kevin that well, though we had enjoyed a previous visit he and his wife paid to our house a year before. He had been there to take pictures of food for his new cookbook, "Amish Cooks Across America." We followed Daniel’s suggestion of inviting him out to our house to sit down and discuss the options face to face.

After he left we hashed it out some more. With me being the more skeptical type I was unsure how it would be to undergo the commitment of writing a piece each week. Praise God for Daniel. “Let’s give it a try,” he proposed. In our home Daniel is the one who leads out in making significant decisions so with him being optimistic about it, I was happy to tackle the new endeavor before me. And it’s like Daniel assured me, we always have the option of discontinuing if things wouldn’t work out.

Now almost five years later I can honestly say that I’ve never regretted it for even one moment. A special thanks to all of you faithful readers and friends who have enriched our lives in so many ways. I count it a privilege to be a part of your circle. If there’s one dream I could just bring to pass, I would ‘press a button’ as Julia would say, and have all of you readers and our family have one grand gathering one of these days! Who knows, maybe someday something like that will materialize.

Julia is growing up fast and is now reading story books. I keep telling her and Austin that someday they will be able to write the column for me and even perhaps take over. Ya, that sounds a bit far fetched, but I tell you what, the time has a way of just slipping past without me really finding out what happened.

I am grateful to have time marching swiftly onward these Spring months, though; we eagerly anticipate the adoption to be finalized by this Summer. God has been so good, at the last court hearing all rights were legally terminated, and we are now officially working toward adoption! I don’t know how to explain how we feel except with the simple words, “We are SO excited!” I’ll definitely keep you all updated.

Rayni, two years old, and Jesse,17 months, add so much joy and laughter to our household, it certainly wouldn’t be complete without them. Yes, it really was worth all the strain, pressures, appointments that we’ve had as a result of being foster parents. We would do it again, but it will feel oh, so good to have everything finalized. I can’t wait to give them their first hugs after the judge signed the document that they are ours to keep.

This week I’d like to share our family’s chicken nugget recipe with you.