Onion sets at an Amish home
I’ve been blessed too richly for words. I told Daniel I feel like a spoiled queen. Never before have I had a time where I had someone for two months to actually stepped in to take over with the many demands that go with cooking, cleaning, laundry, and the 101 other things that moms do to keep the house afloat. Daniel’s sister Mary who is a few years older than myself, has truly been heaven- sent. She has a natural knack of taking responsibility and doing whatever needs to be done. I know for sure that my shelves with canned goods would be quite bare without her zip and willingness to just go at it and can peaches, green beans, pickles, and the likes. And oh, our freezer, I’ve never seen it fill up so fast before. We have 60 quarts frozen peaches in there plus 90 little containers with just the right amount in each one for Julia to grab one for her dinner bucket once school starts. Ya, and then there are hundreds of little energy balls we made for quick dessert to eat with iced coffee. Julia wants to put some of them in individual baggies for her lunch for easy packing on busy school mornings. (I’ll be filling you in on more school details soon.)
These look pretty perfect! These aren’t Gloria’s just someone I ordered somewhere, but I am sure Gloria’s are like these!
Cooking is probably one of Mary’s favorites, and we have been the lucky ones to eat many tasty dishes prepared by her. She got me started on l guacamole. I never really cared for it before, now it’s one of my favorites and is quite nutritious besides. After halving and scraping out a ripe avocado, she mashes it a bit with a fork and adds a scant tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, and a pinch regular salt. Mmm. It can be used as a dip, enjoyed plain, or alongside any hot dish or sandwich. Oh, and you should have been here for our supper on Friday evening when she made barbecued ribs and onion rings. It was a hit by all, from the youngest to the oldest. And listen to this, after supper, I noticed a cookbook on the counter open to the onion ring recipe. Glancing at it I read the words I penned beside the recipe almost six years ago. This is what it said, “Mary made these when ‘mauding’ (being our maid) after Austin’s birth.” It happened to be the same recipe she used back then and now here she was again, treating all of us to onion rings six years later.
Onions in an Amish garden
“I wonder what will be in six years from now,” I mused. Hmm… I don’t know. With a chuckle I wonder what it would be like if we’d have another five children in the next six years like we did the last six. Who knows, but most likely not. Though we haven’t decided for sure we’ll most likely discontinue our foster license after the adoption has been finalized. With having five children age five and under our capacity will be legally filled for a number of years.
By the way thanks to those of you who have been inquiring about the adoption. I wish I had a better update for you, but then it’s all in God’s hands. The supposed date when the Native American search would be completed was May 31st then it got bumped out to July 13th; now that report came back as not yet completed, so we continue waiting. As of now we have no idea when it’ll be completed. This all is no surprise for God; he knew all about it, so we’ll keep trusting. You know, if our faith would never get tested we also would not have a chance to exercise it or really strengthening it! I think God wanted to teach me that He really is more important and bigger than this long eagerly awaited occasion. Okay, let’s wrap up with Mary’s onion rings:
- 1 egg
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 onions
- cooking oil or shortening for deep frying
- Pour one inch oil into a deep frying pan, heat to 375 degrees. Beat egg then add rest of ingredients. Cut onions in ¼-inch rings. Separate rings and dip into batter, one at a time, then drop into hot oil. Fry until golden brown; flip and continue to fry other side. Place onto a paper towel-lined platter.
