• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Amish 365
  • About
  • Amish Recipes
  • Amish Culture
  • Amish Marketplace
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Amish Recipes
  • Amish Culture
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Amish Recipes
    • Amish Culture
    • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Top Amish Recipes » Amish Side Dishes

    The Amish Cook: Happy 50th, Dorcas, and Gloria's Homemade Ranch Dip

    Published: Sep 14, 2015 · Updated: Sep 14, 2015 by Kevin Williams | 5 Comments

    Editor's Note:  Gloria writes this week about her mom turning 50.  I'll chime in here and say that Dorcas Raber is just a wonderful person. I don't know her terribly well, but she's raised a super family, has a firm faith and kind heart.  She's just someone that you'd want to have as your own Mom or grandma if you could.  Happy Birthday, Dorcas! - Kevin Williams

     

    Gloria's pony, Candy, and the cart

    Gloria's pony, Candy, and the cart

    THE AMISH COOK

    By Gloria Yoder

    Birthday parties are great but there’s something especially grand about a 50th birthday celebration.

    This week we’re having the pleasure of celebrating my Mom’s 50th birthday.  In a way it’s hard to imagine Mom being 50.  She really does seem younger than that. Mom is always there to be an asset and help to us children in whatever way she can. Yesterday I had the honor of taking her to a  "surprise" ladies coffee break which we had planned on her behalf.

    Early that morning I called Mom asking her if I could take her on a little spin with the cart and pony at 1 p.m.  Even though she didn’t say much, I know her mind started reeling in an attempt to figure out what might be going on. At 1 o'clock we took our pony Candy (which Daniel had hitched up to the cart) and loaded  Julia, Austin and  I and Mom into the cart.  Handing 10 month old Austin to Mom I took the reins, after all she didn’t know where we were heading!

    At the end of our driveway, instead of taking a left like I usually would, I took a right which leads towards my uncle’s store and had intentions of taking a longer route to the birthday party in an attempt to fool her of where we were headed.

    “This must be the wrong way” Mom said with an ornery smile.  "I saw a buggy going the opposite direction a little bit ago. "
    “Are you sure it wasn’t someone going home from the store?” I asked.

    “Yes, because it was Leah and Grandma!” (they live next to the store)

    “Really?”I exclaimed.  “We’d better follow them.”

    Laughing we made a U-turn and headed the other direction. This time the joke was on me.

    Upon arriving at the party, 11 church ladies had already gathered there.   As Mom walked in, they sang Happy Birthday to her.

    I set my veggies and dip beside the finger foods and snacks that the other ladies had brought along on a table where everyone filled their plates. Sitting around an attractively decorated table we sipped coffee and tea and enjoyed our fellowship together. Some of you might be surprised that there was not a birthday cake.  Birthday cake is a tradition That really varies from one Amish community to the next, for instance in Daniel’s family a cake is a big thing, in our family a cake isn’t as big a deal for adults as it is with the little children.

    While planning her party I had racked my brain as to what else we could do that afternoon which would be both practical and inspirational. Finally, I decided to ask each lady to bring  copies of a favorite inspirational poem or article to share with the rest of us. Mom loves reading. so I was especially eager to see what everyone would come up with. After finishing our coffee-break we took turns sharing about the piece of writing we brought along as why we chose it or in what way we were challenged and motivated on the subject of joy and thankfulness which repeatedly came up. If we wait to be joyful until everything goes well in our lives we’ll go through life without experiencing true joy. Genuine joy comes when we rest in God in the midst of trials.

    The ladies showered Mom with a wide variety of gifts which included baked goods, a beautiful homemade rug and a book entitled “Faithful and 50” and many other useful items.  Unknown to mom, we were also Planning a toilet paper “cake." Have you ever heard of such thing?  A 4-tiered cake is constructed with rolls of toilet paper, each containing a little gift in the center.  Each tier is then tied together with ribbons and decorated with bows, flowers and so forth.

    When we were ready to leave for home we loaded the gifts onto the pony cart. Needless to say the cart was filled to the max. It didn’t take Candy long to cover the 1 1 /2 mile route back home again where Mom dropped the children and me off before going on home with her gifts.

    Julia loved being at the party, she even got to sit beside Grandma to eat . Julia's turning 4 this week.  She has been eagerly waiting on her birthday for a long time now. It’s finally become a reality.

    How about trying our homemade veggie dip similar to what I made for Mom’s birthday party? I like having some of the homemade ranch powder on hand for dips or sauces. It can used just like store-bought ranch mix.

    HOMEMADE RANCH DIP

    To make the ranch powder:

    5 heaping tablespoons of dried onion flakes

    2 1 /2 tablespoons parsley

    2 teaspoons paprika

    1 tablespoon salt

    2 teaspoons black pepper

    1 teaspoon garlic powder

    1 teaspoon celery salt

    Mix and store in an airtight container.

    Homemade Ranch Dip

    1 cup sour cream

    1 cup plain yogurt

    1 /4 cup homemade ranch powder
    Mix the three ingredients together, and store in a sealed container and refrigerate.

     

    « Florence's Pumpkin Pie - Who's Florence?
    Toilet Paper Cake and Amish Photo Note »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emily

      September 14, 2015 at 3:33 pm

      The recipe asks for 1 tsp celery salad, may I ask what that is?

      Reply
    2. mary petrey

      September 14, 2015 at 4:01 pm

      Luv reading about Amish we go to Holmes county twice a yr. Luv it

      Reply
    3. Jo Auer

      September 14, 2015 at 5:46 pm

      Could you post a picture of the toilet paper cake (so we can see exactly how it is put together) and suggest some items to put in the rolls. Thank you.

      Reply
    4. Pam

      September 15, 2015 at 9:52 am

      No picture of the "toilet paper cake"????

      Reply
      • Kevin

        September 15, 2015 at 10:16 am

        Hi, Pam - Pictures are tough. Gloria doesn't have a camera, their church doesn't allow it. The pictures you do see with the column on occasion are typically ones I have taken when I visit....this is an issue we are trying to rectify while still being true to their church rules - Kevin

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

    More about me →

    Latest Amish Recipes

    • The Amish Cook - Daniel's Delicious Crispy Homemade Waffles
    • How Do The Amish Celebrate Easter?
    • Amish Easter Brunch Casserole
      Amish Easter Brunch Farmers Casserole
    • Do the Amish Allow Photographs?
    dutchcrafters

    Download The "Almost Amish" Ebook

    Footer

    Footer

    About

    • About The Amish Editor
    • Download "Almost Amish" Ebook
    • Amish Communities
    • Amish Marketplace

    Contact

    • Work With Us
    • Contact

    *As a member of various affiliate programs I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2000 - 2020 Amish 365 | Powered by Touch The Road