The Amish Cook: Motherhood and Marinara Sauce

THE AMISH COOK

BY GLORIA YODER

Greetings from Illinois!

How about taking a peek into our home on a warm July day?  The air feels thick and muggy, the way it looks we’ll have a hot summer day for sure.  There are tomatoes I’d like to turn into pizza sauce today, peaches to do at Mom’s and most important of all, care for my family.

It’s 6 a.m. and my husband, Daniel, is ready to have some quiet moments of meditation.  He loves sitting on the deck in the freshness of early morning spending time with God.

By 7 a.m. Daniel has headed for the shop at my parent’s property where he builds rustic furniture. Before he left we had breakfast and devotions together.  Now, I’m read ready to start the day.

Nine month old Austin awoke earlier than usual so I decided to put him down for an early nap as well. After 15 minutes of rocking I finally decided that my little sunny boy simply wasn’t ready to shut his big blue eyes just yet.  So I took him to the kitchen with me and set him on the floor where he played a bit. Soon he crawled over to where I was washing breakfast dishes and started tugging on my dress. I dried my hands and scooped him up.  As I picked him up I heard the pitter patter of Julia’s feet running down the hall, through the living room and to the kitchen.  “Mama! Mama! “ she called eagerly.  Kneeling down I extended my free arm as she ran right into it.  “Good Morning!” I greeted her.

It was obvious to see how pleased Austin was to see his big sister as he stiffened with excitement as he grinned from ear to ear.

I left the dirty kitchen and the tomatoes that were waiting on me and decided to give the children some attention.  First , I dressed Julia, combed her hair and got breakfast ready for her.  Breakfast is always a big deal to her.  This morning she chose homemade granola with milk and a cookie.

By the time she was finished with her breakfast, Austin was getting a bit grumpy and ready for a nap. I headed for the rocker once more and this time he quietly fell asleep while I told Julia a Bible story. This time she wanted me to read about Moses and the Israelites when he made a dry path for them through the Red Sea. After putting Austin down and finishing the story, Julia and I knelt and prayed together asking God to be with our friends and family and thanking Him for caring for us.

Having put Austin to sleep and Julia cared for, I was ready to tackle the tomatoes. While fetching several  onions, Julia’s call greeted my  ears “Mama! Mama!”    Turned out it was just one of the many relatively minor “emergencies” a Mom deals with during t course of a day, so I was able to turn my attention back to Austin and whether Julia had woken him up while calling out to me.

“Oh no,” I thought “That probably woke Austin.”    I dashed over to him.  Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw his big eyes popping open.  Thankfully I was able to get him back to sleep again before too long.

Heading back to the kitchen I set to work cutting up tomatoes, onions, and peppers.  The clock’s hands seemed to go faster than mine.  Soon it was time for lunch.  I decided to keep it simple. We had ribs that Daniel grilled the evening before along with a tossed salad.

After lunch I was ready to do one of my favorite steps in canning: filling the jars. I enjoy working in the kitchen but there’s a special satisfaction of seeing rows of canned goods preserved for the months ahead.  By the time the last jars were filled the children and I all felt warm, tired and sticky, yet I was tickled with the 17  one quart jars and 9 one pint jars of pizza sauce that had been made. The kitchen still needed a quick clean-up before I could leave for Mom’s house where my sister-in-law’s and I had planned to help her with peaches that Dad had picked in their orchard.

I grabbed the broom and was sweeping the floor when I heard Julia calling me from the porch. I set the broom aside and opened the door : “Yes?” I  inquired.

“Isn’t my kitten adorable?” she asked with a bright smile.

“Yes, it is adorable,” responded warmly.  Motherhood does require a lot of interruptions, dedication and patience yet is rewarding in countless ways.

Before long I was able to wrap everything up in the kitchen and we were on our way to Mom’s house eager to get out of the  hot kitchen and ready to spend the afternoon with her and the rest of the family.

Are you interested in trying a favorite sauce recipe of ours? It is similar to pizza or spaghetti sauce and can be used to replace it in many recipes. It is also a delicious replacement for salsa.

The parmesan cheese gives it an outstanding flavor along with smooth texture. It can beat eaten fresh or canned.

If you using a Victorio strainer tomatoes have to be cooked first, if you are using a blender they don’t have to.