Continuing the recipe trend
Happy Saturday! I hope you all had a great week!
Thank you to all of you who left a comment after my blog last week. My wonderful publisher is going to send each and every one of you an Advance Copy of A Gift of Grace. After you read it, please post a review to Christianbooks.com and another bookstore website. Thank you!
One inspiration for writing A Gift of Grace is my German heritage. My grandparents immigrated to the USA from Germany in 1929 when my father was 9 months old. I grew up with many German traditions and loved the German cuisine that my nana (grandmother) used to cook for us. I also studied German in college, and my father told me that the Amish came from the same area of Germany as my ancestors and spoke the same dialect, which made me feel a connection to them.
Since my nana often prepared German food, I'm drawn to the Amish cuisine. One of my favorites is Fastnachts (Raised Donuts), which I mention in A Gift of Grace. My nana made them on "Shrove Tuesday," which is the day before Ash Wednesday. They were so delicious! I miss those days in New Jersey. My nana passed away in 1990, and I think of her every day.
Here’s a recipe in honor of my nana. Enjoy!
FASTNACHTS
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 yeast cake/package
About 7 cups flour
1/3 cup lard
Powdered sugar
Bring milk and lard to boiling point, but do not boil. Stir in sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm. Beat eggs and add to the milk. Soak yeast cake in 1-1/2 Tbsp. warm water and keep warm. Sift and measure the flour. Combine yeast and liquid. Add enough flour until able to handle easily. Knead well by stretching and folding it over itself. Let rise overnight.
The following day, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2" squares and make a slit in the center. Cover and let rise 3/4 of an hour. Fry in deep fat until brown. While warm, roll in powdered sugar.
Thank you to all of you who left a comment after my blog last week. My wonderful publisher is going to send each and every one of you an Advance Copy of A Gift of Grace. After you read it, please post a review to Christianbooks.com and another bookstore website. Thank you!
One inspiration for writing A Gift of Grace is my German heritage. My grandparents immigrated to the USA from Germany in 1929 when my father was 9 months old. I grew up with many German traditions and loved the German cuisine that my nana (grandmother) used to cook for us. I also studied German in college, and my father told me that the Amish came from the same area of Germany as my ancestors and spoke the same dialect, which made me feel a connection to them.
Since my nana often prepared German food, I'm drawn to the Amish cuisine. One of my favorites is Fastnachts (Raised Donuts), which I mention in A Gift of Grace. My nana made them on "Shrove Tuesday," which is the day before Ash Wednesday. They were so delicious! I miss those days in New Jersey. My nana passed away in 1990, and I think of her every day.
Here’s a recipe in honor of my nana. Enjoy!
FASTNACHTS
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 yeast cake/package
About 7 cups flour
1/3 cup lard
Powdered sugar
Bring milk and lard to boiling point, but do not boil. Stir in sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm. Beat eggs and add to the milk. Soak yeast cake in 1-1/2 Tbsp. warm water and keep warm. Sift and measure the flour. Combine yeast and liquid. Add enough flour until able to handle easily. Knead well by stretching and folding it over itself. Let rise overnight.
The following day, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2" squares and make a slit in the center. Cover and let rise 3/4 of an hour. Fry in deep fat until brown. While warm, roll in powdered sugar.






















Thank you for this recipe. It looks great. I'm going to try it this week.
Blessings, CarolG
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Thank you for sharing a family recipe. They are the ones many lose. Often no ones gets them written down and then it is tooo late. If you don't have the family recipes written down PLEASE take the time to get them. Once they are gone you will not be able to recreate them. The older family members have their secrets!!
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I also have Pennsylvania Dutch ( German) heritage- my grandmother was a Climenhaga from PA. I am Brethren In Christ, so I guess these Amish recipes remind me of the good old days- Love Feasts, Easter services, with meals following, etc. I plan another trip to Lancaster in Sept. (from Canada) and after purchasing 3 recipe books already full of Amish dishes, I will probably buy more- although I must buy all the new Christian fiction there- as the books are so much cheaper and plentiful, than in Ontario. Keep writing. I love all the Amish books.
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I am loving this blog! You know that I enjoy reading amish fiction. I am currently reading the advanced copy of A Gift of Grace. Also, I can't wait to see what happens in Beth's next book. You can both be assured that I will write reviews asap. Thanks for all you do. I was surprised to hear about the August book! I will check out the other authors mentioned as well. Keep up the GREAT work! Melanie
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I can hardly wait to try fastnachts. I am sure my son will love them also, he really loves sweets. Looking forward to reading the book.
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I have A Gift of Grace on my Amazon.com wish list, and will be ordering it as soon as possible!
Thank you so much for adding to my list of Amish fiction writers!
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