Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Family wedding included sweet 'Nothings'

August is well underway, and 2014 is more than half gone. Time just goes faster and faster. It is amazing how the years go by, one after another. What matters most is that we live our lives pleasing to God. The world is full of temptations, and we as parents need to pray daily that God will guide our children in the direction of His will.
Thursday was a beautiful day as niece Marlene and her bridegroom Chris exchanged their marriage vows. Three-hundred-fifty pounds of chicken was fried for the noon meal. Also on the menu were mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken and noodles, dressing, lettuce salad, mixed vegetables, cheese, homemade wheat bread, butter and strawberry jam. Desserts were tapioca pudding, sliced peaches in a fruit glaze, angel food cake with a strawberry topping, and pies (pecan, blueberry and cherry). Sausage links were added to the menu for supper.
“Nothings” (also called “Knee Patches”) were on the tables. They are a thin, sweet pastry made from eggs, flour, sugar and cream. The dough is rolled out very thin and then deep-fried. Sugar is sprinkled on top and the pastries are put on stacks on a dinner plate. Plates of Nothings are set around the tables and people can enjoy them all day. In our Amish community, Nothings are never made for weddings. When I was a young girl everyone in my home community had Nothings and celery sticks on the tables at a wedding. They didn’t have celery sticks at this wedding, so I’m not sure if this isn’t a tradition anymore or if some just decide not to have celery.
They didn’t have a wedding wagon, so kerosene stoves were borrowed, as well as many pots and pans. The food was all prepared in a summer kitchen area that connected to the pole-barn-type building where the tables were set up. In yet another building, the wedding ceremony was held.
Brother Amos and his wife Nancy have eight daughters and two sons. This was the fourth daughter getting married, so I’m sure they are well practiced to prepare for a wedding.
I was a cook at the wedding and my job was to help mash potatoes. All the potatoes were mashed by hand. In some of the wedding wagons there are mixers that are run off a generator, which makes it a lot less work to mash the potatoes. This was how the potatoes were mashed at niece Irene’s wedding. It is always interesting to see the differences from one Amish community to the next.
At weddings in our Amish community, all the children go to the table to eat. At weddings in Berne, Indiana, the children eat cafeteria-style. At this wedding, 130 adults could eat at one time and the tables were reset quite often. There were around 250 to 300 youths who came for the evening meal. Berne is a large community compared to ours.
We were happy to have nephew Chris Schwartz Jr. spend the evening here on Saturday. We cooked supper outside on the grill and open kettle. Pork steak, ribs, hot wings, and banana and jalapeƱo poppers were grilled. Chili soup was made in the kettle. Chris is 30 years old and still single. He runs a construction crew and was working nearby.

Blueberries will only have a short season here in our area this year. Try this blueberry pie with fresh blueberries.

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