Autumn Winds

by Charlotte Hubbard

  Ben beamed, his heart throbbing. He met Miriam’s eyes as her friends in the kitchen got up to congratulate her. When the commotion settled, he held up his spoon to signal that he wasn’t finished. “It just so happens the parcel of land across the road from the Sweet Seasons—that piece Preacher Gabe sold off—will be the site for our new home,” he went on. “Miriam said she wanted to be within walkin’ distance of her kids and her work. I’m sure you will all be happy to know that she’s gonna run her bakery and café as long as it pleases her.”

  The Brenneman brothers and the Kanagy boys—and Preacher Tom—resumed the applause. Ben couldn’t recall ever seeing a houseful of Plain folks so expressive, or so excited, but didn’t this happiness look good on their faces? He smiled at them all. No doubt about it: he’d done exactly the right thing, deciding to stay in Willow Ridge. And he’d found exactly the right woman after years on the road.

  “Mostly I want to thank the gut Lord for watchin’ over me, and bringin’ me to this new life,” Ben said in a more serious tone. “Okay, I’m finished now. But this is really just another beginnin’, ain’t so?”

  Preaching Sundays were all-day affairs, a time set apart from the work week to visit with friends and family. By the time the women had served a lighter evening meal and then put Tom’s kitchen back to rights, it was getting dark. The young folks would start their singing soon, and Miriam was glad the Zooks were helping Tom host the evening’s activities. As Ben and his aunts helped load her serving dishes into the wagon, Miriam waved good-bye to Rhoda . . . who was winding a kapp string around her finger, having a flirtatious conversation with Ira Hooley. Jerusalem and Nazareth herded the younger Knepps into their carriage, and off they went to the bishop’s place.

  “Well, finally!” Miriam whispered when she and Ben stood alone beside the loaded wagon. She tugged him toward her for a kiss. “And aren’t you the smarty-pants, buyin’ that land across the road from home!”

  Ben held her close. His warmth did more than shield her from the chill of the evening breeze: it made her feel secure and oh, so loved. Miriam knew for sure and for certain that never in her life had she felt so happy. So contented and complete.

  “Won’t be long before that place across the road is home,” he murmured. “I was real glad when Micah told me he and his brothers could start us a house as soon as they finish the mill. They’re welcomin’ the work, and—”

  “And while it’s a sad thing, why Preacher Gabe needs that money,” Miriam said, “it was gut to hear somebody from outta the district hadn’t bought it.”

  Ben’s smile gave her goose bumps. “Did ya hear what ya just said, perty girl? You’re talkin’ like I’ve been around Willow Ridge forever.”

  “Jah? Well, startin’ now, that’s how it’s gonna be, ain’t so?” Miriam grinned up at him, for Ben Hooley wasn’t the only one who could pull a surprise or two. “I know when I want us to get hitched, too.”

  “Oh, jah? You’re soundin’ awful independent, Miriam,” he teased. “Better get that outta your system, ya know, on account of how wives are to submit to their husbands.”

  “Puh! Ya think I haven’t already submitted, just sayin’ I’d marry ya?”

  Ben laughed so loud that the horses in the corral turned to look at them, their ears pricked forward. Pharaoh, standing closest to the fence, whickered and tossed his fine black head, impatient to be hitched up.

  Miriam stood watching Ben . . . the way his body moved so fluidly as he jogged over to the gate . . . the way he and his stallion communicated without the need for words. Within minutes, Ben was helping her onto the wagon seat, and when he’d hopped on from the other side, he kissed her full on the mouth. “Now what were ya sayin’ about submission—and a wedding date?”

  “New Year’s Day.” She grinned, nodding emphatically. “Jah, it’s on a Thursday, the best day for marryin’. But it’s a whole new beginnin’—a clean calendar of days to spend any way we want! And I wanna spend them with you, Ben.”

  Ben’s hand went to his chest. “Ya just took my breath away, woman,” he whispered. “My heart’s poundin’ so hard, the skin’s pullin’ where Pharaoh left his mark on me.”

  Miriam placed her hand over his, to feel his heartbeat . . . the steadfast love she knew this man would never run short of. “And if ya think your horse marked ya for life, Ben,” she murmured, “just wait until I get ahold of ya!”

  WHAT’S COOKIN’ AT THE SWEET SEASONS BAKERY CAFÉ?

  Because I love to cook as much as Miriam and Naomi do, here are recipes for some of the dishes they’ve served up in AUTUMN WINDS. The weather has gotten cooler in Willow Ridge, so these dishes are a little heartier than some I put in SUMMER OF SECRETS. I read Amish cookbooks and the Budget, so I can say yes, the convenience foods you see as ingredients are authentic!

  I’ll also post these on my website, www.CharlotteHubbardAuthor.com. If you don’t see the recipe you want, please e-mail me via my website to request it, plus bookmarks, etc.—and let me know how you like them! I hope you enjoy making these dishes as much as I do! Yum!

  ~Charlotte

  Cornmeal Rolls

  If you enjoy corn bread and also like soft, satisfying dinner rolls, this recipe’s a tasty combination of the two. Makes a wonderful accompaniment to just about any meal!

  2¼ C. warm water, divided

  C. yellow cornmeal

  ¼ C. sugar

  3 T. oil

  2 tsp. salt

  2 pkgs. (2 T.) dry yeast

  2 eggs

  5 to 5½ C. all-purpose flour

  melted butter or margarine

  additional cornmeal

  In a saucepan, combine 1¾ C. water, cornmeal, sugar, oil, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture boils, about 7–9 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes, and then pour into a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in the remaining warm water. Add to cornmeal mixture with eggs and mix well. Add enough flour to make soft, pliable dough, then knead about 5 minutes on a floured surface. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch dough down and shape into 24 balls. Place on a greased, rimmed cookie sheet, or use a greased 9” x 13” pan. Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with cornmeal. Let rise, uncovered, until doubled—about 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately. Makes 2 dozen.

  Apple Crisp

  OK, I confess that I make this recipe more for the “crisp” than for the apples! So I tend to put a lot of the oatmeal-butter-sugar topping on the fruit, thinking the oatmeal—as a whole grain—and the fresh fruit qualify this as health food. You decide.

  1 C. quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

  1 C. packed brown sugar

  ½ C. all-purpose flour

  1 T. cinnamon

  ½ C. butter or margarine

  3 or 4 large apples

  Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon and then cut in the butter until well blended. Set aside. Peel, core, and slice the apples to make 5–6 cups and put them in a greased/sprayed 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the oatmeal topping over the fruit, then dig down into the fruit with a spoon to mix in some of the topping. Bake about 40–45 minutes or until fruit is bubbly. Enjoy warm with cream or ice cream. Serves 4–6.

  Kitchen Hint: This is also yummy using the same amount of peaches or rhubarb!

  Breakfast Sandwich Casserole

  Amish folks love their breakfast! And the only thing better than a hearty, mouthwatering hot breakfast is one you can make the night before and pop into the oven when you get up. Talk about a wonderful wake-up call, when your family smells this!

  12 slices of bread, any variety

  1½ pounds sausage, fried and drained

  1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled, divided

  12 slices of sandwich cheese, any variety

  1 small onion, chopped

  3
C. milk

  6 eggs

  1 tsp. salt

  other seasonings to taste

  1 C. crushed cornflakes or similar cereal

  2 T. butter or margarine

  Grease/spray a 9” x 13” pan. Put 6 slices of the bread on the bottom, then 6 slices of cheese, and cover evenly with the sausage and bacon (reserve about ½ C.). Top with the remaining cheese slices and chopped onion, then with the other 6 slices of bread, like you’re making sandwiches. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and other seasonings (pepper, dill, parsley are good) and pour evenly over the sandwiches. Mix the cereal, butter, and remaining bacon and scatter this over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 325°, uncovered, about 50 minutes or until firm. Dig in!

  Kitchen Hint: Why enjoy this only for breakfast? If you make it in the morning, it’ll be a wonderful-gut supper! Make a skillet of fried apples while it bakes, and you’ll be set!

  Fried Apples

  A quick, easy way to enjoy autumn’s bounty of apples! Great with pancakes, French toast, pork, or for any meal of the day.

  Fresh apples, any variety

  1 or 2 T. butter or margarine

  brown sugar

  cinnamon

  Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray. Wash, quarter, and core the apples, then slice them into the skillet to make it as full as you want. Dot with butter or margarine and sprinkle to taste with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add about ½ C. water to the bottom of the skillet and simmer, covered, over medium heat. Stir occasionally to spread the spices and cook evenly. Remove from heat while still firm and cover; let sit until you’re ready to eat.

  Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

  A wonderful, moist muffin poppin’ with blueberries. Amish cooks would use pumpkin puree from their own gardens, but this version works better for most of us.

  1 C. all-purpose flour

  1 tsp. baking soda

  ½ tsp. baking powder

  1 T. cinnamon

  1 C. solid-pack canned pumpkin

  ¼ C. evaporated milk

  C. shortening

  1 C. packed brown sugar

  1 egg

  1 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

  1 T. all-purpose flour

  Streusel Topping

  2 T. flour

  2 T. sugar

  ½ tsp. cinnamon

  1 T. butter

  Preheat oven to 350°. Cream shortening and sugar, add egg. Mix in the pumpkin and milk, then add the dry ingredients all at once and mix well. Combine the berries and flour, then gently stir them into the batter. Divide batter into a sprayed or paper-lined muffin tin. In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients with a fork. Sprinkle over the muffins. Bake 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 18 small or 12 large muffins.

  Kitchen Hint: I hate to have leftover canned pumpkin, so I use the whole can and double the other ingredients to make 2 dozen muffins at a time.

  Ham Balls

  This has always been a favorite dish at our church dinners and potlucks. Makes the whole house smell wonderful when they’re baking, and goes especially well with sweet potatoes. I buy a lean, boneless ham and ask someone at the meat counter to dice it into chunks (they tell me they won’t grind it for me on equipment that’s processed other meats).

  5 pounds of ham, ground in a grinder or food processor

  1 large onion, finely chopped in the grinder or food

  processor

  1½ C. crushed saltine crackers

  4 eggs

  ½ C. milk

  ½ C. cider vinegar

  2 T. yellow mustard

  Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dill to taste

  1 packet of apple cider drink mix powder

  Preheat oven to 350°. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend well. Form into 24–30 balls and place in greased/sprayed casserole pans. Sprinkle the drink mix powder over the tops and bake, covered, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes or so to brown them a bit.

  Yams and Apples

  This is a recipe I concocted as another way to enjoy sweet potatoes. The cinnamon and butter make it really satisfying and the whole house smells wonderful as it bakes. To make this a whole-meal casserole, add ham chunks or thin-sliced deli ham.

  2 large sweet potatoes

  2 large apples (Jonagolds or other firm/tart varieties work well)

  Butter, cinnamon, brown sugar

  Preheat oven to 350° and spray/butter a 1-quart baking dish. Peel the sweet potatoes and quarter/core the apples. As you slice the sweet potatoes crossways, layer them in the baking dish, then sprinkle with brown sugar. Add a layer of apple slices, and top that with dots of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Repeat until you’ve used up your ingredients, and add more if you wish. Cover with foil and bake about an hour. Serves 3 or 4.

  Kitchen Hint: This casserole shrinks as it bakes, so you can heap the bowl high before covering it—to be sure you’ll have enough for everybody when they taste how yummy it is!

  Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

  A surefire potluck pleaser! You just can’t beat the combination of sauced meat and cheese. Here’s an example of an Amish recipe that uses convenience foods but still tastes down-home good and will fill up the hungriest fellows at your table.

  1 28-oz. bag Tater Tots

  1 stick butter or margarine, melted

  Salt and pepper to taste

  1 2.5-oz. pkg. bacon bits

  1 C. chopped onion

  1 18-oz. container barbecue pulled pork or pulled beef

  3 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

  Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9” x 13” pan and cover the bottom with a layer of Tater Tots. Drizzle the melted butter over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread the onions evenly over the top. Cover with half the bacon bits and half the shredded cheese, and then spread the pulled pork or pulled beef over this. Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bacon bits and bake until cheese is bubbly, about 10 minutes. Dig in!

  Kitchen Hint: I have a few Tater Tots left over after covering the bottom of the pan, so I keep them in the freezer for another time. It probably wouldn’t hurt to bunch them up more and use the whole bag—might make a bumpier casserole, but who would care?

  Fudge Ripple Cake

  Call it an indulgent coffee cake or call it dessert, but call it scrumptious!

  1 box white or chocolate cake mix

  1 box chocolate instant pudding

  1 C. sour cream

  1 C. oil

  4 large eggs

  2 tsp. vanilla

  Ripple Mix

  C. sugar

  1 tsp. cinnamon

  C. cocoa powder

  2 C. chocolate chips, divided

  Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a tube pan and set aside. Mix the cinnamon, sugar, and cocoa in a small bowl for the “ripple” and set aside, along with the chocolate chips. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients until blended, and then spoon half the batter into the tube pan, spreading it to cover the bottom. Sprinkle most of the “ripple” mixture over this, and 1 C. of the chocolate chips. Top with the rest of the cake batter, and then sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the top. Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips and spread over the top with a spatula when they’ve melted. Cool in the pan about 15 minutes and then remove to a serving plate.

  Kitchen Hint: If you like walnuts or pecans, chop about a cup of them and divide those between the “ripple” layer and the top of the cake, after you’ve spread the melted chips.

  Apple Walnut Coffee Cake

  Wow, is this just the yummiest use of apples there is! Call it coffee cake or call it dessert, but call folks to the table and watch it disappear.

  2 C. sugar

  1 C. plus 2 T. vegetable or canola oil

  ¼ C. apple cider

  3 large eggs

  2 tsp. vanilla<
br />
  1 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda

  3 C. all-purpose flour

  2 large, firm apples (Granny Smith or Jonathan work

  well), peeled, cored, and sliced (3½ C.)

  1½ C. chopped walnuts

  Powdered sugar, if desired

  Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 10-inch tube pan (use one that has a removable insert). Stir sugar, oil, apple cider, eggs, vanilla, seasonings, and soda in a large bowl until blended.

  Stir in the flour until smooth, and then stir in the apples and walnuts. Pour into the pan, and bake an hour and ten to twenty minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Cool on a wire rack for an hour before removing the sides of the pan. Cool completely before lifting the cake from the pan’s bottom.

  Coconut Layer Cake

  Coconut lovers, here’s your treat! Moist and sweet, this is one of those cakes that adds a special touch to any occasion and deserves a high-quality brand of coconut (I use Baker’s). As with all cakes that have cream cheese frosting, store this one in the fridge. You can freeze the leftovers, too.