Still Life in Shadows
Page 30
The End
RECIPES
Ashlyn’s Bread in a Can
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup rye flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
⅓ cup molasses
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
Stir flours and cornmeal together in a large bowl. Add baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir. Pour in buttermilk. Add molasses and mix well. Stir in raisins. Pour mixture into one greased 1-lb. coffee can and attach lid securely. Fill large cooking pot with boiling water so that it covers the can halfway when placed in pot. Put lid on pan. Steam bread for two hours. Remove can from water. Carefully run a knife around the inside of the can to loosen the bread from the sides and then invert the bread onto a cooling rack. Serve hot in rounds with butter.
Gideon’s Christmas Salad
1 ripe avocado, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 tablespoons onions, diced
1 minced garlic clove
6 oz. acini di pepe, cooked according to directions on box, drained
1 cup sour cream
2 drops Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
Gently mix cooked acini di pepe with salt and pepper. Add sugar and Tabasco. Fold in sour cream. Add avocado, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Serve cold.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As I’ve stated before, no novel is ever written fully alone. Others supply tidbits, facts, and wisdom along the way that beckon to enter my pages. Perhaps the most fun contribution from others was when I held a Name-that-Character contest on my Facebook Author Page. I asked my readers to come up with names for two of my characters—a waitress at a tearoom and the daughter of the local sheriff. Thanks to Sallie Deaton, who gave the name Della to my waitress and to Charlotte Stevenson, who provided Ashlyn for the daughter.
I was able to glean from the following books to help in my research of the Amish lifestyle—The Amish Way and Amish Grace, both by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher; and Plain Secrets by Joe Mackall. My research included various websites as well as documentaries about Amish youth who have left their roots to relocate in English neighborhoods. My four years at Eastern Mennonite University gave me much insight into the close-knit families, peaceful faith, and loving communities of the Anabaptists.
An abundance of praise to my agent, Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Agency.
Thank you to the team at River North for giving me the platform to write this novel.
Much appreciation goes to my editor, Rachel Overton, for her keen eye to detail.
I belong to a very special group of writers called the Serious Scribes, and I appreciate the women I meet with every month—Katharine, Jen, Kim, Diane, and Catherine.
To my children—Rachel, Benjamin, and Elizabeth—I’m amused by the ways you always seem surprised/baffled/embarrassed when someone out in public recognizes me and wants to actually hear more about my novels.
To Carl, much gratitude for your support and encouragement, especially when the path is bleak and I am tempted to take up the habit of biting my nails or consuming too much chocolate.
And, to all my readers—without you, life wouldn’t be as much fun. Thank you!
River North Fiction is here to provide quality fiction that will refresh and encourage you in your daily walk with God. We want to help readers know, love, and serve JESUS through the power of story.
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