Mennonite Girls Having Fun

Morning coffee with my guests...the prairie girls Betty and Charlotte.

We received a warm welcome on Judy's front porch.

The table settings along with name tags were a cheery welcome for our morning brunch.

We did feel welcome! It was all so beautiful!

Judy put on a real spread!

Food, friends and fellowship.

After brunch Bev and her husband Harv treated us to a mini cruise on beautiful Harrison.

A little beach stop...Anneliese and Betty had some fun on a rope swing....

and we stopped to take a group shot....one of many!

Marg and I served a light snack.

Enjoying girlfriend time while relaxing and taking in the beauty of God's creation.

The Harrison Hotel in the distance as we headed back to shore.

What a treat this was!

Bev's lovely yard and pond.

On the patio I spotted the zucchini blossoms that Bev picked up at Lepp Farm Market yesterday.

They were so pretty and delicious.

Bev in her kitchen.

Fresh!

Sharing a meal and our hearts.

Bev had chosen a scripture verse for each of us which was printed on the inside of the beautiful place cards she had made. Tears came freely as we went around the table and read each verse....each one so fitting for our personal lives.

Our last stop of the day was at Marg's home, where we gathered around her beautiful island,

and found comfy spots to sit and relax.

Marg's home turned into a quiet spa retreat for the evening.

She served us fresh blackberries picked today by her daughter....

...as well as her wonderful Hazelnut Torte.

The sunset was beautiful as our day came to a close.

We are heading out for another great day.

Tomorrow morning Anneliese will tell you all about it.

Mennonite Girls Come Together

At precisely 10 am the Mennonite Girls Can Cook planned to meet at the airport to welcome our out of towners...

Betty and Charlotte our two prairie girls and Ellen our south of the border girl. .

and us Valley Girls. . ..

all together at last.

How could we have known that just over two years ago we would  not only created a place where we could share our family favorites . .but that we would also have become such close friends.

Daily emails and lots of phone calls.  .and much planning brought us to our first ever reunion.

Kathy and Marg were unanimously nominated to be the social committee and did us proud at the airport.

They showed up a wee bit after the rest of the waiters. .

had us all nearly falling on the floor in laughter. .

as they had ALL the people waiting for friends and family. .

entertained.

They were thanked as they left .. for the fashion show.

With lots of laughter and tears and hugs . .

we were off to my house for "high tea". . .casual style.

We kept smiling at each other . .

and  had ourselves a bit of lunch.

The social committee girls had our first day all mapped out. 

Our first stop was Neufeld Farms our first sponsor.

When I sent out letters to some of our local businesses . ..

they were the first to call and agreed to send money each month to MCC to feed hungry children .  .

and in turn we have them listed on our sidebar.

Do they know how to make girls feel welcome or what?

A sign . .imagine that.

Keri. .a blogger herself ..

understood the camera's and with 10 stuffed in her pocket or slung around her neck. .

snapped away.

Our next stop was our second to join sponsor. .

Lepp Farm Market.

Charlotte gave us the tour of their beautiful new facility and before we knew it.  .an hour had passed as we chatted back and forth.

We feel so blessed to have both these businesses that our locals love . .

sharing our heart to feed the hungry.

Towards the end of the afternoon. .

we went to Anneliese's house to enjoy her special hospitality.

We relaxed in her peaceful and beautiful home. .

while she served us appys and finished creating her delicious meal.

After we had our two  . .yes  ..two desserts . .

Julie shared with us from God's word. .   .

and we ended the evening each praying for the girl on our left.

It's hard to put it into words. .

it was so special.

OH. .but the time has not ended. .

Tomorrow . .our social committee has a day planned.  .

and Kathy will give you the recap on Wednesday morning.

All for now. .

with love,

A Warm Welcome

I enjoy having guests, and I thought you might like a little change from the regular recipe of the day. I'm sure many of you have had house guests or been house guests this summer.

I've been getting ready for my guests for the past few weeks. Usually when I have guests I not only get my house ready, but I also meal plan, but not this time. My guests will be staying with us for 3 nights, but will not be eating any meals here. They may sit at my island in the mornings with a cup of coffee before we head out each morning, and we may sip on a cup of tea before we turn in each night.

The front bedroom is ready for one of my dear friends.

....and the back bedroom for the other.

Girls like fresh flowers, clean linens and little treat bags

....so that is what they will find.

When family or friends come to stay I want them to feel comfortable and at home.

My friends are arriving shortly. Why don't you stop by tomorrow to meet them and see what we are up to.

pluma moos ~ cold plum soup

Fruits soups...made with fresh or dried fruits...have been a part of the Mennonite cuisine for centuries.  During the winter months...these soups were made with dried fruit.  In the summer...they were made with fruits fresh from the orchard.  We happened to have a long row of Italian prunes on our farm when I was a child...and so we often had pluma moos made with fresh plums.  This is still my favorite fruit soup...a nice cold bowl of pluma moos on a hot day is most refreshing.  The Italian prunes are about ready for the picking...here's a recipe you may want to try.

• 4 cups Italian prunes, pitted and quartered
• 8 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 1 package cherry jello (4 serving size)

1. Place prunes in large saucepan and cover with water.  Cook until tender.
2. Mix sugar and cornstarch...add enough cold water to make a smooth paste.  Add to fruit gradually while stirring...allow it to come to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and stir in cherry jello.  
4. Cool...then refrigerate.  
5. Serve cold.

Bread for the Journey

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."

I was reminded of this verse the other day as I was discarding some old clothes and it caused me to wander down memory lane..
Rag rugs have always fascinated me. As a little girl I sat and watched my mother cut strips of fabric from old shirts, pants and dresses that were too worn to wear anymore. Then with nimble fingers using a hook that had been carved out of wood by my Dad she would create this beautiful rug..a work of art.

These memories took me to what Jesus does for us. He takes the old ragged and worn pieces of our lives and weaves them into beautiful new 'works of art.'
That is the most amazing 'weaving' that I can think of and am thankful for!

Blessings..

Corn Cake Appetizers

A friend of mine who had a catering business made these delectable morsels. They are small pancakes made with cornmeal and kernel corn. I've made them several times now and served than as an appetizer for summer BBQ's and they have disappeared like... well...hotcakes!

For the Corn Cakes:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
• 4 tbsp. melted butter
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup corn kernels cut from a cooked cob or 1 can kernel corn, drained

1. Heat griddle or frying pan to 350º F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients and corn kernels.
4. Make a well in the dry indgredients and add the wet.
5. Stir well with a spoon until blended. Batter will be a bit runny.
6. Using a tablespoon, drop batter on to griddle. You'll want to make the corn cakes fairly small. (about 2" in diameter)
7. Cook on griddle until browned and then flip - like pancakes.
8. Cool on rack.

For the Goat Cheese Topping:

• 1/2 cup herbed goat cheese or add your own herbs to plain goat cheese (you could use cream cheese if you like)
• About 1/4 cup (more or less) of whipping cream
• Red Pepper Jelly
• Chives cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1. Beat goat cheese with beater, adding whipping cream until a creamy texture is achieved.
2. Using a small spoon or a piping bag, top each corn cake with a teaspoon or so of goat cheese.
3. Add a dab of red pepper jelly to the centre of the goat cheese.
4. Add bits of chopped chives as a garnish if desired.
5. Serve. (These are delicious cold)

Fresh Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

With all the fresh fruits available at this time of year...why not combine sweet and savory and serve on an appetizer platter?

• 3 cups chopped peaches
• 3 kiwis, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped strawberries
• 1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion,. finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
2. Drain juices if desired.
3. Serve with cinnamon tortilla chips as an appetizer...or serve as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or meat.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

• 8 flour tortilla (8 inch)
• Butter flavoured Pam (cooking spray)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Combine sugar and cinnamon.
2. Spray both sides of tortilla with cooking spray.
3. Sprinkle both sides with sugar/cinnamon mixture. (Putting sugar mixture in a shaker works well.)
4. Using a pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into eight wedges.
5. Place on ungreased baking sheet (parchment lined for easy clean-up)...in a single layer.
6. Bake at 350° F for 10-14 minutes or until just crisp.