Friday, April 15, 2011

heritage recipes go public...

Things I ate at grandma's house...and somehow took for granted...are not served so often these days. Zwieback...paska...and green bean soup were foods I grew up with. Now that Grandma is no longer around to make them...it's our turn. We at Mennonite Girls Can Cook are taking it upon ourselves to pass along the old favorites...and ensure that our grandchildren will enjoy the same dishes that we did. Last night we hosted a cooking class at Lepp Farm Market...for anyone interested in learning to bake grandma's zwiebacks...or paska...or green bean soup. The class was sold out...and what fun we had!


We arrived early and did our grocery shopping...but it wasn't long before the students began to arrive.  They all like a front row seat!



 With Marg as my trusty assistant, I shared Aunt Agatha's zwieback recipe.  Every family had their own way of making these rich little double-decker buns...but this is the recipe that will be in the new cookbook (on it's way to a bookshelf near you as we speak.)  Since many out there do not have mixers, we demonstrated the old-fashioned way of kneading dough.  It's not so hard.  The point is...anyone can make zwieback in their own kitchen. (One just has to stay home for a few hours in a row!)


Bev cooked up a pot of hearty green bean soup...with it's secret ingredient, summer savory.


And Lovella...paska, of course!  She really should have her own cooking show.  She is a fabulous presenter!


Ellen drove north from Seattle yesterday to join us and shared her family secret recipe...a cheese spread for paska.  New to me...but, oh...so delicious!

I should mention that these classes are about more than just listening and watching.  They are about participation.  Yes...everyone gets to sample everything!  And yesterday...we invited anyone who wanted to get their hands dirty, to try their hand and shaping zwieback. 


They were eager to give it a try!


Grandma watched her granddaughter's attempt at shaping the buns for awhile...and finally could not restrain herself any longer.  She came up and showed us all how it was done in her kitchen.  And I'm so glad she did.  There are no right or wrong ways.  Use your family recipe and make it your own.  And then...pass it along.  Aunt Agatha is long gone...but her zwiebacks are enjoying a new popularity.  I think she would be pleased!


How fun to have the generations come together over food!  Pictured above are Charlotte Lepp (on the right) with her mom and daughter.  Charlotte, thanks for inviting us to take part in your cooking classes at Lepp Farm Market.  And thanks for donating all the proceeds from last night to Matthew's House and The Good Shepherd Shelter.

Food...it can be a very good thing!
 Have a wonderful weekend...

19 comments:

  1. I loved your post Judy. .You are a fabulous presenter yourself. Is it not just such a blessing to be offered this opportunity? Who would have thought. Grandma (Aunt Agatha) would have been pleased, of that we can be sure.

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  2. What a wonderful time and great participation too. So much fun!

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  3. What a wonderful evening. We made many memories...again from Basketball to making Zweiback...
    You captured the story well...and now we will look forward to the next wonderful things in our lives...maybe more walks about the hill to reduce the calories from the Paska...

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  4. What a great way to spend an evening....learning and raising money for a charity.
    I'm still not sure exactly what Zwieback is.....

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  5. But now I understand! I went over to 'Mennonite girls can cook', and learned all about the neat little double buns! Thank you.

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  6. What a fun evening. Preserving our food heritage is important, and you've chosen such a good way to do it.

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  7. Great post Judy! Looks like a lot of fun was had by all - sharing those precious, time honored recipes!

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  8. Ohhhh, you were all teaching. (Say, you have a very sleepy student in the front row.) I would love to attend such a presentation. I'm sure that everyone learned a lot. I'm grabbing my daughter and her credit card, too, so I can order from Amazon. I must have that cookbook!

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  9. What a lovely post, Judy. I almost felt as though I was there. Because of all of you I tried Paska last Easter and will make it again this year. Ellen's cheese looks really interesting too.

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  10. I agree with Lovella, you are a great presenter. So calm and steady!
    It was fabulous sharing the evening with the 4 of you and all the lovely ladies in the audience!

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  11. You photographed well Judy...you could have your own cooking show. I actually have made those Zweiback sweet rolls, delicious but time consuming. Maybe something I could now find time for as a grandma...hahaha! I keep expecting life to slow down...not yet. You guys are obviously keeping real busy yourselves. Congrats on all your endeavorers.

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  12. Wish you would take your class on the road.(Regina?)

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  13. I'm loosing all track of days here (in Indonesia) and even forgot when the cooking class was... can you believe that? I knew I'd miss a wonderful evening ...
    So good to see it here!

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  14. This is a great post, looked like you had a wonderful time...I love your matching aprons!

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  15. It looks like it was such a fun time!! I wish I could have been there. I'm sure there was lots of laughter on top of the good cooking!!

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  16. Looks like you all had fun. I loved the photo of Charlotte, her mom and daughter....that is the best!

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  17. I think it is so interesting what you all do with and through food. This is such a great idea to teach the heritage recipes to others, so that they can carry them on to the next generation. You all look pretty in your aprons. Certainly a different look than the grandmas in the past years. I can't help but think that Aunt Agatha would be flattered that you shared her recipe:)

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  18. Looks like you had a great time! I'm sure all of you are thinking "who would have thought?" God is giving you a special opportunity to share what He has given you...what a blessing!

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  19. I think you ALL should have a cooking TV show, Judy! This looked like so much fun! I look forward to trying many recipes when I receive my MGCC cookbook(s)!

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