Read Along Wooded Paths Online

Authors: Tricia Goyer

Along Wooded Paths (38 page)

BOOK: Along Wooded Paths
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3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar, divided

3 cups low-fat milk, divided

3 large eggs, separated

6 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla, divided

1 pie shell, baked

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat together the powdered sugar and peanut butter till the mix is crumbly; set side.

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine 2/3 cups sugar and 2 cups low-fat milk; heat to scalding or possibly till bubbles start to form on the bottom. Don’t let it boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks to mix; blend in 3 tablespoons cornstarch, flour, and salt. Stir to make a paste.

Whisk in the remaining cup of cool low-fat milk, whisking till the mix is smooth.

Pour in some of the warm low-fat milk mix, stirring to combine.

Add in mix in bowl to the low-fat milk in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, till the mix bubbles up in the center.

Add in the butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Remove from heat and let the custard cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle 2/3 of the crumbly peanut butter mix in the bottom of the baked (and cooled) pastry shell. Pour the cooled custard mix over the top.

In a large mixer bowl, place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat till stiff peaks form.

Gradually, while beating, add in the 4 tablespoons remaining sugar and 3 tablespoons remaining cornstarch. Continue beating until the eggs whites are very thick and glossy.

Spread meringue on top of pie; sprinkle the remaining peanut butter mix on top.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes; watching carefully, or possibly till the meringue is golden. Chill and serve.

Amish Caramel Pie

3 cups brown sugar

3 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

6 egg yolks

2 pie shells, baked

Mix together flour, milk, and egg yokes. Set to the side. Boil brown sugar, water, and butter together for 2 or 3 minutes for a good strong caramel flavor. Slowly stir flour mixture into boiling syrup, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes and stir once. Pour into 2 baked pie shells. Top with either a meringue from the egg whites or allow pie to cool and top with whipped cream.

Amish Breakfast Casserole

1 pound sliced bacon, diced

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

6 eggs, lightly beaten

4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese

1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp; drain. In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients; stir in bacon mixture. Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35–40 minutes or until set and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

AUTHOR’S NOTEs

Dear Reader,

During the writing of
Along Wooded Paths
, as Marianna was adjusting to life in West Kootenai, Montana, I was doing some adjusting of my own. I’d just moved from Kalispell, Montana, to Little Rock, Arkansas. Like Marianna, I started making friends with people very different from me. While I missed my old friends back home, my heart had plenty of room for new relationships, too. Moving away, I wasn’t giving anything up . . . instead I grew in my knowledge of a new place. I also found my place within a new community.

When I started working with single moms in inner city Little Rock, I thought I had something to offer them. What I didn’t realize was how much those relationships would change me. Just like Marianna found with Jenny, it was a special give and take. The laughter and hugs of those young moms is something I’ll always cherish.

Sometimes in life we have an idea of what God’s plan is. And other times His greatest plan is simply for us to love the people He’s put in our paths.

Who has God put in your path? It may be someone who’s facing a challenging time, like Aaron. It maybe be someone who just needs a little help, like Jenny. Next time someone enters your life, consider how your love and support can make a difference. The truth is, sometimes you’ll be the one who is impacted most of all . . . just like Marianna. Just like me.

With care,

Tricia Goyer

TEASER CHAPTER FOR BOOK 3,
BEYOND HOPES VALLEY

Naomi’s parents’ big, white clapboard house was newer than other houses in the community. Marianna remembered when the new house went up. The Dawdi Haus—the smaller, older farmhouse where Naomi’s grandparents once lived—was in back.

From the porch of the Dawdi Haus, Marianna could see the trees her parents planted after her sisters’ deaths. And beyond that she could see her parents’ property and house. It didn’t feel like home any more.

To her,
home
was where her parents were, where her siblings were. And Montana was very far away.

She’d get over to the old place soon enough. She still had a hope chest filled with her things upstairs in her room. She thought again about the many journals she’d written. It would be interesting now to go back and see what she’d written. Did her words come across as sad as she’d always felt? Would she read the weight of trying to live her life to make up for two sisters lost? It would be interesting to find out.

Naomi paused next to a trunk on the porch of the Dawdi Haus. “I’ll be setting everything up for after the wedding, of course.”

Marianna looked from Levi to Naomi. “So you’ll be living here? Near your parents’ place? I hadn’t thought to ask.”


Ja
, it’s a
gut
home. It’s been empty in the year since my grandfather passed. Levi got a job on the Stoll farm. Aaron gave a recommendation.”

Marianna nodded. “Did he now? That sounds like Aaron.”

“With the house and the income, s’pose we’ll have enough to make it. And after the wedding, as we go around visiting, we should get enough for me to keep a home.” Naomi rubbed her round belly. She talked like things were happening no different than with every other Amish young couple. The truth was, it wasn’t uncommon for Amish girls to get pregnant before they married. What was uncommon was for their boyfriends to come back from the world.

Naomi sniffed the air and rose. “I think my pie’s done. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She smiled at Marianna and Mari smiled back, but as soon as Naomi was out of earshot she turned to her brother.

“Are you certain, Levi?”

“Certain?”

“With this decision.”

Levi looked deep into Marianna’s eyes. She could see he knew what he ought to say, ought to do, but that didn’t mean it would be easy. Gazing into Levi’s eyes was like looking into her own soul.

Levi sighed. “Love is a choice, not a feeling, Mari. Didn’t you write that in one of your letters to me?”

“Yes, it is a choice, and you’re not making an easy one.” Marianna forced herself to ask the question she’d been wanting to ask. “It isn’t your baby, is it?”

Levi sat up straighter in his seat. “Why would you say that?”

“There is something different about you two. Distance. She. . . it’s as if she’s worried you’re going to walk out at any moment. And you—you have the same look in your eyes as when you were ten and Dat gave up on that newborn calf. You stayed with the calf day and night for a week, feeding it at all hours until it was strong enough to nurse. You were proud. You were weary too, but that didn’t compare. It was as if the sacrifice was worth it. It’s as if this marriage to Naomi is out of duty, not love.”

“You’re seeing things where they ought not be.”

“Am I? It’s me you’re talking to, Levi. I’ve come all this way to help. Shouldn’t I know the truth?”

He studied her. “And you’ll not speak it to anyone.”

“Of course not. You know me better.”

“I have not slept with her, Mari. I may not have followed the Amish ways, but I believed Dat when he told me that union ought to be saved for marriage.”

Marianna’s trembling fingers touched her lips.

“Whose? Whose baby is it, then?”

Levi shrugged and lowered his head. “Would you believe me when I tell you I won’t ask? I don’t want to know?”

“But why? How could you not want to know?” Marianna felt a sickness coming over her stomach.

“I want to love this child like my own, to think of it as mine. As far as everyone else is concerned, it is.” He covered his mouth with his hand and then wiped it, as if wiping poison off his lips. “I don’t want to think of her with another man. Don’t want to think what I’d say to a man who would do such a thing. Who would do that, Mari? Who would leave a young woman pregnant and alone?”

Marianne had no answer. Not one that she would speak aloud. But she feared she knew.

And it was tearing her apart.

BOOK: Along Wooded Paths
9.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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