You Know You're a Mennonite if.......

When I got home from work this afternoon I started puttering around.

Gathered dirty clothes and started washing.

Stripped off sheets and started thinking about the clean ones waiting in the linen closet.

Opened my freezer and decided on supper.

As I was cutting up pieces of supper I had to smile. I really am a Mennonite girl.

Here's how I know.


1. I watch the sky for a break from the rain so I can hang up freshly washed sheets. Sheets needs hung up. It's simply necessary.

2. I tidy up the living room from the weekend whirlwind and I stop to look at the quilt that's tucked into a frame, hanging on my wall. It's a quilt that my grandma embroidered, my mom pieced, and my Aunt Mary quilted. I have many hand stitched quilts but this one was touched by such precious hands that I gave it a place of honor.

3. I pull Farmer's Sausage out of my freezer for supper. Of course this is fresh sausage, made by my sister and my brother-in-law in their garage. My mom and dad called before they visited this Spring.

"Ron and Brenda are making sausage tomorrow. How much do you want?"

"I'll take about 20 lbs."

My brother-in-law and dad grind up the pork shoulders. My sister adds just the right amount of salt, pepper and garlic to the huge stainless steel bowl filled with ground pork and mixes it up with her hands. Then dad and Ron work together to stuff the casings full of the pork mixture. Brenda cuts the stuffed casings into the right size pieces, fills up plastic bags, closes the bags with a twist tie and sticks it into her freezer until it's transported to mine.

I grab it from my freezer and fry it up for supper.

4. I grab the pitcher of Maple Syrup harvested this Spring from the Sugar Maples back home. We keep a gallon pitcher of syrup in our downstairs fridge and refill our small container for the upstairs fridge.

Syrup and sausage end up at my house in much the same way. 

My phone rings. It's mom.

"Dad is going out to the farm to get some syrup. Will you take a gallon plus some more of ours that we won't use up?"

"Yep. Bring it. Thanks Mom."

6. I head out to my garden to cut off some lettuce for supper. I wash it. I spin it in my handy dandy salad spinner that my mom found for me at an auction. I mix up equal parts cream, sugar and vinegar for the dressing. It's the way my mom does it. Sometimes she adds some mayonnaise. I add some plain greek yogurt just to give it a bit more substance.

You can find the recipe for the sausage casserole at Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

It's called seven-layer casserole. I think mine only had six because I omitted the rice. I figured potatoes were enough carbs for dinner.

And there you have it. 

A Mennonite girl to be sure.

More importantly, a girl blessed to be part of a loving family.

Amen.