Grandma has always been that loyal person in my life. As a young girl, she made sure she would put a birthday card in the mail in time for it to travel from Holmes County, Ohio, to Southern Illinois.
Many years have passed and many changes came marching with it, still Grandmother’s love is there. Grandpa has gone to be with Jesus, so we now share the calling of widowhood. We are both finding our niche in life, hers with quietness and solitude and mine brimming with the activity and responsibility of parenting our precious children.
Even in her sunset years, she shows love and concern for her faraway grandchildren. This time when November rolled around with the promise of making me another year older, my aunts, grandma, and several cousins planned a trip to see us and spend a few days with us. With this being a rare treat, we enjoyed planning menus ahead of time, cleaning, and deciding who sleeps where.
Mom was elated to think of having her mom, three of her siblings, and four of her nieces and their babies come for a visit. When they arrived, she said, “This is the best-looking van load that comes to our house!” Family is precious, especially after you’ve been through hard times together.
Cousin Amy, whose husband had passed two months after Daniel, also came with her little son and new husband. It didn’t take long to claim them for the night; spending time with Amy is a rare specialty. We enjoyed getting to know her husband better and thank God for bringing him into Amy’s life. Though Amy and I are no longer in the similar stages as we were for a few years, we marveled at how God provides for all of us in His perfect ways.
That first evening I was in my glory to have Ohio family, my family, our school teacher and his young family at our house for supper. The house was packed full. Thanks to those from Ohio for bringing along the birthday meal. It was comforting to have my aunts at our house, bustling around the kitchen. They declared I needed to stay seated in the living room and chat with others while they finished supper.
My eyes widened when I saw their menu- Chipolata in a Bowl. It’s one of Daniel’s sister, Mary’s, specialties. I’ve never taken the time to just make it for myself. Dessert caught me off guard in a different way. My cousin slid out a cheesecake and proceeded to place dabs of topping around the edge, and sprinkled it with cinnamon.
“Did you know…?”
Puzzled, she responded, “No…”
I told her how Daniel would bake a cheesecake for my birthdays. After he passed it was not so much the cheesecake I would miss as the thought behind it. Bless dear Cousin Bethany, the next two years after there was no Daniel, she would show up with a delicious cheesecake, telling me how she couldn’t take Daniel’s place, but she would do what she could. Well, it turned out they headed for Honduras as missionaries. In the back of my mind, I knew there would be no Bethany here, which equaled no cheesecake from her. Now before my eyes was a yummy-looking dessert like I’d been enjoying in the previous November. Needless to say, I tasted more than creamy cheesecake as I savored every bite, I tasted the first hand goodness of God himself.
It was after dark when a knock came on the front door. It was the florist with a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. Though I never did find out who ordered them, it was a splash of beauty, reminding me of the Savior’s love.
Before everyone dispersed, we enjoyed a time of singing from our Family Folders (our homemade songbooks). Grandma’s love for singing has been passed down the generations. Her children fondly recall many evenings at home where their mom would sit on the porch singing with them while Grandpa prepared his sermon for the following day.
Though Grandma’s health is not what it was back then, her example still shines today. Those many times she didn’t give a thought of setting her work aside to play another game of Memory with me, has left permanent prints on my heart. Today I wonder where we can leave those prints on tender hearts, that will echo on, even after we are no longer here.
Enjoy a cheesecake for yourself, serve with love!
PUMPKIN SWIRL
CHEESECAKE
Crust:
5 tablespoons browned butter
1 package graham crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
Cheesecake:
4 -8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 10-inch spring form pan. (Daniel used a large pie pan instead.) Mix crust ingredients and press into the pan.
Beat cream cheese, 3 /4 cup sugar, and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs one at a time on low speed. Remove 1 ½ cups batter and put into a small bowl.
Stir remaining 1 /4 cup sugar, pumpkin, and cinnamon into remaining batter. Mix well.
Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into crust. Top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers and swirl gently with a knife.
Bake at 325 for 1 ½ hours, water-bathing is recommended to avoid cracks. If using a spring form pan, run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides. Cool completely. Refrigerate before removing rim. If desired, garnish with cool whip and cinnamon.
SIDEBAR: The Amish Cook column is entering its 34th year in 2025. And we couldn’t have done it without you! Readers are the backbone of the column, which remains what it has always been: a celebration of simplicity. How long will the column continue? As long as readers enjoy and newspapers choose to carry it.
