Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Some things are better left as memories!

Hi all,

How's everyone doing today?  I hope you're all doing well.  As for me and my loved ones, we're all doing fine.  I hope it stays that way.

Well, today is Shrove Tuesday or Fasnacht Day.  For those of you who don't know what a Fasnacht is, let me explain it to you.  A Fasnacht is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition.  Shrove Tuesday became known as Fasnacht Day because on Shrove Tuesday everyone was using up all the lard and fats in the house in preparation for Ash Wednesday, which is tomorrow, Wednesday.  So, in order to use lard, women made a type of donut known in Pa. Dutch country as a Fasnacht. 

If you've never eaten one, you don't know what you're missing.  They look like a donut, but taste so much better.  Generally, they are covered in powered sugar or a sugary glaze.  All my life I've know about Fasnachts because my beloved Mother used to be up half the night making them.  Unfortunately, it takes hours to prepare and fry Fasnachts.  She worked at a local sewing factory and my Dad worked at The York Barbell Company.  It started with Mom sending a dozen or two into work with Dad and she'd take a couple of dozen to work with her.  That way, all their friends could get to taste one.  Before she knew it, people were giving her orders for dozens of them, both at her place of employment and at my Dads.

I was a child, so all I recall of Fasnacht Day was that I'd wake up early in the morning and the entire house would smell so good.  My Sister, Brother and I would hurry downstairs to grab a couple of those goodies while they were still warm.  Then we would take one along to school with us to eat at lunch time.  Needless to say, we were eating Fasnachts for a few days and they were so yummy.

Well, I'm not sure if I ever made them as an adult, mostly because while my Mom was still living, she continued making them, even after she retired.  So, we still had Fasnachts on Shrove Tuesday.  So, about a week ago, I decided I was going to try my hand with her recipe. 

The problem with this was that when my Mom wrote her recipes down, she'd note all the ingredients, but wouldn't elaborate on the directions, as she already knew how to make the recipe.  So, I was at a loss this morning when I started preparing them.  First of all, the recipe called for two yeast cakes.  They no longer sell yeast as cakes.  So, was I to use two, one or three?  Who knew???  I didn't.
I went with two.  Another thing, Mom didn't note that I needed to add water to the dough mixture.  Consequently, it didn't want to stick together.  (I used water in the dry yeast mix, which helped some.)  So, I eventually had no choice but to add water or else the dough would have never stuck together. 

All in all, they turned out fairly good.  Not like Mom's, but not too bad either.  I was very tired once I was completely done.  Being chronically ill did not help.  Remember how I said the house used to smell so good when I was I child, well all it smells like to me now is grease.  It's actually taking my appetite away.  So, what I've decided is this:  To cherish my memories of my Mom and her terrific Fasnachts from now on.  Sounds good to me!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.  I haven't given up anything for Lent, at least not as of yet.  Sometimes, giving doing something that's good for you is better than giving something up.  I have to think on this for a bit and then I'll decide what is best for me.  Have you made any decisions in that department yet? 

Tomorrow is also Hump Day. You all know what that means.  So, to all you full time workers, congratulations, after tomorrow, you're on the downward slope of the week.  I know how much that means to all of you.

I do wish all of you a great Ash Wednesday and Hump Day.  Stay safe and remember to take a few minutes for yourself.
Susan

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