The Apple Nut Bread Legacy

Last week the presidential debate was in Nashville, and it was big news. I planned to spend a relaxing evening at home participating in the political machinery of our country by fulfilling my civic duty as an engaged viewer of the historic event. All was going as planned when about halfway into the debate I suddenly got bored. Really it felt like two patronizing politicians attacking one another, skirting the questions, and spouting words that may or may not be relevant to the actual situation of your average American, a.k.a. Joe Sixpack. I simply lost interest and needed to turn toward other activities to pass the evening. At times like these, I find extraordinary pleasure in baking.

I turned to the Klaassen Family Cookbook, compiled last year by a cousin of mine. I also have on my shelf a cookbook from the Zerger family, my immediate family, and two church families of mine. There's nothing quite like knowing the person who passed on a recipe. It's as if in the act of cooking or baking, you become connected to that person.

The recipe I found for that fateful evening was my grandma's Apple Nut Bread. She had made this note: "This is a favorite when we do Kipcor (Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution) for their morning break." She and another lady from my childhood church used to cater meals. In fact one lawyer once told her that the only reason he comes to those events is that he knows Donna's cooking. It becomes in those kinds of moments (the finding a cookbook, the catering, the lawyer moments) that my Kansas family comes into my house.

I made the recipe vegan for Jamie (I'm getting better with the egg replacer) and ate a healthy portion of batter as is my baking custom. On a whim I made muffins instead of bread, which turned out to be easier to share with a couple friends at school. And I tell you what, those were the best muffins I've ever made. The healthy amount of sugar and flour surely made them Mennonite; the carrots and applesause made them healthy and hard working; the egg replacer made them part of my present reality; the cinnamon and nutmeg made them home in that transcendent "home is where you find yourself" way. These muffins embodied my family from every which way. The greatest thing is not that though. The greatest thing also is not that I'm an exceptional baker. I'm not yet. (Give me another 45 years...) But in fact, all the credit for these muffins goes to my Grandma Donna. It is her legacy that lives on here in me.

APPLE NUT BREAD
DONNA KLAASSEN

1/2 cup packed shredded carrots
1 cup canned applesauce
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beated (egg replacer works just fine)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmet
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out. My kitchen isn't so well stocked.)

Combine carrots, applesauce, oil, vanilla, eggs and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Mix only until ingredients are blended. Do not over mix. Pour in greased and floured loaf pan. (These also make great muffins!) Sprinkle with 5 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Bake 1 hour (or until tests done) in 325 degree oven.

Sock!

Here proudly displayed is my sock. Actually it's Jamie's sock as I made it for her using some of her favorite colors. That's right - I made this sock with my own two hands (and four needles, yarn, and a bit of elastic).

For about the last two months I've had such an urge to do things. I think it's carry over from my summer of living outside my little brain. After such adventures and experiences, it's hard to go back down to the library's basement and be excited about this nuanced idea or that subtle intellectual argument. But I digress. The point is that in mid-August, I took up knitting again for the third time. My mom brought me my bag of stuff, and after I'd finished off the twenty-third dish cloth of my knitting career I decided I needed to expand my abilities. I wanted something do-able that wouldn't take too long, but I wanted something that used more than just a stockinette stitch and some yarning over. (Forgive me oh you knitters if I butcher the lingo.)

You would be surprised at how difficult it is to find the right supplies. The store which shall not be named did not have double pointed needles and Michael's only had some of what I needed. I had to splurge at a yarn shop where I realized that knitting is by no means a cheap hobby. If I would have bought the yarn that the pattern really called for, I'd be out a pretty penny.

But my mom keeps reminding me that knitting really isn't about saving money. Lo and behold, she's right. It's as if having something to do with my hands, being busy in this way, slows down my mind paradoxically enough. It's soothing and productive. It stops that nagging guilt that whispers, "You should be doing something." Ha! I respond - I am doing something.

Now I should also say that this is major improvement from the six inch blanket I knitted for my Barbies when I was in grade school. It doesn't even have any holes (though I think I butchered the Kitchener stitch I was supposed to use to tie off the toe)! Now I'll admit, the heel is a little bit funny looking. I have a slight idea of how to alter the pattern next time, but the bigger problem right now is that I'm not sure if I want to knit the other sock. I must press on.

In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions for my next (inexpensive) project? Not too hard but not too easy - perhaps mittens? As a side note, here's my latest brainstorm to attain cheap yarn: Goodwill has half off everything on first Saturdays. I could buy sweaters and unravel them...