A beautiful night to enjoy a picnic

What a perfect day we are having! The weather couldn't be nicer. I'm nestled in a chair on our new deck, enjoying the birds' songs and other sounds.

We've had another blessed week. On Saturday evening, my husband, Daniel, and I hopped on our bicycles, placed Julia in her carrier and headed for the Wengerds.

A while ago, we had purchased tickets for this supper. Perhaps I'll give more details on that later in this letter. I had looked forward to an evening of fellowship and was curious to find out what the roasted corn would be like. It's something I wasn't very familiar with.

Shortly after arriving, we headed back to the picnic spot where they had just finished grilling. It was a beautiful fall evening, and the setting was so perfect, so peaceful. Off to the right was a little pond with trees surrounding it. A red-checkered tablecloth covered the table laden with food that the Wengerds had prepared.

Other friends who had also purchased tickets joined in. We formed a circle around the fire. Julia was thoroughly impressed to sit beside Mom and Daddy on a pink little camping chair, just her size!

After a word of prayer and thanks to God we filled our plates. I was astounded to see the large selection of items they had grilled over the open fire. It all looked mouthwatering and proved to be delicious

There were three kinds of meat to choose from that included steaks, chicken breasts and drumsticks. There were also breads along with homemade barbecue sauce, ketchup and pepper mustard. The combination certainly made for delicious sandwiches!

Diced potatoes had been marinated and placed on skewers and grilled until tender. I was eager to bite into the corn. Well, it certainly wasn't a disappointment. The ears had been grilled in the husks over the fire, which added a delicious smoked flavor to a regular cob of sweet corn.

Wanita Wengerd had prepared one of my favorites: cornbread salad. Have you ever heard of corn bread salad? If you haven't you need to give it a try. It's scrumptious. It's made with cornbread and fresh veggies and topped with cheese, bacon and a sauce to moisten everything.

After the main course, several of us made mountain pies. We spread cream cheese and pie filling on a slice of bread then topped it with another piece, sandwich-style, and placed it in a pie iron. The pie iron is then placed on hot embers until the bread is toasted to a golden brown. After removing the mountain pie from the iron we spread powdered sugar on each side.

Back to what I mentioned concerning the tickets we purchased for the supper. We purchased them at our school auction. Every other year, we, as a church, get together for an auction. All the proceeds go to our Amish school.

Everyone is welcome to bring donated items. There's a good variety of homemade items such as clothing and food or bigger items such as furniture, a sandbox or a greenhouse. It's interesting to see what other people come with up. Several sets of certificates for meals or camp-outs were sold similar to the ones we bought to join the Wengerds. We paid $23 per plate.

While writing this, I had a little visitor. A hummingbird flew within several feet from where I was sitting. Obviously, it was curious as to what I was up to. I never cease to marvel over their ability to fly backwards, sideways or however they choose. Their tiny quarter-sized nests and teeny little eggs always have intrigued me.

Here's the cornbread salad recipe. Use your imagination and make it according to your taste. This is really three recipes in one, but it's worth the effort. First, you make cornbread (if you don't have a favorite recipe, I included one), then you prepare a dressing and then top with layers.

Cornbread Salad

Cornbread

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shortening

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 egg (beaten)

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bake at 350. Cool. Crumble and put half of it in a 9 X13 Tupperware.

Dressing:

1 1 /2 cup salad dressing

1 cup sour cream

1 /2 package Ranch dressing mix

Mix and spread half of this dressing over the cornbread. Then in separate bowls have all of the following ingredients prepared:

1 /4 cup pinto beans

1 1 /2 cup corn

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 /4 cup onion, chopped

1 /2 cup pepper, chopped

1 cup bacon

1 cup cheese

Spread half of each ingredient over dressing. Repeat layers. Refrigerate.