There Is Always Room For One More

The official blog of the book, "There Is Always Room For One More: Volga German Stories and Recipes," by Rebecca Nab Young. From living on a farm and then a ranch in Wyoming, I have a passion for good food and recipes. I also am immersed in the history and personal stories of the Volga Germans. All my grandparents came from Russia, but were of German descent. This places me in a small but unique group of people within the United States. I would like to introduce you to these wonderful, hardworking people who still cling to their values, tradition and religion. Join me as I continue to research the Volga Germans through my family tree while cooking, baking and sharing our special foods from "scratch." new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'profile', rpp: 4, interval: 6000, width: 250, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#f26868', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#000000', color: '#ffffff', links: '#85f5bf' } }, features: { scrollbar: true, loop: false, live: false, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: false, behavior: 'all' } }).render().setUser('RebeccaAuthor').start(); var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-18284205-24']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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Down To The Wire

Santa is appearing all over our town today and I am shopping for last minute ingredients for sage dressing and sweet dressing. It's what I get to take to my beautiful niece Denise's house for Christmas!

The pictures are from 60 years ago when I visited Candyland and Santa in Vancouver, WA.

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Brrrrr!

Cold and snowy today! I will be delivering gift bags to friend and family and making a zucchini chocolate chip cake.

My gift bags are made up of breads, candy and cookies - all homemade - Mom and I started in October.

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Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

Mom and I made cinnamon rolls today to have for Christmas morning. Yes, they are from scratch - Mom's ancient, but good recipe.

Why not try making a Christmas morning tradition for your family?

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My Blog

I am still trying to figure out why I have to use Google Chrome to use Tumblr; and my posts won't go to Facebook! Do I need to uninstall Chrome? It just appeared one day anyway - I didn't really want it!

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Gift Bags For All!

Mom and I are off to play Santa this morning - delivering gift bags with homemade breads, candies, and cookies to thank all our friends for their help throughout the year. And A Merry Christmas To All!

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Nikki's Birthday

Today is my daughter's birthday and she is a most beautiful person. She has made my life so full of ideas and joy! It was her idea that I write my recipe book and it was her idea that I write an appropriate story with some of my favorite Volga German recipes. She had these great ideas and I just tried to carry them out.

Happy Birthday hear of my heart!!

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Hands

Mom and I just made our traditional Vloga German cabbage buns. Mom is 91 and I am caring for her now. I try to make her life happy and baking makes her happy. Look at her hands - hard farm work and suffering. They are beautiful. Recipe for cabbage buns is in my book available on Amazon and Authorhouse.

uthorhouse Publishing.

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Blowing And Drifting

The good news is that it is warmer - 24 degrees, but we have high winds and snow drifting and closing the roads. I remember days like this when I was a young girl on our Wyoming farm. I would sit in front of the propane stove in the living room to keep warm. It had a hot air blower and I would sit right in front of it and read a book and at least my back side would be warm. Mom would cook chili or homemade noodle soup with butterballs. She was always so busy!

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Mounds Candy!

I made these yesterday and they are disappearing! This is an easy recipe to put together, but it is labor intensive to chill the coconut and nut mixture, and then roll them and dip them.

Find the recipe in my book! And happy candy making!

The recipe calls for parafin wax and chocolate chips melted together. You can find the wax in the canning section of any grocery store.

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Still making popcorn balls for Christmas

This is the second batch of popcorn balls I have made for my Christmas sacks. These are marshmallow with a little green food coloring and anise flavoring - Mom's favorite.

The recipe is in my book at the end of the Christmas story.

I have noticed that people are downloading my book in just as many numbers as paperback. I will say it is easier to have an ebook laying on the kitchen counter than trying to keep the paperback open to the right page!

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minus 10

I mean degrees! And it is daytime. I just finished making chicken fried steak from scratch! The secret is to dredge in flour, put in an egg wash and dredge again. Fry in oil with a bit of butter to give it a golden color and use a cast iron fry pan if you have it. I haven't made this for decades, but I am in Wy. now, so it is a necessary food!

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1000 butterballs!

I'm back after more than a year! I had to move from AZ to WY to care for my 91 year old mother - so I'm trying to involve myself in some community activities. Here are pictures of the wonderful ladies from the Immanuel First United Church Of Christ in Lyman, NE. making allspice butterballs for their annual butterball and noodle soup dinner. It is one of their major fundraisers.

Butterballs are a Volga German specialty made from bread crumbs, cream, butter, and allspice - rolled into balls and dropped into homemade chicken noodle soup - very filling and exotic.

The recipe is in my story recipe book, There Is Always Room For One More. Surprisingly, my book is still selling even though I have had to neglect it to help my mother.

It makes a great Christmas gift and is on Amazon.

Good to be back!

This is my beautiful niece Wendy hard at work and the lower pix is of my sister-in-law Loretta and ladies of the club rolling the butterballs

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This is my Rescue A golden Dudley DoRight - just entered him in The Cutest Golden Contest. If he wins he will be in the 2013 calender. He is pictured on the back of my book with me in an author photo

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This is a picture of four of my mother"s sisters -  Mary, Esther, Katherine, and Doris. This was taken in 1929 or 30 when hard times had befallen America and the Volga Germans in the Platte Valley of Wyoming and Nebraska.

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Granma Becca and the newest Volga German, Owen Alexander. He is 1 day old in this photo

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Owen Alexander, my first grandchild, 6lbs 4 oz., 19 inches long and 17 days early! I must teach him to like my Volga German cooking!

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New Year

I feel no different, my finances are no different, my job is no different!