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The Lutheran Women Missionary League puts on the meal, said Barb Zabel, but the whole congregation helps out.
"It takes a village, let me tell you," Zabel said. "There's different committees who take one - like there's a soup committee, there's a German potato salad committee, men get involved by grilling the brats."
Zabel has been on that potato salad committee for more than 10 years.
"We have a committee of about eight of us. One of the biggest jobs is we fry 10 pounds of bacon, and onions, and put it together with vinegar and water. It's really good stuff," she said.
It's not hard to find the ingredients for these German heritage foods, just time, she said.
Mary Grebe prepares another German ethnic food: cinnamon pickles. Again, it's time and not obscure ingredients that are needed.
"It's a five-day process," she said. "It's kind of hands-on every day."
She soaks the cucumbers in water and pickling lime, cooks them in a brine, and then soaks them in that over several days. The third day she makes a syrup of cider vinegar, sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and red hot candies.
Source: Fort Dodge Messenger