Right now, Pinecraft, Florida is bustling with activity. I’ve written before about this unique Amish enclave (I’ll post more in the coming weeks since it is the busy season there) which serves as a winter refuge of sorts for weary Amish snowbirds to escape the cold.  I’d have to think, though, that with the oven-like winter we’ve experienced in most of the Midwest that Pinecraft probably has seen fewer people this year (pure conjecture on my part). There are a handful of Amish style restaurants in Pinecraft andYoder’s is by far my favorite. I hope Yoder’s continues to maintain it’s quirky charm and great food.  It’s such a dichotomy because the more popular the place becomes the natural urge is to expand but then that can water down the very charm that attracts people in the first place.  Yoder’s has been able to maintain it’s menu and attracts an eclectic mix of customners from hard-hat construction workers to Old Order Amish.  That, tom me, is the real mark of success.Their fried chicken has legions of fans and their pie is amazing.  I almost missed a flight out of Tampa once because I just had to swing by Yoder’s on the way from Naples just to get a piece of butterscotch pie.  And as Rachel I barreled towards the airport way behind schule, stuck in traffic, I savored every butterscotchy bite.  The sprawling place across the street has OK food, but it just lacks the ambiance and authenticity of Yoder’s.  That place is Troyer’s Dutch Heritage, which used to be Der Dutchman, and is now going to revert back to Der Dutchman. Confused yet? Read the article, but go to Yoders:).

We’ve discussed this topic before, most recently about “Amish butter.”    Furniture Fair is a Cincinnati area home-furnishings chain and in their Sunday paper ad insert this past week they were trumpeting a new selection of furniture called “Daniel’s Amish.”  Accompanied by a photo – presumably of Daniel – this is the text of the ad:

Whether it’s a 400-pound pony – or just pants and sweaters -you can feel confident that Daniel’s Amish Furniture is built to last.  Inside every piece you will be inspired by both beauty and craftsmanship we’ve spent generations to develop.  The hardwoods we use are carefully harvested in the hill country of Ohio – then graded, cured, selected, and finally handcrafted into beautiful heirloom furniture.  And with over 10 collections to choose from Daniel’s Amish has a wide variety of styles to satisfy even the most discriminating buyer.

From the first saw cut to the seven step finishing process – - all Daniel’s Amish furniture is made right here in America and you can feel confident that it will hold up to the test of time – and give your family years of use and enjoyment.

Fare Thee Well,

Daniel Yoder

First of all, disclaimer:  I’ve not been to Furniture Fair to see the stuff, I know nothing about the furniture’s origins…each piece may be hand-made by Daniel himself and brought to Furniture Fair. Although the “400 pound pony” pictured standing in the draw in the ad is a little cheesy.  I am more interested in discussing the larger question of what constitutes “Amish” furniture?   My neighbor’s ex-husband was in the wood-working and furniture business once and she lamented how he had to competed against “Amish furniture” makers who used the same power tools and equipment that her husband used.  Sometimes Amish are permitted to use certain modern conveniences for “business purposes”, of which that would qualify.  As with “Amish” food, in addition to selling a product, they are also selling a way of life and an ambiance.  When an enterprise gets to be too large a scale, I don’t think you could help but lose some of that Amish ambiance.

I know where I am going to go if I ever want to buy “Amish” furniture.  There’s an Amish settlement up in Hardin County, Ohio (and there are plenty of other examples like this) where a father and son duo have part of their barn converted into a small furniture showroom, and the back half is their workshop.  Beautiful bed-frames, bureaus, desks, magazine racks, etc are all hand-made and custom-made right there on the premises.  It’s that type of craftsmanship and product that has made the Amish name so sought after on furniture.  I’m hoping larger operations like “Daniel’s” stays true to that, but I have my doubts.

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 (1/4-ounce ) packages active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 9 to 10 cups bread flour

I just posted “Lesson 3″ in Amish 101 and that has to do with how the Amish view the automobile versus the buggy and other transportation options.  So click here to read more. Meanwhile, writing that post got me itching to take a train ride somewhere.  I’ve only taken Amtrak twice in my life, once about 20 years ago when I went from Cleveland to New York City to go to Times Square for New Year’s Eve.  The other time was more recent, a slow traverse of decaying Detroit, when I took an Amtrak from the airport to a northern suburb (long story).  I love, love, love the idea of railroad travel and I hate, hate, hate that it’s so inaccessible in the USA.

When Rachel and I were headed to the Amish settlement of Rexford, Montana, we seriously considered taking the train,but at 3 days each way and several hundred bucks it would have been far slower than a plane and not much cheaper.  Almost anytime I seriously consider taking the train anywhere, Amtrak makes it impossible with clumsy schedules and high fares.  The Canadian rail system is a bit more user-friendly but, well, it’s in Canada and I’m not.  I’ve been tempted before to just buy a Canrail pass and ride the rails for a couple of weeks (but I’m not sure Rachel would be thrilled with that idea)

Other options like Greyhound are even less palatable than train.  I remember a harrowing Greyhound ride from Cincinnati to Cleveland when I was in college.  We slid off an icy highway near Mansfield and had to evacuate the bus.  And then near Medina a man decided to take out a knife and threaten another passenger.  Since it was the middle of the night many of us passengers were too groggy to intervene, but not a stooped elderly lady who whacked the knife-wielding man with her purse.  Once again, we all had to be evacuated while the cops came. I’ve heard MegaBus is better.  Has anyone taken Megabus? 

Of course, I’ve taken buggies plenty of times.  Buggies do provide one an opportunity to slow down, take in your surroundings and do so in an intimate, connected way…but you just don’t get anywhere very fast! So I guess between planes on one end (my Dad has flown on the defunct super-charged Concorde, I never did) and buggies on the other, I’ve traveled all modes of transport. I LOVE driving, but the romance of the rails also beckons.  I’m someone who has a chronic case of wanderlust. I could just get in my car and drive and drive and drive and be quite content (until I had to pump gas, the prices put a serious damper on wanderlust)….so I once again longingly turn to the rails: Amtrak why do you have to be so difficult?

What about you?  Anyone else share the same sense of wanderlust?  Any good Amtrak or CanRail experiences to share?  Maybe one of these days I’ll just disappear for a week or so and if that happens, you can probably find me on the rails:)

The Aylmer, Ontario Amish settlement is a really, really neat one.  There’s not much “touristy” to do there, so I’m not sure I’d plan a special trip just to go to Aylmer.  But if you were passing through the area anyway or wanted to sort of throw it in as a larger visit to surrounding area of Ontario then by all means go.  I made the mistake of visiting Aylmer during the belly of one of their worst winter’s in a decade.  We visited there almost a year ago to the day. It’s a charming community, but I’d love a chance to return in the spring or summer sometime.  You can visit Aylmer without leaving your chair, click here to join me on a quick tour of the Aylmer community.

This is your very basic loaf recipe which is a staple in the recipe repertoire of an Amish homemaker, whether it be meat loaf, ham loaf, or in this case, turkey loaf.  You really just need an egg to sort of act as the “congealing” agent and you’re good to go. Very easy recipe to try! This recipe makes one small loaf, you could easily double or triple this and make multiple loaves.

AMISH TURKEY LOAF

3 cups diced turkey
8 slices bread
1/2 cup diced celery
1 onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Mix all the ingredients together and place in greased
pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Serve with gravy.

I just thought I’d share a few of my favorite items from the blogosphere this past week.

First, this is a really good, thought-provoking post about “Amish butter.”

Last summer I was able to enjoy a few pats of homemade butter given to me by Miriam Miller, an Amish woman in Fredonia, Pennsylvnia.  The butter was remarkably creamy and I was struck by its bright yellow hue.  After I took it home, the butter also turned rancid much faster than the store-bought preservative-laden butters.  That’s not a negative comment, well it is for me..shame on me for not using it up faster, because the fresh pats were delicious!  Anyway, I have seen “Amish butter” sold in stores.  It’s sold in sort of a “log.”  Buyer beware on most “Amish” dairy products because the reality is that most Amish people don’t have home-based diary operations designed to sell to the masses.  The butter I got from Miriam Miller was given to me in tiny, individually wrapped pats.  Miriam made the butter herself on a small-scale for home consumption.  Those pats were the real deal and not for sale.  But log butter in a store?  Chances are the only thing “Amish” about them is that perhaps the manufacturer buys milk from a coop that includes some Amish dairy farmers.  ”Amish cheese” is the same way.  Commercial cheesemaking is a very complicated endeavor, an Amish farmer can’t just whip up some Cheddar to sell at a roadside stand, romantic as that sounds.  There are only two genuinely “Amish cheese” operations that I am aware of: the Salemville Cheese Company in Wisconsin. They make blue cheese only and I’ve toured the operation myself. It’s Amish through and through right down to the buggies parked in the parking lot.  And the Farm Country Cheese House in Lakeview, Michigan qualifies as Amish-made in my estimation.  Any other cheese claiming to be “Amish” probably as a tenuous connection at best.  But back to that Amish Butter…The God’s Natural Organic Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season blog (GNOWFLGINS for short…whew, that is a mouthful) did an excellent “expose” of sorts of “Amish butter”.  Very well-done piece which basically buttresses my assertions about buyer beware for Amish dairy. Check out their blog here.  What do you think? Is the “Amish butter” misleading?

On more familiar turf, my favorite blog “Little House Living”, has a great homemade “pig in a blanket” recipe today. Check the recipe out here.   Everyone loves pigs-in-a-blanket, but Merissa adds her own cheesy twist to them!

Lastly, there is an amazing slideshow of Old Order Mennonite life in Bolivia.  We’ve talked a lot about the Mexican Mennonite colonies, but there are groups of plain Mennonites in South America.  Jordi Ruiz Cirera is a South American photographer who has captured some incredible scenes that give respectful insight into their way of life.  I’d love to visit there sometime.  Check this out.  Excellent work by Jordi!

Susan Eicher, 16, did a superb job of writing her mother’s column this week.  She’s an articulate young woman and intelligent.  She always made great grades in school.  So what was her schooling like?  Like most Amish children in her settlement, she attended public schools.  For her final grade, though, eighth grade, she decided to home-school.  Since Amish children only attend school through the 8th grade, attending at home shelters them from some of the more adult influences that begin to seep into public school junior high.  Click here to watch a video of me “taking over Susan’s classroom” for a few minutes last year.

EDITOR’S DISCUSSION POINTS:  I love the maturity of faith that is found even among the youngest of Amish.  Susan seems steadfast in her faith and has no qualms about sharing it with us.  And I think she does an articulate, great job in writing the column this week! What do you think?

THE AMISH COOK
BY SUSAN EICHER

I hope all you readers are doing great. This is Susan, Lovina’s second oldest daughter and I am 16 years old. Last week I decided that I wanted to write the column since my brothers and sisters will be home on Friday and Monday, which is their mid-winter break. Mom usually writes her column on Monday mornings, but I thought that with all of the children being home it might be extra noisy and busy. So I thought I’d give her some help by writing the column! I am not much of a writer, but I will try my best.

I just came inside after working with Minnie. Minnie is a miniature pony which I am training for a family in our church. The family has three little boys. I want to tame Minnie so that they will be able to drive her. Minnie is a very small pony but she is strong. She pulls our little pony wagon without a problem. I really enjoy working with her so it will be hard to see her go back to her owners after she is fully trained. Minnie is the second pony that I have trained. Our minature pony, Tiger, was the first. Tiger is a bigger kind of a miniature pony. He is a stallion and was a lot harder to train than Minnie. He is also a lot more stubborn and not as gentle as Minnie. I would not trust Tiger around children like I do Minnie. Every pony or horse has a different attitude. I learned that real fast after I was kicked in the leg by our big mare Ginger one time. It scared me very much and taught me to always be careful because a horse can hurt you. I really enjoy working with ponies and horses. It is my most favorite hobby. My dream is to have a big horse ranch someday. It might never happen but it does not hurt to dream. God has a plan for everyone and it might not be what we want. I want to accept whatever His plan is for me.  PHOTO CAPTION:  LOOK HOW TINY MINNIE IS! SUSAN IS ENJOYING WORKING WITH HER!

I will try to write about something else but talking about horses is always a favorite topic for me. Sometimes I help my younger brothers Benjamin and Joseph throw hay down from the hay loft. One time after I hadn’t been up to the loft in awhile Joseph told me “we don’t need a flashlight.” I told him “yes, we do because there are small holes in the floor in some parts of the loft.” I told him if we don’t have a light we could fall and hurt ourselves. Our hay loft doesn’t have windows so it is sort of dark even in the daylight. Joseph said it is easy to see the holes because you can see the daylight shining up through the floor.
I was a little doubtful but followed Joseph up the ladder without a flashlight to the hay loft. It was pretty dark up there but Joseph acted like he knew his way around pretty good so I stayed close behind him. Benjamin wasn’t up there yet. Meanwhile, Joseph took off and I lost track of where he was. I stopped in my tracks not sure where all the holes were. Then I heard something behind me so I called for Joseph. I screamed as someone grabbed me from behind, it was Benjamin. Turns out that Benjamin had snuck up there in the dark to scare me. They sure had a good laugh about it. When I work with my little brothers I never know what they are going to come up with.
Older Sister Elizabeth is at her babysitting job today. Mom is sewing and I am getting ready to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It is Monday now already and Mom is enjoying the break from writing the column, but she will be back next week. She let us all sleep in since the children are home from school today. She had breakfast burritos ready for us when we woke up.
The recipe I’ll share is what I usually fix when I have to make breakfast for my family. I usually triple it for our size family.

FRENCH TOAST
2 eggs
1 /2 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 /4 teaspoon vanilla
1 /2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
6 pieces of bread
Combine first 5 ingredients and stir with whisk. Coat skillet with butter. Dip bread into the egg mixture just enough to coat. Fry in a skillet until golden on both sides.

This photo is by David Leaming of the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, Maine.  The photo depicts Edward Kulp holding onto buckets filled with maple sap as he and his horse, Truzy, descend a steep hill with their wagon near the town of Unity on Saturday.

Amish farmer Edward Kulp keeps a hold on buckets filled with maple sap as he and his horse Truzy and wagon descend a steep hill in a field off Ward Hill Road in Unity on Saturday. Kulp said the sap runs have been good so far, considering the early season.

Unity is a rather interesting Amish settlement.  It’s very small and closely aligned with Amish communities in Smyrna, Maine; Aylmer and Lindsey, Ontario, and Mendon, Michigan.  The Amish men, as pictured above, have mustaches (a custom I’ve not seen anywhere else), worship in a church building, and live a bit less insular than other Amish.  I’ll be posting a video soon of my visit to the Unity community last year and we’ll have a nice selection of photos and recipes in our book next year, Amish Cooks Across America.

Interestingly,while I can’t claim to know every single surname in the Amish church, Kulp is not one that I’ve run across before.  And the first name Edward is not very common.