By Kevin Williams
Time for our weekly look at everything Amish, Mennonite, Hutterite, German Baptist, or Pennsylvania Dutch in the news!
First, it's summer, the days are longer, and people are distracted...as sure as the days are longer, we're seeing an uptick in horse and buggy/car crashes.
11-YEAR-OLD AMISH GIRL HURT IN HIT AND RUN: Some lucky Amish kids here, for sure. An 11-year-old Amish girl was injured when a vehicle struck a buggy and then continued on without stopping. The Amish girl's two companions weren't injured at all. VERY rare, it must have been just a graze by the SUV otherwise the kids would have been hurt badly or killed. Terrible that the driver did not stop. Click here for more information.
HORSE DIES IN AUTO/BUGGY CAR - No people fatalities in this one,thankfully, but sad that the horse died. Pay attention on the roads in Amish country, watch out for slow-moving vehicles!
EDITOR'S PICK - HUTTERITE COLONIES DIVERSIFYING:  Used to be that Hutterite colonies were primarily agricultural, but as revenue in farming becomes tougher to sustain, many colonies have branched out into manufacturing on-site. Fascinating. Here is a portion of the article:
The Hutterite Bretheren practices rural communal living in cooperative colonies, and traditionally, agricultural pursuits have been their primary source of income. Today, they are seeking new and innovative avenues of income — some surprising, some very niche and all showing an out-of-the-box approach to paying the bills and keeping the farm afloat. Â
At Upland Hutterian Bretheren, Inc, located near Artesian, S.D., investments in new businesses will hopefully help add income to support the 165 members of the colony. In addition to 1,200 head of cattle, a farrow-to-finish hog operation, a dairy barn, meat shop and row crops, Upland is utilizing its talents for other pursuits such as custom leather-work, built-from-scratch cabinetry, laser steel cutting and start-to-finish recreational vehicles.Â
MY AMISH HOME: Amish columnist Millie Otto checks in this week and shares a recipe for "SOUTHWEST HASH." Check it out, although, personally, has has always been kind of blah...not my favorite. Click here for the recipe.
AMISH STRAWBERRY SPONGE PIE:  I'm not sure the writer in this piece ever told what Pennsylvania city she was visiting? I read it like three times and maybe I just missed it, the print it a little tough to read. Oh well, you can skip the column that goes with it and go straight to the good stuff which is a delicious-sounding recipe for "Amish Strawberry Sponge Pie." Click here.
CHICKEN AND WAFFLES: Ah, the Pennsylvania Dutch staple - chicken and waffles - is making it's debut in some North Carolina KFC's. Any Amish365ers in the Charlotte, NC area? Click here.
Peggy
The spice you maybe wanting is Chinese 3 spice. It has a ginger flavor I use it in my Chinese stir fry rice dishes. Hope that is the flavor you are looking for.