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    Home » Everything Amish » Amish in the News

    Amish in the News: Millie Otto , State Fair Recipes (A Great Mennonite Recipe), Amish Fire in Maine, and More!

    Published: Sep 18, 2020 · Updated: Oct 15, 2020 by Kevin Williams | Leave a Comment

    By Kevin Williams
    MILLIE OTTO:  Millie Otto is an Old Order Amish writer in Illinois.  Her weekly column appears in the Champaign, Mattoon, and Charleston, Illinois newspapers.   I've met Millie in-person before.  She's probably around 70-years-old, very witty, very kind.  Her kind of self-deprecating, deadpan humor shows in her column.  Here is an excerpt from this week:

    By the time I got home from work and had my mid-morning guilt-free go-to snack of rice cake, peanut butter and jelly, and a cup of hot energy tea, I had to look around to see if I could find any get up and go. I do believe it got up and went, leaving no forwarding address. It even seemed the energy tea was just, well, hot tea.
    So I guess I have to start from scratch. Or whatever! I wrote my community news (or newsless, if you will!) letter. Then I decided to do my laundry. It doesn't take long and I figured it might clear my mind and get me back on track.
    Her recipe this week?  Playdough.  Yeah, homemade playdough, if you have kids or grandkiddos, it is a good concoction to keep around, click here to read her whole column.
    MENNONITE MEMOIRS:  Again, what I love about Rosann Zimmerman's column is that, not only she is a wonderful writer, she is Old Order Mennonite, so her articles give us a rare window into a slightly different church than the Old Order Amish.  The differences between the two faiths are subtle, almost nuances, but there are differences.   Here is an excerpt from Rosann's column this week:
    It was only a short walk we took after chores around the newly-opened cornfields as an early darkness settled over our cloudy Sunday. Along the fence rows long goldenrod stems bowed down into the open spaces, begging me to break them off for a huge bouquet. Not a breeze stirred at the wood's edge where white snake root bloomed in the green of late summer. The cricket songs seemed unhurried and the deer slipped quietly into the dark woods when we disturbed their corny snack.
    Snacks and meals as in food and nourishment is the most basic need for both humans and animals. Most of last week was about food. We canned pears, apples, pizza sauce, salsa and pickles. We picked red raspberries, string beans, and lima beans. The height of the growing season seemed to peak last week and we scrambled to keep up. Our kitchen floors grew sticky and we swiped again at the mess on our counters with thankfulness in our hearts for the many blessings from God.
    You can read her whole column this week here.
    WITNESS TRY-OUTS?  Oh wow, this looks fun (if you like to act).  Should I try out for the role of John Book?  Well, when I look at the casting criteria, 1) I'm three years past the age they are looking for and 2) I have seen the movie Witness.  Anyone who wants to apply, can't have seen the movie. But you can play the role from your home, via Zoom, so if you have ever wanted to audition for something, you can do it without leaving your house, check this out!
    ISLAND FALLS, MAINE:  I had just written something about the Amish of Maine yesterday.  This fire occurred in Island Falls, in the northern part of the state...not sure if this is a new settlement or counted as part of the Sherman-Patten Amish community.  Either way, an Amish family lost everything in a blaze.  A family friend had this to say:   " Right now is harvest season for them, so they had just finished storing their wood for the winter in their barn and had all of their fruits and vegetables canned. They lost all of their food supply. That is pretty devastating." Read more here.

    Traditioinal Mennonite Zwiebeck - Taste of Home


    MIDWEST STATE-FAIR WINNING RECIPES - ZWIEBACK:    I'll be honest with you, I've never heard of this Mennonite-speciality: Zwieback.  My knowledge of old German Mennonite/Russian Mennonite culinary traditions isn't as thorough as my Amish cooking knowledge, but this bun apparently is common in Kansas where these Mennonites settled. They are a double-stacked bun enjoyed by German Mennonites in Kansas.  The bun tastes good dunked in coffee, apparently.  Here is the recipe:
    ZWIEBACK

    2 cups scalded milk
    1 cup lukewarm water
    2 teaspoons sugar
    2 teaspoons salt
    4 tablespoons sugar
    1 cup lard (or shortening)
    2 eggs
    1 yeast cake (1 tablespoon dry yeast)
    1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
    8 ¼ cups sifted bread flour

    1. Scald the milk, and add the lard, salt, and 4 tablespoons of sugar.

    2. Crumble the yeast in a small bowl, then add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 cup of lukewarm water. Set in a warm place until spongy. (I did this with 1 tablespoon yeast.) Add the yeast mixture and beaten eggs to the lukewarm milk in a mixing bowl. Mix well and stir in the flour gradually.

    3. Knead the dough until very soft and smooth. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk (1 hour). Pinch off small balls of dough the size of a small egg (2 ounces). Place these 1 inch apart on a greased pan. Put a similar ball, but slightly smaller, on top of the bottom ball (1 ounce). Press down with your thumb. Let them rise until they double in bulk.

    4. Bake at 350–375 degrees for 15–20 minutes. Recipe yields approximately three dozen buns.

    CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT ZWIEBECK AND LOOK AT ALL SORTS OF MIDWESTERN STATE-FAIR WINNING RECIPES!
     

    State-Fair Winning Zwieback
     
    Print
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups scalded milk
    • 1 cup lukewarm water
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 4 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 cup lard (or shortening)
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 yeast cake (1 tablespoon dry yeast)
    • 1¾ cups whole wheat flour
    • 8¼ cups sifted bread flour
    Instructions
    1. Scald the milk, and add the lard, salt, and 4 tablespoons of sugar.
    2. Crumble the yeast in a small bowl, then add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 cup of lukewarm water. Set in a warm place until spongy. (I did this with 1 tablespoon yeast.) Add the yeast mixture and beaten eggs to the lukewarm milk in a mixing bowl. Mix well and stir in the flour gradually.
    3. Knead the dough until very soft and smooth. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk (1 hour). Pinch off small balls of dough the size of a small egg (2 ounces). Place these 1 inch apart on a greased pan. Put a similar ball, but slightly smaller, on top of the bottom ball (1 ounce). Press down with your thumb. Let them rise until they double in bulk.
    4. Bake at 350–375 degrees for 15–20 minutes. Recipe yields approximately three dozen buns.
    Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
    3.5.3226

     

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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