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

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.

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!