A lot of interesting discoveries in the blogosphere this week, so let's get right to it!
THE AMISH WAL-MART: I've heard this term applied to other Amish-frequented or owned stores, usually offering a sprawling assortment of sundries far from the cookie cutter and interstate accessible suburbs. But this post is fascinating, sounds like an amazing Amish store and unique. This store, called "Trails End", seems like it is owned by an Amish "pack rat" and that's not something you see a ton of among the Plain people. Usually there's a desire to keep only stuff you really need, of course, when you parlay your pack-rat tendencies into a business, then it is a different matter!:) It sounds like one of these places that don't really need to advertise, word of mouth (and bloggers like me) do it all for them. But if you look at the photos and the writer's descriptions, it just seems like visiting here would be an incredible experience. Click here to enjoy! It might also be called the "Amish Sanford and Son!" I have never been to this area of Wisconsin, but the Amish here have experienced explosive growth in their population and from everything I have heard this area is comprised of some pretty conservative communities.
MARCIA ADAMS MEMORIES: PEACH PRALINE PIE: The Amish Cook column was a trail-blazer at bringing Amish cooking to the masses starting back in 1991, but it definitely wasn't the first. That distinction really goes to Fort Wayne native Marcia Adams. She wrote cookbooks, explored Indiana's Amish country, and even had a PBS show "Cooking in Quilt Country" throughout the 1980s and 90s. It was all very well done and quaint, long, long before the "Amish genre" became such a crowded field with authors, TV producers, fiction scribes, etc. Anyway, a blogger featured one of her recipes this week: peach-praline pie. Not sure where Marcia got the recipe because pralines aren't something I've run into at all in Amish kitchens. But the recipe looks and seems decadent and like the type you might well find in an Amish kitchen. Click here for the peach praline pie recipe. I remember once when Marcia ordered one of Elizabeth Coblentz's (the original Amish Cook) cookbooks, that was a real thrill. Marcia Adams passed away in 2011. Up until her death she did maintain a blog and it is still up, seemingly frozen in time. But good nostalgic value if you want to check it out here.
MIDWIFE TO THE AMISH IN CANADA: Our daughter, Aster, was born at home using the services of a midwife who is used frequently by the Amish in our area. Her name is Tuesday Lach and she's just got an amazing array of experience delivering babies among the Amish. Her assistant is an Old German Baptist Brethren woman named Leah. Our home birth was an incredible experience and I think about it often. Sounds like a woman in Canada has a similar story to Tuesday's and you can read about it on her blog. A Canadian newspaper also wrote a feature about her and her blog. I am sure the woman is wonderful, but you can't beat Tuesday!:)
SNICKERS-STUFFED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES: Heavens, have I gone to Heaven? WOW, talk about a marriage of two of my favorite foods: Snickers AND peanut butter cookies. Add to that that this recipe comes to the blogger from the Amish and I truly am in heaven! The blogger correctly points out that the Amish (I am being very general here) DO eat candy bars like Snickers (and guzzle plenty of Mountain Dew). But this really depends on what area you are in. In some settlements you do see more of an "organic Amish" movement emerging and things like candy bars and pop are rare. I actually find - surprisingly - that the more conservative settlements are the ones that tend to gravitate towards the "junk food" more. Again, I am generalizing, but that is what I have found. Anyway, without further ado, how about this recipe! Click here for the recipe and amazing photos of SNICKERS STUFFED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES!:)
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