CAPTION: An abandoned Amish house surrounded by Texas serenity and beauty.
The Beeville, Texas Amish settlement is a small one compromised of mainly one extended family: the Borntragers. When I was there in 2011 there were probably only about 9 families, enough to host a one room school on one of the properties. The Borntragers operated a scattering of small businesses, one of them gave me a business card that has been on my bulletin board for a long time in my office. For some reason I just noticed it this morning. The card says:
"Your Local Connection to a Natural Food Source..."
Borntrager Farms is a small group of family farms striving to supply locally grown, ethically produced food directly from the farm.
Vegetables (when in season), free range eggs, pastured poultry, fryers, broilers, Thanksgiving Turkeys, Roasting Ducks, Christmas Goose, Lamb, Cabrito, and Squab
For more info: 4029 Gaiten Lane, Beeville, Texas, 78102
So if you are looking for a unique place to procure a Thanksgiving turkey, that might be the place!
By the way, that is not a misspelling. The Borntragers live in the Beeville area, which is a variation on them much more common spelling of Bontrager.
I posted a video of my Beeville visit a couple of years ago, you can revisit here. I happened to notice a video about Beeville posted just two weeks ago by someone and from the looks of it the settlement hasn't changed much. Click here for this newer video.
This is a popular one-pot rice meal that I got from that settlement.
- 1 /2 pound hamburger
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped,
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cups of white rice
- 4 cups tomato juice
- 1 -2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chili mix
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1-2 teaspoons Fajita seasoning
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 teaspoon basil
- In a very large skillet or Dutch oven, brown the hamburger, green and red peppers, and onion.
- Drain off the grease, then add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly combined.
- Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the skillet.
- Allow the mixture to simmer until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 30 minutes.
Carolyn
Kind of like Spanish rice.