Amish Paradise

"Do each day what you can live with for the rest of your life." ~Amish Proverb

  To celebrate my son's college graduation we flew back east and among other places, we visited Pennsylvania.  We were able to see many amazing things but the day I liked the best was when we visited two Amish communities and saw some of the farms and the people and ate some of the food and saw some very nice quilts.

Birch Beer (non-alcoholic)

 

 

 

 

I wish I could have afforded a full sized Amish quilt but I was able to pick up a table runner for a decent price.  I also found a cool Amish cookbook.  In fact, I've been able to try out a few of the recipes since we've been home.

 

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of some of the Amish recipes I've tried from the book.

Oatmeal Bread



German Potato Salad

Bacon 'n' Cheese Muffins



Chicken Chowder

Sausage and Rice Casserole

German-Style Green Beans

Applesauce Spice Puffs

 

 

Most of the Amish foods are pretty simple, nothing very fancy. 

 

Oatmeal Bread

(The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection)

4 cups boiling water                                       2 Tbsp. salt

2 cups quick oats                                            2 Tbsp. yeast

1 cup whole wheat flour                                 1 cup warm water

½ cup brown sugar or honey                           ¼ cup vinegar

4 Tbsp. butter                                                  12 to 14 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour boiling water over oats, whole wheat flour, sugar, butter and salt; mix well.  Cool until lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.  Mix into batter along with vinegar and flour.  Set in warm place and let rise until doubled.  Punch down and shape into four loaves.  Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

 

German Potato Salad

(The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection)

1 tsp. sugar                                         1 cup sour cream

½ tsp. salt                                           ½ cup thinly sliced onions

¼ tsp. dry mustard                              2-3 slices bacon, fried and cut into small pieces

Dash pepper                                        4 boiled potatoes, cut in chunks

2 Tbsp. vinegar                                   paprika

Combine sugar, salt, dry mustard, pepper, vinegar, sour cream, onion and bacon pieces.  Pour over warm potatoes and toss lightly until coated with dressing.  Serve warm with a dash of paprika.

 

 

 

I read this book quite awhile ago and it started my curiosity about the Amish people.  They are an amazing people that we should all admire and try just a little to imitate their simple way of life.  This book is written by Sue Bender.  She decided one day that she wanted to go and live with an Amish family for a time and then she wrote about the things she learned.