I had lunch in an Amish home on Tuesday.
What a privilege that was. I have yet to write about it, (more about the event and what I learned soon) but, one of my major cabinet suppliers, Quality Custom Cabinetry, invited all of their representative kitchen design firms around the country, to celebrate their 40 years of business in this two day event, Monday and Tuesday of this week, in Lancaster Country, PA. For the second day of the event, three types of recreation were offered, at no charge. I ALWAYS rush back to the office, and when I heard that an Amish tour was offered, I decided to slow it down a bit and take advantage of this particular tour.
We toured the area, saw the horse drawn buggies, saw the corn being cut by men and horses, and entered this beautiful, different world of farms, one room school houses (many) and lovely people with strong values.
I had one of the best lunches in quite awhile, with some of the best food ever. Since the Amish do not have electricity, food is prepared in simple, traditional, ways. They cook with gas, and they may use battery power. There were no lights on of any sort in the kitchen where we had our lunch.
I wish I had taken a picture of all the food on the table, it just kept coming. Here's what was served:
Here is an image of three generations of women in an Amish kitchen, that I took. They have lovely homes, the Amish. The women grow their hair and put it in a bun. They have a quiet elegance, which perhaps you can see here. No dishwasher, only their hands to wash dishes, serving dishes, glasses, and pots, from a group of 20. Afterward, little recipe books came out, selling for $3.50 each. I bought one.
- several types of preserved vegetables, previously home grown
preserved apricots in syrup in a bowl- applesauce
- fresh beans
- fresh potatoes, roughly mashed
- noodles
- fried chicken
- ham loaf
- white, sliced bread
- homemade jam
- pumpkin pie (best I ever tasted)
- shoofly pie
- iced tea
- coffee
I must mention this too...after lunch, we went to a large Amish gift/food shop. As I was lingering outside, I glanced over at the ramp and spotted a woman being pushed in a wheelchair by another woman, with a man accompanying them. These people were my husband's relatives, also from Pennsylvania! I had not seen them since 2003, and shouting, hugging, and more ensued.
They live 3 hours away from the gift store we were at, and were in the area for a doctor's appointment for my husband's aunt. How could that happen? What if lunch were 5 minutes delayed? What if I went back to the bus 5 minutes earlier or to the restroom around the corner...that was a real WOW for me! Serendipity!
This is an image of the open kitchen just beyond the sales counter in the Amish store we stopped at.
