Recipes

Amish Country Casserole

2 pounds hamburger
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles
1 (8 ounce) package processed cheese such as Kraft® or Velveeta®;

Brown hamburger with salt, pepper, brown sugar and onion. Add tomato soup. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain. Add cream of chicken soup. Layer hamburger mixture and noodle mixture in a 13 x 9-inch casserole with processed cheese between layers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

CRACKER PUDDING

Ingredients :
1 qt. milk
2 eggs, separated
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 c. broken up saltine crackers
1 c. grated coconut, med. shred
1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation :
Heat milk. Beat egg yolks and sugar until frothy and light. Add to hot milk. Stir in crackers and coconut. Cook over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat, stiffly beat egg whites and fold in with the vanilla. Serve either cool or cold.

Pie filling for canning

8 c. water
4 c. sugar
1 c. clear jel or Permo-flo (available at bulk Amish food stores or Mennonite stores)

Bring water to boil. In a bowl mix clear jel and sugar together well. When water is boiling dump in and stir quickly with a wire whisk. Cook one minute or until very thick and bubbly.

Apple: Add 7 qt. peeled, sliced apples, cinnamon to taste 1/2 t. nutmeg
Peach: 5 qt.. sliced fresh peeled and pitted peaches, 1 t. nutmeg, 1 t. almond flavoring
Raspberry: 4 qt.. raspberries, 1/2 t. almond flavoring
Cherry: 5 qt. pitted cherries, 1/2 t. almond flavoring

Ladle into clean quart jars, top with clean lids and rings. Process for 30 minutes in a water bath canner. (Bring to a boil and start timer once boiling commences.) submitted by Martha Artyomenko

Plum/peach Jam

6 c. finely chopped almost pureed plums and peaches mixed
1 box plus 2 T. of pectin
8 c. sugar
1/4 t. nutmeg

Mix fruit and pectin in pan. Bring to a boil that you cannot stir down. Add sugar and nutmeg. Bring back up to rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute (some pectin asks for longer time, check your pectin box). Ladle into pint or jelly jars. Seal with clean lids and rings. Process for 5 minutes in boiling bath canner.
Submitted by Martha Artyomenko

Amish Cinnamon Bread Recipe

2 T. yeast
¾ c. sugar
4 T. cinnamon
½ c. raisins (opt.)
¾ c. warm water

Let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

Mix in:
½ c. sugar
2 T. salt
½ c. vegetable oil
4 c. warm water
3 c. flour

Directions:
Stir until smooth, then knead in approximately 9 cups flour, or until smooth and elastic. Let rise trice, keeping covered at all times. Divide into loaves; let rise. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. When done, make a glaze of a small amount of water and powdered sugar and drizzle on top of loaves.

Tramp Soup (Potato soup)

contributed by Diana Miller
1 lb sausage
1 onion, finely diced
5-6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 stalks diced celery
salt and pepper
1-1.5 quarts milk

Brown sausage with onion and celery. Drain. Add cubed potatoes and just enough water to cook potatoes until soft, not much. Add milk when potatoes are soft and until it the consistency you would like. Sometimes I add some cream to make it richer. Serves about 6

Fruit Tapioca

contributed by Martha Artyomenko
9c. water
1 t. salt
1-1/2 c. baby pearl tapioca (I let my tapioca soak in some of the water for at least a couple hours; it makes it cook faster.)
4 sm. boxes Jell-O
1 c. sugar
fruit - as much or as little as you want.

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add tapioca. Cook until clear; keep stirring while it boils. Remove from heat and add Jell-O and sugar. Add fruit.

NOTES:
This makes a lot, I would use orange Jell-O and add 2 #10 cans of mandarin oranges and some pineapple. (We were given lots of big cans of oranges and this was a favorite to do with them.) You can use Strawberry Jell-O and add strawberries or any kind of fruit, really. It is great to stretch just a little fruit. You can add whipped cream or cool whip, if you like, to this. My favorite was to use raspberry, with raspberry jello and frozen raspberries. It you use 2 # 10 cans of fruit or more, it serves about 30 people, or if you add less fruit, it can serve about 10.

Oatmeal Butter Crisps

contributed by Martha Artyomenko
2 c. oil
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 t. vanilla
2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
4 eggs
3 1/2 c. flour
6 1/4 c. quick oatmeal (not instant)
1 c. raisins (You can substitute nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, craisins, whatever you like to for the raisins)

Cream first 7 ingredients Add eggs. Add flour and oatmeal. Mix well. Add raisins. Use cookie scoop to scoop onto trays and bake about 10 min. They should look puffed up and not quite down. Do not take off tray right away, but let stand about 2 minutes before taking them off. This is a chewy oatmeal cookie. It is a large batch.

Haystacks

contributed by Martha Artyomenko
2 lbs ground beef, browned
2 can kidney beans (12 oz)
Some or all of the following:
Grated cheese or cheese sauce
(sometimes this is made by thinning out melted Velveeta cheese with milk or using canned cheddar cheese soup thinned with milk)
Cooked rice
Diced tomatoes
Diced green peppers
Shredded lettuce
Tortilla chips
Crushed saltine crackers
Riced potatoes
Garbanzo beans
Salsa
Sour cream

Brown ground beef, add beans. (Sometimes this is seasoned with taco seasonings or even made more like a chili.) Set out bowls of the ingredients you have chosen for your haystacks for your guests. Each person goes through the line piling their haystack with whatever toppings they like. Serves apx. 10 people

Betty's Salad

contributed by Martha Artyomenko
1 head broccoli, finely chopped
1 head cauliflower, finely chopped
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 pkg. fried bacon cut in small pieces
DRESSING:
3/4 c. sour cream
3/4 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2 c. sugar
dash salt

Mix salad ingredients. Mix dressing ingredients. Toss together.

NOTES:
Makes a big bowl, very typical for a Amish wedding salad. It's good but rich.

Raisin Pie

1-3/4 cups milk
3 large eggs; separated
1 package (3 oz) vanilla pudding & pie filling mix (not instant)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 cups seedless raisins
9 inch baked pastry shell
6 tablespoons sugar

Amish bread pudding

Ingredients: 2 cups whole milk (or 2 cups half & half)
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark, depending on taste preference)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:
1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.
3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.
If you make the sauce to put on top of your bread pudding, adjust the sugar in the bread pudding recipe, change it to 1/3 cups sugar (the sauce has the other 1/3 cup in it).

Bread Pudding Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon flour
dash of salt

Directions:
Mix everything together and bring to a boil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.

In a small saucepan, combine milk and egg yolks; blend well. Stir in pudding mix. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract and allspice. Blend well. Fold in raisins; cool. Turn mixture into pastry shell; chill thoroughly. Meanwhile in a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Spoon meringue over pie, making sure that meringue touches edge of crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 4- 5 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned.

Play Dough

1 c. water
1 c. flour
1 T. cooking oil
1/3 c. salt
2 tsp. cream of tarter
food coloring

Directions:
Mix ingredients in a heavy pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly; mixture will thicken. Keep cooking and stirring until mixture leaves side of pot, or makes a clump. Remove from pot. Knead and let cool. Store in airtight container.

Making Amish Soap

11 Cups of Lard (strained)
5 Cups Cold Water (rain water if available)
1 Can of Lye
1/2 Cup of Borax
1/3 Cup of Sugar

Strain the following mixture into a pan. Pour cold water into a jar and add lye and borax and sugar until it dissolves. Stir well with a wooden stick until lukewarm. (The chemical reaction will warm the liquid) Pour this lye mixture in the Grease slowly. Stir for 15 minutes and then pour into a mold. Cut into squares before it becomes to hard. Let the squares stand 2 weeks before using.

Bacon grease or other food grease can be used to make soap, but lard makes the whitest soap. A very dangerous step is when the lye is put into the water. The fumes from that reaction are really bad. The consistency of the mixture is about that of corn meal mush or slurry. The mold box was about 3 or 4 inches deep and lined with old muslin to keep it from leaking. Most people would wait about 1 day before cutting into squares. One CAUTION, with the lye ingredient this product was only for clothes or dishes.

Amish Culture

Amish Proverbs

Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms his child.

We did not inherit this land from our fathers. We are borrowing it from out children.

When you're making vegetable soup, you don't ask whether the peas or the carrots are more important.

Children are living message we sent to a world we will not see.

Forgiveness is as valuable to the one forgiven as to the one who forgives.

True humility is neither thinking too highly of one's self, or thinking to little of one's self, but rather not thinking of one's self at all.

It is far better to rule by love than by fear.

The middle letter in pride is I.

It is easy to be thankful for food when you know where it comes from.

For Amish families the kitchen table is the most important piece of furniture.

Silence should not be broken unless improved upon.

Common Amish idioms

Idiom: "The cookies are all but the milk is yet."
Translation: "The cookies are all gone but some milk is left."

Idiom: "I batch myself."
Translation: "I'm a bachelor."

Idiom: "Who daddied him?"
Translation: "Who is his father?"

Idiom: "I've got it so in my neck."
Translation: "My neck hurts."

Idiom: "I must change around."
Translation: "I need to change my clothes."

Idiom: "She is wonderful poor."
Translation: "She is extremely poor."

Idiom: "Don't splutter so."
Translation: "Don't talk so fast."

Idiom: "Do you mind that day?"
Translation: "Do you remember that day?"

Amish Tips

Add 1 teaspoon of castor oil or 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the roots of your fern every 3-4 months to promote their growth.

Do not wring out corduroy after laundering. Hang it up dripping wet, and it will be fluffy after it dries.

Place a piece of cloth moistened in camphor in your silverware drawer to help prevent tarnishing.

Boiled rice water makes an excellent starch for dainty collars, cuffs and baby dresses.

Time for School

Amish schools are usually one room schoolhouses. Some of the larger communities back east may have bigger schools, but usually they separate into more smaller schools.

Schools are taught by young unmarried girls or married men. It is fairly rare that married women will teach school.

Their schools are 1st-8th grades

Since many young Amish children do not speak English when they first attend school, it is more common to start school at age 7.

Often young girls will finish 8th grade at age 14 and the next year, they can be the teacher.

An Amish student's 8th grade education exceeds a normal 8th grade education. Many of them could graduate high school right out of 8th grade. There are some things that lack, but in many ways they exceed normal educational standards.

There are no microwaves for lunch time, so many times lunch is kept warm wrapped in foil on the wood stove or in thermoses. Lunch pails are packed with lots of yummy goodies and will probably include a cup of home canned fruit like applesauce, cherries, peaches or the like in the winter along with homemade cookies.

- Submitted by Martha Artyomenko

Handbook for Amish school

It is our aim to teach religion all day long in our curriculum and on the playground: in arithmetic by accuracy (not cheating), in English by learning to say what we mean, in history by humanity (kindness and mercy), in health by teaching cleanliness and thriftiness, in geography by learning to make an honest living on the soil, in music by singing praises to God, on the school ground by teaching honesty, respect, sincerity, humbleness, and yes, the Gold Rule.

Church services

Sunday morning gatherings take three hours. Amish church services happen twice a month in the homes of community members. They sit on long benches with no backs. Most Amish homes have one long room with the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other. During the church service the women sit in the kitchen and the men in the living room, oldest to youngest. The service begins is hymn siging from the Ausbund, the sixteenth-century hymnal that includes songs written by imprisoned Anabaptists. One song can take 15 to 20 minutes to sing. After service long legs are added to the benches to make tables for lunch. A typical lunch is homemade bread with peanut butter and jams or peanut butter and marshmallow cream. They also serve sweet pickles and sometimes pies for dessert.

Amish Hymn

Keep us Lord, still in communion,
Daily nearer drawn to thee,
Sinking in the sweetest union,
Of that heartfelt mystery.
Hymn 176

Favorite Scriptures

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew 6:20

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:3-4

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverb 29:23

Prayer cap (kapp)

For Amish women, the prayer cap is made of white Swiss organza and must always be worn in public. The style of the cap and how it is worn depends on the community. They are highly starched and cap strings are not tied.

Amish News

Amish from all over the country keep up with each other through a weekly newspaper called The Budget. Each local area has a scribe who writes accounts of local happenings such church services, accidents, visiting, harvesting, and much more.

The Budget is known locally, nationally and internationally as the Amish Newspaper. Established in 1890, The Budget's National Edition publishes a collection of "Letters" written by Amish and Mennonite scribes representing their communities throughout the United States (primarily Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania) and also Canada, Central and South Americas, and overseas.

Circle letters

One way the Amish communicate is with the old-fashioned circle letter, where each participant adds to it. When the envelope of letters come, the person takes out her old letter and puts in a new one. These letters become a record of family activities.

Trivia

• Amish woman makes all the clothes for her family.
• Amish couples have an average of seven children
• Only married Amish men have beards

Quilts

• The Amish can't wear bright colors or patterns, but they use both with great skill in their quilts.
• Amish often quilt together.
• Amish quilts through the twentieth century were patch work designs in bold geometric pattern with solid-color fabrics in distinctive colors. Traditionally quilts were made for sons and daughters for their wedding dowry.

Celebrations

Amish weddings usually happen in the fall, around October, after the harvest is done. At Christmas families exchange cards and some gifts. Homes are decorated with greens, but there is no Christmas tree or lights.

In Amish community members gather to erect a barn in one day, and finishes in time for the owners cows to be milked that evening. If livestock was lost in a barn fire, people in the community will replenish their stock.

Food for a Barn Raising
115 lemon pies
500 fat cakes (doughnuts)
15 large cakes
3 gallons applesauce
3 gallons rice pudding
3 gallons corn starch pudding
16 chickens
3 hams
50 pounds roast beef
300 light rolls
16 loaves bread
Red beet pickle and pickled eggs
Cucumber pickle
6 pounds dried prunes, stewed
1 large crock stewed raisins
5 gallon stone jar white potatoes and the same amount of sweet potatoes
Enough food for 175 men.
~Donna Godfrey

 

West Kootenai

The West Kootenai Amish Auction is the second Saturday of the month. The Kootenai Kraft and Grocery offers groceries, crafts and a great Friday evening buffet from late May to late September. Menu includes one type of meat: ham, roast beef or turkey. Side dishes include: potatoes, gravy, vegetable, salad, homemade rolls, and mouth watering dessert.