The Plain and Simple Life and a Recipe

We recently spent a long week-end in one of my favorite places, Lancaster County, PA.  Known for the Amish community, it is an absolutely beautiful place.  Huge Amish farms, the charm of the Amish horse and buggies, amazing produce and hand crafted items, from jams and jellies to furniture and iron work.  Everything they do is done with pride and excellence...if you've ever seen an Amish quilt you know what I mean.  Beautiful patterns done all by hand, with stitches all perfectly the same size.

I'm fascinated by the Amish people.  It amazes me that they have maintained their simple life style over the years, living and working with the modern world all around them.  It's like going back in time to drive through the back roads and see farmers in their fields using horses and what we consider antique equipment, tilling the soil and harvesting their crops.  I would lay in bed in the morning listening to the traffic going by and then suddenly you hear only the clop, clop of horses hooves.

I have no pictures of the Amish because they don't believe in having photographs taken.  They consider humility to be a highly cherished value and view pride as a threat to community harmony.  Because personal photographs can accentuate individuality and call attention to one's self, they are prohibited from their homes.  They also believe that photographs in which they can be recognized violate the Biblical commandment, "Thou shalt not make unto thyself a graven immage."  They want to be remembered by the lives they live, not how they look.

From padutchcountry.com:  
"Just as the Amish do not carry personal photographs or display them in homes, they do not want others to take photographs of them. Many visitors to Lancaster County, find it difficult not to do so. Yet, if there is one that appears to frustrate the Amish, it is tourists attempting to take their picture. Please follow our lead in taking no photographs in which faces are recognizable. Refraining from taking photos is more than just a courtesy; it's a respect for our Amish neighbors and their way of life."


Believe me, when you see those adorable children in their cute little dresses and bonnets and little straw hats, it's not easy to refrain from taking their picture.  But I wanted to respect their beliefs so I refrained.  It's apparent that a lot of people ignore their wishes because you can find a lot of pictures of them on the internet.

If you're lucky enough to visit this area you must eat at the Good 'N Plenty Restaurant.  It's served family style at long tables and the food doesn't stop coming until you just can't eat another bite.  Then they bring out several desserts you just have to have.  This is not restaurant food; it's they kind of food you would find in your grandmother's kitchen.  Old fashioned, home-cooked and delicious.

One of the most fun things about this area are the unique names of some of the towns.  And the funny thing is, even in this area where religion is so important and the lifestyle so pure, many of them appear to have a sexual undertone, when in fact, they have nothing to do with sex at all.  There's Intercourse, Virginville, Paradise, Bareville and Blue Ball.  Blue Ball was actually named after the Blue Ball Hotel, not a sexual thing at all.

And as for Intercourse, There are several explanations concerning the origin of the name of Intercourse, but none can really be substantiated. The first centers around an old race track which existed just east of town along the Old Philadelphia Pike. The entrance to the race course was known as "Entercourse". Some suggest that "Entercourse" gradually evolved into "Intercourse".

Another theory concerns two major roads that crossed here: the Old King's Highway, which ran from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (now called the Old Philadelphia Pike), and the road from Wilmington, Delaware to Erie, Pennsylvania. The intersection of these two roads was thought to be the basis for the town of "Cross Keys" or, eventually, "Intercourse".

A final idea comes from the "old english" language which was is use in the early 1800's. It refers to the "fellowship" or social interaction and friendship which was so much a part of an agricultural village and culture at that time. These roots mark the community of faith to this day, and the many evidences of it are experienced by those who care to dig a bit more deeply while visiting this area.Of course, the local merchants take advantage of this to sell souvenirs.  

We stayed in a beautiful, huge Victorian bed and breakfast inn called Greystone Manor in the village of Bird-in-Hand.  Don't you love the name of this town?  The inn is one of those places that is decorated in period furniture with beds so large you need a step stool to get in them.  The gardens were gorgeous.  The entire lawn is nothing but beautiful flowers and trees, ponds, paths and scattered around are iron bistro tables to sit at and admire your surroundings.  Everywhere you look there's something beautiful to take a picture of.






Here's an Amish recipe from a cookbook I bought from an Amish farmer's wife. It's something the Amish are known for...

Whoopie Pies

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Whoopie Pie Filling (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together shortening, sugar, and egg. In another bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir the vanilla extract into the milk. Add the dry ingredients to the shortening mixture, alternating with the milk mixture; beating until smooth.

Drop batter by the 1/4 cup (to make 18 cakes) onto prepared baking sheets. With the back of a spoon spread batter into 4-inch circles, leaving approximately 2 inches between each cake.

Bake 15 minutes or until they are firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Whoopie Pie Filling:

3 egg whites, room temperature
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

In large bowl beat egg whites, corn syrup, and salt until the mixture is thick and volume has almost doubled.

Add powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Add vanilla extract just until well blended.

When the cakes are completely cool, spread the flat side (bottom) of one chocolate cake with a generous amount of filling. Top with another cake, pressing down gently to distribute the filling evenly. Repeat with all cookies to make 9 pies. Let finished whoopie pies completely cool before wrapping.

Wrap whoopie pies individually in plastic wrap, or place them in a single layer on a platter (do not stack them, as they tend to stick).

Makes 9 large whoopie pies.


Whoopie Pie photo courtesy What's Cooking America