A while back I was perusing the latest
Living Social deals when I came across a
“deal” for $12 a night in Indiana at the Twin Mills Resort. It just so happened that I was looking for
something to do with my girls (KIH) after they were done with camp and the guys
in the family were still working. For
those of you that aren’t familiar with Living Social, it’s a web site similar
to Groupon. They have deals from all
over the place and you can specify the location you are interested in. Being from the Midwest (Yay!) I was looking
for fun things to do that are nearby, or within a relatively short car
ride. When the Twin Mills deal came up I
immediately clicked on the link. It
turns out that the $12 deal was for reserving a
camp site on the
resort. Tents, no personal bathrooms, no
beds, no kitchen, no way. I read further
and also available was a “Deluxe” Cabin that would sleep 6-8 people, that came
equipped with beds, a “kitchen”, refrigerator, sink, linens and towels, and
a
bundle of firewood for each night, for less than $65 per night! Awesome!
It was just the kind of thing I was looking for, the perfect adventure
that was just 2 to 2 ½ hours away by car.
The resort boasted a pool, boating, miniature golf, internet, and enough
sleeping space that the girls could bring friends along if they wanted to. Located in Howe, Indiana, Twin Mills is right
in the heart of the Indiana Amish Country.
How cool is that? We had never
visited any Amish Country, so combining all the fun activities (including
fishing!) at the resort and the appeal of investigating the areas Amish
attractions, proved to be enough of an incentive for me to book a 2 night stay.
When it was time to go, we loaded up the car with our gear -
including fishing poles, a toaster oven, and small George Foreman grill (they
had a kitchen…just not a Kosher kitchen). I had also packed super long wooden skewers
and metal extending forks for roasting marshmallows over our campfire. The resort was super cute and very
rustic. Our cabin was probably the size
of my living room and dining room combined (and believe me they are not all
that big!) with the kids bedroom being just big enough to literally hold 2 bunk
beds with space to stand between the beds.
The living/dining/kitchen room held a pull out couch for campers number
7 & 8 if you happened to bring them along.
Luckily there were only 4 of us (one of the girls brought a dear friend)
so the cabin was perfect! The first day
and a half we spent boating, fishing, swimming.
We build campfires every night, grilled, roasted awesome pierogies on
the super long sticks the first night (the girls are very creative), and
made authentic s’mores, all while the girls played music on their ipods. The
second evening we went blueberry picking nearby. Between the four of us we picked around 18
pounds of fabulous, juicy, fresh blueberries!
The owner of the blueberry patch gave us a dozen ears of Incredible Corn
(it’s really called Incredible Corn). We
wrapped a few ears in foil and tossed them on the hot campfire coals to
roast. They were truly incredible!!
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| Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies |
Our last day on the “Matten Girls Excellent Adventure” was
spent at an interactive exhibit that explained Amish culture (we were in Amish
Country, at least we should understand what it’s all about right?), and at the
incredible Shipshewana Flea and Farmers Market.
The Shipshewana Flea/Farmers market is a huge multi-football
field sized market that takes place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays every week. There are rows and rows and rows of booths/stalls
where people sell their wares, crafts, and fresh produce – usually super
cheap. We found some beautiful hand
crafted items, and purchased several to decorate our Sukkah with in another
month. There were quite a few Amish vendors,
and a number making Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies. I was super intrigued. I didn’t ask to take pictures because after
our Amish educational session that morning I learned that the Amish don’t like
to be in close up personal photos, so out of respect I refrained. I did go over
and watch them make the pies and asked some questions – I mean fried
pies?? Basically they made a pie dough
(probably with butter and lard), rolled out a small circle, placed them on a
small pastry tool, brushed some water around the edges, put a spoonful of
filling in the center of the dough, pressed the edges together with the tool to
seal the “pies” and make a fluted edge, dropped each one in a hot vat of
boiling oil (or lard), then drizzled a glaze over the top. They smelled amazing and looked
delicious! The cool part was that I
actually had the tool at home! It turns
out the pie making tool they have is a very inexpensive one and I had bought
mine as part of a kit for less than $6.
I knew that these pies were totally going to be something I would try
when we got home. Filled with apple
filling they would also be a fabulous Rosh Hashana dessert or grab and go treat
(not terribly healthy though!).
At the farmer’s market part of the market we found awesome
produce – yellow tomatoes, fresh delicious apricots and peaches, small yellow watermelons,
orange zucchini, and huge fresh green zucchinis. We left Shipshewana that day after having an amazing
time. I left with a mission to make some
Amish inspired recipes.
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| Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini |
I knew I wanted to do something fun and delicious with those
zucchinis – they were outrageous! A
while ago I had purchased some large zucchinis at a local farmers market and
had cut them in half lengthwise, hollowed the halves and stuffed them like
large zucchini boats. It didn’t work as
well as I had hoped. The boats didn’t hold
their shapes and although they tasted great they weren’t as pretty as they
could have been. I decided to cut the
large zucchini’s into pieces to cook more evenly, hollowed each piece, then stuffed them with some
rice with seasoning, mock meat, vegetables, and topped each with flavorful
salsa. I baked them uncovered, and after
the pieces were cooked through I sliced them into large disks and re-baked the
disks. They were pretty, held their
filling, and delicious! Keeping
the pieces as filled disks helped the Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini to keep its shape
and hold the filling. I didn't realize it at the time but I had used a little
spicier salsa so the Stuffed Zucchini had a little kick to it – even better!
Now school and Rosh Hashana are just around the corner and
it’s time to put the summer behind us.
We were blessed to be able to get a way for a few days for some much
needed fun and R&R. I also came away
with a few new great recipes. The Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies went over so
well that my crowd requested that I make them again and they literally
disappeared in a blink. I know I’ll be
making them during the year, bringing back a little bit of our great summer in
each delicious bite.
Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies
Pie Dough (You
can use chilled margarine instead of butter)
Flour for
rolling
Canola oil
for frying
Your
favorite pie filling
Glaze
2 cups powdered/confectioners
sugar
1 teaspoon corn
syrup (optional)
1 teaspoon
vanilla
Boiling/hot
water
Powdered
sugar (optional)
Divide the
dough into small pieces. Sprinkle a
little flour on a pastry board. Roll
each piece of dough into a small circle.
Sprinkle a little flour over the pastry tool. Place a dough circle on the tool, brush the
edges with water, place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough, then
close the tool to seal the pie. If you
don’t have the pie making tool, simply fold the dough over the filling and
crimp with a fork to seal.
Line a large
baking sheet with paper towels. Set
aside.
In a large
stock pot, dutch oven, or deep fryer, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°
F. Drop pies into the oil and fry each,
turning occasionally, until brown on each side.
Remove from the oil and place on the prepared baking sheet. (Be careful not to put the baking sheet
too close to the burner with the pot…I’m just saying the paper towels covered
with oil might just catch on fire, and you might just need to use baking soda
to put out the fire. I’m just saying…not
that it happened to me Erev Shabbat making the pies or anything…)
Prepare the
glaze: Place the powdered sugar in a
large bowl. Add the corn syrup and
vanilla and enough hot water to make a thick glaze. Drizzle or spread the glaze over the pies,
and if you like sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini
This
recipe makes enough filling to have some as an additional side dish at your
Shabbat meal.
1 or 2 super
large zucchinis cut into 6” pieces
2 cups brown
rice (or 14 ounces Instant Uncle Bens Brown Rice)
4 cups
vegetable stock (or 3 1/2 cups if using instant Uncle Bens Rice)
2
tablespoons canola oil
1 pound
imitation ground beef
1 large
onion, diced
1 garlic
clove, crushed (I use a frozen cube)
4 colorful peppers,
diced
1 package
taco seasoning
1 16 ounce
jar salsa
Nonstick
vegetable spray
Line a large
rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Spray with nonstick vegetable spray.
Set aside.
Preheat oven
to 375° F.
Hollow out
the center of each zucchini piece with a long, thin, sharp knife, or a long
apple corer. Reserve the hollowed center
pieces, and set the cored zucchini chunks aside. Dice the reserved hollowed center pieces and
set them on the prepared baking sheet.
In a large
pot bring the vegetable stock to a boil.
Add the rice, return to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for
15-20 minutes (or according to package directions) until all the liquid is
completely absorbed. Set aside.
Heat the canola
oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the
diced onion, garlic and mock meat. Sauté
until the onions and “beef” are browned.
Add the diced zucchini and peppers and sauté until the vegetables are
soft. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning
and stir until completely blended. Mix
the cooked rice with the sautéd vegetables.
Stuff each
of the hollowed zucchini sections with the rice mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet and top
with the salsa. Bake for 30 minutes
until zucchinis are soft. For super
large zucchinis bake a little longer.
Remove the zucchinis from the oven and allow to cool until cool enough
to handle. Slice each zucchini log into
1 ½ inch thick rounds. Return the rounds
to the original baking sheet and spread the cooked pan salsa on top of the
rounds. Bake for an additional 30
minutes until lightly browned. Serve
warm with additional salsa if desired.
Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies
Here's the kit...I paid $5.49!
Make the dough...
Cut it into 16 pieces...
Roll each piece into a circle...
Press in onto the dough press then
add the filling...
Brush the edges with water...
Press!
(Or use a fork to seal)
A pie!
Pop it into the boiling oil...
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...
(wait until they are golden brown!)
Golden brown & ready to be glazed...
Make the glaze...
(You can make it a little looser if you want to
glaze the entire top of the pie)
Drizzle the tops of the pies...
So pretty they needed a close up!
YUM!! Shipshewana Fried Amish Pies!!
Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini
All the ingredients...
These zucchini are HUGE!!
Saute onion, mock beef & garlic...
Cut up the zucchini so it's easier to work with
and bakes more evenly...
Core the zucchini then chop up the part
you removed...
Add the peppers & chopped zucchini...
Add the taco seasoning...
Stir until combined...
Add the rice...
Now it's time to stuff the zucchini...
Stuff one side then turn it around and
stuff the other side...
Cover the stuffed zucchini with salsa...
Bake then slice...
Put the slices back on the original tray...
Fresh & healthy & delicious!
So....
Here's some stuff I did this week...
Kosher Everyday
is dedicated to the memory of my father
Dr. Theodore
Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L
May his memory
be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.
aish.com,
Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The
Chicago Tribune Syndication,
or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.
These
recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible
Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for
your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission
from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!
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