At the Amish Home & Garden Show, which took place just last weekend, there’s one thing you can count on finding, no matter what you came for in the first place, and that’s –FOOD.
You can hit the Auction House Restaurant (which features the Farmers’ Grill) or just browse around to all of the candy shops, kettle corn, Easter candy, Olivewood Coffee, whatever, but my favorite was the doughnut emporium which was all about enterprise and invention. See, there was this stand with a counter and a viewing window where you could watch the mini doughnuts on their way to the sale. On the right, there was a dispenser of small, round (with a hole) blobs of dough, two-by-two, into a rectangular vat, maybe 18 inches long, containing hot oil. The little rings floated down the length of the vat, sizzling away, getting turned over by an attendant with a skewer (so they would cook on both sides), and floating all the way to the left in the hot oil.
When they arrived at the left end, an automated drainer/spatula arm rose up out of the liquid and flipped the little guys over into a draining rack, from whence they were retrieved with tongs, to be placed in paper containers–you know, like fries) to be iced (lotsa flavors–chocolate & PB, raspberry, pina colada, etc.) and sold @ $5 per dozen. Fascinating to watch; not bad tasting either. Observing those diminutive pairs bobbling along, heading for the culinary fork-lift was just a hoot. People stood around–myself among them–to see the operation. I’m going to be looking for the booth at fairs all over from now on…along with the “Tornado Potato”, which I found last year.
Lest I forget, you could also find N.O.A.H.–Northern Ohio Assisting Hands–available for all kinds of good works, one assumes. And information on the Geauga Amish Historical Library and the program by Joe Springer on the oldest-known edition of the Ausbund from 1564, coming on April 24.
Okay, then there was the Buck Truck for hauling whatever got shot out in the woods–preferably not another hunter, of course, but you never know. There was a shiny black 4-seater open buggy/wagon with a name plate on the lower edge that said “HUMMER”. Ha! Jim’s Amazing Bread claims to retain the whole cells of grain to create a baked product with only six ingredients and a whole bunch of healthful benefits; the testimonials from satisfied customers were pretty remarkable. You could get yourself a set of whiskey barrel rings for outdoor decor, information about Kuhnekt information systems, Hostler Wedding Supplies (for Amish weddings only, I wondered), custom horse stalls – installed, outdoor furniture–plastic or wood, you pick.
One display of doors on sale, installed, looked so much like a single-seater outhouse that I was somewhat taken aback until I went around to the back and determined that it was not a working model, so to speak. There were some “green thumbers” offering Spring selections (lotsa lilies) as well as orchids and the Troyer Tree Farm was ready to deal in about anything woody.
Then, of course, there were the standards–Tupperware, Cutco, the Bernina sewing machine models that had better screens than my phone, all kinds of fabrics and models of machines that could probably do everything but lay out the pattern for a sewing project. Some company called Battsol appears to have something to do with solar installation–a lot of that going around. The Big Green Egg, excavating and equipment rental companies, Incredible Water LLC, deer mounts, Shetler Business Solutions, a display of hobby interests–mostly “guy stuff”–model planes, cars, board games, a kid-size battery-run Jeep ,etc., all kinds of non-electric appliances (Who knew?), and maple syrup, and honey. Also a book by Wayne Hershberger titled A Traveler’s Quest.
It was rainy, off and on, that day. Didja know that Amish guys have rain covers for their straw hats?
Then there was Yoder’s Bargains next door. Could not begin to tell you what all was in there. You’d have to see it to believe it.
