What in the world is a Whoopie Pie?

If you've never tasted a whoopie pie, you are certainly in for a treat. It's not a pie at all, but more like a moist cake cookie sandwich with a sweet light filling. Traditionally, these treats are pretty large, about the size of a nice hamburger. And, you'll want a glass of milk or cup of coffee to compliment sweetness.

Whoopie Pies are certainly a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, but they are popular all across New England as well. Supposedly, Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch wives put these sweet sandwiches in the lunch boxes of their husbands or children. As they opened their lunches, they'd yell "whoopie!" Hence, the name Whoopie Pies.

Sometimes known as "Gobs" or "Debbie" cookies in the midwestern Amish communities, there's nothing fancy about them. The cake "cookie" is generally not particularly sweet, but the filling makes up for that. The secret ingredient of the filling is the egg whites - it helps give the filling its light fluffy texture.

There are all sorts of flavors of whoopies pies, although chocolate is the most common. At our Der Dutchman and Dutch Valley Bakeries, the chocolate variety is made daily, but they often make different flavors as a seasonal special. Sometimes you can find oatmeal or chocolate chip whoopies. Pumpkin whoopie pies are made in the fall at most locations. You'll even find incredible soft ginger cookie whoopies at our Walnut Creek bakery on occasion.

An Amish Whoopie Pie Recipe: Banana Whoopies
(From the Der Dutchman Walnut Creek Cookbook, 1992 edition, contributed by Wilma Miller)

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup Crisco
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Cream together sugar, Crisco and eggs. Add mashed bananas and vanilla. Sift flour, spices, baking powder and soda, and salt together and add to banana mixture. Drop by teaspoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake ten minutes at 400 degrees. Cool the "cookies" completely before adding the filling.

Filling:
3 egg whites
3 cups powdered sugar
6 teaspoons milk
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups Crisco

Take a driving tour of the backroads in Ohio

One question we're often asked is "where can I take a nice drive to see the country?" While there's plenty of opportunity to shop and do the "tourist thing" along the main roads, to really see what country life is like, get off the beaten path.
There's plenty to see from the seat of your car. And, it costs you nothing but the gas in your tank.

Some people call this "road farming" and for good reason. You'll probably encounter a tractor or possibly a draft horse hitch, towing a farm implement. Be patient, they may or may not be able to see you (horses don't have rear view mirrors.)

While the best places to see unique things are on County and Township Roads, be aware - these roads are normally much narrower than your typical city streets. And, depending on where you are, they may not be paved. So, it's probably best to leave the big RV or trailer at your camping spot and travel by car, van, motorcycle or bike.

If you're planning to visit in the upcoming fall leaf season, any of the following drives would be a nice short trip. And, you'll depart and arrive in some interesting spots with easy access to find your way back to "civilization".

Amish Country - "The Sugarcreek Bypass" View Map
What you'll see: Willandale Golf Course, Amish farms, residential, ridge views of valleys and Sugarcreek village, the old Gerber Valley Schoolhouse, the "Gensa Bottom" or Goose Valley.

1. Begin at Dutch Valley Restaurant (1343 Old Rt. 39, Sugarcreek), turn RIGHT onto Dutch Valley Drive.
2. Go straight through the stoplight on Rt. 39. Turn LEFT onto Spooky Hollow Rd.
3. Turn LEFT onto Golf Course Rd.
4. At State Route 93, take Golf Course Road straight across. Continue into Holmes County (Road is now called County Rd 144).
5. At the Gerber Valley Schoolhouse, turn RIGHT onto Township Road 444.
6. Turn RIGHT onto Township Rd. 406/419. Follow road to State Route 515.
7. Turn LEFT onto State Route 515 and travel to Walnut Creek village.

Amish Country - "The Back Way to Charm " View Map
What you'll see: valley and ridge views, organic Amish dairy farms, windmills, sawmills

1. Begin at Der Dutchman Restaurant (4967 Walnut St., Walnut Creek)
2. From Parking lot, turn RIGHT onto State Rt. 515. At the stop light at State Rt 39, travel straight ahead onto Township Road 403.
3. Follow Twp. Rd. 403 to County Road 135 and turn LEFT. Immediately after, turn RIGHT onto County Road 114.
4. Follow Cty Rd. 144 to a "Y". Bear to the RIGHT onto County Rd. 70.
5. You'll end up in Charm village and State Route 557.

Waynesville - "Little Miami Fall Foliage Tour" View Map
What you'll see: rural cornfields, colorful wooded areas, picturesque villages, and a nature preserve

Beginning in downtown Lebanon on Route 42, you'll find a picturesque beginning to a fall tour, with more than 50 antique and specialty shops and 19th-century buildings to meander through. Continuing north on Route 42, Waynesville, "The Antiques Capital of the Midwest," lives up to its name. It has more than 70 antique and specialty shops, including woodworking, collectible items, art galleries as well as Der Dutchman Restaurant. Farther north on Route 68, you'll come to Yellow Springs and the Glen Helen Ecology Institute. The on-site preserve boasts 1,000 wooded acres and meadows cushioned by meandering streams and trails that give visitors a close-up view of fall's gorgeous colors.

July is Peach Season in Ohio

Nothing tastes like summer like fresh peaches! Beginning mid to late July, they are in season here in Ohio. Amish and Mennonite families in our area will buy them by the bushel and can or freeze them for their families.

Whether you can them or eat them fresh, you'll want to start out with quality fruit. Here are a few tips for buying peaches.

Selecting your fruit
When shopping for peaches, be very picky. You'll want to make sure the fruit is soft but not bruised. While bruised peaches spoil quickly, peaches that are hard will never ripen correctly and are not as tasty. To save yourself both grief and work, be sure to select free-stone varieties - "cling" peaches do not lift off the stone easily and will be harder to slice.

If you plan to can or freeze your peaches, try to ask for varieties that do not turn brown when sliced. Although the peaches may taste OK, they won't retain the beautiful yellow color they had when fresh. If you're not sure what kind of peaches you have, just coat your sliced peaches with an acid, such as lemon juice or orange juice. The acid helps the peaches look fresh and yellow until you eat them next winter.

It's fine to store peaches in your refrigerator, but be sure to store them side-by-side. Stacking peaches will cause them to bruise and get mushy. Before eating fresh peaches, remove them from the refrigerator to warm up. Peaches at room temperature seem to have better taste than those straight out of the frig.

Where to buy peaches
Because of the brutal winter of 2009, nearly all the peaches froze in central Ohio. In some spots in Holmes County, temperatures dropped to 26 degrees below zero and froze the buds of the trees.

Although there will be no native crop of peaches here, produce is currently being shipped in from the south. Red Haven is the variety of choice but there are many good options for eating and "putting away." In Walnut Creek, Hillcrest Orchard is one place to buy and they will be have peaches for sale the last week in July.

Another option is at our local livestock auctions, such as Farmerstown (Tuesday), Mount Hope (Wednesday) or Kidron (Thursday). You'll find multiple vendors there with peach varieties such as Harvestor, Contender, Red Haven and the later varieties of "white" peaches. If you are in the market for large lots of fruit, check out the Farmer's Produce Auction in Mount Hope on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

In Plain City, just west of Columbus, you'll be able to find peaches at Yutzy's Farm Market. They'll be selling the varieties Contender, Red Glow and later Red Haven. All three are good for freezing and canning and are free-stone varieties.

Fresh Peach Pie
One of the most popular pies at our restaurants is Fresh Peach Pie. Der Dutchman in Walnut Creek and Dutch Valley in Sugarcreek are both currently serving this pie while our Der Dutchman in Plain City will begin serving in early August.

Fresh peach pie, as the name states, is made with fresh uncooked peaches. Our pie bakers peel and slice the peaches, then add a homemade peachy-orange glaze. The longer the peaches "marinate" in the glaze, the more tasty they become.

As with fresh strawberry pie, they simply fill a pre-baked pie shell with the peach mixture and serve. If you are daring, you might want to top the pie with whipped cream or even vanilla ice cream. It's a special cool treat in the hot summer weather. But stop in soon, the peach season is short - don't miss it!

New practices for Amish farmers, part I

Farming is a challenging occupation, whether you farm 10 acres or 10,000. But for some small farmers in Amish country, they're meeting that challenge by using innovative farming ideas. Using various modern methods of animal husbandry and crop rotation, they've managed to make a living to support a family while minimizing the impact on the environment.

Dairy farmers, for example, provide milk for our local cheese houses. The process of feeding and harvesting forage for dairy cows is always expensive and labor-intensive. One way to minimize labor and use of chemicals is through a method called "intensive grazing". This involves dividing a large pasture into many small parts and letting the animals do the "harvesting". The cattle are grazed in each small lot for a day or so, then moved to another lot.

Instead of grazing their preferred grasses, cattle will graze all the grasses in the small paddock. When the lots are rotated, it allows the grasses in each lot time to recover. The new young grasses are more nutritious for the cows and allows them to produce more milk. Weeds are controlled naturally by the cattle so mowing or chemical control is less important.

Intensive grazing is also less stressful for the animals. Cattle will naturally spend a good part of the day grazing and resting when on pasture. Less stress means a more contented healthy animal, which contributes to less veterinarian calls and, of course, more milk production. It's a healthy rotation for both the animals and the land.

Some local farmers have taken this grazing method a step further and opted to feed their cows a strict grass-only diet. Because of this, some of the local cheese producers have created "Grass-fed" cheeses, using milk from grass-only dairy herds. One place to find Grass-fed Baby Swiss Cheese is at Dutch Valley Market in Sugarcreek, Ohio. It's a nice alternative for health-conscious people who are looking for natural foods.

Grain harvest in Amish Country

If you will be visiting Holmes, Wayne or Tuscarawas counties in the near future, be sure to bring your camera. You'll find that the wheat fields are being harvested and the fields are filled with "shocks."

Because the Amish don't use grain combines (the "English" way of harvesting), they cut wheat with a machine called a binder. It makes little bundles of the stalks that are bound together with binder twine. The bundles are then picked up and stacked expertly in "shocks" so that the wheat kernels will dry. If left on the ground, the bundles will pick up moisture and will not dry properly.

It takes nine bundles to make one shock. Eight bundles are stacked against each other with one bundle placed on the top. It's a family affair to shock grain and often you'll see the entire family helping, including children and grandparents.

To harvest the wheat, the shocks will be picked up by hand and stacked on a flatbed wagon to be hauled to the thrashing machine. The bundles are fed into the machine which separates the wheat kernels from the straw and chaff. One end of the machine ejects the grain while the other end blows out the straw and chaff. The straw can be baled for animal bedding and the wheat can be sold at the local farmer's mill or ground into grain.

Most often, the farmer will gather together his neighbors and friends to help with the labor of thrashing. This is called a "frolic" and a large meal is prepared to feed all the hungry helpers. Served on platters and passed around the tables, this type of meal is one of the inspirations for our Der Dutchman and Dutch Valley Restaurant family-style meals.

The rule of thumb for wheat harvest, at least in north central Ohio, is the 4th of July. If you can't visit at that time, you might find that in a couple weeks they will be harvesting oats in a similar way. Other grain crops grown in the area include speltz and rye.

Welcome to Der Dutchman Restaurants!

As of this year, we've now been in existence for 40 years! What began as a small diner-type restaurant in the little burg of Walnut Creek, Ohio, has now become a mid-sized family business with five restaurants, two hotels, four gift and/or furniture shops as well as a wholesale food business and central kitchen.

Now called Dutchman Hospitality Group, we have locations all around Ohio, including Walnut Creek and Sugarcreek in Ohio's Amish Country; Plain City, a rural Mennonite community just west of Columbus, and Waynesville, just east of Dayton. If you live in Ohio, you're only a couple hours drive from any of our locations.

Our restaurants specialize in Amish Kitchen Cooking, as our tagline states. You might know us for our family style dinners – pan-fried chicken, real mashed potatoes (we've got the potatoes to prove it), Amish-style dressing or stuffing, noodles and a wide menu of pies.

Now that you know a bit about us, we'll be coming back here from time to time to you know what's going on in our neck of the woods. Or, if you'd like to know more, you can find us at www.derdutchman.com.