A Fall Lunch in Amish Country

What is a perfect way to spend a mid fall day?  How about in Amish country?  And eating "home-style" cooking??  Perfect.  That was our destination on a recent Saturday (pre-Hurricane Sandy) and it really made autumn complete for us.  Our "boys" grew up visiting here in the summer and fall and for them it was THE definition of a great family day together.  We've been rather short on those lately between school and jobs...so this was a great family get-a-way!
And where better for us to visit than Middlefield?  A nice sized Amish community about 40 miles south of us.  Rural, country and boasting "Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen," it never disappoints.

A row of willow rockers are there to greet you...

We've been coming to this restaurant for over 20 years now and it's not only still the same great food, but they've expanded the gift shop so it's a one-stop shop for all your country needs.  They really feature local artisans, Amish and otherwise, so you'll find a little bit of everything...

These rockers are THE most comfortable chairs ever...(at least our guys think so!)

This sign says it all.  You know you've entered into a country dimension with the myriad amount of crafts, food and homespun.  It's an ecclectic mix where you're sure to find something to please.

Little circles of fabric look like flowers scattered in a field...

That turn into this fabulous Yo-You quilt...locally made of course!

And let's not forget the eats...that's the main attraction here.  It was Saturday so it was a hot buffet (including salad bar), all-you-can-eat, baked chicken, pot roast, green beans, carrots, real mashed potatoes, unbelievably delicious!  It feels like you're going to Grandma's house.  I think my mouth is watering...again! (Oh, and we finished this meal with their homemade Peanut Butter Pie...wow!)

Alas, my lack of photo skills for food pictures didn't quite capture how amazing this pot roast with noodles really was!!

If for some reason you're still hungry, then the gift shop offers lots of take home, home made foods.

  

 Couldn't resist these sweet harvest table decorations.  They would make a perfect Thanksgiving table...

 

It really was a great meal and a lots of fun together...on the way out, I couldn't help but take a picture of this pot of mums with only one flower escaping a fall frost.

Our day didn't end here fortunately.  We took our time visiting an Amish vegetable stand, stopping at a local cheese factory to pick up a pound of their own Colby-Jack Habanaro Cheese and finishing up in another little town at their general store.  Another really cute place to see and holding lots of memories for us all.

It really felt like autumn for us and good thing too because the hurricane really has left us feeling very winter-like, with most of the trees stripped of their leaves.  

Well, thanks for reading and sharing a part of our day. Sorry I have no peanut butter pie to offer you all, but if you ever have the chance to have a piece...you won't regret it!  Blessings!

What's your favorite fall memory? 

Like more autumn photos?  Check out Fall's Floral Postcards .

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Eat Your Greenies...

     You can only imagine my happiness when I came upon this small clump of parsley in the mulched garden.  A true biennial, which means it grows to maturity in the first year and then goes to seed in the second, it does gives some fresh leaves its second year if you can catch it quickly enough!  And, because of this fabulous, unseasonably warm weather, I did "catch" it!

Curly Parsley

     So, even though it's only a bit of green, it's still green, and that means it is coming inside to my kitchen for lunch!

 
Now to put my herbal "nerd" on...Parsley is not just a decoration.  As a matter of fact, its health benefits outweigh most of the fancy dishes it's used as a garnish on!  Crazy, right?  I would fill up a page on everything it's good for, including your heart, rheumatoid arthritis, as well as being chock-full of antioxidants to boot.  If you can remember that it's rich in vitamins A and C, that should be all the info you need to want to grow, and eat this wonder herb.

                                                    

Yep, I minced these little leaves of health right onto whatever we were eating this day, which happened to be a mix of leftovers.  Case in point, "Chili Baked Potatoes," (a perfect way to use up a glob of leftover chili.)  It helps to give a little bit of nutrition to an otherwise heavy meal. Of course, to get more of the health benefits, eat more parsley, but for now, a sprinkle will do because much more parsley will be on its way in a month or two!

  So, think about giving parsley a try.  It's a strongly-flavored herb, so start with a small amount and work your way up. Don't give up if you don't care for it...it can take up to ten tries before we know we don't like a food.  So go for the ten and eat some green!