ELMER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Thought I would answer the questions you asked me this time.  I see that there are few there.

We do not have a  big freezer in our home for our meats although we do have a freezer in our gas refrigerator, it's not as good as an electric freezer and there isn't much room.  In our town we use to have a place that would slaughter the animals, package it and store it for us, but they closed.  So now we use the big freezer that is in David and Jean's barns.  If we want, David and the boys, will slaughter the meat, package and store it for us. Even if we bring in meat already slaughtered and packed - they will store it.  Each of us has our meat in a locked storage section with our name on it. When we need meat, we just go to their house and they will unlock our section so we can get our meat or put it in. We do call before we go and don't go on the Lord's day.   They do charge a monthly fee for this, but it is a reasonable price.  David, and Jean are easier to get meat from than the people that owned their farm before they did.  He would set up hours that we could come and get our meat where David and Jean say if they are home, they will open for us, of course, not on the Lord's day unless it is an emergency.

Yes, we smoke some of our meats and yes, we can some of our meats.  Anna smokes some of the sausage.  Some she does canning and some sausage we store in the freezer at David and Jeans.  Usually a group of ladies and some men get together when she is going to smoke sausage and other meats.  Many hands make for light work and we do all of ours and theirs at the same time.  I am not the cook in our house, so if you need more information, I will have to see if I can get Anna on here. All I do is cook chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, etc. on the charcoal grill in our back yard from time to time.  Anna says that's all I need to do.  Me cooking anything in the house would be a disaster.

In explaining why the Amish separated historically starts with our Ordnung.  The Ordnung was written many years ago,when our religion was founded,  and tells the ways we should live.  It tells us spiritually, what we believe, the way we should dress, the way we should act and much more.  What separated the various Amish is the their understanding or views of the Ordnung.  Also what has also separated the different Amish people is the way the church is run.  When we got indoor plumbing, some of the people separated because they felt this was wrong.  Also some people change because they feel one church is to strict or to lax.  I am telling you a short version as I could go on for sheets and sheets telling the differences between groups.

The Amish wear beards because of the passages in the Bible. " Leviticus 19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard."  There are also other quotes in the bible.  Why don't the Mennonite men wear beards anymore?  Back in 1920's at the Mennonite Conference it was decided to be more traditional in the ways they dressed.  At first men were allowed to trim their beards, but over the years, in becoming more traditional, beards were no longer required.

Why do we Amish men wear suspenders?  To hold their pants up.  I couldn't resist that joke. Why the color of our clothes.  Really this goes back to why we don't have electric in our homes. Again it is Romans 12:2 "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect wills of God."   We dress pretty much the same way since our religion was founded.  There have been some minor changes, but mostly we remain the same against the outside world.  Our dress is the same - we don't have to get the latest styles or colors, etc.  Our way to dress is , as I said, in the Ordnung.  We are to be concerned more of being acceptable and do the perfect of God than the style or color we wear.

I hope these help you understand our way.  You folks ask very interesting questions.

Trust God's Wisdom,
Elmer

NEXT WEEK WILL BE OUR ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY !!!!!!!

JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION - PART 3

Here are more tractors from the auction.  Mr. Erdle also sold his antique car which was a 1928 Chevrolet AB Sedan. It went for $10,000. That car was in show condition.

NEXT JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION POSTS WILL BE OCTOBER 3RD AND 4TH.

AMISH, MENNONITE & ENGLISHER ROADSIDE STANDS

Coming back from Jean's one day, I saw these road side fruit, vegetable and flower stands along the road.  Thought you might like to see some of them. These are a mixture of Amish, Mennonite and Englisher stands. On the fourth one down you can see the can they have to put your money in.

JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION - PART 2

Here are some more of the tractors at the Jim Erdle Auction that was held last Saturday and Sunday.  There were lots of people there taking pictures of these tractors - some were professionals.  I still have more tractors for another post or two.

NEXT JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION POST IS SEPTEMBER 28TH.
OCTOBER 3rd AND OCTOBER 4th.

JEAN'S APPLE BUTTER

APPLE BUTTER

2 Doz, apples, quartered
2 qts. sweet cider
1/2 teasp cloves
3 Cups sugar
1 1/2 teasp cinnamon

Cook apples in cider until soft.  Pour through sieve.
Measure 3 quarts apple pulp and cook until thick enough to round up on spoon.
Add sugar and spices.  Cook slowly, about 1 hour.
Pack in hot jars and process 10 minutes in hot water bath.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ANY PARTICULAR RECIPE, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  JEAN WILL SEE IF SHE HAS IT.  SHE IS LOOKING FOR IDEAS TO PUT ON.

SUE ANN'S FALL IS COMING !!!!

  FALL IS COMING !

As if we did'nt know that! But it does show up in the garden and yard, and the farmers see it too....We are finally getting some much needed rain in Ohio, and the leaves are dropping. The first ones to go are Black Walnut trees, you will notice them because they are yellow,  thin, leaves. When you notice the leaves falling, go look to see if the walnuts are ready to drop...they will be big as a golf ball, and green. They will start falling soon after a lot of leaves are gone, they will drop, green, or brown- they turn color, either color is fine...then it is time to go walnut stomping!!! wear heavy boots, or a pair of shoes that have sturdy soles and heels, take a pair of old garden gloves, and a basket. Locate your black walnut patch, and if they have dropped, then start stomping them!!! You have to get that outer covering off-and it is HARD, and also will stain anything it touches. The heel of the shoe works well, you will not crack the walnut
 doing this..it is too hard, but you will get the outer covering off. Stomp, rub it a little with your foot to help remove the casing, then pick up your walnut and put in the basket. do this over and over again, collect as many as you want or need.
When you get back home, lay the gloves and boots out in the sun to dry...they are stained.When they are dry....they will not transfer the stain to your hands, or anywhere else.
Now, lay your walnuts on papers, I lay mine on top of the big chest freezer....single layer, but real close to each other. and let them sit. In the old days, I would lay them outside to dry, but the competition got to be too much! Every nut rodent was in my walnuts! I just moved them indoors. every few days, turn them all, this will take weeks.They may get a whitish "bloom" on the shells, it is harmless, and does not affect the nutmeats what so ever.when they are completely dry, they will be lighter in weight, and then you can wipe them off, they will get a bit dusty sitting around for a few weeks. They have to dry...not just the stain left on the walnut, but the inside nut meat has to dry.Could take til Christmas. It is a good holiday activity, when snowed in, cracking the walnuts! They are a very hard nut to crack- we use a strong hammer- it is more like smashed walnuts at times!!! Then comes the sorting..picking out the nut meats, and at the same time
 picking out the shell pieces you do not want to eat!!! If you work on this a bit each day, they will all be done in a week. You can freeze the nutmeats, or you can dry can them, if you have enough.
Use regular canning pint jars, seals and lids.Fill the jars full with the nutmeats, attach a hot seal, add a canning ring, twist tight,,THEN,,,,,,,,on a cookie sheet, place the jars in the oven , set at 225degrees for 2 hrs. When you bring them out, you will hear the "pop" of the seals! Let them cool down, then store on a pantry shelf. Handy, and ready for your baking.
Black walnuts have a stronger nut flavor than English walnuts, but I like them in breads, cakes, they add a flavor,that surprises. It is fun to go walnut stomping with kids...even little 2 and 3 yrs old have fun And, you can take some girl friends along too....By the time they have dried, and you have cracked a lot....you may say to yourself, NO MORE!!! LOL!! well...take the ones you don't want, and place them all around in trees and bushes...feed the winter guys out there! The shells left over, are good to toss in your flower beds.
It is also time to be watching for mushrooms-it has been cool enough, just, and the rain has been enough, just, for the" pink unders " ( field mushrooms), to come up! I found 3 today, and that tells me, tomorrow I will find 3 or 4 times that amount! End of Sept, moving into Oct, is the last hurrah for all things growing.
You have one last time to prune off the dead rose heads, the next blooms that come on, leave them die, and don't prune..it is time for them to make rose hips, and get the roots set for winter.
This is the time of year, to make tomato soup! Freeze it, can it, make a huge pot and put in the fridge and eat all week, whatever suits you.

                                   TOMATO SOUP
28 lbs. tomatoes( don't be afraid of that number!!! 2 lbs. tomatoes equals a quart)
7 med. size onions
1 stalk celery
14 sprigs parsley( I have used 7 T dried)
3 bay leaves
14 T flour
14 T butter
3 T salt (regular salt)
8 T sugar
2 t black pepper

( I do this in a 2 day process, is much easier to handle)
Rough chop tomatoes, (core them only), onions, celery ( I run them thru a food processor).
Add them to a large pot, and cook til all are soft, and cooked down by about 2" in the pot. (I leave this covered over night on the stove)
The next day, run all thru a food mill. Add remaining ingredients, except the flour and butter. cook til cooked down by 2 ".
Add melted butter to the flour and whisk really well, til smooth. Add 2 C hot soup to flour mixture and whisk til smooth. Add this mixture to the soup, and whisk well, so there are no lumps, let cook on simmer, a half hour. remove bay leaves, and serve, or freeze, or can, hot water bath, 25 mins.
You can easily cut this recipe in half.

                                  CHEESE  STRAWS
( to go with your soup!)

1/2 c butter
1, 8 oz. pkg. shredded cheese, cheddar
1 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper(optional)

combine softened butter and cheese in mixing bowl. Blend in flour, salt, cayenne pepper.
Form mixture into 3 or 4 balls. Roll each ball out til thin, cut into strips , place on a greased baking sheet ( I use parchment paper), Bake- 425 degrees, 10 mins, or til just golden brown. I KNOW you will not be able to eat just one!!!!!
I use a rotating pizza cutter, to cut the strips, and use a spatula to get them onto the baking sheet- cut them in 1/2 " wide strips. You get a yield, according to how long, and how wide, you cut the strips.

                                  PUMPKIN DIP

16 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. 10x sugar
15 oz. canned pumpkin( NOT pie filling)
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
Mix all together well, chill.
FANTASTIC on ginger snaps and graham crackers!

Enjoy the beauties of Fall, breathe in a little happiness, a little change, a little hope. Most of all, enjoy this circle of life we are all traveling!!!!

JEAN'S GRANDMOTHER OLIVE IS BACK

Jean did her three this month and now it is time for someone else to do it, so I agreed this time.  There are five Monday's this month, so I don't know who will do the next one.  Elmer thinks you might be getting tired of him, but I don't think so.  Anyway, I am going to answer some of the questions you asked me.

How many times a year do we have gatherings of 400 people like we did at Easter?  We usually have that once or twice a year, here.  At lot of people came this summer when we had one as everyone wanted to see David, Jean's and our new, to us, house.  Also family have them another couple of times a year in other states as we have relatives there.  Albert and I usually go to the ones just in New York State.  We are getting to old to travel around like we use to do.

With 200 in our immediate family, do I remember all of their names?  No.  I try.  I really do, but sometimes you get people's names mixed up especially the grand children, and great-grandchildren. I remember my children's names, but I do get them little ones names mixed up.

We have a large family people, some come in from out of state.  As we have many relatives local, we find places for our out of state relatives to stay.  Say the gathering is on Saturday and it is going to be at Jean's. On Thursday we clean the house from top to bottom.  The men clean the barns and set up the tables.  Every family that comes brings a dish to pass.  We at Jean's do a great deal of cooking and baking on Friday.  We want to make sure there is enough food - but we usually have lots more that enough.  On Saturday when everyone arrives, we ladies take care of the kitchen.  The young folks usually play baseball or volley ball.  The men talk and make sure the tables are in order.  Many times we have some neighbors and friends over, too.  At noon, we say a prayer and eat.  After milking the cows in the evening, we eat again.  Ladies spend the day in the kitchen or talking or working on a quilt, etc.  The men talk.  The young folks play.  When everyone leaves, those ladies home clean up the kitchen while the men take down the tables.

No we do not believe in cutting our hair.  We never cut it during our lifetime.  We don't trim it at all.  The only time we are allowed to have our hair cut is if you have to have head surgery that means cutting the hair. We base this on 1 Corinthians 11:15 "But if a woman have long hair it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering,"

Albert and I grew up in the State of Pennsylvania.

I know there is another question, but I will wait until I do another post to answer that one.

Follow God,
Olive

ELMER IS BACK NEXT MONDAY ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS,

JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION, CANANDAIGUA, NY - 9/21/13

Last week I had antique cars - this week I have the Jim Erdle  tractor auction in Canandaigua, NY that was held yesterday (9/21) and is still going on today (9/22), if you live in the area and want to take a run over there. The auction starts at 10:00 AM today, if you are interested.  Mr. Erdle started collecting back in the 1950's.  He studied and researched tractors before he purchased them.  Some of the tractors in his collection are the rarest in the world.  Getting older, Mr. Erdle decided to sell his collection.  There were over 150 tractors there to be auctioned off along with tractor parts. The tractors shown here are just a few that I have pictures of.  I will be putting more tractor posts on later.  There were Englishers, Amish and Mennonites at this auction.  In fact David, Michael, Edward, Bishop Joseph, Kevin and Elmer with his wife Anna, were there.  In the Amish picture is Elmer's Bishop.  If you wanted to bid, you went into one tent to sign up and got a number.  All the outside tractors had a number.  The auction was inside the large tent.  The picture of the tractor would show along with the number on the screen and people would bid inside. The auction people were on stage.  Outside were some venders selling food, soft drinks, crafts, etc.  People could  bid on the tractors at the auction, by telephone or on ebay.  People came to this auction from all around the United States and some foreign countries.  They said this was a once in a life time auction and I had to be there.  When I entered I asked if I could take pictures and was told sure - so I took them - lots of them.

ANOTHER POST OF JIM ERDLE TRACTOR AUCTION WILL BE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH.  THE REST OF THE POSTS ARE: SEPTEMBER  28th, OCTOBER 3rd AND THE FINAL ON OCTOBER 4th.