Beer Near Here

I'll bet you didn't know that in the state of Pennsylvania, there are more than 100 breweries, providing some 60,000 jobs. That's not only a huge economic impact, but it provides beer-lovers with a lot of choices. I'll also venture to say that you have no idea which county in Pennsylvania has the most breweries. Well, you can probably guess... Lancaster.

How fortunate for us and our guests! The furthest away is probably  Stoudt's in Adamstown or Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. One of our favorites is more local, Lancaster Brewing Company (I'm partial to the Strawberry Wheat) 

In addition, there's Appalachian Brewing in Lititz; Iron Hill and Spring House (Taproom in Lancaster and Brewing Company in Conestoga);  Bube's in Mount Joy;  Rumspringa Brewing Company in Intercourse; JoBoy's and Swashbuckler Brewing Company in Manheim (at the PA Renaissance Faire) and St. Boniface Craft Brewing in Ephrata .

For beer-lovers, this should keep you occupied for at least a week!

Amish Mud Sales 2013

I went to my first Mud Sale last weekend. It was fascinating. Not just because one could bid on just about anything imaginable - from plants to new or used furniture to household goods, but because of the masses of people there and the way it was organized.

Each item to be auctioned was meticulously tagged. There were several auctions taking simultaneously in separate tents. I love to listen to the auctioneers! I must admit, however, that I'm way too intimidated by the process of the auction to register to bid. I get absolutely no enjoyment from having to out-bid others and spending my hard-earned money while I'm doing it. No thanks.

Then there was the parking. We had to park a considerable distance away because there were so many people. There were Amish boys with wagons who would help people cart their treasures to their vehicles (for a tip, I'm sure).

I was certain that if you really wanted an item that you'd have to be willing to spend a good deal of time waiting around for it to come up for bid. Then, of course, there was no guarantee that you'd even get the item. It seemed to me like an exercise in patience and potential failure. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of time.

Of course, this is Lancaster County, so it wouldn't be a gathering of any sort if there wasn't food to be had. There were several food vendors offering everything from sausage sandwiches to crab cakes and apple pie. I enjoyed watching this guy make French Fries. He could cut through a 20 lb.pound bag of potatoes in nothing flat! And people were gobbling them up just as fast.

Here's a list of the mud sales in and around Lancaster throughout the spring, summer and into the fall of this year. Most are just minutes from the Walkabout Inn.

Lest you think that we innkeepers only know how to make breakfast foods...

Cincinnati Chili

1 T. vegetable oil                                                                  pinch of red pepper

2 pounds lean ground beef                                                 ½ oz. unsweetened chocolate

½ cup chopped onion                                                         ¼ c. chili powder

1 tsp cumin                                                                           1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice                                                                        ¼ tsp cloves

4 cups beef broth                                                                 2 T. cider vinegar

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce                                                 1 bay leaf

Cook beef and onion in oil in deep skillet. Drain and transfer to large pot. Add chocolate, spices, broth, tomato sauce, and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1/12 hours, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate overnight (it's much better the next day anyway). Next day, remove bay leaf and heat gently over medium heat. Serve over pasta and top with cheese, onion and sour cream. Makes enough to cover 1 pound of pasta. 

An Eggcellent Idea!

An innkeeper simply cannot exist without eggs. Oh, we use them for everything...fritatas, omelets, strata, French toast, pancakes, waffles, cookies, scones and occasionally we'll even scramble a plain one or two (only if forced to do so by insistent guests). So, purchasing eggs is a given. The question is 'where'. I don't think I've ever gone into a grocery store and come out with just one dozen eggs. I tend to buy them in greater quantities than that, so up until about a year ago, I would get them at Costco in the 3 or 9 dozen packages. Lest you think that I'm falling off the 'buy local' bandwagon that I've been on lately, the Costco eggs come from a farm in York, less than an hour from my inn.

However, about a year ago, an older lady knocked at my door one Thursday afternoon and introduced herself as "Phyllis the Egg Lady". Phyllis went on to explain that she lived over in the next town and had a couple dozen chickens that produced pretty well and wondered if I might be interested in purchasing eggs from her. I was thrilled and asked about the location of her farm so that I could come pick them up. "Oh, no", she continued, "I'd be happy to bring them to you." Phyllis said that she had a weekly appointment in my area and would just drop the eggs off on her way. BONUS!! We even save the empty egg cartons for Phyllis so she can re-use them.

So now, every Thursday around 12:30, Phyllis pulls in my driveway in her little pickup truck with her eggs snugly tucked in a cooler in the front seat. Do I pay a little more for these eggs and the delivery service? Sure I do. But it's SO worth it when my guests comment about how wonderful everything tastes and looks. The brown eggs, which are almost always bigger than the white store-bought eggs, give all of my breakfast items a beautiful golden glow.

So, here's another win-win. Phyllis makes a little extra pocket money to supplement her social security income and I get oohs and aahs from my guests. My money stays local.

Local Food

Today, I went shopping. Food shopping, or grocery shopping as we called it where I grew up. I remember in Louisville, they would say, "going to the grocery", which I thought was an incomplete sentence. Anyway, grocery shopping is not an unusual chore for an innkeeper, so why am I blogging about it? It's where I went shopping that's the unique part.

BB's is a locally owned, Amish-operated grocery store. They're not open on Sundays, nor do they accept credit cards. To say that they have an 'internet presence' is a gross overstatement. There is a substantial 'hitching post' where the buggies park separate from the parking lot. There are no electric lights in the store. Today was cloudy, so browsing the aisles wasn't the blinding fluorescent experience like you get when you go into Target. You have to literally walk into the refrigerated and freezer sections through a 'door' made from thick pieces of  plastic that sort of remind you of vertical window blinds. Oh, don't worry, if you forgot your jacket there are several hanging on the pegs outside the cooler area that you can borrow.

BB's is the epitome of "Think Local". Fruits and vegetables from local farms, eggs, milk and cheese from nearby dairies and meats from neighboring smokehouses are all available at BB's. Yes, they have soups, crackers and cereals in boxes, bags and cans, too. They employ local Amish people to work the registers, bag the groceries, stock the shelves and gather the carts from the parking lot.

This is one of the propane gas lights in the parking lot. Since BB's is open Monday thru Friday till 8pm, I imagine that they actually need to use these in the winter months. I've never been there in the evening.

And THIS is what I bought for about $65. That included: milk, lunch meat, cheese, cereal, crackers, yogurt (4 containers for $1), fresh fruit, bacon ($2.99/lb), several frozen items, brown sugar (91 cents a pound), raisins (two boxes for $1), vinegar, toilet bowl cleaner, body wash, baking items, orange marmalade, tortilla chips, pasta and a few other things that I can't recall at the moment. Had I gone to a large superstore to buy these items, I probably wouldn't have gotten out the door for under $100. So, here's yet another example of how I can enjoy the benefits of keeping my money local and making it stretch further.