A Veggie in Amish Country

On an early Ohio autumn day, I was talked into a trip to Amish country with my brothers. They needed to pick up a crib for my very pregnant sister & my coming nephew. Truth be told, it doesn't always take a lot for them to talk me into day trips with them. The weather was perfect, the fall chill has not quite settled in and the sun is shining comfortably. Farmland, buggies, and shops spread out before us.

The crib was picked up and secured without incidence. Besides the furniture, we had no real plan, just a few possibilities as we wandered through the countryside. My family is big and loud and relatively close. Sometimes that means we fight and sometimes that means we enjoy each other's company.

We started out wandering at a large hardware/general store in the heart of Amish Country. It has grown over the years into a tourist stop, but we still stopped by to see if we could find any treasure that we might not find other places. With a little looking, I was able to come across a few treasures including a few bars of vegan-friendly, coconut oil castille soap. It was happy find that will be helpful if I decide to actually make homemade laundry soap like I have been planning.

There were no buggy rides or farm tours this day, mostly just enjoying the countryside, the views, and a few scattered shops full of bits and pieces of hand crafted items, homesteading type tools.

From there we visited a few more shops, including an outlet shop, a Fair Trade shop that showcases hand crafted items from all over the world, more furniture shops, a bulk food shop, and enjoyed the views and farmland. The traffic was busy, some places going less than 10 mph through town. I started my Christmas shopping and was given all sorts of other ideas for the Christmas presents of others. (Not everyone has their bearded brother showing you the pottery and mixing bowls that he likes.)

At the fair trade shop I found an unexpected surprise with an internationally based vegetarian cookbook called "Global Vegetarian Cooking." It looks like a lovely read and I can't wait to try some of the recipes in it from all over the world It's full of more than just recipes with information in the future of food, examining various common vegetarian ingredients and ingredients common through the cookbook, nutritional needs, as well as packed full of recipes. I also found a great patchwork messenger bag, using various materials it has an owl design on the front. The shop had a variety of bags in differing styles, designs, and sizes. This one had designs on the inside and back pieced together, as well as the owl design that caught my eye. The multiple interior pockets will serve very useful for whatever I need. I love handcrafted things and the story each piece holds, whether known or not. The shop bored my brothers, but there are plenty of places they like that bore me.

Lunch was limited in options, that ended up being delayed until closer to home. Other trips have limited me to limited iceberg lettuce salads, grilled cheese (in which I may have become nearly an expert on after all these years), and occasionally a half decent salad bar. Sometimes, I just don't have the heart for it. While, the trip was last minute and I hadn't packed for it, I did grab crackers to keep in truck when I left early in the day. By the time we got around to thinking about stopping for food it was just as well to head home and find something. (There are times that I dread grilled cheese on the menu, yet find minor relief when there is nothing else.) I picked up a few things at the bulk food store, while my brother found local apple cider before we headed home. 

The day turned out pretty good. It wasn't a long trip and it wasn't that far from home. I came home with a few treasures and my sister got the crib she was waiting on.