Easy as Pie

 I never knew my wife's grandmother, but I have benefited from her cooking and baking skills all of my married life.

Grandma Katie Kinsinger grew up Amish and became a Mennonite when she and John got married in 1918. Her daughters learned how to put on a great meal and back it up with amazing deserts.

  My wife didn't polish her skills until after we were married. Fortunately, her mother Ruby and Aunt Mildred were more than willing to share their secrets with her when she was ready to learn.

Mildred, Ruby, and my wife Shari, all three have had the ability to make pies that melt in your mouth. And the crust is never left on the plate. I don't know how, but their crust is so good you could eat it without filling!




Mildred and Ruby, have both gone to be with their Lord. As two of my favorite people I've ever known, I named and modeled characters in the Amish Horses Book Series after them.

 They, all three, have always taken extra care to make their pies beautiful, even though they know that we are going to devour these works of art.

They, all three, also are famous for apologizing about every item they bake. "Oh, did I put too much salt in that?" or "Sorry, the crust is a little crumbly." or "Oh dear, is it overdone?" Meanwhile, we are all perfectly quiet... unwilling to stop eating long enough to answer their ridiculous questions.

My wife often puts crumb topping on one pie, because like her mother and aunt before her, she is worried that someone may not like her two-crust pie. Oh well, I will clean up whatever is left over either way!

As far as I can tell, the only thing easy about pie is eating it. And that is VERY easy!

 Oh, by the way, don't bother to ask for the recipe, they are old family secrets. You young girls may have a chance to get in on it if you marry my son or one of my grandsons.

Amishland Bike Tour

 Last summer I was driving through an Amish area of Indiana, near Michigan.  Locals call this area between the states Michiana.  I just happened to be there during a yearly bike ride named, Amishland.  I wanted to drive slowly through Amish farmlands, so I followed the path for bike riders.  I was happy to go very slowly!

I would rather have been on a bike but didn't know about this yearly event until that day.  My biggest surprise, was how many Amish/Mennonite bike riders were on the road along with the tourists. These girls in the picture above seemed to be having a lot of fun and gave a friendly waive right after I took this shot.

 There are so many beautiful scenes along the way!  This is a "must do" bike ride for anyone who enjoys lovely views, Amish gardens, horses and good food.  The Amishland event is near Shipshewanna, a fantastic place to visit if you have an interest in Amish at all.  I highly recommend the Blue Gate Restaurant while your in town.  The waitresses are dressed Amish (some are Amish) and the food is fantastic!  I'm a really huge pie fan, as you know already if you read my novel, Under the Heavens. The pie I had at Blue Gate was fantastic.

One of my most memorable pieces of pie was in an Amish home.  My wife and I stopped in at the home of our close Amish friends (can't call ahead) we were dropping something off and only planned to stay for a moment.  There was this apple pie sitting on the table that caught my attention; piled twice as thick with apples than any pie I had ever seen.  They must have seen my expression, because they asked us to sit down and have some.  I answered, "We don't need to eat up your pie."  Our friend's elderly mother, who lived in the grandpa house and had made the pie, answered, "Well, I made it to eat."

I honestly was thinking that the apples would not be cooked all the way through, because of how thick it was. I was wrong. It was cooked perfectly and logged in my memory as one of the best pieces of pie I ever had!

 These pictures were all taken during the Amishland bike ride.  This ought to give you some idea of what a good time your in for, if you take the tour.  I have no connection with the organizers of this event but I shared a link to their homepage at the bottom of this blog. The event is scheduled for August 1-3, 2014.

Here is the Amishland bike ride link:

http://www.amishlandlakes.com/ride2014.html