Umbrellas block the scorching sun as the vendors prepare to sell their goods.

I’d like to introduce myself.  My name is Emily, and I am Ian and Yvonne’s assistant.  I am their “do whatever needs to be done” person.  I’ve been at The White Oak Inn for 3 1/2 years and have loved every minute of it. I thoroughly enjoy my job, whether it’s helping out in the kitchen, walking the Inn mascot, Dougal, conversing with the guests, or working on the computer in the Bat Cave (H.Q. in the basement).

During the summer time in and around Amish county, it seems as though a person is never far away from a farmers market. There are farm markets, which are essentially roadside produce stands, and then there are farmers markets, which are on public property and feature a variety of vendors and products. In a nearby village called Fredericktown, the farmers market is held every Thursday from 3-6, starting at the end of May and running until the middle of October.

The Fredericktown village square, with it’s community-built gazebo, antique cannon, and surrounding historic downtown, is the perfect stage for the weekly performance that is as American as apple pie, baseball, and hot dogs. On average in Fredericktown, there are 6-10 vendors who set up and proceed to sell their best goods.  This weeks’ offerings were tantalizing to any palate. There were fresh red skinned potatoes, naturally grown blueberries, baby beets, fresh baked breads, fruit pies, cakes, and cookies.

Kate and Christopher try to beat the heat at the Farmers Market

I have to boast a tad. Our daughter is the baker behind Katy’s Kakes. She’s an 11 year old girl with her eye on the prize. She has been baking with me (Emily) since she was 6. When she turned 8, she asked if she could make something on her own. We found a recipe for an Oatmeal Cake that has become her trademark cake. It’s a very moist cake that is the right blend of spice and sweet. When she tops it with her coconut pecan topping, it’s out of this world. Yes, it’s all from scratch. And yes, she’s got the recipe memorized!

She’s not the only entrepreneur in our family. Our son, Christopher, is a 10 year old boy who is slightly more cautious, but driven to do things his way, just the same. He created a stand out recipe for lemonade that is earning him rave reviews from his customers. With a little more confidence, he’ll be hard to beat!

The heartland of America is a wonderful place to get reconnected with the old-fashioned values and traditions of the past. A farmers market brings it all full circle from past to present.  Fresh produce, fresh fruit, homemade baked goods, neighborly conversation, and a knowledge that your food didn’t travel more than 15 miles to get into your hands is a great way to spend an afternoon. When you visit The White Oak Inn, check out our local farmers markets and farm stands. The difference in taste and quality will have you coming back for more!

The sign says it all!

No matter what day of the week you stay at The White Oak Inn, chances are there is a Farmers Market being held.  We’d love to point you in the right direction to help you get back in touch with a time-honored tradition.

This coming Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 & 12 will be the only dates this year we are offering the Dickens Christmas Carol package.   Our very talented actor Brent has been signed to a contract with a theater in Cincinnati, and this could be the last year he’s available to perform at The White Oak Inn.

We still have a few seats available for each performance.   The package includes a traditional afternoon tea and Mandy and Yvonne spent Tuesday afternoon making sweet treats for the tea.    They’ve made lemon curd, fruit and nut loaf, almond macaroons, mint brownies, raspberry almond tassies, chocolate apricot bars, Scottish shortbread, walnut crescents, turtle squares, lemon creme bars, and peanut honey crisps.

Tickets are available for the play and tea for $45 a person or overnight packages including the play, tea, light buffet supper, overnight stay and breakfast start at $259 a couple.

Here’s one of the recipes from yesterday’s bake-fest:

Almond Macaroons

1 – 14 oz. package sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/4 teaspoon of salt

4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Mix all the ingredients in a medium size bowl.    Drop mounds (1 or 2 tablespoons in size, depending on how large you want your macaroons to be)  onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing an inch apart.   Bake about 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.      Let cool slightly, then remove from parchment and finish cooling on wire racks.   (Do not allow to completely cool on parchment, as they will stick).

The holiday season is on its way.     And for us at the inn, that means a lot of extra baking.    So last week Ian and I took a short drive to pick up supplies from our favorite bulk food store in Holmes County, Ohio’s Amish area.   Along the way we also popped in to the Holmes County Flea Market just outside of Berlin.

To sum up the experience in one sentence:    It certainly lives up to the adage that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

We did come out of there with a pair of work gloves for Ian and some fudge for me, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.      And from there we enjoyed the scenic drive up country road 77 throught Mount Hope and on to the Ashery.

Bulk food stores abound throughout the Amish area.    They are the equivalent of convenience stores for the Amish people themselves.    Keep in mind that the Amish a) don’t generally have refrigerators and freezers, b) Have large families to feed and c)are thrifty and don’t use many convenience foods.     So these stores sell all the basics needed for cooking from scratch, including flour, sugar, nuts and dried fruit, herbs and spices and much more.     And the prices are considerably more reasonable than the same products from a supermarket.

We like the Ashery because it has a large selection, is clean and well organized, and is always very busy, meaning the inventory turns over quickly.    Obviously other people agree with us – the store recently expanded and they had to build a larger parking lot across the road.

So with our treasure of fruits, nuts, baking chips and other goodies put away it’s time to start planning the menus for our holiday events.

Here’s a sneak preview of one of the recipes we’ll be making for our Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol event in December:

Raspberry Coconut Squares

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup raspberry preserves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups shredded coconut

Combine 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 cup of sugar.   Cut in the butter and press into the bottom of a 9 inch square pan.   Spread the preserves over this base.  Beat the eggs with the sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter and the vanilla.  Mix in the coconut.   Spread this over the preserves.    Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until light gold.   Cool and cut into 36 squares.

Local blueberries are ready.    One of the local pick-your-own farms has a one-for-one offer.    You pick all you want.   Keep half.   Give the other half to the farmer.     The farmer doesn’t have to pay to get his berries picked.   You don’t have to pay for the berries you keep.     Best of all, blueberry bushes don’t have thorns.     They’ll have various varieties of berries available all the way to September, so come on down and get some for yourself.

In honor of the season, here’s a great way to use some of those delicious berries.

Goat Cheese and Blueberry Salad

Salad greens or fresh spinach – enough for 8 salads

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup or more of crumbled goat cheese

1 small can of mandarin oranges

1/2 cup of toasted walnuts or pine nuts

Dressing:

1/4 cup of orange juice

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup canola oil

Combine all the dressing ingredients except the oil in a blender jar.  With the motor running slowly pour the canola oil in the top.

Put greens on a plate.   Drizzle dressing over top.   Divide the blueberries, nuts, goat cheese and mandarin oranges between the plates.