h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Your recipe only makes 2 dozen fastnachts? The one I got from a church made about 12 dozen.... and I'm quite certain that was cut down from the original recipe that made enough for the whole town....

We also were told to cut the dough in a diamond shape (I forget why) and put a little knife slit in the middle before setting them aside to rise... apparently it left just enough of a hole that they cooked more evenly.

Perhaps you were not aware that originally, the pa dutch didn't have much in the way of cooking oils.... but they sure had plenty of lard and butter on hand, and that's what they were trying to use up. First time I made them, we wondered how in the world they could use up so much fat when the recipe itself called for such a small amount..... then we started frying them and there was the sudden understanding of how it could use up so much fat..... After eating those grease laden things all day long, you'd feel so sick that you didn't want anything greasy for the next six weeks, so abstaining from rich foods was relatively easy.

And yes, homemade fastnachts are far superior to any "store boughten" ones... those are just pathetic by comparison!

Yeah, I knew about the lard. My relatives back on the farm still do it that way...

I don't know if you can still find that stuff in a store any more.

And two dozen is plenty for a family of four - unless they want to pay a visit to the cardiologist.

When I saw your subject heading I thought this was going to be a complaint that somebody needed a recipe for *more* than two dozen.

Churches make them in *huge* batches. And for my money those or homemade are the best!



- X

Ooooooh, yes...... you can certainly buy lard in the grocery stores around here.... many of the Amish (but certainly not all of them by any means) who do not butcher their own meat are forced to buy that stuff from the grocery stores - gotta keep their cholesterol level up, I suppose!

I still like the homemade fastnachts the best, because they seem to have more body to them - even the ones from the churches are a little too light and airy.

Oh, and I forgot one of the traditional ways of eating them is to dip them in syrup - not maple syrup, but something that will glob on it like Karo or King syrup. I think golden barrel syrup is another brand - the amish call it molasses because it's dark, but it's just a thick sugary syrup, not molasses.

Ugh, my stomache feels like I've just eaten lead shot, just talking about fastnacts......

My grandmother called it molasses too.
And we put it over pumpkin pie!


I think it's nothing more than corn syrup, but boy is it ever good and sweet.

on pumpkin pie? it wasn't sweet enough all by itself?

So what's the next article on Pa Dutch culture going to be about? How about whoopie pies? Or shoo-fly? It all seems to be wrapped up in food, doesn't it?

A lot of it at any rate.

I was thinking about what to tackle next just the other day. Ashley is hoping for something on film history in Pennsylvania.

Famous native actors, movies shot here, etc.

My personal favourite of course is 'Slapshot' with Paul Newman shot in Johnstown...

even though my father-in-law worked on 'Witness'.

They shot a bit of Girl Interrupted not far from where we used to live in Lancaster... but I think it was all cut from the final film.

And a few years ago, outdoor scenes were shot for an Oprah Winfrey film at the farm museum less than a mile from here... now if I could only remember what it was called.... anyhow, the traffic, including school busses had to be rerouted away from the area to keep all traffic noise out of the sound track (it was the one where she was a freed slave haunted by the daughter she'd killed to keep her from growing up as a slave)... but what a nuisance... instead of at least allowing school buses through for a short time each day, the kids were an hour or more late getting home!

And of course Witness was shot here too... indoor scenes in the city, and outdoor scenes on a farm in the county.

I won't mention the film starring Ringo Starr filmed near my house...

Good article Jimi X! Although I'm still waiting for mine to be edited...

<BB<

It wasn't the Color Purple was it?

I'm having a hard time remembering...

And Girl Interrupted was shot all over the place. At the State Hospital, a drugstore in Mechanicsburg, along the river, etc...

My father-in-law has the silo in which the one villian was buried under corn in 'Witness' in his backyard. He carted it off when they were done shooting the movie.

no, not the color purple..... Beloved? is that what it was called? it was supposed to be set back around the late 1860's or maybe 10-30 years later.

Hmmm, must not have been shot in the real silo.... musta been a mock up just for the shoot. Interesting little souvenir, though!

It's full size, just not the full height. It looks really odd in the back yard.

And it was 'Beloved'. Nice one!

Never saw Beloved....

So where is this silo located - as in town?

Do you add the flour in step 1 or step 3?

Part of me wants to say in step 1, along with all the other stuff. But my grandmother's recipe is at home so I'll get back with you tomorrow?

I am already being asked what strange goodie I will be cooking for Thanksgiving and, that made me think of this article again. Have you heard the answer yet?

It would have to be step one - without the flour in that part, you wouldn't have much of a batter, more like a potato and liquid mix.

Fastnachts for Thanksgiving - Never thought of something like that before!

Yes. She's right.

And Lady Scott , Fastnachts are such an Easter tradition I wouldn't have thought of having them any other time of the year either...

And the silo is located outside of Elizabethtown in West Donegal Township.

Sorry for the insane delay in responding to this thread.

Is ok, I know how these things get buried under all the other threads.

I'd think some pumpkin whoopie pies would be more appropriate for Thanksgiving, to tell you the truth.

Whoopie pies? That's not as in whoopie cushions, is it?!?!?

<BB<

No, they're big soft cookies, usually chocolate, but also in pumpkin, banana, or vanilla, or even chocolate chip sometimes - and you put two of them together with a huge glob of fluffy buttercream type frosting - terrible for you, but oh so tasty! I'll try to find some photos of them from the Pa Dutch meet.