We got the bright idea to take the girls to the Deutsch Kase Haus (Guggisberg) near Shipshewana, Indiana to see cheese making in action! Shipshewana is not a far drive for us at all and it is one of Indiana's foremost tourist destinations. In addition to that, I love to go there to purchase a large variety of old-fashioned products unavailable elsewhere. Since it is a large Amish settlement, many businesses carry hard-to-find items for rural living.
Since cheese seems to be a staple food for both these gals, we thought this would be fun. I used to love to come to this cheese factory when I was younger. The big windows in the gift shop/cheese retail area allow for viewing the cheesemaking in process.
Sophie and Emma watching the huge vats full of cheese curds, (colby jack, I believe). Automatic stirring devices make their way to and fro down the length of the vats for quite a while as workers salt the cheese and occasionally shovel the curds away from the vat edges.
Here are a couple of girls with their complimentary "cheese hats!
Next we went to Yoder's (the renown hardware and dry goods store) to purchase some of our garden seeds the old fashioned way. Emma and Sophie helped choose some open-pollinated seeds for Granny's garden. The clerk measured the bulk seeds out by the scoop. We bought lettuce, carrots, okra, beans, peas, and sunflowers. This is kind of a big deal since digging carrots turned out to be such fun this fall.
The clerk said the girls were so well-behaved that she offered them a free sucker.
Eating at "5 & 20," one of our favorite restaurants. They serve a lot of homemade goodies. We ate homemade chicken noodle soup, salads, crackers and jelly, chicken strips with fries, and apple crisp. Yum, yum!
Next field trip--picking up chicks for spring and a trip to the animal auction! Stay tuned. We will wait until the weather warms up a bit for that next excursion! Thanks for joining us! Blessings, LORI
