I am doubly excited today. It’s one more stop on the TLC Book Tour, but it’s also a guest post, one done by my own mom!
This tour finds us stopping in Amish Country with The Amish Baker’s Rival by Marie E. Bast. I knew this book would be right up my mother’s alley so I sent it to her to read and review. (And, I knew she would make a most delicious recipe to accompany it. )
Here’s my very own mother with her second guest post here at EE. (Please check out her previous guest post here on Bierox.) Thank you, Mom, for helping me out and reading this book.
From the Publisher:
This exciting new Amish romance is from Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Amish Baker and The Amish Marriage Bargain.
She’ll do anything to protect her bakery… no matter the cost to her heart.
Small-town, Amish baker Mary Brenneman is devastated when handsome Englischer Noah Miller opens up a bakery right across from hers. Now she must win a local baking contest just to stay in business. But somewhere along the way, Noah and Mary’s kitchen wars are quickly warming into something more…
Still mourning the death of his parents, Mary helps Noah search for the Amish grandparents he has never met. And when a crisis hits Mary’s bakery, Noah volunteers his assistance.
After Mary’s now ex-fiancé broke their engagement so he could go live in the Englisch world, she vows to stay away from men…especially Englisch men. Even though she likes Noah more each day, she keeps her distance.
With her heart packed with distrust, Noah hopes to soften her resolve and convince Mary of their undeniable love. But trouble brews at the baking contest when Mary thinks Noah has stolen her recipe. After the surprising result of the contest, Noah and Mary must face their feelings and decide what road God has set them upon.
Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Bar nes & Noble | Harlequin
Connect with Marie
Website | Goodreads | Blog | F acebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram
Here is mom’s review and recipe!
About the Setting:
The Amish Baker’s Rival by Marie E. Bast is set in the small town of Kalona, Iowa. Population is 2,500 and it is 30 minutes east of Iowa city. The community is largely made up of Mennonite and Amish families. It is the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi. It is known as the quilt capitol of Iowa. The quilt in the story is important. The town has set 42 quilt blocks made of bricks in the downtown sidewalks. I live fairly close to another Amish community and love to go shop there. The businesses are located in the country so it is a pleasant drive through the country to the various shops. We also like to sample the baked goods offered in the area and watch the children walking home from school. Boys walk on one side of the road and girls on the other. They often have their shoe strings tied together and slung over their shoulders. Each is carrying a small Playmate cooler that they took their lunch in. I also visited an old order of Amish in Lancaster County, Pa. A young mother of six boarded our bus with homemade jams and a cookbook for purchase. I am a fool for cookbooks and I found hers very interesting. I was surprised at the use of frozen whipped toppings, jello and canned condensed soups.
The Story:
THE STORY is about Mary and Noah. Mary runs the Amish bakery known as “Amish Sweet Delights.” Mary runs this business for her stepmother who is home with two small children. Mary drives her buggy pulled by her horse, King, into town daily to work. She was pledged to be married but her betrothed, Seth, had called the wedding off as he wanted to live with the Englischers instead of the Plain folks.
Mary had one helper and the bakery needed some updating. Every year during the Apple Festival bakers were invited to bake their best and enter it in a contest for a ten thousand dollar prize. The family had some medical bills due to the twins’ health and therefore could not afford to put money into the bakery. Tourists who came to view quilts and experience the Amish town loved her bakery. Of course, someone began construction on a building across the street from her. Much to Mary’s surprise it was going to be a bakery and fresh vegetable store with some meals served.
Noah opened his store shortly and many of Mary’s customers went to it. He had the fancy coffee machines like Starbucks and could make fancy drinks. Mary thought she should get one of the coffee machines but they cost $1000 dollars. The farm could not support that. Mary knew she had to have it so she sold the beloved quilt her mother had made her before she died. It was a double wedding ring pattern. She became friends with Noah’s sisters and learned that they were there to find their Amish grandparents. Their parents had left the order and lived with the Englischers; however, they raised their children Amish and home schooled them. Their parents had been killed in an automobile wreck so Noah was raising his sisters. He also had a store in Iowa City. They were friendly but rivals as they both were going to enter the baking contest.
Mary was able to help him to locate his grandparents in the community. Since his parents had left the order the children were not welcomed back. Noah was deeply hurt by this but was not willing to give up his pickup and live Amish. He would take Mary to Iowa City at times to get supplies and the Bishop was not happy about them being together since he was an Englischer. Mary was given several warnings by the Bishop to stay away from Noah.
Mary and Noah were both working on entries for the big bake off. Then the unthinkable happened. The Amish bakery burned down. Mary knew she had to win the ten thousand dollars so she could rebuild. Her father would have to wait until he got the crops in. Noah offered to let her bake in his shop when he was in the Iowa City store. The Bishop was unhappy again.
In the meantime Mary’s old love showed up very much wanting to rekindle their relationship. She would have none of that. The Bishop strongly advised that she marry Seth. One will have to read this charming book to find out what happens next. Look for more about the quilt.
The Food:
THE FOOD sounded wonderful. There were apple fritters, strawberry cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, vanilla bean cakes, strawberry pie, chocolate chunk cookies and vanilla bean ice cream to name a few.
Apple Fritters
I remember these! So good!
Ingredients
For the fritters:
- 1 ½ c. flour
- ¼ c. sugar
- 2 t. Baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- 1 ½ t cinnamon
- ⅓ c. milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 T. applesauce
- 2 c. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- Oil for frying
For the glaze:
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1/4 c. milk
- 1 1/2 t. pure vanilla
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, applesauce) and apples. Do not overmix.
- Heat oil to 375 F. Use ¼ C of batter per fritter. Fry to golden brown and drain on paper towels.
- Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over fritters. Serve.
The Amish people are hard working very kind people . Most of the men no longer farm here but have moved into the building trades. If you need roofing done, call the Amish. I recently had them repair Soffits on my house. They are happy people and do excellent work. They do not use electricity so they brought a large generator to run an air compressor to supply needed power for their tools. They had to hire an Englischer with a vehicle to bring them and their trailer to the worksite. He did nothing during the day. If they needed supplies he was available to take them to do that. Two days and the two men were done.
The women and young girls work in the stores and bakeries. One store I love is stocked with bulk cooking supplies. They have their own schools. Some are run by Amish and others by the local public school. They go through 8th grade.
We Englischers could learn much regarding a simpler time and the need for things. Watch out for the buggies on the edge of the road. It is refreshing to go to the community for a day.
I was so glad to see that mom made apple fritters. I remember these but might remember her banana fritters more, mainly because we only seemed to make them when her younger brother, my Uncle Chuck, arrived at our house. But, I will gladly take an apple fritter any day and I think they are The Hubs’ favorite!
Again, thank you mom for reading this book, writing this review, making fritters, and guest blogging today.
Check out the other reviews at TLC.
I’m linking up with Foodies Read.
Thanks to your mom for writing up this book and choosing such a delicious-sounding recipe. I also like Amish country.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Awesome that your mom blogs for you, Deb :-)) Those apple fritters look droolworthy.
Thanks so much for the review and the wonderful post, I really appreciate it. And my husband is going to love those apple fritters, his favorites!
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Makes me wish apple fritters were on my Keto list! LOL
Such a fun guest blog — many thanks to your mom. Love apple fritters and haven’t had them in ages. Or made them in several ages. Wonderful inspiration and a terrific recipe. Thanks!
It was so much fun reading your mom’s post. Please thank her for the review and the recipe.
A great review, and I want to read that book, as well as make those awesome sounding apple fritters!
Those are great looking fritters. I hadn’t heard of this book, sounds interesting. I grew up fairly close to the Amish communities in Lancaster and we often took trips there to get produce.
Kalona, Iowa, is very close to the U of IA where I went to college…. and the heart of Amish and Mennonite country. Love your mom’s fritters. I really want to make them—one of my favorite indulgences!
Hello to Debra’s mom! Really enjoyed your post, the book reviewed, but definitely the apple fritters recipe. I’m a sucker for anything called a “fritter”. Yours look scrumptious. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks to your mom, good job! Many Amish lived near us when we lived in Ohio, they do know how to cook! Those fritters look delicious and love those Desert Rose plates too! Take care