The old Amish frolic remedy for lost connection

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posted on

May 10, 2018

The Amish have this amazing tradition called a frolic. It’s when you invite your community to help you accomplish a big project. The host provides the game plan and the food... plenty of food. You work, you play, you eat, you chat, you connect, and you are well.

In the spring, it’s time to make hay. Our farmer goes to many hay making frolics and hosts some himself. Each year, our farm uses about 15,000 bales of hay. That’s a lot of hay - that’s a lot of work!

Just like baling 15,000 bales of hay, living the modern American life can be nearly impossible to do solo. We should be creating and reaching out to our community, which has a much bigger than we think.

This week, I heard psychologist and coach Lisa Daron speak about her human engagement project, The Connection Cure. It was eye opening. She spoke about how your body has an immune response, creating endorphins and white blood cells, when connecting with another human in person.

We are basically built to be in community. Even a “micro-moment” of making eye contact with another person has an impact on your well-being.

Fostering connectedness with your community is nothing new – it’s the oldest of traditions that the Amish continue to carry on. Unfortunately, a big sense of community has been lost in the American suburbs and busy cities.

I love the idea of introducing the Amish frolic into my family’s traditions and wellness regimen. Maybe my first one could be power washing the house or building an outdoor fireplace. What would you do?

OK, I know it can be intimidating cooking for a large group of people, but, if you plan ahead, it can be quick and affordable.

When hosting a frolic, the farmer’s wife Rebeca often makes meatloaf. It’s a more affordable dish that’s easy to make ahead and make A LOT of. And her recipe is delicious! It became an instant hit in my home.

Meatloaf

3 lbs ground beef
1-1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup heavy cream
3 beaten eggs
2 tsp salt
1 medium chopped onion
3 tsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp celery leaves (or seasoning of your choice)

Sauce

2 cups ketchup (homemade)
1-1/2 cups maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
1-1/4 Tbsp liquid smoke
1 cup water

Mix meatloaf well and shape in bread or cake pans. Pour sauce over meat and bake uncovered at 350F for 1 hour.

Make 1/3 batch for a family dinner, 2/3 batch if you want an extra loaf to freeze, and make a full batch to serve at your frolic. Oh, and this recipe can also be made as meatballs!

Opinion

Cooking

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

The old Amish frolic remedy for lost connection

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566