I’m really not a ‘foodie’ but instead refer to myself as one of those people who eat to live rather than live to eat.
However, I do truly appreciate good old homestyle cooking – the kind of food I was raised on provided by my mother. She was a very good cook and baker but never made gourmet meals.
Two months ago, my husband and I (we two empty nesters) took a weekend trip to the state next door to visit our son and his family and meet our brand-new grandchild.
On the way, we ventured via a scenic route through a part of that state where a concentration of Amish and Mennonites families live. Papa wanted to visit a spacious garden center there to search for a particular kind of seeds and an inoculant for his gardening experiment.
We also stopped for lunch in the vicinity at a large restaurant offering a sumptuous all-you-can-eat buffet meal with homestyle food provided by Amish and Mennonites cooks and waitstaff.
Afterwards, we browsed the gift shop and attached bakery where yes, even after a very full stomach, we succumbed to purchasing some yummy baked goods. Honestly, we did buy them to share with all our family for the weekend!
The restaurant reminded me of Das Dutchman Essenhaus Inn and Conference Center at 240 US Route 20 in Middlebury, Indiana, which was one of the sites we visited on our driving tour of Elkhart County’s Quilt Gardens Along the Heritage Trail last summer.
After a bit of internet research, I discovered the restaurant we dined at on our recent road trip belongs to a restaurant chain that includes Das Dutchman Essenhaus Inn.
When we arrived that warm summer day in 2023 at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, the first thing we spied wasn’t the quilt garden but a quilt-designed mural.
Double Wedding Ring, the quilt pattern, was very familiar. My good cook mother was also an amazing quilt maker, and she made Double Wedding Ring quilts for several people.
After viewing the mural, we discovered that Das Dutchman Essenhaus is a large complex with not just an inn and conference center but also boasts Indiana’s largest family-style restaurant. A bakery and various Essenhaus Village Shops including a quilt shop are located on the premises too.
In keeping with the Amish and Mennonite faith, everything is also closed on Sundays.
Das Dutchman Essenhaus first opened as an Amish-style restaurant in 1971 and has expanded into a very busy place. Visitors can take carriage rides, rent bicycles and either ride or walk along the nearby Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
We didn’t arrive there to take part in any of those activities though. We were in search of the quilt garden, which we easily located in an expansive green space.
The quilt pattern, Solar Wheel, was vibrant in color. The orange sun was depicted with Antigua Orange Marigolds and its yellow rays with Zahara Yellow Zinnias. Green Leaf White Begonias formed the white pattern; Dwarf Red Salvias were the red design; and Denim Shock Wave Petunias flourished as the bluish-purple border.
We enjoyed a short walk to the garden in the sunshine of a pleasant summer day and noticed a picturesque white gazebo on the grounds which begged me to take its photo.
But due to an abundance of visitors at the complex and our need to complete our driving tour with seven more gardens to find before sunset, we didn’t stay long.
This year (2024), Das Dutchman Essenhaus’ quilt garden theme is Blazing Star Garden. I’m sure it will be just as spectacular as last year’s.
“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ~ Hans Christian Anderson
©mamasemptynest.wordpress.com 2024
Mama's Empty Nest 
What a beautiful garden/flower space and what a wonderful reason for the trip!
LikeLike
My mother would have loved the quilt garden tour so very much! I couldn’t help but think of her when we did that driving tour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My grandmother gave me a wedding ring quilt when I got married. It’s one of my most important possessions. It wasn’t double ring I don’t believe.
LikeLike
That is one special gift!
LikeLike
The combination of red, purple, and yellow in the garden is appealing as can be. That said, I most enjoyed your comments about the restaurant. In Iowa, the Amana Colonies, a cluster of seven Amish/Mennonite village, was close enough that we sometimes drove over to eat at one of the restaurants. They also were home style, and the food was utterly delicious. Sometimes, we’d drive out into the surrounding countryside and purchase eggs or bread from one of the families.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That food was scrumptious. Nothing like home-style cooking, is there?
LikeLiked by 1 person
My oldest daughter learned to quilt when she was 14. It’s a beautiful skill that few do at all any more. The quilts your Mom made must be true family heirlooms.
I love the idea of quilt gardens🌺.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a wonderful skill and art your daughter learned! My mother learned to quilt from her mother and all the older ladies in our church had a “quilting circle” when they would meet and all work on a quilt together. My mother also did all the piecework and quilting by hand, not using a sewing machine. Many quilts today are made on machines, so her quilts really are treasures to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By hand is truly a masterpiece! Gosh, the days of sitting in quilting circles seem long gone (I’m sure some still exist but not as many as in days past). My daughter did the squares by hand and finished it on something called a long arm machine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good trip is measured by the surprises.along the way
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely!
LikeLike