There ’s nothing better than a rural route slip with a enigma ravisher . During our wanderings last weekend around Goshen , Ind. , we visited theMichiana Mennonite Relief Sale , where tried haystacks for the first metre .
This weekend event featured an auction and sales event raising several hundred thousand dollars for the group ’s international peace and justness work , but on Friday night food reigned king . Mashall King , a foodie champion and managing editor at The Elkhart Truth , assist us voyage the booths of tempting homemade solid food escape by local Mennonite churches .
The haystack food collapsible shelter drew us in , as the construct was so simple yet completely new to us — the staring repast for a large - crew fundraiser . As you take the air through the buffet line , volunteers suffer by prepped element , piling them them on your plate in a haystack fashion .
“ I ’m not really sure where the haystack conception came from on the nose , but we ’ve just always been doing them , ” King says . John D. Ivanko
unwashed in Amish and Mennonite communities with large gang to prey , there is no one standard hayrick recipe , but the general construct involves a balance between crunchy and “ wet ingredients for a combining interesting to your taste buds .
The Relief Sale service up a jolly classical haystack . The lineup started with a liquid ecstasy of crushed saltine cracker and then Elmer Leopold Rice for a base ; followed by a range of other taco - salad - similar toppings : shredded lettuce , ground beef , vanquish nacho chips , chop peppercorn , onion , shredded cheese , false cream , salsa , and olive ; all topped with a quick Malva sylvestris sauce . According to King , every community ’s rick offer up their own surreptitious ingredients — in this font , helianthus seeds and pineapple .
John D. Ivanko
“ Never saw those before , ” he confessed , but the crunch of the seeds and the sweetness of the fruit did supply nicely into that layer - flavor result .
The burden ingredient of haystack , however , is community of interests . Not only does this dish promptly prey a large crew , it requires an fabrication of volunteers for all the slicing and dicing postulate for readying . Talk about a palpate - in effect repast ! As we treat through the line , multiple smiling side greet us and offered tasty option .
The majuscule matter about haystacks is they can be tailored for your dietary penury or to showcase your garden bounty . The conception would puzzle out well for a group potluck , where everyone is assigned one fixings to prepare . Below are our ideas for assembling an autumn - sentence rick . permit us know if you attempt it and what ingredients you determine to use !
formula : Harvest Haystacks
Yield : Approximately 8 servings
constituent
PreparationPlace approximately 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers and 1/2 cupful cooked grains on the plate , and pass around around to spring haystack base . Scoop super C , protein , chips , peppers , veg , cheese and testis as desired base on personal predilection , layer each ingredient over the cracker / metric grain al-Qa’ida . Top with sour cream and homemade high mallow sauce . Serve straight off .
- While the traditional Haystack use white-hot rice , feel gratis to try out with a variety of other food grain from brownish Elmer Rice to quinoa and barley .
