Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery Book Review - Custard's Last Stand

Custard's Last Stand is a PA Dutch Mystery written by Tamar Myers. Custard's Last Stand is a humorous murder mystery.  It is number eleven in the Pennsylvania Dutch mystery series. The Price is $5.99 for paperback. Each book in the series contains recipes.  This particular book contains recipes named after, you guessed it, Colonel Custard.

Custard's Last Stand is about a character Colonel George Custard who comes to the little town of Hernia, PA to stay at the inn Penn Dutch while conducting business. The Penn Dutch is run by Magdalena Yoder a Mennonite woman. Colonel Custard thinks that the little town of Hernia could use a five star mega hotel.  But the folks of Hernia are not too keen on the idea.

Colonel Custard then turns up dead, found shot to death in the inn.  An all out investigation is underway when Magdalena takes matters in to her own hands to figure out who shot the Colonel in her inn. She certainly can't rely on the bumbling idiot town police chief Melvin Stoltzfus, her brother-in-law.

Custard's Last Stand will keep you laughing with Magdalena's sharp witted humor and her feisty Amish Cook Freni Hostetler's antics. 

I found this book to be a light-hearted quick read. To see more about this book or other books in the series visit :

Custard's Last Stand (A Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries with Recipes)

Airville Mud Sale

Saturday March 19th I attended a Mud sale in Airville, PA. You might be wondering what a mud sale is. No, its not a place where they sell mud. Mud sales are auctions that are held at various Fire companies throughout Pa Dutch Country. The auctions benefit the fire companies. The ground is thawing and its rainy, so therefore it is muddy. Hence the term mud sale. 

You will find various items up for auction, such as quilts, farm equipment, household items, arts and crafts, tools, and much more. Below is a quilt I purchased at the auction.

If you have never been to a mud sale you should check one out sometime. Below is a little video I took at the Airville Mud Sale.  You can see the parking area for the Amish buggies, one of the auctioneers and a little sample of some of the things available at the sale. If you have never been to a mud sale you should check one out sometime. Just be sure to wear your mud boots.

There is another Mud Sale coming up in April that I will be attending. It is April 2 Robert Fulton Volunteer Fire Company Mud Sale 7 a.m. breakfast, , 2271 Robert Fulton Hwy., Peach Bottom, 717-548-8995 They will have Crafts, plants, tools, antiques, farm equipment, furniture, food, buggies, wagons, groceries, horses, antiques, glassware and more. Robert Fulton Fire Company 

Pennsylvania Amish Horsepower Is Where Its At

Back in February I sent out a tweet about PA Amish horses that pulled out 18 wheeler out of the snow in Ottawa, PA.   For those of you who may have missed it I have included the video footage of that incident. Also I have provided a video of the milk truck driver being interviewed by Fox and Friends in Philly.






Old Fashioned Horsepower beats Modern Horsepower. Sometimes simple is better.




I guess he could of used the horses two more times that day. Hope you enjoyed the videos!

The Whoopie Pie War wages on

As some of you already know there is a whoopie pie war waging on between Pennsylvania and Maine.State lawmakers want to pass a bill making it the official state dessert. Maine would love to claim that the whoopie was first invented in there.  But here in Pennsylvania we know the real truth. So anyway here to explain a little more about the situation is a funny video created by the Pa Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Will Maine lawmakers pass the bill to make  whoopie pies their state dessert? Only time will tell.  But when you think about it.  Shouldn't it really be blueberry pie or something?  I mean they are famous for their Maine blueberries.

And if your from Maine, your in luck if you visit the Pa Dutch Country anytime this year.  If you go to the Bird In Hand Restaurant they will give you one free whoopie pie if you show them your Maine drivers license.

Whoopie Pies Cake Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of shortening
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of warm water

Preparing the Cakes
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cocoa, and baking soda. Mix and set aside. In another bowl, combine the sugar, shortening and eggs. Beat for about two minutes. Mix the dry ingredients with the egg mixture and add the warm water and milk and beat at a medium speed for two to three minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Bake the batter as drop cookies. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased non-stick cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes or until the center of the "cookies" spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the cookie sheets and cool a wire rack.

Filling Ingredients

• 4 T. flour
• 4 T. milk
• 2 egg whites
• 1-1/2 cups vegetable shortening
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar

Preparing the Filling
Beat the egg whites until stiff then set them aside. Combine the other ingredients and beat vigorously for several minutes at a high speed. Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Whoopie Pie Assembly
Spread a generous amount of filling on a completely cooled cookie and then top with another cookie. To preserve your newly created treat, wrap each whoopie pie individually in plastic wrap.


*recipe provided by Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and visitors bureau

If you in Pa in September, then save the date for the Whoopie Pie festival Sept 17 2011 held at Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn.

Stay tuned for more updates from Pa Dutch Travel about the Whoopie Pie War