A Visit to Some Painted Churches

 

.Labor Day is not a great weekend to travel in Texas. The weather is hot, the traffic is heavy, and many restaurants are closed. However, all the stars were aligned for travel. The destination was some of the Painted Churches in south central Texas. Having heard of them for several years, three friends and I set out on THAT Monday to see them.  We took a scenic tour of Bell County, and on a country road saw twenty or more hawks circling and feeding in a field where a farmer was plowing. They were eating insects and worms. I could not identify them--perhaps Swainson's Hawks. Exciting for an old birder.
We spent the night at Brendan's Bed & Breakfast in La Grange; we met our guide for the tour at the Chamber of Commerce in Schulenburg for the tour of five beautiful churches in Fayetteville County. Our guide, Wanda, was informed and had a personal connection to the Painted Churches since she had been married in one of them. We toured the churches at High Hill, Dubina, Ammannsville, Moravia and St. John. On the way home we stopped at the Serbin Community to visit the The Wendish Heritage Museum and St. Paul's Luthern Church

If you have not done this short trip, I highly recommend taking a day or two to see them. According to some references there are twenty. I haven't found that many in any listing, but I will keep on searching.

For lunch we had some barbecue and German potato salad. Laced with vinegar, it cleared my sinuses. Potato Salad may be my favorite food.
Below find a recipe from www.whats4eats:

Kartoffelsalat

Southern region Potato Salad

Boiling potatoes--2 pounds
Hot beef or chicken broth--3/4 cup
Oil--1/3 cup
Onion chopped finely--1
Vinegar--1/4 cup
Brown or Dijon mustard--2 tablespoons
Sugar--1 tablespoon
Salt and pepper to taste
Chives or parsley, chopped (optional)--1 to 2 tablespoons

1 Place the potatoes into a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them by an inch or two. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil until the potatoes are cooked through and a sharp knife pierces them easily. Drain and set aside to cool.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them if you like. Then cut the potatoes in half and then cut them into thick slices.  Put the potatoes in a large bowl and carefully stir in the hot broth and onions.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir this vinaigrette in the potatoes, along with the chopped chives or parsley.

4. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve warm, at room temperature or cold.

Variations:
Add diced, cooked bacon if you like. Substitute bacon fat for some of the oil.
Coarsely shred a small head of Romaine or Iceberg lettuce and mix.
Add some chopped dill pickle and juice.

All of the churches have festivals. I wish I could go to all just to check out the types of potato salad that are served.