AY Honor Haystacks Answer Key

Haystacks

Skill Level

1

Year

2025

Version

08.04.2025

Approval authority

Australian Union

1

Describe a brief history of Haystacks.

This is believed to be the origins of Haystacks.

In the early 1950’s Ella May Hartlein and her husband lived at Thunderbird Adventist Academy, (previously Arizona Academy) in Phoenix, Arizona where Mr Hartlein was dean of boys.

The young family enjoyed dining out at a local Mexican restaurant, and they were fans of the tostadas. Before long the Hartleins moved to Idaho, then on to Iowa, serving at an academy there. There was a clear shortage of Mexican restaurants in those locales, and the Hartleins missed their beloved tostadas.

For a Fourth of July picnic, faculty women got together to figure out what to serve the crowd.

Mrs. Hartlein, who by now had improvised and come up with a dish that would satisfy the Hartlein families tostada cravings, had a suggestion. “I’ll tell you something we’ve had,” she said. And out came the story of how she began using Fritos corn chips in place of tostada shells and adding beans, lettuce, other veggies, and cheese. “So, this is what I suggested to the other faculty ladies to serve at the picnic,” said Mrs. Hartlein.

The kids thought it was wonderful, so the school adopted the recipe and served it every week in the cafeteria.

One of the faculty members was approached by the local newspaper to share recipes from the faculty women for a small feature article.

When the recipes were turned in, this concoction of chips, beans, veggies and cheese was labelled the “Hartlein Special,” in honour of Ella May.

From there the dish went forth, though it is unclear when people began referring to it as “Haystacks”.

Clearly, the dish, and its fame, have gone far and wide, known today as haystacks, a staple meal, loved the world over by many Seventh-day Adventists and their friends.

2

Describe how the dish possibly got its name "Haystacks".

It’s not hard to guess how the dish earned the name Haystacks. From its appearance with a big mound of corn chips, shredded lettuce and grated cheese on top, reminding you of a stack of hay.

3

Describe how Haystacks suits the Adventist lifestyle.

Haystacks are quick, easy to prepare and inexpensive.

• It is a healthy meal containing fibre, low in cholesterol and high in protein that coincides with our desire to care for our bodies as the temple of God.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NKJV) says:

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's.
— 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

• As the meal is made of many small parts, the ingredients can be split between several families and transported in separate containers. When brought together, it is an excellent option for a pot-luck or a meal for many families for a Sabbath lunch.

4

List the basic ingredients for Haystacks.

• Tortilla or corn chips (whole or crushed), seasoned or plain, pending personal taste
• Beans
• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Tomato
• Diced Cucumber
• Shredded Cheese or dairy-free cheese

Note: Whilst the traditional recipe has the cheese located on top (creating the stack of hay effect), there is great debate amongst Haystack aficionados about the location of the cheese. As some prefer to have the cheese melting directly on top of the hot beans.

5

List seven ingredients for the bean mix.

• Refried beans
• Kidney beans
• Baked beans
• Black beans
• Vege chilli
• Creamed corn
• Corn kernels
• Fried onion
• Minced garlic
• Taco seasoning
• Vege meat substitute (Nutmeat)

6

List seven additional toppings.

• Grated Carrot
• Pineapple pieces
• Diced beetroot pieces
• Sour cream
• Hummus
• Avocado (or guacamole)
• Salsa
• Sliced jalapeños
• Sliced black olives
• Capsicum (peppers)
• Coriander (cilantro)

7

Draw on a spiritual object lesson from eating Sabbath lunch together as a Christian church community.

• Hebrews 13:2; Always take the opportunity to feed visitors – they may not be who they seem
• 1 Peter 4:9; Be hospitable to one another, share your Haystacks and don’t argue about the cheese
• Luke 3:10-11; Share food (Haystacks) with strangers
• 1 Corinthians 10:31; when you eat (Haystacks) or drink, do it to the glory of God
• John 6:36; Jesus is our bread of life, Haystacks is just to taste good and fill our belly
• Acts 2:46-47; Share Haystacks with your community and grow your church
• Matthew 14:16; Don’t turn anyone away from a delicious plate of Haystacks

8

Plan, prepare and serve a Haystacks meal for at least seven people in a sitting.

Note: Omitting ingredients is acceptable if personal dietary requirements dictate it. We don’t want to hurt anybody!

9

With your Pathfinder classmates, have a debate on the best location for the cheese in the dish.

References

• Australian Union Haystacks Honor
• Adventist Review (November 26, 2009) P21 (Wilona Karimabadi) Haystacks or Hartlein Special, (accessed 13 April 2024)
• The Edgy Veg carnivore-approved vegan recipes (Candice Hutchings) (accessed 13 April 2024)
• Taste of Home magazine (Gaylene Anderson) (accessed 13 April 2024)
• Wikipedia - Haystack (food), the free encyclopedia (accessed 13 April 2024)