Lovina’s Amish Kitchen
Lovina Eitcher,
Old Order Amish
Cook, Wife &
Mother of Eight
Following are what the children told daughter Verena to write in the column last week. Space did not permit us to add this so we will put it in this week’s column. Daughter Verena stayed with daughter Susan and Ervin’s five children while they went to Florida to spend a week with his parents.
Kaitlyn, 8,- I do the chicken chores! I check if the water is frozen or not. My favorite chore is sweeping the floors. Abigail and Marianna are my friends at school. Dad and Mom went to Florida and I miss them. Verena is watching me and Anna is here too.
Jennifer, 7,- I like washing dishes and I like when Verena is here. I like helping Kaitlyn with chicken chores. My favorite food is pizza and my favorite colors are pink and red. I went to Dustin and Loretta and saw their baby. Their baby Kylie smells good. I saw Denzel and Byron too. They gave me hugs and kisses. I was holding the tiny baby. Kaitlyn and I built a snowman and we named it ‘Unicorn’. My Mom and Dad went to Florida. Anna is here and she gives us piggy back rides.
Isaiah, 6, – I want to go to town to the pizza place. I like to lead our pony ‘Penny’. When I get bigger, I want to cut down trees. I want to clean out the barn and make a new barn. I miss my Mom and Dad and I want to see an alligator like they did. My favorite chore is giving my ponies ‘Penny’ and ‘Peanut’ hay. I like when my Dad takes us out on the pond when it is frozen.
Ryan, 5,- My favorite colors are blue and red. My mommy and daddy went to Florida and I miss them and my little baby Jr. Verena is staying with us. I am missing my two front teeth. I like all my friends. My favorite food is pizza and chicken. When I am big, I want to be a fisherman.
Curtis,5,- My favorite colors are green and red. I like Christmas colors. The horses are out in the field. Alligators are scary and they eat people. My Grandpa Joe is my favorite person. He goes to bed when it’s dark. A dog came here and bit our rooster and made it died. The Mom chickens were quacking because the rooster died. My mom and dad are in Florida with alligators. My Mommy (Ervin’s Mom) is there too. (A lot of the Amish grandchildren call their grandma ‘Mommy’)
On Thursday we had baby Kylie, Byron, 1, and Denzel, 2, here while Dustin went with Loretta to her appointment. Her leg had been bothering her and the doctor confirmed that she has a big blood clot that needs surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for Friday. Until then, Loretta needs to take it easy which is hard to do with three little ones. Dustin is great at getting meals and helping with the little ones. May God keep his protecting hands over Loretta.
Baby Kylie is 4 weeks old and weighs 7 pounds. Daughter Verena gave her a bath while she was here and she was so relaxed. Denzel is being potty trained and he does very well. He loved it when we cheered for him every time he “went potty”. His big grin is so sweet. Byron runs towards the potty every time after he already messed his diaper but he is getting the idea. Hopefully by this summer he will follow Denzel’s example and be easy to train. It was never one of my favorite parenting things when I potty trained my children. Some were so easy and others seemed to take forever.
Saturday we had daughter Susan and Ervin’s six children here. They brought them at 7:45 A.M. on their way to town. I made them all breakfast which was biscuits, sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. I also made them each a cup of hot chocolate and the smiles appeared on their faces when they saw the dab of whipped cream in their cup. After driving in the buggy through the cold brisk morning it helped warm them up. Ervin Jr., 1, is so easy to care for. Joe rocked him to sleep for his nap. I think I might have broken a record and gave him his first taste of hot chocolate. He emptied his cup in no time. His little grin is so precious and he has five older siblings that adore him.
May God always protect these sweet little angels as they travel into the unknown future. Our grandchildren have brought us much joy and happiness. God’s blessings to all!
BUTTERMILK DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon parsley
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours to blend flavors. If dressing is too thick, add more buttermilk.
Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, The Cherished Table, The Essential Amish Cookbook, and Amish Family Recipes, are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email Questionsforlovina@gmail.com and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.
