Lovina’s Amish Kitchen
Lovina Eitcher,
Old Order Amish
Cook, Wife &
Mother of Eight
First of all—a very happy 57th birthday to dear sister Verena. May she have many more happy, healthy years. She still misses sister Susan so much. We all do, but Verena most of all because they lived together all their lives. Yes, life brings us many changes. It’s good we can’t see the future and only take one day at a time. God is a great help as we travel into the unknown future.
Family night was held at daughter Verena’s house on Friday evening. It was also granddaughter Kaitlyn’s seventh birthday. Daughter Lovina made a cake for her and decorated it. Kaitlyn was so excited to blow out the candles. She kept telling Lovina how it was her “bestest” cake ever. It’s cute how everything is her bestest at this age. She’s a darling and has won our hearts since she joined our family. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, and she said craft things, so we gave her a few different craft sets, and she was so excited about it. She had also said she likes fruity ChapSticks, so we added that to the gift. Her eyes lit up when she saw what she had in the bag.
Kaitlyn started school last week. She attends the Amish school in our church district. She is in first grade.
On Monday, Abigail, six; Jennifer, five; and Isaiah, five, started at our small public school, which our children have attended since our move to Michigan. There are less than 300 students in K–12. It is a small, close-knit village about three miles from here. Abigail is in first grade, and Jennifer and Isaiah are in kindergarten. They were all excited to go to school. I’m sure daughter Susan’s house felt extra empty this morning when three of her five children left. She has Ryan, four, and Curtis, three (He will be four next month) at home with her.
Wednesday night, most of our church families gathered at neighbors Joas and Susan’s house for their annual fish fry. Joas loves to fish and always has plenty of fish to fry. Everyone brought a dish, and the tables were filled with lots of food for everyone.
My husband Joe stayed home because he has some sores on his legs that won’t heal. The boards at work bang against them, and it seems that once he gets a sore, it won’t heal very fast. I have been putting bandages on them with a medicated cream from the doctor. We did find out his sugar level was higher than normal, so that could be a reason for it not healing fast. He’s been trying to cut back on foods that aren’t good for that. His legs were so swollen, so he decided to stay home and elevate them, so I took Stormy and the pony wagon to pick up sister Verena to go to the fish fry.
On the way home, some of the grandchildren wanted to ride with me and Verena. Sister Emma and nephew Benjamin, Crystal, and son Isaiah were stopping in at daughter Loretta and Dustin to meet their sweet little Byron Liam. I asked sister Verena if she wanted to stop in there too to see the baby again. So Tim and Elizabeth and Ervin and Susan also came to pick up their children, who had been left with us. Tim and Elizabeth had just left with the children when we heard a crash outside. A car had run the stop sign by Dustin’s house and hit a young girl heading east. We ran to help the girl, who was very shaken up. An ambulance was called, and there was quite a commotion for the next few hours as police and fire rescue trucks came.
Son Joseph had gone home earlier from the fish fry and walked our mower down to sister Verena’s house to mow her grass. This same car that had run the stop sign earlier that night almost hit him and the mower. So we were thankful no one was killed. There are bad memories when we hear of an accident. I always feel bad for the ones involved.
It is just after 5 a.m. now. Daughter Lovina walked over to be with Loretta and the little ones when Dustin left for work. Joe and son Joseph left for work, and son Benjamin will leave in an hour.
Take care, and God’s blessings to all!
Peaches and Cream Pie
Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup corn oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2–3 fresh peaches, diced
16 ounces whipped topping, divided
1 (3.4 ounces) box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
Crust: Mix ingredients and press into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Filling: Mix cream cheese with 2 tablespoons milk and sugar, and fold in 2 cups whipped topping. Spread in pie crust. Press diced peaches into the filling. Mix pudding with 1 cup milk and almond flavoring. Let set for 5 minutes, fold in the remaining 2 cups of whipping topping. Put on top of peaches. Garnish with whipped topping and peaches, as desired.
Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is 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 [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.
