It is 7 a.m. and the school-age children have left for the day. Kevin is still eating his breakfast and Lovina, 4, is still in bed. Meanwhile, 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth is beginning her school lessons for the day. The gaslights make the house feel nice and cozy with the temperatures in the lower 40s outside. We are still just relying on the gaslights for heat. With the temperatures dipping lower and lower lately, though, I wouldn't be surprised if we have to start the coal-stove soon.
Thursday we attended the wedding of niece Elizabeth and Levi. It was a nice, but chilly day. Three hundred and twenty pounds of chicken were fried for the noon meal. Three 20 quart kettles of potatoes were cooked for only the noon meal. Gravy, noodles, and mixed vegetables were also made. All of that was served along with lettuce salad, carrot salad, cheese, cakes, pies, tapioca pudding, fresh fruit mixture, and cookies. The same menu was served for the evening meal with ham and ice cream being added to the offerings.
My job was to help with the dressing. For one meal we mixed up three 13 quart pans of dressing. The bread was toasted and cubed the day before. Also the carrots were shredded and onions were diced the day before making it easier to mix together.
Friday my husband Joe and I, and son Kevin, drove to town with horse and buggy to get some groceries. When I don't need many groceries we just go to a little store outside of town making it a 10-mile round-trip.
When we came home we had out-of-state visitors. My Uncle Joe and Betty decided to come for the weekend. While they went to visit with Jacob and Emma, the girls made supper for them and us. We fried chicken and had creamed potatoes, salad, and apple cider. They had to do without dessert, as I had not been prepared for them to come, so I hope they survived. Ha!
The next day Saturday the girls and I were cleaning house and Joe and the boys were raking up leaves. Joe and Betty drove in around lunch-time bringing food for us all. I had already made potato soup and fried hamburgers so we had plenty of food. Betty brought the children a pack of M&Ms; which they divided into eight piles. It reminded me of Grandpa Coblentz when I was a child. Every time Grandpa came he would bring us a big pack of M & Ms and we'd be so excited. We would divide up the pack amongst us children. The M&Ms; kept Lovina and Kevin occupied for quite awhile that evening. They would put theirs all in a row on the table counting them. Kevin wasn't exactly counting he was just saying "1, 2, 3" over and over. Lovina kept telling him "you forgot four and six because I am four and Joseph is six." It was cute listening to them chatter.
Joe's Dad went up to hospital Friday morning to have some tests done. It ended up he had to stay and they did some surgery concerning his heart. He is back home again and is doing as well as expected. We were going to visit him yesterday but I woke up sick in the morning. I am having flu-like symptoms, I think I might have chilled myself at the wedding and it is finally getting the best of me.
Uncle Jake and Mary were also planning to be in this area on Wednesday and Thursday. We missed them due to going to the wedding in Indiana.
We were surprised to receive another wedding invitation from one of Joe's cousins in a community about 90 minutes from here. They will exchange their vows on November 6.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 c. of pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar, butter, and egg in a large bowl. Add rest of ingredients along with pumpkin. Put chocolate chips and nuts in last. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 10 minutes.
Lovina Eicher is Old Order Amish. She hand-writes this column from her home in southern Michigan. Anyone with cultural or cooking questions can send them to: Lovina Eicher, The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, OH 45042. Read all of her columns online at www.record-eagle.com/amishcook.
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