Traverse City Record-Eagle

Lovina Eicher: The Amish Cook

June 29, 2009

Amish Cook: Saturday a busy day for Eichers

This is a daily diary of a recent Saturday here at the Eicher home:

-- 7 a.m. -- It is Saturday so we slept later this morning. After getting up all week at 3 a.m. my husband Joe is glad to get caught up on his sleep. It is another cool morning. It sure makes for nice sleeping at night. Our rain gauge shows we have received 3.5 inches in the last few days. It sure has given everything in the garden a boost. We have been enjoying fresh red potatoes and peas from the garden along with radishes, lettuce, green onions and strawberries.

-- 8:15 a.m. -- We eat breakfast, which is eggs, fried potatoes (fresh from the garden), bacon, cheese, toast, rhubarb jam, milk, juice and coffee.

-- 9 a.m. -- Joe and the boys are hauling manure. The girls wash the dishes while I sort through some clothes that the two oldest have outgrown. I will hand them over to sister Emma for her daughters.

-- 9:45 a.m. -- My oldest daughter, Elizabeth, 15, mows the grass while Susan, Verena, Loretta and I wash off walls in the kitchen, dining room, and living room areas. It sure needed it after a long winter.

-- 12:30 p.m. -- We all stop for a break to eat lunch, which consists of vegetable soup and sandwiches. It is a very warm day, which is different from the 60-degree weather we had a lot of the spring.

-- 1:30 p.m. -- Joe and the boys go back to hauling manure and Elizabeth goes back to mowing grass. The girls and I finish with the walls and then sweep and mop all the floors. We also wash off the kitchen cabinets and dust the furniture. Everything looks very refreshed. Monday we will wash the windows and curtains if weather permits.

-- 4:30 p.m. -- Joe and the boys quit hauling manure. With church being tomorrow Joe didn't want to work too late. Elizabeth keeps mowing and is nearly finished. The girls start giving the younger children their baths. I pop some popcorn for a neighbor lady to serve after services tomorrow. The children take the popcorn over to the neighbor lady with our pony, Stormy, and buggy.

-- 7:30 p.m. -- Everyone is cleaned up and Joe starts a fire in the fire pit so the children can roast marshmallows and hot dogs. We all enjoy sitting around the fire after a long day's work.

-- 9:15 p.m. -- Bedtime. The children want to stay up later but morning will be here before we know it. We have plans to go to a neighboring church district tomorrow so we need to start out a little earlier in the buggy. Tomorrow is Father's Day so the children gave Joe a volleyball set, which is something he has always wanted. We will all enjoy it though.

Country Potato Soup

3 c. diced potatoes

1/2 c. carrots or celery

1/2 c. onions, diced

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 t. chopped chives

1/2 t. salt

1 c. sour cream

2 1/2 T. flour

2 c. milk

Combine potatoes, carrots, onions, water (just enough to cover everything) bouillon cubes and salt in large saucepan. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat or until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Add 1 c. milk and continue to heat. In a separate, medium mixing bowl, combine sour cream, flour, chives and remaining milk. Stir mixture gradually into the soup base. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thickened. Serve immediately.

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  • Amish Cook: Warmth helps stove breaks

    The sun is shining and it almost seems like spring with the unusual warmth we are experiencing.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:30 am
  • Amish Cook: Feverish boy still dervish

    Kevin, 6, is home from school today. He has been running a fever since yesterday morning.

    Continued ...
    Updated Feb 7, 2012 10:38 am
  • The Amish Cook: Cookies in a jar

    This has been a different winter so far weather-wise. We had another snowstorm during the past week, but then as quickly as it snowed, it warmed back up.

    Continued ...
    Jan 26, 2012 7:33 am 1 Photo
  • The Amish Cook: More work on a snow day

    Continued ...
    Updated Jan 30, 2012 2:39 pm 1 Photo
  • The Amish Cook: Breakfast haystack tasty

    Continued ...
    Jan 12, 2012 7:44 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, January 5, 2012
  • The Amish Cook: Christmas green, but now white

    Continued ...
    Jan 5, 2012 7:42 am
  • Thursday, December 29, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Holiday food

    Continued ...
    Dec 29, 2011 7:33 am
  • Thursday, December 15, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Christmas is close

    Continued ...
    Dec 15, 2011 7:18 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, December 8, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Kids still love snow

    Continued ...
    Updated Feb 9, 2012 2:53 pm 1 Photo
  • Thursday, December 1, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Kids want snow but I'm not ready

    Continued ...
    Dec 1, 2011 6:14 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, November 24, 2011
  • Amish Cook: Five kids have the flu

    Continued ...
    Nov 24, 2011 6:14 am
  • Thursday, November 17, 2011
  • Amish Cook: Favorites for Thanksgiving

    Continued ...
    Nov 17, 2011 7:22 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, November 10, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Junior is back in town

    Continued ...
    Nov 10, 2011 7:12 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, November 3, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Brother Amos surprised

    Continued ...
    Nov 3, 2011 7:42 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, October 27, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Sunny days are numbered

    Continued ...
    Oct 27, 2011 7:43 am
  • Thursday, October 20, 2011
  • Amish Cook: Coal is in; bring on winter

    Continued ...
    Oct 20, 2011 7:32 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, October 13, 2011
  • Amish Cook: Lots of sunshine, laundry

    Continued ...
    Oct 13, 2011 7:32 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, October 6, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Apples put to good use

    Continued ...
    Oct 6, 2011 7:51 am
  • Thursday, September 29, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Lots of work for church

    We've been busy helping sister Emma and her husband Jacob. My husband Joe and I and the children will go to Emma and Jacob's today to help with final preparations for church, which will be held there tomorrow. Yesterday Joe and I also assisted them with their work. I helped Emma do jobs inside the house while Joe worked outside in the building where church will be held. He put up a partition using canvas on one end of the building so lunch could be served there tomorrow.

    Continued ...
    Sep 29, 2011 7:33 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, September 22, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Busy day turns frantic

    This is a diary of this past Saturday.
    • 6:30 a.m. Time to get up. We are going to go help Jacob and Emma today. They will have church services at their house next weekend.
    • 6 p.m. Our neighbor comes over to Jacob's to get Joe to take him back home to help the girls. They were taking Diamond off the single buggy and somehow his harness caught on the shaft. This was enough to get him all shook up and he started kicking.

    Continued ...
    Sep 22, 2011 7:52 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, September 15, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Garden is history

    I still have red beets that I need to pull and make into pickled beets. We still have tomatoes, peppers and popcorn but otherwise my garden is pretty much history for 2011. This is the first year we have tried growing popcorn, so we'll be interested to see how it turns out. My jalapeno and serrano peppers are still doing well so I want to make homemade hot pepper butter soon. I won't add as many hot peppers as the recipe calls for so that it is not too hot for the children.

    Continued ...
    Sep 15, 2011 7:39 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, September 8, 2011
  • Amish Cook: Chilly first day of school

    Verena will be in seventh grade, Benjamin in sixth and Loretta will enter middle school in grade 5. In the elementary building Joseph will be in third grade, Lovina in first, and Kevin in kindergarten. The house will seem empty when all six leave for school at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. We are hoping and praying that Verena will have a better year this term. Elizabeth, 17, is sewing Joseph some new pants hoping to have them in time for him to wear to school tomorrow. She has cut out quite a few pairs of pants for the boys, I think a total of 10. It seems like we will be able to have more time to sew after the children are in school.

    Continued ...
    Sep 8, 2011 7:35 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, September 1, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Kevin awaits birthday

    Son Kevin is down to counting "five times to sleep" before his sixth birthday on Sept. 2. Kevin is our youngest and he will be starting kindergarten. The years go way too fast for me. Daughter Lovina, 7, will still let me hold her on my lap a lot more than Kevin does. He tells me, "Mom I am not a baby anymore." At the recent family gathering, Kevin told my husband Joe that he doesn't need help carrying his plate anymore. He said, "At school I carry my own plate." You can just really see them grow up. Daughter Susan, 15, is training another pony for a family in our church. I have more tomatoes to can that the boys picked for me. Our potatoes didn't do so well so it looks like we will end up buying storage potatoes for the winter.

    Continued ...
    Sep 1, 2011 7:32 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, August 25, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: A belated Christmas

    The laundry is on the line and we have a nice sunny day to dry it. Mornings have been cool with temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s. It warms up during the day but sure makes for nice sleeping weather at night.
    We had a busy week last week with lots of home-canning on the list. We canned salsa and tomato juice. We also put peaches into the freezer. I still have plenty canned. I put some orange juice concentrate and sugar on the sliced peaches for the freezer. It gives it a little orange flavor in the peaches. I fill a lot of small containers so I can put them in Joe's lunch or the children's for school sometimes. This week I will can some more hot peppers. Our favorite are Serranos. They don't seem quite as hot as the jalapenos but I will still can some jalapeno and banana peppers.

    Continued ...
    Aug 25, 2011 7:47 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, August 18, 2011
  • The Amish Cook: Surgery goes well

    Daughter Verena had surgery on her foot yesterday and was admitted to the hospital. Doctors were just in here to see her but are not sure if she will be able to go home today. She had some pain through the night but is now taking some pain medicine and sleeping really well.
    Since the surgery the feeling is back in her right leg and foot. It had been numb from her knee on down since the end of May. We are very excited to see that her feeling is back since the surgery.
    She'll have to wear a hard cast for four to six weeks. The cast comes up to her knee. At nighttime she has to wear a brace on her whole leg to keep it straight. We are also so thankful that her post-concussions have not reoccurred for 2 1/2 months. We pray they are gone for good. Hopefully she is now on the road to permanent good health.

    Continued ...
    Aug 18, 2011 8:23 am 1 Photo