Traverse City Record-Eagle

Amish Cook: Guardian angel keeps me safe
A friend once told me I have a guardian angel in the late Elizabeth Coblentz, the original Amish Cook columnist. Time was when I might have cynically dismissed such notions, but after this past week, I'm not so sure. It wasn't one thing, but rather a collection of smaller happenings. The same friend told me that, in life, there are no coincidences. Maybe she's right.
Amish Cook: Fresh veggies are the best
We are having nice rains. This has helped the garden grow. Everything looks like it is doing very well. I planted my third patch of corn and it was up in less than a week.
Amish Cook: Fishing is in the future
Last week, I had a nice birthday. My husband Joe and the children surprised me with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. They had a "3" and "7" candle on it so I only had to blow out two candles. For my birthday gift Joe got me a fishing licensing, fishing pole and a life jacket. This is the first fishing license I have ever had.
Amish Cook: Birthdays mean memories
May 22 was my 37th birthday. During the afternoon I got a nice birthday surprise: I went out to the garden and discovered we have radishes and green onions ready to eat. Yum!
Amish Cook: Ordered trees arrive
Our children were excited when the trees that I had ordered arrived. One is an Empress tree, which is one of the fastest-growing trees in North America. They can grow 12 feet or more in a year reaching a maturity height of 35 to 40 feet. The other two are shrubs. One is an apple blossom and the other is an icicle. It will be interesting to see how well they will grow. We have a lot of trees but none like these.
Amish Cook: Rhubarb makes a very tangy juice
Asparagus is on the menu and rhubarb is taking over. I canned some more rhubarb juice last week. I made up my own rhubarb juice recipe, which I will share with you. I made a few changes to it this year which I like even better than the one I had last year. This is a good tart, tangy juice, but delicious!
Amish Cook: Daughter takes her turn
I am giving Mom a break during this busy spring season of readying the garden. The first garden goodies are already coming up. We have peas, lettuce, radishes, onions and potatoes planted. We were going to plant more on Friday but it rained and the garden was too wet.
Amish Cook: Family pays visit to school
With Joe being off on Friday and it being too wet to plant more in the garden, we decided to take the day off and visit school. The local public school encourages parents to come visit and see how the children are doing in their studies. Joe and I along with Elizabeth, and our two youngest, Lovina and Kevin, all went to the school to visit.
Amish Cook: Dandelions herald spring
We have enjoyed our first few meals of dandelion greens this season. Along with cooked potatoes and bacon, dandelions make for a good meal. Verena, 10, Joseph, 5, and Lovina, 3, have all discovered that they like them too. So far five out of our eight children will eat them.
Amish Cook: McDonald's is a good treat
One day of their spring break I took all eight children into town with the horse and buggy to get groceries, go to the dentist and then to get their eyeglasses adjusted. Six of our children have eyeglasses, so it took quite awhile for them to get all the glasses adjusted. As a treat for going on all these errands, I took them to McDonald's and they were thrilled to do that.
Amish Cook: Surprise! Eleven come to visit
On Saturday evening, we had a surprise when brother Albert, wife Sarah Irene and nine of their 10 children arrived. They had come to visit Jacob and Emma to see how Baby Steven is doing. Albert and family live in another Amish community about 20 to 25 miles from here. It took them almost two hours to come with two buggies.
Amish Cook: Wash has to wait another day
It is a cold, rainy, cloudy March day as I write this. I was hoping to get caught up on laundry today and have a nice afternoon to hang it all out on the lines. But since it is rainy, I decided to skip doing laundry today and am hoping for a nicer day tomorrow. Instead I will try to do some sewing.
Amish Cook: Groundwork for sustainability
(Today's column is written by Kevin Williams, Lovina Eicher's editor.) I have come to the conclusion that the economics of The Amish Cook simply don't work. While newspapers pay a small amount to publish the column each week, it's not enough to cover expenses while paying the author, Lovina Eicher, a worthwhile wage.
Amish Cook: Flu runs through Eichers
Several of our children have been battling sickness lately. Last Saturday evening, we had all our church clothes prepared for everyone and laid out for Sunday morning services, as everyone appeared to be in good health and able to go. By Sunday morning, though, several of the children had come down with the flu.
Amish Cook: Editor fills in for snowbound family
Due to blizzard conditions in the Midwest, mail could not get through and, as best we can figure, Lovina Eicher's column was delayed this week. So, as editor, I'm just going to throw everything Eicher and Amish-related into one column and catch up on some reader questions. We'll be back on track next week.
Amish Cook: Doctor visits, hospital stays
Daughter Lovina is recovering well from her surgery. She had a cyst removed close to her right eyebrow. The doctor did a very good job of hiding the scar under her eyebrow.
Amish Cook: Nine children off to school by 7
I just came home awhile ago from sister Emma and Jacob's house. I went over to add more coal to their stove. Emma and Jacob's children are staying with us while they are at the hospital with their 6&1/2-month old baby, Steven.
Amish Cook: Canning beef messy, worth it
We have been very busy the past few days working up the big beef we recently butchered. I still have quite a bit of meat left to process, but the canned jars now total more than 100 already. How thankful we are for all this meat. I had run out of all home-canned meat except chicken. What a relief to once again be filling jars!
Amish Cook: Yodeling creates 'frivolous' flap
I'd like first of all to take time to explain something. I am aware of a few readers who became upset about the mentioning of yodeling in an earlier column. I want to apologize to anyone who found this against Amish beliefs.
Amish Cook: Dinner for 150? No problem
Church services were held here yesterday, which is always an event that requires a lot of preparation work. We set up the church benches in our basement for the services. The benches, dishes for meals and other supplies needed to hold a service are stored in a wagon that goes from place to place -- wherever the services are going to be held.
Amish Cook: Starting out with broken foot
Daughter Susan had her 12th birthday Jan. 24. We don't have a birthday gift for her yet, but we told her we would get her a bike once it warms up. She was excited when we told her as she has outgrown her old one.
The Amish Cook: Yodeling draws crowd
I remember one visit to Lovina's mother's house shortly after The Amish Cook column began more than 18 years ago. It was a dark and damp September night with a hint of summer's humidity still hanging on. Before I left for home, Elizabeth Coblentz asked if "I'd like a yodel."
Amish Cook: Whole family gets in on yodeling
It is 6:50 a.m. and the five schoolchildren are about to head for school. They all had breakfast and are ready to start another week.
The Amish Cook: New year off to snowy start
It is hard to believe that we are already this far into 2008. These first few weeks of the year always seem like a good time for a fresh beginning and to tackle bad habits. What will the new year have in store for us? May God be our guide and may his great power help us throughout the year.
The Amish Cook: Favorite holiday recipes
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Let's not forget the "reason for the season," which is the birth of Jesus Christ! This week I'm just sharing some of our family's favorite holiday recipes, for Christmas and New Year's.
Amish Cook: Hoping for healthy children during the holidays
It is shortly after 9 a.m. as I write this. The school had a two-hour delay this morning due to the snow. We have drifts of snow everywhere, some up to four feet, from a storm that started Saturday evening. Daughter Elizabeth, 13, shoveled a pass to the road for the schoolchildren. They all went this morning except for Joseph, 5, who didn't have school today since he only goes in the morning. He acted disappointed not to be able to go with them. Now he is singing "Jingle Bells" and his ABCS's at the kitchen table. He is watching me write this column and wondering how I can write so fast.
Amish Cook: Birthday celebrated with deer
Monday, Dec. 10, was daughter Verena's birthday. She was excited because she made cupcakes to take to school and treat her classmates. But then school was canceled due to slick roads and she was disappointed that she couldn't go. I told her that she could still take them the next day.
The Amish Cook: Snowflakes a good distraction
It snowed enough last evening that we have a nice layer of white on the ground. The children were excited to see it snow.
Amish Cook: Good to be home after road trip
We arrived home safe and sound from our Wisconsin trip around 6:30 p.m. Friday. We went to Wisconsin to attend the wedding of my nephew, Ben Shetler, and his bride, Rose Marie. The trip was long but enjoyable.
Amish Cook: Travel takes preparation
Part of our old house is now torn down. Last Friday Joe and my brother-in-law Jacob worked hard to get the windows out, the chimney down and whatever else needed to be done. Our old house was a split-level, so there were two floors to work on getting taken down.
Amish Cook: Help comes from mouths of babes
We are now well into November. Today is brother-in-law Jacob's 35th birthday. We plan to go there tonight in honor of his birthday. His wife Emma will have pizza and ice cream and cake on the menu. We'll also bring along some food, but I'm not sure yet what to make. I'll think of something.
Amish Cook: Cold weather sparks memories
Another week has flown by. Where does the time go? It's a chilly morning as I write this at 4 a.m. The temperature is 36, cold, but not frosty yet.
The Amish Cook: Baking puts a nice scent in the air
Today is Oct. 17, which would be my parents' 50th wedding anniversary if they were still living. Sometimes I let my mind wander and wonder how life would be if they were still here with us. Then I think of our Great Heavenly Father and how He makes no mistakes.
The Amish Cook: Lots to get done
It is a cold, rainy October morning with the temperature down to 47. A brisk wind is blowing, making it feel colder than that, though. Last night, the girls and I picked the last of the tomatoes, green peppers and jalapeños from the garden as I was afraid it might frost.
The Amish Cook: Haystack supper easy for a crowd
After a few 90-degree days, unusual for fall, we have had a cool morning of 50 degrees. Autumn has arrived and its evident with the leaves starting to change colors; some are falling. We plan to do laundry today. Then I need to gather our clothes that we will wear to the wedding tomorrow of our niece, Carol, in Berne, Ind.
The Amish Cook: Stocking up before Jack Frost arrives
My mind wants to wander back five years ago to Sept. 17, to the time when we heard the sad, shocking news of my dear mother's death.
The Amish Cook: Getting in the back-to-school routine
It is a dreary-looking morning. The sky is cloudy and I am wondering if I should do my laundry. We planned to wash curtains and windows today, but I will wait another hour and see what the weather will be. No sense in hanging things outside to dry if they are going to get wet again!
Amish Cook: Keeping busy with chores
Emma's baby Steven is 3 weeks old. We sure are enjoying him. Our little Kevin seems to be accepting his newest cousin and wanted to kiss him. We just make sure we give Kevin a lot of attention also. It is hard to believe that a week from Sunday Kevin will be 2 years old already.
Making pizza for some good causes
All is still quiet and peaceful here at the Eichers this morning. I decided to write this column before waking the children. My husband, Joe, left for work a few hours ago, so there is not much activity in the household right now, which is a perfect time for writing.
Welcoming an addition to the family
We have had an extra full house here the last two evenings because Jacob and Emma's four children have been staying with us. We are all excited to announce the arrival of a 5-pound, 7-ounce boy named Steven Jay to Jacob and Emma.
Older Amish Cook columns »
Read Amish Cook columns from November 2006 to August 20, 2007 here.