Traverse City Record-Eagle - Lovina Eicher: The Amish Cook

Amish Cook: Looking forward to deer season
Shotgun season starts in two weeks so Joe is getting excited to try his luck again and is trying to find the perfect spot. Deer meat comes in handy and can be used in many different ways. I especially enjoy homemade deer jerky and summer sausage from the meat.
Amish Cook: Illness hits household
Editor's Note: Five in the Eicher home have fevers, including Lovina. She was unable to complete a column for this week. We are wishing her a quick recovery for next week. This week I am sharing two of my favorite recipes that Lovina wrote for inclusion in "The Amish Cook's Baking Book," available in stores now.
Amish Cook: 41 family members gather
Yesterday we had brunch at Emma and Jacob's house. Brother Albert's family, his daughter Elizabeth, her husband and two children and Albert's three oldest sons and their special friends all came along. This gathering was held so Albert's family could meet little Marilyn Jane.
Amish Cook: Get the coal stove burning
It has turned cold enough that my husband Joe will probably start the coal stove tonight. I don't like to think of that extra chore to take care of the stove, but that is just part of winter around here. Joe usually takes care of emptying the ash pans and adding the coal in the evening. Then on the days when he goes to work I usually add coal in the morning.
Amish Cook: Up before 3 a.m.; work until 8
2:45 a.m. We are up earlier than usual; 3:10 a.m. Joe has left for work at his factory job and I go back to bed for a few hours; 6 a.m. Time to get the children up and ready for school.
Amish Cook: Harvest, can, repeat
I like to can hot peppers each year because they get mushy if kept longer. I will use the peppers on homemade pizzas, in casseroles and diced with eggs and potatoes. I also put them out when we have church services if people want them on sandwiches.
Amish Cook: Delicious fish cut grocery bill
I fix fish in different ways; sometimes I bread it and deep fry it, other times I roll it in eggs and flour and fry it. Joe likes it best when I just dip it in eggs, roll the fish in flour and pan-fry it. I like it best breaded and deep fried.
Amish Cook: Garden comes after camping
We had some nice warm days this last while. The weather made it nice for our recent camping trip. We had three enjoyable days and two nights at a nearby lake. My sister Emma, husband Jacob, and family were also there and we stayed in cabins.
Amish Cook: Use last of zucchini in pie
We have just enjoyed a "breakfast supper" consisting of fried eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast, butter, rhubarb jam, tomatoes and hot peppers. Since my husband Joe is often so rushed in the mornings before work he often doesn't get to eat this type of breakfast. Enjoying a leisurely meal of breakfast foods in the evening is a real treat for Joe.
The Amish Cook: Canning season
This past week we were busy canning again. It is definitely canning season now! We tackled the three bushels of peaches we have and ended up canning 35 quarts and freezing the rest. We canned 34 pints of homemade salsa. This week I hope my tomatoes do well enough to make "V-8" juice.
Amish Cook: Staying calm when kids leave
Daughters, Elizabeth, 15, and Susan, 13, attended the detasseling picnic Friday evening, around eight miles from here. They took the horse and buggy. I still have to get used to the idea of seeing them drive that far alone.
Amish Cook: Publishing glitches, strides
(Editor's note: Lovina Eicher is taking this week off to prepare for church services to be held in her home. Today's column is written by her editor, Kevin Williams; Lovina will return next week.) The process of getting The Amish Cook column from notebook paper to newspaper used to be much more involved. In the column's first year, back in 1991, I was 18 years old and the internet and e-mail were, for most people, still relegated to geeky corners of universities.
Amish Cook: Church isn't about cleaning
Daughters Elizabeth, 15, and Susan, 13, are putting in another day of detasseling corn. Susan was hired last week after a few others quit. She was glad to get a chance to earn some money. It has been very hot, though, and they put in a good day's work.
Amish Cook: Lots of cleaning, cooking ahead
Jacob and Emma had church services at their house yesterday. It was a very comfortable day. Services were actually held not in their house, but in a newly built shed that can comfortable fit our whole congregation. Joe and I had traded turns with Jacob and were expecting to hold services here at our house at the end of September. Due to some misunderstanding, though, church services were set instead for here in two weeks. I am a bit overwhelmed to think about all the cleaning we have to do.
Amish Cook: No 'R' in August
I have heard always that you only use your horseradish in months with an "R" in them. Otherwise they say you shouldn't use your horseradish. I am wondering if this is because of May, June, July and August being the warmest months of the year usually.
Amish Cook: Swimming lessons help all
A friend of ours took our children to the nearby lake for another swimming lesson. Most of the days have been too cool this summer. A few of our children can swim now. We really appreciate the time this lady is taking to teach them.
Amish Cook: Storms are scary, rain welcome
An early morning thunderstorm held us up from starting out for their place sooner. We were very thankful, though, for the rain we got. Son Joseph, 6, is very scared of thunderstorms, even more so since lightning recently struck a nearby Amish house and barn.
Amish Cook: Keeping the house clean
The next day, we went to church services in the morning. In the evening, Joe and I made "campfire stew" over the open fire. We ate outside again, which sure keeps the house a lot cleaner. I don't really have a recipe for campfire stew but we usually add beef or pork stew meat.
Amish Cook: Friends have graduation dinner
Daughter Elizabeth invited 14 of her friends for a graduation dinner to celebrate the end of her school years. Sister Emma, Jacob and family came to help us prepare the food. Joe and Jacob grilled 100 pounds of chicken and we also made a 20-quart kettle of chili soup over the open fire.
Amish Cook: Saturday a busy day for Eichers
This is a daily diary of a recent Saturday here at the Eicher home
Amish Cook: 15 during strawberry season
Today, daughter Elizabeth celebrated her 15th birthday. It doesn't seem possible that Elizabeth, our eldest child, is 15 already. As parents, Joe and I have a hard time seeing our children grow older. All we can do is hope and pray that life will be kind to them and that, most of all, they will always believe in their heavenly father.
Amish Cook: Funeral means visits with family
We spent the past weekend in Indiana. My Aunt Barbara's funeral was held on June 6. It was exactly one month after her sudden death. Uncle Henry was dismissed from the hospital June 3 after being admitted May 8. The funeral had been postponed until he was dismissed from the hospital.
Amish Cook: No homework, much housework
It is a relief to think that for three months the children won't be coming home with homework. When I went to school we hardly had any homework until we were in the fifth grade or older. Now even the kindergartners have some kind of homework.
Amish Cook: Layered Asparagus Casserole
We were very surprised to hear earlier in the week that brother Albert and wife Sarah Irene were bringing in dinner for us today. They brought a delicious meal consisting of chicken, which Joe and Albert grilled, and also potato casserole, corn, salad, dill pickles, cake and ice cream.
Amish Cook: Birthdays heralded, or not
Today my daughter Lovina is 5 years old. It is so hard to believe she will be going to school this fall. Speaking of birthdays, I am not as excited about having mine on May 22. I will be 38 so in two years I will hit the big 40 and I used to think that was old.
Amish Cook: Asparagus bread time
Last week turned out completely different than I had planned. I had surgery on Friday that I didn't know I was going to have until late Wednesday afternoon. The surgery was to have an abscessed cyst removed that had given me a lot of pain over the past few weeks.
Amish Cook: Horses love springtime
Our horses had a nice treat when my husband Joe opened our gate to let them back into the pasture field. It looks like they are enjoying the green grass after a winter of eating hay. With warmer weather here we will also start the extra summer job of mowing grass now.
Amish Cook: Spring goodies are everywhere
This column will wrap up my writing for April already. Time seems to slip away too fast. There are only five more weeks of school for the children before the term ends. Right now they are outside waiting for the bus. It is a nice, breezy Monday morning and everyone wants to be outside. It sure is easier when I don't have to pack their coats along.
Amish Cook: Rhubarb is ready
It is once again the time of year that rhubarb will again begin finding its way into all kinds of different dishes. My rhubarb looks big enough to make a few things already. I always enjoy seeing the rhubarb peep out of the ground and seeing the leaves begin to uncurl.
Amish Cook: Food helps in difficult times
My husband Joe's father, 70, passed away peacefully April 8 at 7:15 a.m. He is survived by four sons and eight daughters, eight brothers and six sisters, 52 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Amish Cook: Joe's dad takes a turn
We have been having a difficult week with my husband Joe's 70-year-old dad having been in the hospital for 10 days already. Friday the doctor called for a meeting with the family. It was very hard on the family to hear that there is nothing more they can do for him.
Amish Cook: Spring break, spring cleaning
The five scholars just left for school. Hard to believe we are getting closer and closer to the end of another school year. Next week the children will be home for spring break. I am looking forward to it almost as much as they are. I hope to get some spring cleaning done while they are home, especially their bedrooms.
Amish Cook: Barefoot boys are signs of spring
This is another lovely springlike day. The temperature is in the mid-40s, but the air makes it feel a bit chillier. We've appreciated the nicer days recently for drying laundry. Daughter Elizabeth is doing her arithmetic while Lovina, 4, and Kevin, 3, are playing church. Their sweet voices can really harmonize well as they sing hymns together.
Amish Cook: Butchering? Make pon hoss
We are done with the hog butchering around here for another year, but I thought I'd talk about it one last time. Some readers have written letters asking for a bit more detail. So here is the step-by-step process for making homemade "pon hoss," a fried dish we make using some of the leftover hog meat.
Amish Cook: No liver in liver pudding
Monday morning has arrived much more quickly than I would have preferred. We are now on daylight savings time again, which means that the children left for school while it was still dark outside. They were getting used to it being daylight when they left. I wish the time would stay the same all the time, either fast or slow. I don't like changing the clocks back and forth.
Amish Cook: Pon Hoss a highlight
It is hard to believe that we have entered the third month of 2009. We are again experiencing some single-digit temperatures, which is unusual for this late into the winter. This kind of cold weather makes one long even more for spring. I do hope it will stay cold, although not too cold, for Saturday. Our plans are to butcher three hogs here at our place.
Amish Cook: Cutting up 1,400 pounds of beef
Our week started out by helping Emma and Jacob cut up 1,400 pounds of beef. Our five schoolchildren were home from school for their midwinter break, so they were also on hand to help. My husband Joe worked only a half-day at the factory, so he was able to be there by mid-morning to help us. We sure were glad for extra pairs of hands. Sisters Verena and Susan also assisted with helping us cut up the meat.
Amish Cook: Lard cakes were tradition
My editor and his wife and a friend were here this week testing recipes for our upcoming baking book. It was three busy days of baking. One of the recipes we made was for lard cakes. I hadn't made these in a long time, but we always used to fix them on hog-butchering day.
Amish Cook: Warm weather brings spring fever
Daughter Verena, 11, and son Benjamin, 9, went back to school today. This is their first day back since their tonsil surgeries. I hope they will be able to survive the day at school. They are still a little weak and doctor's orders are for another week of no running or jumping. This has proven to be a difficult task for Benjamin.
Amish Cook: Tonsil-less kids need right dish
The tonsil surgeries of daughter Verena, 11, and son Benjamin, 9, were a success. But now comes the pain after the surgery.
Amish Cook: Coats, boots worth it
The last week in January is already upon us. We are still having single-digit temperatures. All of this cold weather makes me ready for spring, but I need to be patient and accept the weather that God sends.
Amish Cook: Daughter helps out busy mom
Hi, I am Elizabeth, Lovina's oldest daughter. I am 14. Mom has been very busy this last while so I decided to give her a break and write this week's column. We have been having cold weather out here.
Amish Cook: Lots of snow, lots of shoveling
It has been snowing for the last few days. They said we would get around nine inches, but I think we have more than that already. The snow does make for some nice scenery outside.
Amish Cook: New Year's for 69 is fun
We started our New Year's with our family gathering at our house. Since my dear parents are departed, our siblings take turns from youngest to oldest to host the annual gatherings. With the total having reached 69 it can seem a bit overwhelming to have everyone over, but it all proves worth the work.
Amish Cook: Children are happy with gifts
A brand-new year is before us. Daughters Verena, 11, and Loretta, 8, had fun preparing breakfast for our family this morning with some help from me.
Amish Cook: Snow cancels one big party
The busy Christmas season is upon us. May everyone enjoy the Christmas season but also remember God's amazing love showing through his son, Jesus. Christmas week has brought us frigid temperatures, with the mercury staying right on the zero mark most of the day.
Amish Cook: The oven stays busy
It is laundry day again, which means it's Monday. I always like to write this column before I go to the basement to start washing clothes. When Joe left for work this morning at 3:45 a.m. it was raining and the temperature was over 50. Now, at 8 a.m., the temperature has dropped to 25 degrees and it is very windy. I am wondering if we will get some snow with this.
The Amish Cook: Parties and colds
We received quite a few inches of snow over the weekend. We had to take the buggy through some good-sized snow drifts on our way to church. My husband Joe and sons Benjamin and Joseph stayed home while the five girls, Kevin and I went to church. Joe is still not feeling well so I didn't want him out in the cold.