Today is Elizabeth's last day of corn detassling for this season. It will be nice to have her home again during the day. I've really missed her help, especially with church services announced to be here in two weeks. We've had a good start in cleaning the house. Sisters Emma and children came one day and we washed some walls, ceilings and a few windows. We also did a big laundry, washing some curtains, quilts, and so forth. I can see a few busy weeks ahead but it will be a relief to have everything clean once again. The girls washed off all my kitchen cabinets one day: that is another big job that takes a lot of time.
Meanwhile, Joe and the boys cleaned out our toolshed. With children it doesn't seem to take long for everything to get disorganized in there. The boys have little hammers and they seem to want to try them out pounding in nails, although they don't always choose the right place to start pounding.
Along with all the cleaning, canning season is also in full swing. We have peaches, tomatoes, and pickles to do this week.
Another day this week, we helped Jacob and Emma butcher their chickens one evening. The work went fast with everyone pitching in to help. We plucked the chickens by hand, which the children enjoy helping with. After the feathers are off, we gut the chickens and clean them and then cut up the meat really good. We clean the chickens by soaking them in dishpans with water, since there are a lot of little feather pieces to remove. We can usually salvage 10 or 11 pieces of chicken from one bird: quarters, breasts, two legs, two thighs, a back piece, and wings to name a few. Then we pack it in freezer bags. I like white meat and most of my children like white. Emma likes her dark meat. I usually put enough in a freezer bag for a meal.
Benjamin, 9, is outside riding our pony, Stormy. One of our neighbors brought over his saddle for Benjamin to use, but he'd rather ride bareback. Benjamin is a horse-lover and he is always out in the barn with the horses. He made a few "holsters" out of baler twine. He was so proud of them that he made a few for his cousin, Jacob Jr. He has a big imagination.
It is dry here and we could use more rain. One day when I drove to town last week we were about a mile from home and it just poured down rain most of the way into town. When I came home later Joe said they didn't even have a sprinkle here. It sure made for a cooler ride for our horse, Itty Bit. I like driving her into town, she is safe and makes good time on the road.
Foremost on our minds today is the passing away of Joe's Uncle Martin, age 65. He suffered quite a bit from that dreadful cancer. This would also be brother-in-law Jacob's uncle. Our sympathy goes to the family. We hope we will be able to attend his funeral, which is tomorrow.
I pulled all my head cabbage from the garden and will be using it to make this salad:
Cabbage Salad
1 gallon shredded cabbage
1 T. salt
1 medium-sized onion, diced up
1 c. green peppers, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1 1/2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. white vinegar
Put shredded cabbage in a dish or pan and spread out until 1 1/2 inches thick. Shake salt over surface of cabbage. Do not stir for one hour. Then add onion, peppers, and celery. Stir well. Then in a medium saucepan bring to boil sugar, vinegar, and oil. Pour over cabbage mixture while still boiling. Refrigerate. Do not stir until cold. Once cold, stir well and store in glass container. Keeps for days in the refrigerator. Stays real crisp.
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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