12/04/2006

The Amish Cook

A nice Thanksgiving with sister Emma

By LOVINA EICHER

Special to the Record-Eagle

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving at sister Emma's. Thanksgiving Day is a day to be with family and appreciate the blessings our Heavenly Father has given us throughout the year.

We started for Emma and Jacob's at around 8 a.m. It was really, really foggy and I was on edge until we got there. There was a buggy-car accident on our road, the same road we take to Emma's, recently. So not being able to see well made me nervous.

When we arrived, Emma and I made stuffing for the turkey. I think a turkey tastes so much better if it is stuffed.

In addition to turkey, we had mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, homemade bread and salad. For dessert we had homemade apple and cherry pie, plus Susan's homemade apple bars. After the meal we played some board games and then headed home around 4 p.m. It was a day well spent together, thankful for our family, food and good health. Six-year-old Loretta had to make a poster at school of what she is thankful for and she said, "I am thankful for the food Mom makes us.” They are cute at that age!

The rest of the Thanksgiving weekend was spent working on our house. Joe and a friend finally finished insulating the attic of the new house late last night. It has been a time-consuming job. Joe wants to start the stove again now that we have the attic insulated. We also have a fan now that sets on top of the stove. The heat makes the fan blow the hot air around. Hopefully this will work better now.

This morning Joe gave me a hand in getting my laundry washed. It sure gave me a faster start to the day. The day was beautiful with temperatures in the middle 50s. Joe has been working on getting some manure hauled while it's been this nice. I'm sure it won't be long before the ground freezes for the winter.

We might have to have a new well drilled so hope we find out before the winter weather sets in. Seems sometime it's one headache after another with this house. But I suppose it'll be worth it once we're settled into our new home.

Our human nature tends to let us get frustrated and probably more so when work is slack. So often we carry too much on our own shoulders, forgetting about our great God above who is a help if we turn to him.

Joe and I attended his cousin's funeral last Friday. We saw a lot of his cousins that we don't often get to see, and also uncles and aunts on his mother's side. We also had a short visit with sisters Leah and Liz. We were all anxious to start our journey home.

With the holidays coming, some have written in asking for bread pudding recipes. Try this one:

Bread Pudding

• 2 c. milk, scalded
• 1/4 c. butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. ground nutmeg
• 3 c. soft bread, torn into small pieces
• 1/2 c. raisins

Combine milk and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

Combine eggs, sugar, salt and nutmeg; beat at medium speed of mixer for one minute. Slowly add milk mixture.

Place bread in a lightly greased 1&1/2-quart casserole; sprinkle with raisins and pour batter over all. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until set.

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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/columns/amish.