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08/06/2007The Amish CookMaking pizza for some good causesAll 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. Daughter Elizabeth, 13, is getting around with crutches since Saturday evening. She has a badly sprained ankle. I was relieved when the X-rays didn't show a break. This is so hard on her, as she is used to being active. Also on the injured list: My sister Susan was off work for a week after hurting her hand at work. It was infected and swollen. She's still under doctor's care but has gone back to work. Last night we had pizza, cupcakes and root beer floats for son Joseph's 5th birthday. He was proud to get all the extra attention and be able to choose the menu for supper. Joe and I had our 14th anniversary on July 15. How could these years slip by so fast? Mother's 71st birthday would have been on July 18. Although she's not here with us anymore, we still will always remember that day. Sister Emma had her 34th birthday on July 19. We enjoyed a barbecue pork chop supper that evening. My cousin, William, and his wife, Cathy, recently gave us a surprise visit. They live about 90 minutes from here. On Friday evening, quite a few people from the community gathered to make 3,000 pizzas for a fundraiser. The funds were for a family in our church district to help them along with their hospital bills. There were four assembly lines going with around 15 people on each line. The "pizza assembly line” was held at the home of a church member. Then there were more people keeping us supplied in the lines with ingredients. I was helping on the "supreme” pizza line, but they also did a "meat lovers” pizza. It took about six hours to do these, but there was work involved before and after, putting together boxes and then afterwards cleaning up to do. It was interesting to see how this works and it shows how many hands can make lighter work. It is even nicer to go help when you know it's for a good cause. Saturday was "delivery day” for all those pizzas. There were 15 drivers hired to go deliver pizzas in this Amish church district and in other nearby Amish church districts. Daughter Elizabeth went with sister Verena on Saturday to help deliver pizzas. Each van was loaded with 200 pizzas. Verena and Elizabeth left around 6 a.m. and came home around 5:30 p.m. It was after Elizabeth was home that she sprained her ankle. I felt sorry that she had to go through pain after being gone all day doing a good deed, but such is life. It could have been worse, and I am thankful it was not a break. Yesterday, the girls and I put up around 20 quarts of pickles. We are enjoying our first tomatoes and sweet corn. We were disappointed to see the raccoons had raided some of our patch already. This is the first year I've had trouble with raccoons. Hopefully, we can keep them away from the next batch coming along. Tomorrow at 5 a.m. we start out to attend the wedding of niece Susan. More on that next week. God's blessings to all! Meanwhile, try this recipe to use fresh strawberries. Frosty Strawberry Squares
Beat together egg whites, berries and sugar for 10 minutes in a large bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large because the mixture will triple in size. Whip cream and fold into mixture. Stir until well-blended. Pour into molds or pan and freeze and least 6 hours. Cut into squares and serve. Delicious! (Editor's note: Consuming uncooked eggs can be a health hazard, though whites are not thought to be as much of a problem as raw yolks.) 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.
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By Lovina Eicher
