05/21/2007

Muggy weather kicks up asthma

Luckily, medicine seems to keep it under control

By Lovina Eicher
The Amish Cook
Read past Amish Cook columns here

We are having our first round of hot and humid weather with the temperature soaring up into the 90s one day this past week.

The high humidity has really fired up 20-month-old Kevin's asthma. During the night he started breathing very hard. I kept giving him the treatments yesterday, but they would wear off after awhile.

I finally was concerned enough that I was able to get a ride into town to take him to the doctor, who recommended he go to the hospital for a chest X-ray. They said he had the start of pneumonia.

After getting medication, we were allowed to bring him back home. This morning he seemed so much better. It was a cool night and another cool morning and that helped him too.

Sisters Verena and Susan stayed with the children while we were gone. Everyone was excited we didn't have to stay overnight at the hospital.

Yesterday was Susan's 31st birthday. She will have us over tonight for a haystack supper and cake and ice cream.

Saturday will be Jacob and Emma's youngest child, Benjamin's, fifth birthday. So they will celebrate his special day.

Meanwhile, we have had our grass planted for almost a week. We haven't had more rain than a few sprinkles. We have been watering it in hopes that it will grow faster.

The garden is very dry and also needs to be watered. My garden is now completely tilled and ready to plant. I want to plant some vegetables tomorrow. So far we have planted potatoes, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, radishes, peas, green beans, bed beets and corn. I want to plant zucchini, squash, cucumbers, corn and potatoes. Our radishes, lettuce, peas and onions are growing good.

Asparagus is on the menu a lot and so is rhubarb. I made a batch of rhubarb jam this week. Mom usually put them in jars to seal but I froze mine.

Last night the children found a nice-sized turtle in the yard. They let it loose again after they had admired it for awhile.

Our 70-plus chicks are really growing fast. We feed them starter chicken feed and it really makes them grow. You can already tell which ones are the butchering chickens. They grow so much faster than the laying hens.

Joe plans to get them to the chicken coop tomorrow. They are big enough now to not need extra heat and the weather is a lot warmer.

I had a nice Mother's Day with the children surprising me with two potted flowers to put on the porch. My girls prepared breakfast for Sunday morning. We were joined by Jacob's family before all heading out to a neighboring church district for services. We took two buggies. The weather was really beautiful for the ride.

Try this easy way to use some onions:

Easy Onion Patties

• 3/4 c. flour
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 T. cornmeal
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1-2 t.salt
• 3/4 c. milk
• 2½ c. onion, finely chopped
• Shortening for deep-frying

Mix together dry ingredients, then add the milk. This should make a fairly thick batter. Add onions and mix well. Drop batter by spoons into hot fat. When golden on one side (about 3-4 minutes), turn them and flatten into patties. Fry until golden on the second side. Drain on paper towels.

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.