This is Verena writing. Mom is in the middle of frying chicken for supper. I peeled potatoes that are now cooking for mashed potatoes. I decided it would be a nice surprise for her if I wrote the column and she didn’t have to write it yet tonight.
Daniel Ray and I slept the last few nights in my parents’ house since our place is a little chilly. The door is letting in a lot of air and needs to be replaced. Dad ordered a new one. That will help tremendously with keeping the heat inside. Daniel Ray is currently out there putting insulation on the wall separating “our house” part from the rest of the pole barn. That should already help keep it more warm. A bigger wall heater will also be installed. We love our little part out in the pole barn. It feels like home for us.
Staying here with Dad and Mom brings back so many memories. My old room isn’t the same, but it still feels like my room. I forgot how many memories were made in this house. It feels so nice to sleep in my parents’ house again. It makes me feel as if I’m still under their care and have no worries of my own. Although I am so happy to be married to Daniel Ray now. He is such a blessing to me.
On Thanksgiving Day, Daniel Ray and I hosted a mystery menu dinner here for both sides of our family. Not everyone was able to attend but it was a nice day for those who attended. Everyone pitched in to bring food. My sister Elizabeth, sister in-law Mary Kay, sister Loretta, and her husband Dustin, Daniel Ray, and I served. Everyone had to sit at the table, and each person got a menu. Only we servers knew what each item on the menu was. For example, we put the potatoes as “The gravy bomb.”
The children enjoyed it just as much as the adults. Only six items were allowed to be picked. My niece Kaitlyn, age 9, ended up with three drinks, gravy, a napkin, and a spoon. A few of them ended up with no silverware. It was really funny for everyone and quite an interesting dinner. Everyone was allowed to fix their own plate once we were done with all the fun.
The women helped me in the house prepare all the food. The men were outside around the grill while Daniel Ray grilled the turkeys. Mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, dressing, dinner rolls, mixed vegetables, salad, pumpkin roll, pumpkin pies, peanut butter pie, cherry pie, pumpkin whoopie pies, and pudding are what we had for our Thanksgiving meal. For the drinks, we had coffee, punch, lemonade, and water.
Daniel Ray’s sister Anna, age 13, and Kenneth, age 12, stayed with us from Tuesday to Thursday. They were a big help to us. Daniel Ray’s sister, Mary Kay, age 23, came off to our place on Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Thursday. We played lots of games and told lots of stories.
Sunday afternoon, Daniel Ray and I went to Dustin and Loretta for lunch. Brother Joseph and Grace, also sister Lovina and Daniel, were there as well. Daniel, Lovina, Joseph, Grace, and Loretta’s two boys spent a lot of time outside sledding. They tied a sled behind Daniel and Lovina’s horse and took turns riding around on a sled. It looked fun, but I was okay sitting inside and watching out the window. The snow looks nice from the inside looking out, but that’s about it for me. Haha
I babysat Brooklyn, 3 months old, for Lovina while she was out sledding. Brooklyn kept smiling at me and left me to rock her to sleep. Denzel, age 3, and Byron, age 2, took turns holding her with my help. Denzel held Brooklyn while she was asleep. Kylie, age 10 months, kept trying to wake Brooklyn. Denzel kept telling Kylie, “No, Brooklyn sleep.” The interaction was so cute.
I will share Mom’s Dressing recipe I used on Thanksgiving. You can add chicken broth with meat instead of water, but I did it as the recipe says, and everyone seemed to love it.
You all take care, and God Bless!
DRESSING
10 slices of bread, crumbled
2 tablespoons chicken-flavored soup base
2 cups hot water (potato water can be used for extra flavor)
4 eggs
¼ cup diced carrots
¼ cup diced celery or celery leaves
¼ cup chopped onions
Instructions:
Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a casserole dish or cake pan.
Combine: Dissolve the chicken-flavored soup base in the hot water.
Mix: In a large bowl, add the crumbled bread, eggs, carrots, celery, and onions. Pour the dissolved soup base mixture over the ingredients and mix well.
Bake: Pour the mixture into the greased dish. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until set and golden brown.
• Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, “The Cherished Table,” “The Essential Amish Cookbook” and “Amish Family Recipes,” are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, P.O. Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply), or email questionsforlovina@gmail.com and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.