Tag Archives: grilling

A fun day out for Amish garage sales

 Son Joseph’s ride is late, so I decided to write this column while we wait. Some of the neighbors are without electricity from some storms that blew down trees. We didn’t get much of anything here. We had a little rain which we needed badly.

Yesterday was a long, tiring, but fun day! My sister Emma and her daughters, my five daughters and I, and also grandson Ryan and granddaughter Allison went to the Amish garage sales in a nearby community. Our driver had a big van and pulled a trailer to put all our “goodies” in. My granddaughters Abigail, 3, and Jennifer, 2, and grandson T.J., 17 months, stayed at my sisters Verena and Susan’s house while we went to the garage sales. Niece Emma’s little 16-month-old Jessica also stayed at my sisters’, so they had four children, age 3 and under, to keep them more than busy. Son Kevin and nephew Steven stayed there too, so they could help with the little ones.

We found lots of nice bargains and came home with many weeks’ worth of sewing done. I have a hard time not buying some clothes for my little grandchildren. We probably went to 25 garage sales or more (we kind of lost count). The trailer was filled with furniture, clothes, groceries, etc. when we came home. Then came the fun of unloading everything at the right house. I was tired and so was everyone else. My husband Joe made supper on the grill, so I was glad to not have to do that after the long day. It was a fun day spent together and worth our time!

After a fun day out, Lovina enjoys her husband Joe cooking supper on the grill.
Photo: Grant Beachy/©MennoMedia

We want to go over to Mose and daughter Susan’s house today and help her start packing up her dishes, etc. Mose wants to remodel the whole house, put new siding and windows on the outside and fully remodel the inside. They have an old farm house, and it seems one repair after another comes up. They decided to just empty most of the house and dig in and see what needs repairing. There will be a lot of dust, so they will make their living quarters in our pole barn part where we host church services as their house gets a makeover. It will be so much nicer once it’s all done. They have a hard-to-heat house in the winter months, so this should help tremendously. We sure aren’t going to complain to have Jennifer and Ryan living next door to us for several weeks. I can already see Jennifer coming walking over here. She likes to act bigger than her age and can really roll her eyes when you tell her something she doesn’t like to hear. So precious!

On Sunday, June 14, our firstborn Elizabeth will have her 26th birthday. Time does have a way of slipping by. We wish her a Happy Birthday and many more happy healthy years. She is a busy mother of three children with the oldest being 3.

Thursday is the first wedding of the year in our community. I am so glad we are finally out of the lockdown here in Michigan. Our five oldest here at home are with the youth group and plan to attend the 7:00 p.m. supper at the wedding. It is being held in our local community building. A lot of the youth have not been together since March due to the singings, weddings, and Saturday evenings at the community building being cancelled.

Daughter Lovina’s special friend Matthew is spending several weeks with his parents in Montana. After not having seen most of his family for six months, this will be a happy reunion! Matthew’s brother and two sisters were in Michigan for a wedding, so they traveled back with Matthew by train. That was several days of riding the train. Glad they made it home safely!

This week I’ll share a recipe for Caramel Pecans. A reader had requested it, and I didn’t have one. Another reader kindly sent one to me. Thank you! Stay safe, stay healthy and God bless!

 

Caramel Pecans

1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups halved pecans

In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stir and melt brown sugar and water until rapidly bubbling. Add pecans, stirring thoroughly to coat. Stir and cook 3-4 minutes until fragrant and most of the liquid has evaporated. (But not so long that the sugars burn.)

Spread pecans in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet using a fork to separate them. Let stand at room temperature about an hour until fully cooled, set, and dry. (Pecans will be slightly tacky to the touch.)

Break apart any pecan clusters and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, in the refrigerator for several weeks, or up to two months in the freezer.

 

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available now from the publisher, Herald Press, 800-245-7894. Readers can write to Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email  LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.

 

Easter, a wedding and the first book signing headline Lovina’s week

Everyone has gone to bed and I am still here at the kitchen table, writing. I think I am almost caught up in answering all my reader mail. The ones I have left need a recipe they lost. The recipes take time to write out, so please have patience with me. Sometimes my friend, Ruth, prints them out for me, which makes it so much easier.

Last Friday was the wedding day for niece Emma and Johnny, at my brother Albert’s. My job was to help with the mashed potatoes. On the menu were mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, dressing, barbecued chicken, corn, lettuce salad, cheese, frozen mocha dessert, fruit salad and angel food cake, as well as pecan, peanut butter, raspberry and ground cherry pies.

My husband, Joe, helped grill more chicken in the afternoon. Joe and I also served punch to the family, cooks and youth in the evening. It was an enjoyable but long day. Daughter Verena was a tablewaiter. Daughters Elizabeth and Susan were also cooks. In the evening Timothy, Elizabeth, Mose and Susan were evening servers.

Sunday was Easter day. I hope everyone had a blessed Easter. Our family was here for the day.

Friday in two weeks is the wedding of Jake and Lisa (Dustin’s brother). I have three suits to sew before then.

Yesterday I signed copies of my new cookbook, The Essential Amish Cookbook, in Shipshewana, Ind. at J. Farvers bookstore. Mark was a great host and so were his employees. They made a lot of the recipes from my new cookbook, and everyone was able to taste them.

A list of the upcoming book signings will be listed is at the end of this column. I look forward to meeting with many readers at the book signings. Thanks to all the readers who are buying the new cookbook. I saw it for the first time in print yesterday. It turned out really nice! Lots of hard work went into this book but seeing the finished product makes it worth all the time invested.

A list of upcoming book signings  is below

Sat. April 29:  9 a.m. – noon – South Holland, Ill.
Peace Church (Where Ruth goes to church and many women helped test recipes from there)
833 East 168th Street
South Holland, IL 60473

Sat. May 6: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Warsaw, Ind.
Dorothy’s Hallmark/The Party Shop
3418 Lake City Hwy
Warsaw, IN 46580

Sat. May 13: 10 a.m. – noon – Fort Wayne, Ind.
Barnes & Noble –Glenbrook Square
4201 Coldwater Rd B-01
Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Fri. May 19: 6 – 8 p.m. Goshen, Ind.
Better World Books
215 S Main St
Goshen, IN 46526

Sat. May 20: 12 noon to 3 p.m.  Mishawaka, Ind.
University Park Mall
Barnes & Noble 2358
6501 North Grape Road
Mishawaka, IN 46545

Sat. May 27: 10:00 a.m. to noon. Battle Creek, Mich.
Barnes & Noble
Lakeview Square Mall
5701 Beckley Rd., Lakeview Square
Battle Creek, MI 49015

Sat. June 3: 1-4 p.m.
The Blue Gate Restaurant
105 E Middlebury St
Shipshewana, 46565

Berne, Ind. Swiss Days:
Faith & Life Books –
July 28 5-7 pm
Jilaine Graber
159 W. Main St
Berne, IN  46711

 

I will share a recipe from the cookbook for Hobo Suppers. We make these a lot during the hot summer evenings so we don’t have to have any heat in the house to cook.

Vegetables and meats are chopped and put into foil wrapper for cooking in gas grill, oven, or campfire, (depending on fire regulations and conditions in your area). Photo by Lucas Swartzentruber-Landis.

Until next week . . . God bless!

Hobo Suppers

10 red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup green peppers, diced
2 cups carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 (16-ounce) package smoky links or 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into pieces
salt and pepper, as desired
cheese, sliced

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except the cheese. Divide the mixture into the amount you want for each serving, placing individual servings on sheets of aluminum foil. Fold foil over, wrapping tight, and set on grill for 10 minutes on each side.

Open up foil; if potatoes are soft, add a slice of cheese. (If potatoes need more time to cook, close pouches and return to grill before adding cheese.) Rewrap and grill a few more minutes until cheese is melted.

Alternatively, can be cooked in oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then turned over and cooked for 10 additional minutes. Check doneness of potatoes before adding cheese.

Lovina Eicher is an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. She is the co-author of three cookbooks; her new cookbook, The Essential Amish Kitchen, is available from 800-245-7894. Readers can write to Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply) or at LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org.