Dear readers,
My name is Lovina Eicher, and I am an Old Order Amish writer and cookbook author (yes, we really do get around by horse and buggy and aren’t connected to electricity!) I was born on May 22, 1971, to very dear parents Ben and Elizabeth Coblentz. I was raised on a farm in Geneva, Indiana, along with my five sisters and two brothers. Our parents have both passed away. They have left me a legacy of great memories I will always treasure.
I was a young girl at home when my mother started penning the “Amish Cook” newspaper column in 1991. She wrote that column until her sudden death in 2002, and then I picked up writing it. The column is now called “Lovina’s Amish Kitchen.” The past columns written by my mother, then by me, are very much like a diary. Sometimes I read through them and see things I wrote about the children that I would have otherwise forgotten. Our children like to read through them sometimes, too. Ever since they were born, they have had someone writing about them!
I have been married for almost 32 years to my husband, Joe. We feel blessed to be parents to eight sweet, wonderful children. Elizabeth, 30, is married to Tim, and they have four children: Abigail, 8; Timothy, 6; Allison, 5; and Andrea, 3. Susan, 29, is married to Ervin, and they have six children: Kaitlyn, 8; Jennifer, 7; Isaiah, 6; Ryan, 5; Curtis, 5; and Ervin Jr., 1. Loretta, 24, is married to Dustin, and they have three children: Denzel, 2; Byron, 1; and Kylie, 3 months. Joseph, 22, is married to Grace. Lovina, 20, is married to Daniel. Verena, 27, Benjamin, 25, and Kevin, 19, still live here with Joe and me. Verena has a special friend, Daniel Ray.
Susan was married first to Mose, and they had Jennifer and Ryan. Mose died from injuries in an automobile accident on his way to work with his driver, Dan. Dan was killed instantly. This was a very tragic time for our family, and we will always have fond memories of dear Mose. Life must go on, and several years later, Susan married a widower, Ervin, who had three children with his first wife, Sarah. She died from breast cancer three months before Mose died. Ervin was left to mourn with three children, Kaitlyn, Isaiah and Curtis. After Ervin and Susan’s marriage, Ervin Jr. joined their family. This wasn’t easy, but the couple found comfort in each other, and they have become a very well-blended family. They will never forget their first loves.
Over 21 years ago, Joe and I moved to southeastern Michigan from our Indiana home. We are now members of the Old Order Amish church here in Michigan. God has blessed us richly. We want to live our lives honoring God for sending Jesus Christ as our savior.
We hosted church services at our home three times in March. Each family takes a turn hosting church services and will furnish the lunch. I ended up with three turns because I switched with someone, and Loretta and Dustin used our pole barn to host their turn.
A community is divided into districts, with each district having 20 to 25 families. Once a church gets over 40 families, they divide, and a new bishop, two ministers and a deacon are ordained. A new bench wagon is made for the new church, along with new benches. The wagon has all the dishes in it to serve the church luncheon. The menu is usually homemade bread, peanut butter spread, ham, cheese spread or egg salad. Also, homemade pickles, pickled red beets, hot peppers, jelly, cookies, coffee and tea. It is a time of worship and fellowship.
I hope you will continue to enjoy my weekly column in your newspaper. I thank each of you for your support! I will share a recipe each week with my column. The dandelion greens are up everywhere, and my husband Joe keeps reminding me that we haven’t had dandelion salad yet, and before we know it, the yellow flowers will be popping up, making the greens too bitter to use. We use the young greens for the salad. We love the dandelion salad on top of steamed potatoes, along with fresh bacon or ham.
God bless!
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Dandelion Sour Cream Salad
- 4 cups packed young dandelion greens
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
- Sour cream dressing:
- 1/2 cup whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise
- 2 cups of milk
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- Salt to taste
Place the eggs and dandelion greens in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them.
Dressing: Combine whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise with vinegar and mix well, then add milk and salt. I use a shaker bottle or a quart jar to make the dressing. Any unused dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or more.
Variation: Substitute in-season fresh-from-the-garden lettuce or endive or spinach for the dandelion greens.
• 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.