recipes

Another Busy Week for the Eichers

We have been enjoying the last few weeks of beautiful weather. It cools off at nighttime making it great sleeping weather as well. I canned more V-8 last week, but the garden season is slowing down. I have red beets yet to can into pickled beets. Also, another round of tomatoes that I will can into tomato chunks. Hopefully I can make a big pot of vegetable soup to process into jars. That is always an easy meal when you are in a hurry and time is limited. I have lots of big bags of mixed vegetables left in the freezer from daughter Verena’s wedding so that will be a good way to use those up as well. Grandson Denzel, 3, spent the day with me Friday while Dustin, Loretta, Byron, 2, and Kylie, 8 months went to appointments. Denzel was so proud that he could be here alone. He sure was fun to have around. When Grandpa Joe came home he ran out to greet him chattering away. When Dustin and Loretta came back for him, Byron comes running to hug Denzel. So sweet and precious. Last week we were invited to the wedding of Alan and Brianna. We were unable to attend but we wish them many happy, healthy years together. May God bless them richly. Alan is a co-worker to Joe at the metal and truss shop. Yesterday our church had council meeting (rule church) at our neighbors. Little 4-week-old Brooklyn made her first appearance in church. She did very good and seemed to love the singing. She is 7 pounds now and little Sharlene (daughter Susan and Ervin) weighs 10 pounds. Tomorrow daughter Elizabeth is hosting a Pampered Chef Shower for daughter Verena. It will be held in Verena’s “house”. It will be fun to have the babies both there. Niece Emma will probably be there with her baby Micheal as well. Last week all my daughters spent a day at Verena’s to help her clean windows etc. for the upcoming shower. Sister Verena left on Saturday for Hamilton, Indiana to spend some time with sister Liz and Levi. They are moving into their new house since they had their final inspection okayed. I am eager to see where they live now. One of these days we might get around to go see where it is. It is only over an hour from here, but life is so busy it seems. After church services yesterday, Dustin, Loretta and children, Daniel, Lovina and baby Brooklyn, and Daniel Ray and Verena came here for popcorn. They ended up eating supper before heading for home. Kylie is crawling all over so we had to make sure she doesn’t find any popcorn that was dropped on the floor. I remember so well when my children would start crawling that the first thing I did in the mornings before turning them loose was sweep the floors and make sure everything was childproof. It is so funny how they can spot the smallest crumb or toy on the floor. Joe is driving our 2-year-old horse Jett every night he gets a chance. He seems to be getting more used to all the different things beside the road. Joe likes to drive him on different roads to get him used to other areas. One night a dog came running out, scaring Jett and he dived into the ditch. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep ditch and Joe could drive him out of it and back on the road. On Saturday Joe drove him to daughter Elizabeth and Tim’s house for a longer ride. Cabbage is in abundance now, so I am sharing a delicious soup that calls for cabbage. For more pictures go to my Facebook page, Lovina’s Amish Kitchen.

Read MoreAnother Busy Week for the Eichers

Celebrating Kevin’s 20th Birthday

Twenty years ago, on September 2, our youngest child was born. To celebrate, our whole family came for an outdoor supper. We are now a total of 31. Son-in-law Dustin broasted chicken and made french fries in his double-basket deep fryer. We set up tables in the yard by our walk-out basement and ate out there. We had a campfire going, which felt really good when the sun went down. The children enjoyed gathering sticks and anything they could so they could throw them into the fire. We caught a few using extra napkins just so they could throw it in the fire and watch it burn. Haha! Most of them stayed here for the night, except Daniel Ray and Verena, who left after supper to go to his parents’ for the night. They had plans to gather at Daniel Ray’s uncle and aunt’s on Monday. Joseph and Grace stayed later but then left for home. Of course, Dustin, Daniel, and Lovina are just across the road so that they could go home to their own beds. Denzel and Byron stayed here for the night and slept with Joe and me. Denzel wanted to sleep beside Grandpa. Byron was always moving around, so I moved to the recliner, and he slept much better when he had my space, too. Haha! I’m having pain in my left shoulder and lower back, so the recliner actually feels better after a while. I have an appointment on Friday, and hopefully I can get relief then. I baked a cake for Kevin and it must’ve tasted better than it looked because it was all ate up. I tried my skills at decorating, which I’m not good at.

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Lovina’s family grills 1,000 pounds of chicken

It is almost 8:30 on this cool Monday evening. The temperature is already down to 60°. Our house actually feels chilly. A sign that autumn is just around the corner. Today sister Verena helped me can 22 quarts of vegetable juice (V8). We cooked a variety of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions and garlic together until soft enough to put through my Victoria strainer. Usually I put in celery but I didn’t have any on hand. You can pretty much add whatever you want. I don’t like to add potatoes as I don’t think it’s as good for my husband Joe with him being diabetic. These ingredients already make a good flavor. Saturday was a busy but enjoyable day for our family. Our day started early. We gathered at daughter Loretta and Dustin’s house by 2 a.m. to start grilling a thousand pounds of leg quarters. The chicken was seasoned with a combination of seasonings, then sprayed with a mixture of butter, vinegar and some other ingredients. They mixed it up the night before so I’m not sure what was all in it. No sauce was added but it had a really good flavor. Thirteen grills were set up with Joe and I, son-in-laws Tim, Dustin and Daniel, daughter Verena and Daniel Ray, son Joseph and Grace, and Jake (a brother to Dustin, Daniel and Grace) all helping. We had good teamwork going and less than five hours later we were done. At 7 a.m. son-in-law Ervin, nephew Ben and Crystal, Tim’s sister Dena and Sam came to help deliver the chicken door to door. Daniel Ray and Verena with our friend Jodi also headed out with a cooler of steaming hot freshly grilled chicken to deliver. In three hours the chicken was sold out. This was all for a benefit and donations went to daughter Elizabeth and Tim. Tim and Elizabeth have made living quarters in their garage since they were told by experts to move out of their house. They were all having respiratory issues with Timothy (TJ) needing an inhaler constantly. Since moving out he has rarely needed it. If he goes back into the old house for a few minutes to get something he starts coughing again. Everything they can salvage has to be treated and disinfected a certain way to not drag it into their garage. They weren’t able to keep a lot of their belongings. They had around 5 toxic molds in their house. It’s surprising how fast this mold spreads. We thoroughly cleaned their house for church services one time and a few months later their box spring under their bed was layered with mold. It is nothing fun to deal with. I had no idea what health problems it can cause until seeing this. Tim’s have several air purifiers running in their living quarters now. We have several dehumidifiers in our house run by our solar power. Especially in the basement where it tends to get damp quicker. When the humidity gets high it makes a higher chance of dampness.

Read MoreLovina’s family grills 1,000 pounds of chicken

Welcome Baby Brooklyn and happy 10th anniversary Tim and Elizabeth

Today, August 14, ten years ago, we prepared for our firstborn’s wedding. What a change it was to have the first of our children move away from home. As a mother, I relied a lot on my oldest child, and I could always depend on her. I had a hard time accepting this change. I am truly thankful she married a loving, kind man who has brought her much joy and happiness in the five years they dated and then ten years of marriage. They were blessed with four sweet children, Abigail Elizabeth, age 8 (9 on September 10), Timothy Josiah, age 6, Allison Lovina, age 5, and Andrea Ruby, age 3. Happy anniversary, Tim and Elizabeth! May God grant you many more happy, healthy years together!

Read MoreWelcome Baby Brooklyn and happy 10th anniversary Tim and Elizabeth

Trying to Stay Cool on Hot Humid Days

I should be starting supper but it is so hot and humid again today. I don’t even want to think of cooking. Maybe it’ll cool off when the sun goes down and then I’ll probably make something easy. Today I washed our laundry then also washed Ervin and Susan’s laundry. It is almost dry. I still have a few pieces hanging on the porch. It looked like rain so I didn’t want to take any chances of getting the clothes wet again. 

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Lovina Welcomes Granddaughter Sharlene Lovina

I am excited to announce the birth of our fourteenth grandchild. Sharlene Lovina Yoder was born to Susan and Ervin on July 17th at 6:13 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds 11.8 ounces and 20 inches long. She is greeted by two sisters and four brothers. Sharlene evens out the grandsons and granddaughters for Joe and I. I went along to the hospital to attend the birth. Once again I am amazed at the miracle of birth and how God created such uniqueness. Mother and baby are doing as well as can be expected. Little Sharlene has already won this grandma’s heart. She’s a precious bundle of joy and has plenty of attention from her six siblings. 

Read MoreLovina Welcomes Granddaughter Sharlene Lovina