THE AMISH COOK
BY LOVINA EICHER
It is a very nice sunny day in May. Looks like a promising day to do laundry. Gardens are being put out later than usual this spring because of all the rainy, wet weather recently. We finally managed to get more of ours planted on Friday evening and Saturday. The whole family pitched in and helped. With eight children helping to plant it did not take long. We put out four different varieties of corn. This is the first time I am trying the “Northern Extra Sweet” so we will see how we like it. This is an early corn. Each year I like to put out some Seneca Arrowhead which is also an early season corn. We also put out Bodacious and Incredible corn which will be ready later in the season.
Other vegetables we planted include red potatoes, lettuce, radishes, green beans, peas, red beets, cucumbers, and eight pounds of onions. I still want to plant carrots, zucchini, pumpkins, and watermelon. Then I want to go get my tomatoes, peppers and cabbage plants from the local greenhouse. On our menu now is asparagus and winter onions. Rhubarb is also still in full swing so I hope to get some rhubarb juice canned this week. It will be a busy spring and a lot of cleaning to do preparing for church services which will be held at our home in six weeks. The children have 18 days of school left which excites them.
We attended daughter Lovina’s kindergarten class play on Thursday evening. They all did a wonderful job! Such a cute age to see them sing and act out plays. Meanwhile, I had a Pampered Chef party here on Wednesday and it was a good turn-out for the person giving the presentation. I am receiving a lot of free dishes from Pampered Chef. The item I am most excited about is the 12 inch covered skillet. It will be put to use a lot around here.
Friday evening we had visitors after supper. They were Joe’s sister Loretta, Henry, and family and Joe’s sister Susan and sons. They brought snacks, visited, and just wanted to see how daughter Verena was doing. This past Sunday we attended Communion services which is usually an all day church service. Before we mothers left for home we had to take a wooden cutting board home with us for a Mother’s Day gift. These were all hand made by our bishop. I had another surprise from my children although I think my husband Joe had a helping hand in it. On our porch was a seven piece patio and dining room set with swivel chairs. They all also made cards for me. The words these cards have written on them make me proud to be the mother of these eight precious children. Having a patio set on my front porch was something I had always dreamed about. I remember telling daughter Elizabeth while we were shopping in town how someday I would like something like that on my front porch. When they told me to come on the porch I suspected maybe a potted flower but was really surprised to see this patio set.
My 40th birthday will be on May 22 so my children decided to get my Mother’s Day gift and birthday gift together. I must get busy as tomorrow daughters Susan, Elizabeth, and I am going to help clean a neighbor’s house. We will leave soon after the children head for school so we must get busy with today’s work. We will be giving the house a thorough cleaning, washing walls, cleaning furniture. Joe will not have any work the week of Memorial Day so jobs like this help out.
Try this asparagus brunch casserole. Many people enjoy it either for brunch or breakfast.
PICTURED: LOVINA'S HOMEMADE "ASPARAGUS BRUNCH CASSEROLE."
ASPARAGUS BRUNCH CASSEROLE
4 cups firm white bread cubed
1 to 2 cups of fresh asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1 /2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup crumbled bacon or cubed ham
6 large eggs
1 1 /2 cups milk
1 /4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces of sour cream
In a large bowl toss together bread cubes, asparagus, and 1 cup of cheese. In a small bowl beat together eggs, milk, sour cream and salt. Add to bread mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until golden.
