Amish Cook: On Snowy Days, Family Enjoys Staying Home

So I kept them home, but they sure aren't acting sick now and are as lively as ever. They keep asking if they can go outside and make snowmen.
Before the snow struck, we finally got most of our leaves raked up Saturday afternoon. It was a nice day and the temperatures reached the 40s.
The children laid a canvas onto the ground and we raked the leaves on top of it. They pulled it to the garden and emptied it there. The children made quite a few trips back and forth and had fun while doing the work.
I enjoyed spending the time outside raking leaves. It is refreshing to get outside away from the cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry.
Sunday morning when we awoke, we were glad we had raked the leaves. It was snowing and the ground is now covered with several inches. We had a little sleet so it was icy, making the children's sleds pull very easily.
The children spent a lot of the day outside making snowmen and pulling each other around on the sleds. It wasn't our Sunday to go to church, and with Joe still battling a bad cough we decided to stay home instead of visiting another church district.
After everyone was done outside, Joe and I helped the oldest girls practice their German, helping them read out of a German Bible. It is always such a blessing to be able to read God's own words.
(Editor's note: The Amish speak a dialect of German at home as their first language. Also, the Old Order Amish hold church services every other Sunday. On the Sunday they don't have church, they are encouraged, but not required, to attend services in neighboring communities).
A few cars lost control and ended up in the ditch by our house yesterday. Roads were very icy in some places. We were thankful to hear that nobody was hurt from those incidents.
Daughter Verena, 10, thinks she should warn the school bus driver about the slippery spots on the roads. I told her I'm sure he knows to be careful.
Verena went outside before the bus was due to arrive and came back in to tell us she thinks there are deer tracks on the porch steps. Joe and I went out to investigate and lamb salad recipe discovered it was only our dog Rover's tracks. Joe didn't get too much deer-hunting done this past week since he is still not feeling well.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day. We have entered December already. It is hard to believe we are in the last month of 2008.
On Thanksgiving Day, we just had a relaxing time staying at home and being with family. On Friday, however, we went over to sister Emma's house so Joe could help her husband Jacob put vinyl siding on their new building.
We left in our horse-drawn buggy for Emma's around 6 a.m. and when we arrived we prepared a meal of 'breakfast burritos.' Then the men went out and finished working while Emma and I prepared a 21-pound turkey for a middle of the day meal.
I stuffed the turkey with dressing before putting it in the oven. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, potato salad, cheese and salad fingers merchandise homemade bread.
For dessert Emma and I baked apple and pecan pies. Cinnamon rolls and chocolate and vanilla pudding also were on the menu.
A reader in Shamokin Dam, Pa., asked me for my meatloaf recipe. This is one I use frequently with good results.
HOMEMADE MEATLOAF
112 pounds of ground beef
12 pound of bulk sausage
2 eggs
1 cup of quick oats
1 medium onion, chopped
14 cup milk
12 teaspoon pepper
114 teaspoon salt
13 teaspoon celery salt
12 tablespoon chili powder
12 cup ketchup
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together except for the ketchup. Shape into a round loaf and place in a 8- by 8-inch square pan. Brush a good coat of ketchup on loaf.
Bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 45 minutes and then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Lovina Eicher, 37, is an Old Order Amish homemaker who lives with her husband and cucumber salad dressing eight children in rural Michigan. For more information about Amish cookingculture, visit amishcookonline.com. Readers with culinary or cultural questions can write Lovina Eicher, Oasis Newsfeatures, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, Ohio 45042.

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