My daughter Loretta and her sons Denzel and Byron were here today after her husband Joe and the boys went to work. My daughter Verena left last night and went to her daughter Susan and Irvin's house. Susan is going to help prepare for the wedding of Irvin's brother Steven, which is scheduled for Thursday, so Verena is staying with the five older children today.
I am still getting used to not having my daughter Lovina at home in the mornings. We miss her here but wish her and Daniel all the best. It feels different to see her sitting with the ladies at church instead of with the young girls.
Denzel is snuggled up with Loretta on the love seat. He looks tired, but he's here watching me write this column. Byron is talking to himself in his crib. I think he falls asleep talking to himself. Denzel turns two tomorrow (July 10th). He's a busybody and has already started to get into the nuisance of being a two-year-old. Haha! But he's also a spoiled brat and acts so innocent when he's doing something naughty.
Yesterday, my son Benjamin came home from work and buttered some bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Benjamin walked away to do something else and came back to find one slice of bread missing. Denzel spotted the buttered bread and thought it would make a delicious snack. Denzel loves buttered bread (and sometimes jelly). We couldn't help but laugh when we saw Benjamin's bread disappear.
Sunday service was held at a neighbor's house. My family, my sister Emma and her son Jacob, my nephew Benjamin, and Crystal and his son came here after lunch. We all ended up staying until dinner. The men grilled a chicken, and we served it with mashed potatoes, noodles, corn, cheese, homemade bread, butter, strawberry jam, ice cream, and cookies. We all had a lovely afternoon and evening. We all ate outside on the big L-shaped porch. We've eaten on this porch many times. I love porches.
The zucchini in my garden is doing really well. Last night I sauteed some slices of zucchini with some green beans, onions and peppers in olive oil. It was delicious!
The banana peppers are doing well and I had them stuffed with cream cheese and shredded cheese and wrapped in bacon for their first meal. I grilled them and the sweet corn is almost ready. Green beans, peas and veggies from the garden have made meal planning a lot easier.
Last week on July 3rd, Ervin and Susan invited our family and Moses' family to gather at the cemetery to celebrate the placement of the headstone on Moses' grave. Our entire family, Moses' parents, Moses' three siblings and their families were in attendance. It brought back memories of the tragic day in December 2020 when Moses passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident on his way to work. Rest in peace Moses. You will always hold wonderful memories in our hearts.
Afterwards, we invited everyone over for hot dog sandwiches and snacks, but Moses' family couldn't make it. Our whole family gathered and ate on the big porch again. We put an extra table and chairs out there so there's plenty of room to sit and eat when everyone gets home. It's also nice to feel the breeze on the porch on a warm summer day.
On the evening of July 4th, Joe and I went out to the lake with Dustin, Loretta and our boys. They went on a pontoon. It was a lot of fun and our little boys loved it. Joe helped Denzel fish, but he was afraid to catch a fish. We grilled ribs, bacon wrapped peppers and other picnic food. It was so relaxing that we didn't realize it was already 11:30 pm. But we slept in the next morning. Joe had three days off last week. I haven't done much extra work since we got married, other than yard work and daily chores. It was nice to have the extra rest after a busy few months.
God bless you all!
This is the recipe for the pudding served at Lovina's wedding.
Caramel pudding
6 oz Nestle La Reccera Milk-Based Caramel
2 whipped cream containers (16 ounces)
Caramel Baking Chips
Caramel Sundae Syrup
Mix milk-based caramel with whipped cream. Serve with caramel baking chips and caramel sundae syrup. Any leftover pudding can be frozen. You can adjust the amount of milk-based caramel to your liking.
Lovina's Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish author, cook, wife, and mother of eight children. Readers can send a letter to Eicher at Lovina's Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a stamped self-addressed envelope for return mail) or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and Eicher will send your message for reading. Eicher does not personally respond to emails.
