Lovina's Amish Kitchen: Lovina celebrates Mother’s Day and welcomes a new foal

Church services Sunday were hosted at sister Emma’s place for her son, Benjamin, and Crystal. It was Benjamin’s 22nd birthday as well as Mother’s Day.

The men washed the dishes so the women could sit and visit after lunch in honor of Mother’s Day. Cupcakes and ice cream were served to everyone with lunch in honor of Mother’s Day and Benjamin’s birthday. Also on the menu were homemade wheat and white bread, ham, three different kinds of cheese, peanut butter spread, pickles, red beets, hot peppers, jam, butter, coffee and iced tea.

The ladies who normally would bring cookies for church lunch brought cupcakes instead. Daughter Lovina had fun decorating the cupcakes daughter, Elizabeth, made to take. Lovina wants to bake a cake for grandson Isaiah, who turned 6 on May 10. We will have it for him on Saturday, when our family plans to come home to help with jobs around here that need to be done before the wedding.

Daughter Lovina had fun decorating Mother’s Day cupcakes that daughter Elizabeth made to take to church.
Daughter Lovina had fun decorating Mother’s Day cupcakes that daughter Elizabeth made to take to church.

Son-in-law Ervin’s birthday was May 11 and daughter Lovina’s is May 18. Then my birthday is the 22nd, so we have quite a few May birthdays. Sister Susan’s birthday was also on May 10. Rest in peace, dear sister. She left us much too soon. She would be 48 this year. She died at age 44.

This was the first time church services were held at sister Emma’s house since she lost her dear husband, Jacob, in 2021. He was greatly missed on Sunday.

Making a treat for tornado cleanup workers

I need to make a dessert and have it ready by 10 a.m. today. It is to help with lunch for the workers who will be working on clean-up and rebuilding from the tornado last week. An EF2 tornado touched down last Tuesday and passed six miles north of us, leaving lots of damage to many. The peak wind was 130 miles per hour and the path was almost 20 miles long and a half mile wide.

An estimate of over 100 places were damaged in this tornado, plus many trees uprooted, etc. Another tornado further north touched down the same night. How fortunate that no lives were lost and God’s protecting hand was over everyone. There is so much clean-up and rebuilding that has to be done, but the material things can be replaced and lives can’t. A lot of the Amish families in this community have lots of damage, and it’s so good to have a wonderful community that helps make the load lighter.

On a happier note, we were all excited to look out in the pasture on May 10 and see son Joseph’s horse Sugar had her first foal. She has a cute little colt running beside her. It’s always so fun to watch the curious little foals. Sugar is a great mom and protects her colt very well. Our horse Midnight should have her foal soon as well.

Yesterday we received an invitation to the wedding in Kentucky from nephew Issac and Susan. They will exchange vows on June 6, Lord willing. Issac is Joe’s sister Salome and Morris’ son. We would like to attend this wedding if at all possible. It is two weeks before Lovina and Daniel’s wedding and almost 300 miles from here.

Until next week … God bless!

Easy Shortcake

2 cups flour

⅓ cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

1 egg

⅓ cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter. In a separate bowl, beat egg and milk and add to mixture. Mix until blended. Pour into pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her two cookbooks, The Essential Amish Cookbook and Amish Family Recipes, are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mother's Day, Mother Nature and a shortcake recipe