Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local

It’s beginning to look a lot like…school time! Pencils, markers, and notepads have been on sale for several weeks now, with “Back to School” slogans everywhere. As someone who doesn’t have school-age kids yet, the real way I can tell it’s that time is when my Facebook feed is plastered with those sweet first day of school photos. 

I can still say “yet” in regards to school-age, but I know that distinction will disappear in less than a jiffy. We don’t exactly know at this point what direction we plan for our kids’ school attendance to take, whether homeschool, microschool, private, or public, and we’ll naively enjoy telling ourselves we have plenty of time to decide…right? 

I was homeschooled all 12 grades and it was perfect for me, so it would be easy for me to assume that would be the best route for my kids, too. However, Brian was also homeschooled almost all the way, and he did not love it, which is a good reminder that our kids are not me —  and I am also not my mom, and I am very intimidated at the thought of being responsible for my childrens’ learning.

However it works out, one of the educational milestones that feels so incredible to me is learning to read. Who knows if I actually do, but I tell myself I remember as a four-year-old coming out onto the porch to show my parents my new skill of reading. The first book I read was Dick and Jane, and I’m just glad that riveting plotline (see Spot run!) didn’t throw me off of literature forever.

When Benson was discharged from the NICU after treatment for his potential brain damage at birth, the doctors said one of the best things we could do for his development would be to read to him daily. I thought it was a little silly and annoying to try and read to a baby who was too young to understand or who only wanted to eat the pages, and I definitely didn’t get it done every day in the early months. However, books are some of that boy’s favorite things now — them, his yellow skidsteer toy, and his inside bicycle win the prize for longest-lasting obsessions so far. 

I can tell if he wakes up before his light turns green (meaning he can get up) in the mornings by the thud! thud! of books being tossed from his bed as he finishes looking at them; we get what’s coming to us if we ever suggest it’s too late for bedtime stories. The library is one of his best-loved places to adventure to, even though the sorrow caused by needing to return animal encyclopedias can be almost too deep for words. 

Benson has known the alphabet for quite a while (I’m sure he’s some kind of child prodigy), and he went through a few-weeks long interval when he was constantly singing The Song. It was mostly adorable, unless of course you wanted him to finish brushing his teeth, eat lunch, go to sleep, do anything besides chant the ABCs. He always added his own spin at the end, and instead of, “Next time won’t you sing with me,” he would make it situationally relevant. “Next time won’t you cut cucumbers with me,” “push feed with me,” “change pjs with me.” 

Like I said, adorable. In keeping with the new school year and alphabetical theme, I decided to attach a theme to my articles for the next 26 weeks. You can probably guess what direction I’m headed. 

Next time won’t you eat the ABCs with me?

A Very Herby Guacamole

We usually say A is for Apple, but Avocado was both of my kids’ first food so it seemed right to start with. Plus you know I love avocados so any excuse to feature them is a good one in my book. It seems like almost all guacamoles are the same, which is on purpose since they’re so good, but I had seen a recipe using a whole bunch of herbs, so I threw in what I had on hand. While I’ll still default to the OG style, this was a lovely divergence. 

Prep tips: choose avocados that are firm but with a smidge of give, and try to get ones with that little nubbin still in the top. 

a couple avocados

coarse salt

a small handful each of fresh cilantro, basil, tarragon, chives, and mint

optional lime juice

Scoop out the avocados and mash lightly, until smoothly chunky. Stir in remaining ingredients to taste, not neglecting the salt. 

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen
Lovina Eitcher,
Old Order Amish
Cook, Wife &
Mother of Eight

We are in the middle of August already. Happy ninth anniversary (on August 14) to daughter Elizabeth and Tim. May they have many more happy, healthy years together. God has blessed them with four sweet children: Abigail, 7, Timothy (T.J.), 5, Allison, 4, and Andrea, 2. 

Grandson Byron turned a year old on August 7. He is taking a few steps, so I’m sure it won’t be long until he is running around with his “big” brother Denzel. 

Granddaughter Kaitlyn (Ervin and Susan) is excited about her upcoming birthday. She will be 8 on August 18. She and Abigail are three weeks apart in age with Abigail turning 8 on September 10. They have become the best of friends since becoming “cousins” several years ago. They are my two oldest grandchildren out of the 12. 

On Saturday, our family all gathered at daughter Loretta and Dustin’s house to help with preparations for son Joseph and Graces’s wedding, which will be in a little over three weeks. It is coming up fast. Lots of jobs were accomplished Saturday. The roof on one side of the house was redone. This was a job Dustin needed to have done quite a while already. The manure was hauled out to the fields and lots of weed trimming done. Windows were cleaned, and her back porch was cleaned thoroughly. Lunch was brought in by all of us. We furnished the hot food, which was barbequed chicken and creamed potatoes. Also on the menu was ham and cheese sandwiches, cucumber salad, pudding, muskmelon, and ice cream. 

On my to-do list this week is sewing for the wedding. I have my suit cut out but need to sew it. I will help daughter Lovina with hers and also daughter Verena. I really hope I can get all that done this week, but canning season is here, and I will need to put our tomatoes into juice one day. I also want to make another batch of salsa. I have my corn in the freezer and also green beans. We have lots of hot peppers, but I don’t need more in cans, so I’ll let one of the girls have them to can. 

We have had lots of peppers on the grill already. We have sweet bananas and jalapeños. The sweet bananas are not hot for those that don’t care for the spice. We mix shredded Colby cheese and cream cheese. After taking out the seeds, we stuff the peppers with the cheese mixture, then wrap them with a slice of bacon. We use toothpicks to hold the bacon in place. We grill them on the charcoal grill.

On Sunday, I made broasted chicken for the first time. I usually fry or bake our chicken or Joe grills it, but I always wanted to try broasting it in the deep fryer. I made my own breading for the chicken and just guessed on what to put in it such as flour, corn meal, seasonings, etc. It was a success, and everyone loved it. Son Joseph wasn’t here Sunday evening, and I put a few leftover pieces in his lunch. When he came home from work, he asked who made that chicken. He said the flavor was so good, and he really liked it. Since he does construction work, he doesn’t have a way to heat food up, but he still likes cold chicken in his lunch. 

I also made fries after I made the chicken on Sunday. Dustin and Loretta’s little boys love fries. It was nice to cook everything on the porch. Dustin had marinated a pork roast that he cooked on the grill to add to our menu. 

Daughter Verena and Daniel Ray (her special friend) were here for supper as well. We played Phase 10 with Dustin, Loretta, and them. 

Wishing everyone God’s many blessings!

Gingersnap Cookies

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda 

1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt. Blend well. Beat oil, egg, brown sugar, and molasses. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, blending as you add. Repeat until all the flour is added. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, The Cherished Table, 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 [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.