Vintage Tuesday: The Amish Cook, 1998: Dumplings, Lettuce Salad, and Easter

Easter Sunday appeared on the calendar recently. Most of the family was here for dinner and supper. Enjoyable day together. The grandchildren enjoyed the colored hard-boiled eggs which were brought in by daughter Lovina and family.

Cracking eggs was always the thing in our younger years, to see who had an egg that wouldn't crack so easy. Mother always fried eggs on Easter Sunday for breakfast, dinner, and supper, to feed to whoever came that day, so they had something to eat besides our colored hard boiled and pickled eggs. It seemed it was eggs, eggs, eggs. Horse-radish and catsup went good with it. It was always great when the Easter Bunny would put his eggs in the yard for an Easter egg hunt. Enjoyable memories.

Wednesday all our daughters and children and the writer spent the day at daughter Leah's. It was a work day. We made noodles with 50 eggs. We also did some sewing and patching. It was an enjoyable day together. One missing spot is not having our sweet, loving granddaughter Mary around. Seems to be missed more and more as time goes on. But Paul Jr. seems so much more advanced. He is so happy-go-lucky.

We butchered a hog here on Saturday for daughter Emma and Jacob. So that's done. We processed all the meat by 8:20 p.m. It was a quick deal as the weather turned colder.

Today, our oldest grandchild, Ben, is 15-years-old. Memories go to daughter Leah and Paul's 17th wedding anniversary tomorrow. So it was a busy time around here 17 years ago. Had a nice day for their wedding, our first time preparing for a wedding. We fed around 1,000 people that day for dinner and supper.

Now, to answer some mail:

To the Hartford City, Indiana reader about canning tomatoes: pour boiling water over tomatoes, peel, and put it in jars. Process them 20-25 minutes. Yes, we use canned tomatoes during winter.

To the Ohio reader for a lettuce salad. Here's a good overnight salad: 1 head lettuce, 1 head cauliflower, frozen peas (quantity to your taste), 1 onion, carrots to your taste, 1 onion (chopped fine), shredded cheese. Cut and mix together the above ing

redients, except cheese. Stir together ½ cup salad dressing and 1 cup sugar and put on top. Then add bacon bits and cheese on top.

To the Ganservoort, New York reader about dumplings:

We use 5 cookspoons (large kitchen spoons) water, 1 egg, and pinch salt. Stir together, and then add flour to make a stiff dough to roll out, then cut in squares and drop in broth water. Diced potatoes and an onion can be added to broth. Cook.

To the Belding, Michigan reader: I don't know where you can get gooseberries. We put two of them in the ground yesterday so we can grow our own this summer. Hopefully we'll have luck with it, and our blackberries.

Editor's note: Elizabeth is Old Order Amish. She hand-writes this column from her rural northern Indiana home. Readers with culinary or cultural questions can send mail to: Elizabeth Coblentz, c/o Oasis Newsfeatures, PO BOX 2144, Middletown, Ohio 45042.