Today is July 18—a day that is always remembered. My mother would be 87 if she were still with us. Rest in peace dear, sweet Mother! Tomorrow, July 19, is sister Emma’s 50th birthday. On July 15 my husband Joe and I celebrated 30 years of marriage together. July 15 was also brother Albert’s 59th birthday. Happy birthday to all July birthdays.

Son Benjamin’s 24th birthday was July 14 and son Joseph’s 21st birthday will be July 24. Yes, our family has many birthdays in July. Benjamin treated us with Pizza Hut pizza and wings on his birthday. That was a treat for all of us. The years fly by so fast.

Our horse Midnight’s little colt is really growing. He is 4 1/2 weeks old and is changing color. So far, he is still nameless. Joe hasn’t decided on a name for him. It is fun to watch him run and play in the field.

Today my plans are to cut out daughter Lovina’s dress, cape, and apron for nephew Menno and Diane’s wedding. They will exchange vows on July 22 in Clare, Michigan. Lovina and her special friend Daniel were asked to be servers at their wedding. Joe and I will be unable to attend but daughters Verena and Lovina (and Daniel), sons Benjamin, Joseph (and special friend Grace) and Kevin have plans to drive the three hours to attend the wedding. We wish them a long, happy married life with God’s richest blessings.

Lovina’s color dress will be pink and Daniel will wear black pants and vest with a white shirt. The color is very pretty, but it will look much better to me once my job of cutting it out and sewing it is done. I tend to put jobs like this off until the last minute.

Daughter Loretta has another appointment today an hour away. Dustin stayed home so he can help her to her appointment. He has missed many days of work to go with her but never grumbles and is always glad to help. They will bring Denzel, age 1, here this afternoon while they leave. He is always fun to have around.

Yesterday we had granddaughters Allison, 3, and Andrea, 17 months, here for a few hours. They are also so precious. Both took a nap while they were here.

Last week daughter Susan and children, daughter Verena, daughter Loretta and Denzel, daughter Lovina, son Kevin and I spent a day helping daughter Elizabeth with her work. They will host church services soon. We cleaned their basement and the can room (where all her canned food is stored), as well as the windows in the basement, plus some other odd and end jobs she needed to have done.

Loretta and Denzel, Lovina, and I all went out with Loretta and Dustin’s handicap buggy with son Benjamin’s horse Beauty. I tied Beauty outside in the shade and gave her some hay to eat. She somehow got the rope around her foot and that made her fall. When daughter Verena came back from taking the children on a walk, she heard Beauty gasping and saw her laying there. Needless to say, when Verena yelled to us in the basement to come, we all ran to see what was wrong. We couldn’t get Beauty untangled, so we cut the rope and she could get up. She was fine, but how thankful we were that someone saw it in time. Beauty is a good, safe horse and that is worth so much. We were all shook up for a while. Of course, that morning I used a brand-new tie rope, but that’s replaceable.

God’s blessings to all!

Pepper Poppers
Jalapeño peppers (small), approximately 10
cream cheese

Batter
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Take the jalapeño peppers, cut off the tops, and remove the seeds. Fill with cream cheese and set aside. Mix batter ingredients together in small bowl. Roll peppers in batter and deep fry at 350–375 degrees. Eat with dip. Lovina’s family prefers ranch dip or cheese sauce. The batter can also be used with fish or chicken.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold.  Because Lovina is Old Order Amish, she does not have email or a telephone in her home. Lovina does not respond to comments on this website, if you would like to contact her directly, click here.