We had a nice but warm day for the wedding of Mose and Susan, our second oldest daughter. There was a light rain in the forenoon, but it didn’t last long. We are very much in need of rain. The grass is turning brown everywhere.

On the Monday before the wedding, we washed laundry and my friend Ruth took us shopping for the many, many groceries that we needed for the wedding. We bought 400 pounds of potatoes and have only 75 pounds left after the wedding. We bought 600 pounds of freshly butchered chicken but only grilled 500 pounds the day of the wedding.

Our menu for the wedding meals consisted of mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, dressing, barbecued chicken, green beans, corn, broccoli and cauliflower salad, cheese, bread, butter and strawberry jam. Desserts were: strawberry, pecan and cherry pies (we had over 75 pies altogether); angel food cake; a fruit mixture of watermelon, musk melon, pineapple and green and purple grapes; and cinnamon pudding. Ice cream was added to the evening meal.

Wedding services were held at neighbors Joas and Susan’s. The couple chose to be married at 11:30 a.m. A meal followed soon after here at our place. All the guests came over to our house after the services were over. Supper was also served at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. the table waiters, family and the youth ate and then stayed seated to sing the songs picked by the bride and groom. Sundaes and punch were served to the table waiters and family.

More than fifty cooks helped prepare the food. Some came Wednesday to bake pies and cakes and Nothings (see last week’s column for a description and recipe for Amish Wedding Nothings). The rest came Thursday to chop vegetables for dressing, salad, etc. They finished whatever else had to be done.

Sixteen couples were table waiters. Usually, those picked for table waiter are brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends. Six coffee servers served the coffee. The extra helpers passed out the guest book, and pens with Mose and Susan’s names and wedding date on it. Susan and Mose also appointed some girls as babysitters to help the cooks with their children.

Witnesses were Mose’s brother Alvin and his wife Suzy, and Mose’s brother Freeman and daughter Verena. As mothers of the couple, we wore sage color dresses. Table waiter girls wore mint green dresses, and the boys wore white shirts, black pants and vests. The bride wore a green dress with a white cape and apron. Suzy and Verena wore another shade of green. The family wore grass green–colored dresses. The cooks were asked to wear hunter green. By now you can tell that Susan’s favorite color is green! The groom and witnesses also wore black pants and vests with white shirts.

Susan had a local Amish lady make her three-tiered wedding cake. It was all white with white decorations. Fresh flowers were put on top for a cake topper. The tables were lined with mint green tablecloths. Grass green napkins with Mose and Susan’s names and wedding date were used. Mose and Susan made the centerpieces with wood and horseshoes and a vase of flowers in the middle.

We could seat 360 people at one sitting for the meal. I still haven’t gone through the guestbook to count the total number of guests that day. I can write more in a future column.

Mose and Susan are both back to work. We made living quarters in part of our pole barn until they find a property suitable for them. It’s nice to have them close by. They hooked up their gas stove and refrigerator this week. A few more adjustments have to be made, and I think it will be a very nice place for them to live.

Other news: Joe’s sister Esther and David from Ohio were blessed with their first child, David Tyrel. He was born August 9. Esther is 42 years old, and we are glad she could finally carry a baby full term. God is good! We wish them God’s blessings and also all of you wonderful readers. More on the wedding in future columns!

Strawberry Pie

Serves 6 to 8

Crust
1 1/2 cup all-purpose four
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup water
3 tablespoons strawberry-flavored gelatin
a few drops red food coloring (optional)
6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

To make crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together flour, salt, oil, milk and sugar in a medium bowl. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil about 5 minutes until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin and food coloring. Let cool until lukewarm. Add the strawberries and pour into cooled crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

 

Lovina Eicher is an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Formerly writing as The Amish Cook, Eicher inherited that column from her mother, Elizabeth Coblentz, who wrote from 1991 to 2002. Readers can contact Eicher at PO Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply) or at LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org.