We are into month number four of 2022 already. Unbelievable!

With church services set here to host in less than six weeks, we are starting to clean some corners out.

Yesterday I cleaned out the master bedroom closet. It felt good to get that dreaded job done. How things manage to accumulate so fast is beyond me. Am I the only one that tends to overstuff a closet? Out of sight, out of mind, they say! I was actually proud of myself for parting with the things I didn’t really need but still hang on to. I never wanted to be a pack rat, but as the years go by, you accumulate things that you never use, so I have a pile of things to give away.

Saturday, daughter Elizabeth, seven-week-old baby Andrea, daughter Susan, and children Jennifer, 4, and Ryan, 2, daughter Lovina, and I, with our friend Jodi as our driver, attended the Plain & Simple Craft Show. It was a pleasure to meet author Wanda Brunstetter. Our tables were beside each other as we signed and sold books to our great readers. It was fun to have my daughters and some of my grandchildren along. We had a great outcome in sales. Daughter Verena couldn’t attend as she was at a lake house with her friends. She had an enjoyable time! Looking forward to meeting the Nappanee and surrounding area readers April 9 at Nappanee Public Library!

Sunday church services were at our neighbors, so Joe and I walked to church with daughter Susan and the children. Susan came Saturday night, so she’s closer to church services. Joe pushed the stroller with Jennifer and Ryan in it as it was too far for them to walk. Or we were afraid they would get tired of walking, so we decided to take the stroller.

During church service, daughter Elizabeth had to go feed baby Andrea, so I took two-year-old Allison to sit with me. She was not too happy that her mother was taking care of Andrea. I told her that Andreas was a baby, and her mom needed to feed her. Allison said, “Well, Mom has two babies, me and Andrea both.” It was so cute to hear her little voice complain. Sister Verena was sitting beside me and gave her a candy. I told her to say “thank you” to Verena. She said, “But I don’t want to thank Verena.” Finally, she pouted herself to sleep and woke up refreshed after a good nap. Grandchildren are sunshine for your soul and medicine for your mind!

We are enjoying dandelion greens now. We eat them in a dandelion sour cream salad on top of steamed potatoes. Son Joseph grilled fresh ham and ribs to go along with that. It’s been a while since I shared my dandelion sour cream salad, so I will this week. We like lots of hard-boiled eggs diced in ours. Bacon also goes well with it.

Our sympathy goes to Gloria Yoder, who pens the Amish Cook column, and her family. Her husband Daniel died from injuries in a logging accident. I never met Gloria but talked with her over the phone years ago when I quit writing the Amish Cook column and joined the great team at MennoMedia.

Daughter Susan knows the pain Gloria is experiencing at this time. I never lost a husband, but I have felt the pain of losing very close loved ones. It changes so much in your life, but we must go on. God has a reason for everything, and the comfort of knowing He makes no mistakes helps us go on. Let us pray for each other. Everyone has trials in different ways. God’s blessings to all.

Dandelion Sour Cream Salad
4 packed cups of young dandelion greens
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced

Sour Cream Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
salt

Put the eggs and dandelion greens in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them.

Dressing: Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, milk, and salt to taste in a quart jar. Shake until smooth. Any unused dressing can be refrigerated for up to two days.

Variation: Substitute in season fresh-from-the-garden lettuce and endive for the dandelion greens.

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.