The Amish Cook By LOVINA EICHER We won't be doing laundry today, as we usually do on Mondays. It is a chilly and cloudy morning. Instead, we done a big laundry on Saturday. It was the nicest day of the whole week and everything really dried well. These nice laundry days seem to be rare this fall. It has turned cold enough that my husband Joe will probably start the coal stove tonight. I also left the propane lights on a little longer this morning to warm the house up. I don't like to think of that extra chore to take care of the stove, but that is just part of winter around here. Joe usually takes care of emptying the ash pans and adding the coal in the evening. Then on the days when he goes to work I usually add coal in the morning.

Then on the days when he goes to work I usually add coal in the morning. We had 3 tons of hard coal delivered here last week. Joe wants to get 2 more tons yet just to make sure we have enough in case it is an extra cold winter. We heat three stories with only one coal stove. The propane lights, which are located in every room, help heat up the house too. Our stove is in the basement so that makes it nice to hang laundry there in the cold winter months.

Daughter Lovina just left for school. We have a little 3 month old rat terrier puppy that follows her across the road until she is on the bus. The puppy then comes back as soon as the bus leaves. That little puppy has also been a pastime for Kevin, age 4. Kevin just seems to not be able to play with his toys after Lovina leaves for school. He acts so lonely and bored and follows Elizabeth around everywhere. He often sits around and looks at books and sings. Kevin and Lovina play together so well. For instance, this morning before school, Lovina was writing on a paper. She was showing Kevin how she can write her numbers. She told Kevin "a curve for you and a curve for me, that is how we write the number three. "

After Joseph comes home from school today I need to take him to the doctor. He wants to see if his wrist bones have healed. Joseph will be a very happy boy to have his arm free again.

Saturday the girls took advantage of the nice weather and mowed the yard. This will probably be the final time for 2009. Meanwhile, Joe and the boys are working to clear out the back garden now that the first frosts have ended the harvest for 2009. I am hoping for another nice day soon to wash my curtains and windows. This afternoon Joe will take our buggy to the buggy shop to have some repairs done. Also we are having LED lights put on. They use so much less battery then the regular buggy lights, many Amish around here are switching to the LED lights. They also seem easier for motorists to see at night.

We are enjoying apple cider from a nearby apple farm and also some apples. This makes a good, healthy snack for the children when they come home hungry from school. With apple season being in full swing, try this easy, delicious cake!

Fresh Apple Cake

2 cups flour

1 /2 cup raisins

4 apples chopped

2 cups sugar

1 /2 cup oil

2 eggs, unbeaten

1 /2 cup nuts

1 1 /2 teaspoons soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325. In a large mixing bowl, mix raisins into the flour before adding all the other ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon by hand. When the batter is mixed until smooth, spoon into a lightly greased 9 X 13 baking pan. Bake 45 minutes to an hour at 325. Good served with whipped topping.