Potato Soup from Phillis Pellman Good

Potato Soup still tops the list as the most frequently eaten soup in Amish homes. Some eat it with rivvels; other flavor it with chopped celery and onions. And although what accompanies the soup varies, the basic ingredients are the same. “We grew our own potatoes, so we ate potato soup more than once a week. With it we would often have scrambled eggs, usually in sandwiches, because we grew our own chickens. It’s a combination we still eat,” said one mother in her early 40s. “When we were first married we’d often have for Saturday dinner, potato soup—and schnitz pie in the left hand. A bit of one and then a bit of the other!” smiled an older man. That, too, is a widespread tradition. A woman in her mid-fifties remembered, “We used to say you couldn’t have your piece of schnitz pie until you were on your second bowl of potato soup. My husband doesn’t agree with that! He says you eat your pie right away!”