Published: June 08, 2009 07:00 am      

Amish Cook: No homework, much housework

It is hard to believe that the month of June is already upon us. Where did the last five months go?

A sure sign of summer: School doors have closed for another term. Daughter Elizabeth, 14, has now completed her school years and daughter Lovina, 5, will begin hers this fall. There will be six children on the bus this fall. (Editor's note: The Amish send their children to school only through the eighth grade. This arrangement is allowed under the 1972 Supreme Court case, Yoder vs. Wisconsin. Some Amish children attend public schools, others parochial, but all attend just through the eighth grade. Lovina's children attend public school.)

It is a relief to think that for three months the children won't be coming home with homework. When I went to school we hardly had any homework until we were in the fifth grade or older. Now even the kindergartners have some kind of homework.

For a family like ours, all that homework makes for a long evening helping and checking everyone's school lessons. Also the children can help out in so many ways this summer, which they can't while school is in session. For instance, right now Susan and Benjamin are in the barn cleaning out horse stalls. Susan, 13, would much rather help out in the barn than do housework. Elizabeth is washing dishes and daughter Verena, 11, is sweeping floors. I have another doctor appointment today and am hoping it will be my final one.

I seem to be gaining my strength back very quickly after my surgery a few weeks ago. Thank you for all your well wishes.

We have both gardens almost filled up. Joe has prepared us a third garden to put out extra storage potatoes and some more corn. These gardens will keep us busy this summer. We will also have church here this summer sometime which will require weeks of preparation.

On Saturday we assisted Jacob and Emma with work at their house. My husband Joe helped Jacob put up drywall. This makes their remodeling job look so much more finished. While the menfolk worked, I helped Emma process more than 40 quarts of rhubarb juice. She also made six batches of rhubarb jam. Meanwhile, rhubarb pie has still been on the menu a lot lately. I was able to pick my first ripe strawberries from the new plants I put out last year. The plants are really loaded with them. I will now let my rhubarb and asparagus go to seed.

Jacob's, Emma's and family came here for lunch yesterday. After dishes were washed, we played softball with the children. They always seem to enjoy it when the adults play.

Our plans are to get the storage room upstairs cleaned out today. Things have a way of accumulating in there. I also want to pack away the snow pants and winter coats. We still are having some pretty cool mornings, some as cool as 50 degrees, but I doubt we'll need snow pants again until next winter. It just doesn't want to warm up this spring, although it makes for some very good sleeping at night.

Our two rat terrier dogs smell like a skunk. Yuck. They must have been fighting with one through the night.

One more rhubarb recipe for this season. You readers try this delicious rhubarb custard pie!

Homemade Rhubarb Custard Pie

2 eggs

1&1/2 c. sugar

Pinch salt

1 T. flour

3 T. cream or milk

3 c. rhubarb, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together, eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and cream. Fold in fresh rhubarb. Pour into unbaked 9-inch pie crust and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

Lovina Eicher is Old Order Amish. She hand-writes this column from her home in southern Michigan. Anyone with cultural or cooking questions can send them to: Lovina Eicher, The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, OH 45042. Read all of her columns online at www.record-eagle.com/amishcook.