The Amish Cook By LOVINA EICHER This is another lovely spring-like day. Temperature is in the mid-40s, but the air makes it feel a bit chillier. We've appreciated the nicer days recently for drying laundry. Daughter Elizabeth is doing her arithmetic while Lovina, 4, and Kevin, 3, are playing church. They both have a doll and say they are "Dad" and "Mom" with their "children" in church. Their sweet voices can really harmonize well as they sing hymns together. Kevin is also really enjoying this nice weather and tries to slip outside bare-footed all the time. It is hard for him to understand that in the 65 to 70-degree weather that he doesn't need a coat but does still needs to wear shoes. I feel like the ground is still too cold for going bare-footed. My husband Joe and I were checking on all the early spring plants yesterday and things look like they are advancing. For instance, the rhubarb plants are peeping through and our winter onions are nice-sized already. Also my strawberry plants look like they have a good start.

I've also been keeping an eye out for those first dandelion greens. The winter onions will be ready about the same time as the dandelions. And we are down to our last potatoes and they are the really small ones. We will probably end up replanting them. I still have a nice supply of cooking onions from last year's garden. It really helped to not have to buy potatoes and onions all winter.

With all the fresh produce right around the corner, I love this time of year. I hope since the calendar now says it is spring that winter has truly passed on by for another season. I think the extra snow we had this past winter makes spring seem even more welcome.

We really do need to get started cleaning up our yard. Elizabeth and I did get some windows cleaned but they have been fingerprinted again. Our clean windows can usually be enjoyed for a day or so before they are marked up again. Seeing marked up windows, though, doesn't get discouraging. The years go so fast and some day those fingerprints will seem welcome.

On Saturday, we attended the spring program that the Amish youth gave at the community building. The program was given by youth age 16 and over. This was done to help raise money for the building and for people with doctor's bills and so forth. It was a very nice program. Son Benjamin, 9, said he enjoyed the singing the most. He said he hopes someday he can sing that well. It must take a lot of practice to put together a program like that. It had many uplifting stories and plays, with good lessons in all of them. The children also put enough humor in the plays to keep the audiences interest through the 2 hour and 15 minute program. May God reward these young people for helping others in time of need. All the plays had a good lesson in it .

Meanwhile, a reader requested a tuna recipe. Try this easy casserole.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

8 ounce package of noodles or an equivalent amount of homemade noodles

3 1 /2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1 /2 cup grated cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

7 ounce can of tuna, drained

Cook noodles over medium heat until tender. Drain the noodles and put into a 2 quart casserole dish. Add the tuna to the noodles and mix lightly. In a small saucepan over low heat, use the remainder of ingredients to make a white sauce. Melt the butter and mix in the flour. The add the milk, cheese, and seasonings. Stir until the sauce thickens. Pour over the noodles and tuna and stir well. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

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