i have no poems in me for these funerals
i have no words. except that i marvel at the faith
of these amish. they forgive, they accept life
for good and bad for the glory of their GOD.


so, instead, because they forgave and
embrace life even in sorrow, i found this recipe
in an amish cookbook and thought, what better way
to celebrate them and morn a bit as well.

this is a recipe for a "funeral pie"
a raisin pie, so named because it travels well
on those sad trips.


funeral pie


2 cups seedless raisins
2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
speck of salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 stick butter

preheat oven to 400 degrees. roll out 2 pie crusts
and line pan with one crust. in a medium saucepan,
simmer the raisins and 2/3 cup of the water over
medium heat for 5 minutes.
in a small bowl combine the next 6 ingredients.
gradually stir in the remaining 1 and 1/3 cups of water.
add the rains, stirring until the mixture bubbles up.
add the vinegar,butter and continue cooking until butter melts.
cool to lukewarm.
pour mixture into unbaked pie shell, top with 2nd crust.
cut slits into top to let stream escape.
bake for 25 minutes until top crust is golden brown and
pie is bubbling in the middle.
cool completely before cutting.


my prayers and good thoughts go out to everyone. sherry