The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family, and Faith

by Lovina Eicher

Book Overview

This cookbook couldn't bend to the fast pace of our e-mail driven world. Like a slow Sunday pot roast, it had to simmer . . . culminating many months of conversation, writing, and Amish wisdom."... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0740773720
• ISBN13: 9780740773723
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 10.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Delicious!

It has taken me some time to review this book because I wanted to make a few of the recipes before I did. I will comment on the individual recipes farther down. The book is gorgeous with lovely photographs of Amish life and food. The text is a wealth of information about Amish life in general and many specifics. Some of the author's children even contributed to the book. The story of the Amish Cook is interesting in and of itself. Lovina Eicher's mother, Elizabeth Coblentz, was approached by Kevin Williams about fifteen years ago to do a column for newspaper publication. She agreed and it grew to reach a huge readership. She also published a cookbook with Mr. Williams, The Amish Cook. In my research for this book I purchased the first volume of Elizabeth's columns and her cookbook. Her daughter's book follows the same pattern. Amish cooking by nature is simple and nourishing. Mrs. Eicher has eight children so you can imagine no time for fussing and prinking. Her food is easy to prepare and, for those of us with smaller families, provides wonderful leftovers. It was a surprise to me to find many Mexican culinary influences among the recipes. This is explained in the book by the fact that Amish and Mennonites have been settling in Mexico since the 1920s. Mexico at that time offered them a country which would not insist on conscription as the Anabaptists are all pacifists. Over the last couple of decades many Amish have travelled to Mexico for medical treatments unavailable in the U.S. They are also less expensive as most Amish do not have health insurance. Lovina's book is structured around the seasons - from Spring to Winter. She has a huge and varied garden and, along with the recipes, provides tips for cultivation and preservation. The Amish Cook At Home could be read simply as a history of the Amish without using the recipes but I recommend you give some of them a try. Parmesan Chicken on page 25 is similar to a dish I have been making for years. Lovina's version makes tender and juicy chicken and I will be adapting her technique in the future. Some of us found the dish bland but, again, this is plain, simple food. You could easily spice up the flour mixture with whatever flavors you love. The process is simple and the result is delicious. The Pumpkin Bread on page 129 is heavenly and disappeared like magic around here. Think zucchini bread but moister and more flavorful. It made some lovely Christmas gifts as well. I used little loaf tins and kept a close eye on them as they cooked much faster than the larger ones. This is a simple recipe and sooooo delicious my mouth is watering as I write this. Pizza Casserole on page 119 is another I will be adding to my repertoire with a few tweaks. It is made with ground beef, mushrooms, spaghetti, pizza sauce and mozzarella. It fed four people with enough left over for two or three others. This was a fast dish to assemble and bake and very tasty and fulfilling. The only thing I would change for us

The Amish Cook at Home

This is a beautiful book and I am giving them as Christmas presents this year. I went ahead and gave my daughter her copy. She and two of her young daughters are choosing various recipes and then spending quality time in the kitchen making them.

A beautiful book!

I really love this cookbook book for its down-home simplicity. Lovina Eicher, the daughter of the late Amish food columnist Elizabeth Coblentz, continues her mother's sharing of recipes and Amish culture with the rest of this world in a book with stunning photography, articles which read like personal letters, recipes which are easy to make and tasty as well, and precious writing from her closest family. The fact that the book centers on the seasons is a plus for me, not only because local is now "in", but also because I started my own vegetable garden this year as well as joined a CSA (community-supported agriculture) group. I closely identified with what the author wrote about seasonal produce and took special interest in each individual vegetable and fruit. The most beautiful part of the book for me was the section about the pumpkins because I grew my own (first) pumpkin this year. I could feel the author's excitement about her family's experiences raising their own food from the tilling of the soil all the way through to the end of the harvest. I identified with almost all of what she had written except for her religion which was different from my own, but very interesting nevertheless. Some of Eicher's recipes I'd not make because I come from a tradition of not mixing milk and meat, however they are easy enough to modify so that I expect to have great fun adapting them to my own way of cooking. While I was talking excitedly about this book, a friend asked to borrow it. I'll certainly lend it as it is truly a beautiful book to share. The fact is, though, that I'll soon be wanting it back. It's lovely. Don't miss it!

A truly exceptional book!

I read this entire book in one day and absolutely loved it! I have always been interested in the Amish and have read many books on their culture, but this was the best one I've read so far because the writing comes directly from an Amish woman. She shares her recipes, each one with her own personal comment, but she also shares so much of her family and daily life. The book is arranged in seasons, which I especially like. It's like going through a year with her family. I now have some excellent recipes to try, ones that are made with items I actually have in my kitchen, not gourmet items I'll have to hunt down. The photography throughout the book is truly exceptional, and the layout is pleasing. I cannot say enough good things about this beautiful book. This would make a great gift.

What an amazing book!

This book is a beautiful collection of recipes, photography and stories. The recipes can be made from things you have in your home, and are good old fashioned comfort type foods. The amazing photography was all done at the Eicher farm and was taken during all four seasons of the year. The best part are the stories, which talk about cultural events in the life of the Amish, plus personal stories about life in the Eicher house. This is SO much more than a cookbook! It is a wonderful opportunity to take a peek into the life of an Amish family. You will love this book!