Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Amish Cook at Home is a wonderful book. I learned more about the Amish culture from this book than in my whole life previously. I appreciated Lovina sharing her family with me and Kevin's comments and insights as an editor, friend, and outside observer.

The recipes are straightforward. I liked Lovina's comments at the beginning of each recipe, whether a hint about what she does, or a comment about when the recipe is used. Inexperienced and experienced cooks can both use and learn from the recipes.

The book takes you through a year at the Eichers, with food to define the seasons, activities, and holidays. Dandelion greens in the spring, zucchini in the summer, Sourdough starter and bread in the fall, meat dishes in the winter. All with contributions from the children, Lovina, and her husband Joe. I especially loved reading what the children wrote.

Best of all are Lovina's Sourdough Starter, Sourdough Bread, and Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls recipes. The book is worth acquiring and reading for many reasons, but most of all for these three recipes. The cinnamon rolls are light and flavorful and the bread is marvelously light and delicate. We just took some out of the oven and ate it warm with butter - heavenly.

This is a good addition to any cook's kitchen and to anybody interested in the Amish way of life.

While the photographs are truly a feast for the eyes,sadly the recipes are not a feast for the tongue or tummy. The Amish have a reputation as superb cooks and bakers and I was looking forward to trying some truly delicious,wholesome recipes. Imagine my surprise when I found the recipes filled with ingredients such as Velveeta,hot dogs and Miracle Whip!!!!Many of the recipes are just not appetizing, ie chicken slopped with condensed soup and cheese. However as I don't think it is fair to review a cookbook without trying at least a few of the recipes, I made two,the strawberry pie and the rhubarb dessert. The pie was the bigger disappointment. The filling was gummy and did nothing to enhance the flavor of the berries. The crust which contained cooking oil and milk was not flaky. The rhubarb concoction is pretty much a meringue topped bar. It was passable but not something I would add to my repertoire of recipes.

Visually, the photographs are stunning. Most are of pastoral scenes, animals and produce. Very few are of the recipes. The text is wildly uneven, with inane remembrances and almost embarrassing essays by the author's kids. However there are some interesting tidbits about the Amish religion and practices and some lovely prayers. I could have done without the description of the chicken butchering where the children partake by pulling out the innards.

If you chose to get this book savor the photos,skim the text and skip the recipes.

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!

I understand people are miffed that the author chooses to use condensed soups and Velvetta cheese in places. These products are readily available to them so why wouldn't they use them? They have modernized somewhat....you didn't see her talking about churning her own butter so it's safe to assume they use readily available commerical butter and that was no big deal. Is she supposed to make her own cheese too? Perhaps grind her own grains for her breads? If we use these shortcuts in our own recipes, why shouldn't they? I just think it is very snippy to diss a cookbook based on using "shortcuts". This is their life now. They don't handmake EVERY single thing anymore.

The book itself is lovely with annedotes about their life and how they change from community to community. I loved reading about the wedding feasts and about their holiday traditions. It's just fascinating.

The recipes aren't all traditional Amish fare, per say but still good. The pancake recipe with strawberries is to die for good. It is now my "go-to" pancake recipe. The chicken noodle casserole is fairly common to those floating around on the web already and nothing screams Amish about it other than she's an Amish lady who made it. Does that make it an Amish recipe? Mmm, not entirely. There are a few recipes I'd consider traditionally Amish - the funeral pie seems authentic. In all, if you're looking for age old Amish recipes, this isn't the book. But that doesn't dismiss it as a bad cookbook....in fact, several things I've made from here have been very good.

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!

I wish there was an option for 4.5 stars. This book is delightful. It has great and informative stories of the Amish way of life. I read this like a novel and thoroughly enjoyed the short sections of writing about the daily goings on of life for the Amish.

The only thing that kept this book from getting a 5 star rating was the lack of recipe photos. Although this cookbook is punctuated with many beautiful photos of Amish life, there were less than 5 recipe photos, making it hard to picture just what some of these recipes were intended to look like, even for an experienced cook.

Photos aside, I highly recommend this book. The recipes are great, well written and easy to follow.

I bought this book as a gift for my wife. She loves to cook and grows most of her own vegetables. She is also very fussy. She loves the book. She likes the layout and pictures and says there are some very good recipes.

This book reminds me about all the beauty that can be found in the simple things that we so often take for granted in our modern age. From something as benign as a eating a meal on the back porch to making a snowman or a snow angel to running around barefoot in the dirt, this book gingerly addresses life's little, sometimes dismissed, treasures. A gem of a book that provides a brief window into the veiled lives of old-order Amish. And the recipes are delicious, as are almost all Amish recipes! Definitely worth purchasing.

This book is not just an incredible bargain but so beautifully done. Looks great as a coffee table book, is an interesting read for insite into the Eicher family life AND has some truly lucious recipes. The books made some great Christmas presents that were very well received. Hope there will be more of these beautiful books by Lovina and Kevin.

The book offers super simple recipes great for families on tight budgets, the recipes have readily available ingredients that are on the pantry shelf. The photography is superbly beautiful, the book gives much insight into the Amish way of living. A truly beautiful book for all!