99 Favorite Amish Recipes by Georgia Varozza (Cookbook Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

I am always game to thumb through a book full of Amish recipes. I have looked through plenty over the years and sometimes I am thoroughly disappointed in the overuse of convenience items.  When I think of the Amish, I think of times gone by where people made real food and those are the types of recipes I want to find in Amish cookbooks. There are a couple of recipes in 99 Favorite Amish Recipes that use convenience foods (it seems that in almost every Amish cookbook I have read there is at least one recipe featuring Velveeta, so I guess we "English" people do not have a monopoly on the addicting fake cheese!) but overall I was very satisfied by the recipes. There are very few recipes in this book that I wouldn't try and I think my entire family would happily devour each and every recipe happily. Many of these recipes could utilize leftovers from a previous meal, which just screams "Amish" to me- how resourceful! If you like comfort food and easy, wholesome meals you can effortlessly make at home, this is definitely a cookbook that you will want to check out!

The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection by Wanda E. Brunstetter Book Review

Thanks to Barbour Publishing for the advanced copy of the book through Netgalley. All opinions are 100% my own. 

What's another week without reviewing an Amish cookbook? If you've been a reader of this blog for long, you know I am fascinated by the Amish and really enjoy their recipes, so I am always on the lookout for new Amish cookbooks. The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection is great because it is full of wonderful homemade recipes in all of the usual categories plus a few fun extras: Breakfast Foods, Snacks, Breads & Rolls, Jams & Jellies, Pickles & Relish, Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Desserts, Beverages and Miscellaneous. As you can tell, there is plenty to keep a home cook occupied. I love that throughout the book interwoven with the recipes are little facts about Amish life. Something that I really love about Amish recipes is that for the most part, they use ingredients that make homemade foods, I think that is really important in this time when there is so much processed food and so many people that are sick or have food allergies, I believe from the over-processing of food. With that said, every now and then there are a few convenience foods used, but I don't see a problem with using them minimally. Everyone has days when they don't want to put a huge effort into cooking because they just don't have the energy! Some of the more intriguing recipes include: Honey French Toast, Apple Pancakes, Overnight Breakfast Casserole, Granola Bars, Easy Dinner Rolls, Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread, German Style Green Beans, BBQ Sauce, Potato Soup, Chicken Dumplings, Lazy Wife's Dinner, Lemon Pudding Cake, Funny Cake and Easy Strawberry Shortcake.I can not stress how many fantastic recipes there are in this book. There are some that might take longer than others, but there are plenty of simple recipes for an inexperienced cook.

Throughout the book, you will learn little tidbits about Amish life ranging from Florida to Pennsylvania and many places in between. There are facts about Amish weddings, the hobby of quilting and how the Amish attend church. For someone who already is pretty immersed into learning about the Amish culture, these things won't come as a surprise, but for a newbie just learning about this culture, these are interesting facts about interesting people. I would still encourage people that already know a great deal about Amish culture to pick up this book for the fabulous recipes. Not only are there great food recipes, there are even some recipes in the miscellaneous section for homemade cleaners: laundry detergent, homemade air freshener and even fly spray! I think anybody who loves to cook or loves Amish culture (or both!) will be a fan of this book. I certainly am!


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The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection will be available on July 1, 2013.
You can pre-order the book on Amazon.com

Amish Cooks Across America by Kevin Williams and Lovina Eicher Book Review

*Disclosure- Thanks to NetGalley & Andrews McMeel Publishing for the Advanced Reader's Copy. I was not required to render a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. 

There is just something about the Amish culture that fascinates me. Sometimes I think I was born into the wrong era in time and I long for less electronic addiction surrounding me (and including me), more walking and less car riding, more time with family and friends and more of a feeling of community. On the other hand, I couldn't be writing this blog without technology, still had I not known it existed surely I could live without it. The Amish have continually lived a simple life even in these modern times and I think we can learn a lot from them about community, family and...of course...great cooking.

I have been reading Amish fiction for quite a long time and I have been in search of a great Amish cookbook for a while because I love creating recipes at home from scratch. This is one area that I guess a few Amish have given in to modern conveniences because several of the cook books I have looked through use ingredients like Velveeta or cream of whatever soup, which was disappointing to me. Amish Cooks Across America by Kevin Williams and Lovina Eicher is exactly what I have been searching for in an Amish cookbook. It is full of the from scratch recipes my heart so desires. Not only that, I was kind of schooled in the Amish culture. Naively, I thought that most Amish people settled in Pennsylvania and that they all shared the same types of recipes. Not so on either account. Amish Cooks Across America is not only full of great recipes, it is full of wonderful insight about many different Amish settlements, all the way from Maine, to the deep south of Texas (I mean deep, like almost Mexico deep) and even in places outside of the US like Canada & Central America.. It ties together the places of settlement to the types of food that are popular with the Amish in each different region. This book points out that the Amish are the original Locavores, as evidenced by their menus reflecting where they live. In addition to the wonderful insight the book provides, there are also some beautiful pictures.  If you are interested in Amish culture or love to get in the kitchen and create some wonderful recipes, this is definitely the book for you!

This book points out that the Amish are the original Locavores, as evidenced by their menus reflecting where they live.

Some recipes highlights:

• Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Muffins
• Potato Chowder
• Homemade Baking Mix
• Apple Bread
• Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
• Delicious Green Beans
• Fresh Green Chili Salsa
• Breakfast Casserole
• South Texas Rice
• Homemade Yogurt
• Sweet Potato Surprise Cake
• Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Amish Cooks Across America will be available for purchase on May 28th, but can be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com. Fellow home cooks, this is a must have for your cookbook library!