5 comments about Quilters Christmas Cookbook.

1. My favorite holiday cookbook, but also fabulous for good company recipes, potluck dinners or when you just want something a little special for those you love at home. Recipes from appetizers to desserts. Comfort food and ethnic specialities! A to Z!!

   I also love reading the notes in the corners with memories of Christmas' past and enjoy seeing the regional specialties from different parts of the country. It is also interesting to see what kind of quilts patterns are being made throughout the states and that this wonderful artform is being kept alive.

   A must have for anyone who loves Louise Stoltzfus' compilation cookbooks! Or anyone who loves good old fashioned good food!




2. Whether you are a quilter or not, you will love this cookbook.
   The variety and quality of recipes is amazing...I probably have 70 cookbooks, but this is one that I can rely on regularly for having good recipes that are straight-forward, easy to follow, and (best of all!) delicious to eat. So many friends have asked for recipes that originated from this cookbook that, when they see the great collection, they ended up buying this cookbook, too!



3. `A Quilter's Christmas Cookbook' by `Good Books' (in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) editors Louise Stoltzfus and Dawn J. Ranck is a genuine bargain for traditional recipe collectors who keep their magazine cutouts in little `tin' filing cans designed for holding 3" by 5" index cards. I know this because this is exactly how my mother keeps her recipes, and so many of the recipes in this book are the very same she has in her little gray can.
   
   For a list price of a mere $13.95, we get 330 pages of recipes, stuffed to almost always three to a page, giving us close to 900 very traditional holiday recipes. A quick look at the title, publisher, and the names of the editors may lead one to think that this book is all about Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, but it is not. The book is a collection of recipes from quilting hobbyists from all over the country. And, the traditional Amish and Mennonite centers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York State are in the distinct minority, While there are a fairly large number of contributions from small towns in southeastern Pennsylvania (Punxsutawney, PA seems to have an inordinately large number of contributors), my hunch is that there is at least one recipe here from every state in the Union, and some from Canada.
   
   In spite of the geographical diversity, there is a great commonality in the style of recipes. Not only do most of them hint of hundreds of little gray boxes from around the country, there is also a strong spirit of pre-Julia Child 1950s style of cooking epitomized by Poppy Cannon, of `Can Opener Gourmet' and other books in that spirit. Two of the symptoms of this style are the use of margarine in place of butter and the heavy use of packaged gelatins (`Jell-O'). The fact that these recipes come from all over the country makes this uniformity even more dramatic. The third symptom is a heavy use of canned goods, especially canned soups, vegetables, and fruits.
   
   As simple as almost all these recipes appear to the casual browser, many are simply too simple. For example, there is virtually never any statement of what size of egg to use in the recipe (The editors could not make such a statement, as there was no way they could know if our 900 contributors all used the same size egg.) Similarly, few recipes specify salted or unsalted butter, in the few cases where butter is used. There are also very few baking recipes that give instructions on how to determine that the baked goods are `done'. I see one recipe with such an instruction, but most recipes on either side of this example have none. So, these are distinctly NOT the kind of recipes you will find in `Gourmet', `Bon Appetit', or even `Martha Stewart Living'. I suspect that you will also not find recipes of this type in `Good Housekeeping', as all our major culinary media have been thoroughly steeped in the `fresh, fresh, fresh' and `local ingredients' mantras of Alice Waters and Deborah Madison.
   
   All this suggests that the editors, like the editors of church and social group cookbooks all tend to assume that their readers already know how to cook well, and are much more interested in the variety in dish than they are about honing their already quite satisfactory cooking skills.
   
   In a brief lapse of focus, I noticed that there seemed to be a rather large number of recipes using cranberries. When I came to my senses, I realized that this is, after all, a book of Christmas recipes, and the cranberry comes into season late in the year, just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this doesn't explain the four-(4) rhubarb recipes, when rhubarb is a traditional spring and early summer speciality.
   
   I don't want to leave this book without stating that for a very large cookbook audience, this book is exactly what they are looking for. An enormous collection of relatively easy recipes providing excellent ideas for what to make in the weeks surrounding Christmas. So what if there is no `bouche de Noel' recipe which requires a day to make and the patience of a saint, not to mention the skills of a journeyman pastry chef. And, this book is inexpensive enough and small enough so that it will sit alongside the household's copy of `The Joy of Cooking' without taking too many family resources.
   
   I confess there is just a bit of the insider's interest in the book, as each recipe's headnote includes the name of the quilting pattern the contributor is making when they submitted their recipe. I look at these names and draw a complete blank, although I suspect that among the quilting community, they are as well known as `Extra Virgin', `Colcannon', and `Ratatouille' are to us foodies. If I were to offer any suggestion to the editors, it would be to include a picture of each quilt, or at least some distinctive part of each quilt in the headnote, but then, this would probably double the price of the book.
   
   Neither `Gourmet' nor `Pennsylvania Dutch', but an immense collection for Christmas cooking.The huge chapter on Christmas cookies and the Christmas breakfast dishes alone make this book worth getting.



4. This cookbook is hands down my favorite cookbook of all time, it is jammed
   with recipes, little stories and great variety, it isn't your everyday
   cookbook. I have given this cookbook as a gift many times. Try it you
   WILL like it.



5. This book has excellent recipes; not just for the holidays but all year round. Love it!! I even ordered some more of Louise Stolzfus' cookbooks

5 comments about The Amish Cook: Recollections and Recipes from an Old Order Amish Family.

1. If you are a fan, as I am, of the weekly Amish Cook newspaper column, this is a must-have for you. There are stories and tidbits of the column and daily life, as well as the recipes. If you like "The Amish Cook," stories about Amish life, or Amish recipes, this book has you covered x 3!! Get it! You'll love it!!!



2. This book is amazing to read just the stories alone get you hooked let alone the delicious recipes. I would reccomend this book to anyone.



3. I checked out this book from the library and after reading most of it, I decided I had to have my very own copy so I purchased one on Amazon the very next day. It is a wonderful explanation of how the Amish got their name, how they arrived in PA and there are many delicious recipes, too many to copy. I can't wait to try them as I love to cook from scratch. I purchase Amish food often and was pleased to find these recipes. The recipes consist of everyday ingredients most have on hand. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to eat well. The little stories are wonderful too.



4. These recipes are great in this book, and the best thing about these recipes is that you do not have to go to a specialty store to find the ingredients. Everything in this book you will probably already have in your pantry, and everything in this book is wonderfully flavored. The recipes are for a large group of people, so if you make a recipe make sure to have a lot of people ready to eat. There are some really interesting stories about the cook and her family in the book too. Well worth the money!



5. This cookbook has wonderful recipes from the Amish but it is much more.
   It reads like a diary of Elizabeth Coblentz's life as an Amish wife, mother, and grandmother. Very interesting details like how she used to make 9 loaves of bread every week and would have them coming out of the oven when her 8 children came home from school. She takes the reader along on a wonderful read of the Amish life; quilting, canning, church, gardening, and much more.

No comments about Cookbook From Amish Kitchens: Vegetables (Cookbooks from Amish Kitchens).

5 comments about New Recipes from Quilt Country: More Food & Folkways from the Amish & Mennonites.

1. Originally from the heartland of Amish Country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I found this cookbook outstanding. It bring's back many memories as a kid with it's recipes. I live in the sunshine state now and sometime's miss the great food I was raised with. To have found this book and have been able to make the recipes for my family has been great! I hope Marcia Adam's plan's on writing more like this one.



2. I discovered this book over a year ago, at the public library. I read through it, and after I returned it I would find myself thinking: "I wonder about ", and either my wife or I would have to go back to the library to check the book back out!
   When I realized I was getting the book almost monthly, AND it stayed at the local branch because that's where I last returned it, I realized it was time to buy it!

   With that little story, the rest of this review is simple: This is an excellent cook book. This is not a 'healthy' cookbook. There's no focus on lean, loosing weight, or heart-happy cooking here! This is good, rich, smother-it-in-gravy country cooking.

   If you know the Amish, and you have visions of the men coming in at dusk from working the fields all day to a kitchen table stacked with fresh, home-cooked *American* food, this is your cookbook. It simply doesn't get better than this.




3. This book is awesome. Not only does it have wonderful recipes, especially desserts, which the Amish are famous for, but also has so much wonderful info. on the Amish people and their culture. I own several books about the Amish, and this is better than those other books even though this is a "cookbook." And the pictures are marvelous. Other than general info. on the Amish, my favorite part of this book is the fact that she divides the food into many different chapters and has a little story about each. An example is Baking Day, Lady Food, and the lunch bucket, as well as many other. This has info scattered throughout it about gardening by the signs of the moon, how to bake perfect cookies, and how to bake an angel food cake. I would highly recommend it.



4. I cannot remember the last time I went through a cookbook and listed dozens of recipes I want to try. This kind of homey cooking is so appealing. The photos are superlative. We are planning a trip to northern Indiana as a result of reading this book. The resources in the back of the book for places to eat, stay, and see will be most helpful.



5. Delightful photography. Recipes all are crowd-pleasers. Thanks to M. Adams for a 'walk through a slice of America'.

5 comments about Mennonite Community Cookbook: Favorite Family Recipes.

1. OK, it's a little old-fashioned, but it's a relic of a bygone age, and many of the recipes deserve to be given new life.

   The weaknesses are mostly in some of the main-course recipes that, by all appearances, can be extremely fatty and greasy. Speaking as someone who just lost 30 pounds, I don't need that! But they're probably good for an occasional indulgence.

   The cookie, cake and pie recipes are the book's strongest point. Saucepan Fudge Cake is easy and unbelievably good, and Rochester Cake (also labelled as Grandmother's Favorite Cake) is outstanding, a layered spice cake with a raisin filling and topping. It's a great favorite of mine for parties.

   The recipes for pickles, jams and jellies will probably interest a lot of people in reviving the dying art of home canning.

   There are recipes that probably don't work at all in today's world, or are probably not up to modern tastes. A Russian "birthday cake" is pumpernickel bread, sliced and spread with cottage cheese, and the recipe is probably presented more as a historical curiosity than anything else. Another recipe, for a "Pork Cake", is something like a cross between a fruitcake and a meatloaf and will probably make modern cooks gag.

   Still, there are many good good good recipes in this book. Hearty old-fashioned fare, not something to base one's diet from, but a great addition to a cook's library.




2. I acknowledge the Madman's points: most of the recipes in this book do not conform to today's dietary standards. But bear in mind that this book was first written over 70 years ago. That's when my mother got her copy. She still has it with the cover's half-torn off and pages stuck in loose and scribbled on. This was a Pennsylvania Dutch housewife's book of recipes for Pennsylvania Dutch housewives. They weren't worried about waistlines or BMI numbers. They needed to feed their families who worked in the fields or guests over for a holiday feast.
   
   I also agree that the strength is the desert section, but that is the specialty of the PA Dutch. My brother, sister, and I would spend winter days with mother making cookies from the recipes and I even took a turn at making the cream puff recipe once for a church social. They turned out great!
   
   Not only is this a wonderful recipe book, but to me, it is a family treasure.



3. The Mennonite Community Cookbook is a major compilation of eleven hundred recipes drawn from Mennonite cookbooks and updated with standard measurements and directions but otherwise unaltered. These simple yet flavorful dishes were contributed by Mennonite families all over the United States and Canada, and include such offerings as Old-Fashioned Bean Soup, Salmon Roll with Egg Sauce, Toasted Spice Cake, and Baked Stuffed Turnips. Each recipe is quite short, yet the instructions are crystal clear and easy for cooks of all skill and experience levels to follow. The Mennonite Community Cookbook is a simply superb repository of old country flavor and culinary creations that have weathered the test of time.



4. I grew up in a Mennonite home and many of these foods, I've given this to cookbook to many of my friends and extended family members. Some really great dishes, try the graham cracker fluff it's a favorite at our house.



5. The recipes in this book are for farmers, who are cold all winter and hot all summer, so they are hearty and filling. However, if you are trying to cook light, they are easily modifiable. Use ground turkey instead of ground beef or sausage. Use turkey sausage instead of pork sausage, etc. You can often substitute canola oil for butter. You really only need to use shortening or lard when it effects the consistency, like in pie crust. Even made as they are written, these recipes are much healthier than the average fast food or restaraunt meal. They are also healthier than the average prepared meal out of the grocery store freezer. They are meant to be served up with heaping helpings of fresh vegetables. Some are great simple fare to serve up when you don't have time to cook. I find that the farmer's summer supper (a mixture of torn bread, fresh fruit and fresh milk) is great on hot summer nights when its too hot to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen. I have used the sour milk griddle cake recipe for decades (substitute buttermilk if the idea of using sour milk bothers you, or sour fresh milk with a tablespoon of vinegar). Recently, I have gotten totally hooked on the buckwheat pancake recipe. I love the cornbread recipe, and I often make it by substituting a can of creamed corn for the milk. Its much healthier than eating store bought bread, with whole grain and vegetables both in the same bread.

5 comments about From Amish And Mennonite Kitchens.

1. Have enjoyed the easy to follow, tasty recipes repeatedly over the past 5 years. Especially like the soups! If you're seeking a good all-around basic 'down home' cookbook...this is a good one!



2. We have found so many tasty and easy recipes in this collection. From the Meatloaf, to the Potato Soup, to the Whoppie Pies... We could go on and on. All the ingredients you will generally have on hand. Simply the BEST.



3. Down-to-earth recipes, with easy to follow directions, have made this cookbook one of my favorites. No fancy names or haute cusine -- just good home cooking. Perfect for those who have a "meat and potatoes" family like mine.



4. I love this cookbook! It has simple, delicious recipes presented in an easy to read format. A plethora of hearty dishes awaits you, including a great section on soups. There is even a recipe for homeade root beer! I would recommend this cook book for anyone who likes classic American dishes and desserts made with easy to find ingredients.



5. This is a great cookbook. It reminds me of the home-style cooking in my mother's 1950's Betty Crocker cookbook. The recipes are not fancy and stylish...they are homey and comforting.

5 comments about Cooking from Quilt Country : Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens.

1. Cooking From Quilt Country is by far the best cookbook (and I have many) that I have ever seen. Whether you want to lose weight or gain weight , recipies can be adapted for your own use and taste . Best of all, recipies can be done "by the book itself". I would honestly say this could be the only cookbook one woulld ever need and definitely would make a lovely gift!



2. book received in great shape and took less then four days to receive



3. COOKING FROM QUILT COUNTRY is a pleasure to read. The title comes from the fact that Amish and Mennonite people are famous for their quilt making skills.
   
   This book gives a little background of the Mennonite and Amish sects and how they came into existence. The roots of the two groups originated with the Protestant Reformation and the Swiss Anabaptist movement. The leader was a Dutch priest by the name of Menno Simons.
   
   This very informative book is filled with wonderful recipes and many photographs. Because the Mennonites and Amish have traditionally been farmers, they're also known for their wonderful foods. There are recipes for everyone here, but I was especially interested in the different vegetable dishes that are presented.



4. The recipes are hearty and filling, taste and look great too. My husband raves each time something new comes from this book!



5. What can I say I'm perpetually busy with three small boys and cooking always seems to allude me culminating in constant eating out.
   
   I have several cookbooks, either the kids won't eat the recipes I make, they taste awful, or it's to expensive with all the ingredients.
   
   This book is an absolute jem for the mother who needs to be able to fix a simple meal, quickly, and without all the ingredient fuss. Most of the recipes in here call for flour, butter, oil, lard, sugar. You know your basic staples.
   
   My kids love these recipes. The apples I made in brown sugar, fantastic. Tastes just like Cracker Barrels. I also like the fact that when your cooking this way the preservatives are at a absolute minimum, which is great.
   
   For those of you who commented on how healthy this book is please look into your history books or pictures of your grandparents. You can't find the fat person. I've been to several countries and America is by far the fattest. The other countries all lacked skim milk, low fat this, fat free this, and corn syrup in everything.
   
   I am by the way overweight and haven't gained a pound from this book. Moderation my dear. I've actually lost weight. Great book, I highly recommend.

5 comments about Amish Friends Cookbook.

1. We have Amish friends in Indiana and Pennsylvania and have enjoyed
   many of the dishes that are in the Amish Friends Cookbook. I love
   this book and would recommend it to anyone that loves good cooking.



2. This cookbook is the best one I have ever read or cooked out of. When you open the book and see the Amish pictures you can almost smell the aroma of it all cooking in an Amish kitchen. This is a must have!



3. I collect Penna. Dutch style cookbooks. This one has not disappointed me at all. I grew up outside of Lancaster County and still enjoy Dutch style food. A lot of the recipes in this book I remember my Grandmother making. They are all very tasty and easy to adapt to your own tastes. I highly recommend it if you want to sample some good comfort food that is easy to make with many ingredients you already have.



4. Amish Friends Cookbook
   I love this cookbook! Has wonderful and easy receipes.
   Highly recommend it.



5. Very nice cookbook. The recipes are simple and common foods that I would make. The quotes at the bottom are inspirational.

5 comments about The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook.

1. I ordered this for my landlady, she said she hasn't cooked from it yet, but she loves it, we both looked through it when it arrived and we loved the little notes from Beverly Lewis, the recipes look delicious and very down to earth, my husband loves to watch the food channel but so much of it is too fancy and strange ingredients, that stinks! I will probably buy this sometime for myself. It is a lovely cookbook, and I recommend it to anyone who likes Beverly Lewis, Cooking, or collecting cookbooks, it is a must have. Go for it you'll not regret it. Have fun in your kitchen.



2. I'm really enjoying the cookbook. The recipes are simple and taste great. I made the breakfast pumpkin bread and everyone that has tried it really likes it.



3. I have this from the library and now I have to buy it--my entire family loves these meals, they are finally all pleased with my suppers! (The kids are 11, 9, 8 and 6). We have loved almost every single recipe. The only note I would add is that there is a LOT of sugar in them, which can be decreased by about 25%, and the dishes turn out even better tasting. I actually bought some Chocolate Crunch Surprise from an Amish-run store in Missouri a few years back--what a treat it was to make it today at home--it is awesome! We also love Bird's Nest, Baked Oatmeal, Perfect Pumpkin Bread, Chicken Mushroom Bake, Cabbage Patch Stew, Ginger Ale Fruit Salad, Grandma Buchwalter's Tuna Salad, and Chicken and Waffles. We didn't like the Hearty Vegetable Soup, and the waffles were too sweet (the only waffle recipe I've ever seen with lots of sugar in it). Also, the homemade mayo recipe does NOT call for Miracle Whip--it's a for real homemade mayo recipe. The recipes come from the author's grandmother's recipe box, and she lived from 1886-1954, so they're authentic, as far as historical, but from Old Order Mennonites. This cookbook has restored my love of cooking, and we're eating so well now!! And if you ever want to make your own Amish Friendship Bread--the starter recipe and all is right here!



4. Not much out of the way from a lot of other cookbooks but has some good standards and lots of nice little quotes.



5. This cookbook is great and has simple recipes and they do not take up your time. The recipes are not for large family. You can make it as it calls for or you can double it. I like this. These are great recipes. Way to go Beverly Lewis. I also like how she gives tips for some the recipes.

5 comments about More-With-Less Cookbook.

1. I have just ordered my second copy of this excellent book as mine (that I have bought back in 1991) is torn, stained and well-used and loved. This book is full of recipes that are simple, delicious, filling and can be adjusted according to the size of your family (I have five children and have to adjust my recipes accordingly). The author writes about being more frugal and how today's diet is high in sugar and wasteful things. I have learned much about re-using leftovers and planning my weekly menus with the ideas in this book. With today's rising food and fuel prices, this book would be an invaluable resource if you're looking to save money and seek more recipes using leftovers.



2. I am reading the best cookbook I have ever read. It is called The More-With-Less Cookbook, by Doris Jantzen Longacre. The first fifty pages are about food politics, how the food industry developed into its current state, and why what North Americans eat effects the entire world and causes other people to go hungry. This book cuts to the core of these issues better than any book I've ever read, even Fast Food Nation or Diet for a Small Planet. So even if you don't read any of the recipes, it still is worth reading the first fifty pages.
   this book has helped me to look at food in a new way. It has reiterated what both of my nutrition teachers have preached, as well, which is: Don't trust the government and certainly don't trust health claims by food manufacturers. They don't have your best interests at heart.
   
   The author of this book was a Mennonite missionary, and wrote this as a church cookbook in the '70's. It became so wildly popular that a publisher picked it up, but even still it is obviously written with a Mennonite community in mind. However, I found the ethics that the author espoused to be absolutely universal- all Golden Rule type stuff. Also, she quotes a Muslim, expresses admiration for Southeast Asian Buddhists, and advocates on behalf of birth control, so I think she must have been a pretty hip lady.
   
   Plus it has spiral binding! All cookbooks should be bound this way. So it shall be when I am in charge.
   
   Anyway, if you stumble across this book in the library, snap it up. It's awesome.



3. Over the last 10 years as the global food market has opened up, I've enjoyed access to international ingredients and new cooking styles but have sometimes forgotten that a meal doesn't have to be unusual to be good. More with Less is simple without being pedestrian. It includes international recipes that don't require running to a specialty market. More with Less touches on nutritional and environmental issues as well as eating as a spiritual act. The author calls for "low-cost, low-fat, low-sugar and less expensive proteins." There are eye-opening dietary tables, cost breakdowns and equivalents. It's a very handy and comforting book. I'll be reaching for it again and again.



4. When I visited a friend she recommended this cookbook to me. She told me that no matter her circumstances, she feels like she always can come up with a meal with this book. Since we are feeling the pinch of rising prices and less money, I bought the book. What she said is correct. You can make some tasty, substantial meals with pretty much what you have on hand.
   
   The author compiled recipes from frugal people, many of whom were missionaries that had to learn to "make do" what local fare. The recipes are simple, easy to understand and fix, and satisfying.



5. This cookbook is so much more than recipes. It's an approach to food that's gentle, kind, thoughtful and practical. The recipes are great, nothing to out there, just good food my family will love. The ideology behind this book is nothing less than inspirational. Highly recommended for those interested in taking care of our bodies, our families and the entire planet.