2 comments about Mini Cookbook Collection: BEST OF PIES WITH ENVELOP (Miniature Cookbook Collection).

1. I did find some of the recipes were a bit hard, but all in all, I had fun trying to make them all. I am not very good at it, but I have always wanted to learn what my Grandmother could do. I have since become pretty good at canning and jelly making. The recipes are very accurate ingredient wise, but make sure you read the directions before starting. It can get confusing..but if you read it twice it makes sense. I am in Japan right now, so haven't had a chance to try them all as I need some ingredients I can't get here. Buy this book...your family will love you for it, and it saves money! You no longer have to buy jelly for $3 at the grocery store.



2. I did find some of the recipes were a bit hard, but all in all, I had fun trying to make them all. I am not very good at it, but I have always wanted to learn what my Grandmother could do. I have since become pretty good at canning and jelly making. The recipes are very accurate ingredient wise, but make sure you read the directions before starting. It can get confusing..but if you read it twice it makes sense. I am in Japan right now, so haven't had a chance to try them all as I need some ingredients I can't get here. Buy this book...your family will love you for it, and it saves money! You no longer have to buy jelly for $3 at the grocery store.

1 comments about Cookbook From Amish Kitchens: Salad (Cookbooks from Amish Kitchens).

1. I have all of these adorable little 'Cook Books from Amish Kitchens', and have really enjoyed them. The are very small and simple... the complete opposite of a coffee-table/display-style cookbooks we see most often today. This is a thin pamphlet with matte paper and does not include interior photos of any recipes (excluding the cover). The text is in a handwritten-style font and clearly explained. The recipes are very homey with basic ingredients and techniques; nothing fancy. Simple, delicious recipes in a simple, small booklet. RECOMMENDED.

2 comments about Betty Groff's Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook.

1. This is one of my most used cookbooks. I was raised eating a lot of Pa Dutch food but the aunt who cooked it passed away before I could pick her brain for all of her secrets. Ms. Groff's recipes are always exactly how I remember my aunt's dishes tasting.



2. I picked up this cookbook hoping to discover some recipes to make for my mother that would remind her of the cooking that she grew up with. I was not disappointed! There were several old favorites and many recipes that I could swear were family secrets. The Dandelion Salad with Bacon Dressing and Potato Filling recipes were very similar to what we make for special occasions, and the Apple Fritters, Hot Potato Salad, Coconut Cake, and the Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes dishes reminded us of several other recipes we had not made in a long time. Listed by food type in an easy-to-follow format, the only thing missing in this book was a beautiful picture of each of the recipes. If you enjoy cooking, are from Penn Dutch country, or just want to sample some regional cooking, this book is a great choice for you! Enjoy!

3 comments about The Best of Amish Cooking : Traditional and Contemporary Recipes Adaped from the Kitchens and Pantries of Old Order Amish Cooks.

1. My neighbor has cooked with some of these recipes for years (she is 76). She was so happy to find these recipes written so that she can give them to her daughter, grand daughters and great grand daughters. The author is an excellant authority on Amish cooking.



2. I love this cook book! It's just full of recipes for that wonderful Amish food, and the thing I really love about it is that for the most part, the ingredients are items you probably already have in your kitchen, as opposed to some of the "coffee table" cookbooks you have to travel to France in order to get the ingredients they call for. I wouldn't be without this one, and I've just finished ordering it as a gift. Get this one, you'll love it.



3. The Best of Amish Cooking: Traditional and Contemporary Recipes Adapted from the Kitchens and Pantries of Old Order Amish Cooks
   
   ANNOTATION
   Traditional and contemporary recipes adapted from the kitchens and pantries of Amish cooks are highlighted. The author has spent years researching the foods, and has interviewed Amish women and dipped into their and recipe boxes. Color plates.
   
   FROM THE PUBLISHER
   This beautiful book by a New York Times bestselling author who is also a leading expert on Amish cooking highlights traditional and contemporary recipes adapted from the kitchens and pantries of Amish cooks.
   
   Phyllis Pellman Good has spent years researching these foods. She has interviewed Amish grandmothers and dipped into old books, diaries, and recipe boxes.
   
   The dishes she selected are ones that were and continue to be popular in eastern Pennsylvania, usually in the Lancaster area. According to Good, they reflect the fruitfulness of Amish fields and gardens, as well as the group's emphasis on family and community.
   
   Color photos set the mood. Wonderful descriptions and introductions prepare the setting. And delicious, savory recipes fill this book with some of the best food you'll find anywhere.
   
   SYNOPSIS
   From the Backcover
   
   Main Selection--Better Homes and Gardens Cook Books Club
   
   This beautiful book by a leading expert on Amish cooking highlights traditional and contemporary recipes adapted from the kitchens and pantries of Amish cooks.
   
   Phyllis Pellman Good has spent years researching these foods. She has interviewed Amish grandmothers and dipped into old books, diaries, and recipe boxes.
   
   The dishes she selected are ones that were and continue to be popular in eastern Pennsylvania, usually in the Lancaster area. According to Good, they reflect the fruitfulness of Amish fields and gardens, as well as the group's emphasis on family and community.
   
   Color photos set the mood. Wonderful descriptions and introductions prepare the setting. And delicious, savory recipes fill this book with some of the best food you'll find anywhere.
   
   "Nobody cooks quite like the Amish! Phyllis Pellman Good sets out to show how anyone can do it in The Best of Amish Cooking." --South Bend Tribune
   
   "Author Phyllis Pellman Good spent years researching for this exceptional book, gathering recipes from Amish grandmothers, diaries, old books, and recipe collections in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area. Recipes are delicious, hearty, wholesome, and in tune with the seasons. Descriptions of the Amish lifestyle make for a good read." --The Cookbook Collector
   
   "This beautiful book by a leading expert on Amish cooking highlights traditional and contemporary recipes adapted from the kitchens and pantries of Amish cooks." --Country Almanac
   
   "Good explains how recipes, foods, and cooking styles figured into the Amish households. Directions are short and to the point, and the photos are charming." --Booklist
   
   Today Phyllis spends much of her time as a book editor. She also edits Festival Quarterly, a magazine exploring the art, faith, and culture of Mennonite peoples. She is the author of the book, A Mennonite Woman's Life, co-editor of the book Perils of Professionalism, and co-author with her husband, Merle, of 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites.
   
   Together she and Merle are executive directors of The People's Place, The Old Country Store, and several galleries and related shops in Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
   
   Phyllis received her B.A. and M.A. in English from New York University.
   
   The Goods are parents of two daughters and members of the East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church.

3 comments about Plain and Happy Living: Amish Recipes and Remedies.

1. Mr. Gail and Emma byler have done a fine job helping us remember all those skills that our grandparents grew up with. Today, with everything brought to us at a supermarket, we have lost much of the knowledge that was common sense years ago. This book lets us in on some of that knowledge that has been forgotten in this fast paced world of today!!



2. Five hundred years ago, it was illegal to own a Bible written in any language other than the dead language of Latin. But the invention of the printing press created a vibrant black market in vernacular Bibles in Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, - thus the Reformation was born. Out of this came a group of Bible readers called the Anabaptists (again baptized) from which the Amish emerged along with the Hutterites and Mennonites, who in time took their beliefs and philosophy of nonviolence to North America. The Native Americans found the Amish to be friendly and not warlike as the English were. Hence, the Amish learned of many native plants and herbs, and how to grow them.
   
   Emma Byler is Amish. Her father taught her the Native American foods and herbal medicines such as golden seal for a sore throat. He and the Amish community also taught her Amish Biblical wisdom. Her subsequent life experience taught her the rest: she raised ten kids on her own beginning at age 33 after her husband died. "We had to make do with what we had", she wrote. Through the years, she recollected the home remedies she had learned and wrote them down; she also wrote down recipes and even an occasional memo of a memorable event. As her writings grew, she found an empty shoe box to keep them in while she kept writing and adding to her library.
   
   One day an anthropologist, Peter Gail, met the now 70-some year old Amish woman and learned of her library. Seeing the treasure there in recipes, Native American home remedies, homemade household goods, food preservation, and decorative knot-tying, Dr. Gail helped her to compile this book. The food list for a 200 guest wedding dinner alone is worth the price of this book.
   
   In addition, Mrs. Byler shares her Amish wisdom brightened by a wonderful sense of humor honed by her faith in God and many life experiences. She offers much food for thought in addition to her recipes for many foods - a delightful chairside companion!



3. In chapter 7 under "Pregnancy" the author writes:
   
   "Strawberry or red raspberry leaf tea may be used until about three weeks before birth only." I don't know about strawberry leaf tea but I know that any herbalist will tell you that you can use red raspberry leaf tea before the last three weeks before the birth. Although, there is some controversy over whether or not it should be used in the first trimester. In the same paragraph, the author writes, "Black cohosh and blue cohosh teas are also good." But, the author doesn't specify a time-frame in pregnancy in which the cohoshes could be used which may lead one to believe that they are okay to use at any time in pregnancy, which they definitely are not.
   
   A couple of books I recommend for herbs in pregnancy are "The Complete Woman's Herbal" by Anne McIntyre and "The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy" by Shonda Parker. Both books are written by professional herbalists.

1 comments about Cookbook From Amish Kitchens: Vegetables (Cookbooks from Amish Kitchens).

1. I have all of these adorable little 'Cook Books from Amish Kitchens', and have really enjoyed them. The are very small and simple... the complete opposite of a coffee-table/display-style cookbooks we see most often today. This is a thin pamphlet with matte paper and does not include interior photos of any recipes (excluding the cover). The text is in a handwritten-style font and clearly explained. The recipes are very homey with basic ingredients and techniques; nothing fancy. Simple, delicious recipes in a simple, small booklet. RECOMMENDED.

1 comments about An Amish Table.

1. This is a good book but I gave it 3 stars for being so tiny and not including much at all. I don't think I paid that much for it though so I guess that's why.

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

2 comments about Cookbook From Amish Kitchens: Meats (Cookbooks from Amish Kitchens).

1. This book is truley amazing! My husband will not eat dinner without meat. My daughter will only eat chicken. And my son is allergic to Veal. You might see my dellema now. I could never find any meals that the entire family would enjoy. Until I found this book. You will adore it from the start. We live near amish neighborhood, because we live out in the country. Who said that these are resipies they have been enjoying fro years! At first I thought nothing would work for my family but I tried it any way and found it to have the most popular dishes in the house! We use this book for dinners at least 4 times a week! My family adores this book and so will yours.

   Amazon Fan, Jan Goodman




2. I have all of these adorable little 'Cook Books from Amish Kitchens', and have really enjoyed them. The are very small and simple... the complete opposite of a coffee-table/display-style cookbooks we see most often today. This is a thin pamphlet with matte paper and does not include interior photos of any recipes (excluding the cover). The text is in a handwritten-style font and clearly explained. The recipes are very homey with basic ingredients; nothing fancy. Simple, delicious recipes in a simple, small booklet. RECOMMENDED.

No comments about Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit.