Book Review - The Amish Cook's Baking Book by Lovina Eicher

 

Book:  The Amish Cook's Baking Book

Author:  Lovina Eicher with Kevin Williams

Publisher:   Andrews McMeel Publishing

   200 pages, hardcover.

 

 This wonderful collection includes instructions for baking breads, pies, pastries, cookies, and more. It was written by Lovina, who writes a column, from home, called, "The Amish Cook."  There is an explanation at the beginning which shares that an Amish kitchen does not contain modern appliances, such as food processors, blenders, or bread makers. Yet the kitchen is stocked with pots and pans and hand-operated utensils. 

The photographs of the bread and cookies look incredible. The instructions for each recipe look easy to follow. 

There is a quote from Lovina's mother, Elizabeth, from 1998, at the beginning of the bread section:

"While often sliced and served for supper, fresh bread can be found on the table at any meal of the day. I used to make a lot more bread when all of our children were still living at home - usually about nine loaves a week. I would bake the bread before they came so when they got in the door it was good and warm."

On the back cover of the book, there is a wonderful quote by the author, "Baking is something my mother taught me, much like sewing, ironing, or gardening. Now, as a mother of eight children of my own, I am beginning to teach them how to bake. I have many cherished memories of baking throughout my life."

The description of home life scattered throughout, along with color photographs and recipes make the book a treasure.  It is beautifully done.

 

 

 * Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *

 

 

Book Review - The Amish Cook's Anniversary Book by Lovina Eicher

 

Book:  The Amish Cook's Anniversary Book: 20 Years of Food, Family, and Faith

Author:  Lovina Eicher with Kevin Williams

Publisher:  Andrews McMeel Publishing

   290 pages, hardcover.

 

This is an incredible book of history from the pen of an Amish wife and mother.  It includes full color photographs of Amish life, the scenery, the food, and activity of home life. It is charming, and depicts a simple life with a lot of old fashioned hard work.

The author, Lovina, is the daughter of Elizabeth Coblentz, who wrote a newspaper column called, "The Amish Cook." She called them "letters" and shared recipes and letters from home.  She sent these to her editor, Kevin Williams, who has compiled this book.  After her mother passed into Heaven, Lovina continued writing the column. 

This anniversary collection provides a treat as we read about daily life in an Amish home. The book includes the very first column by Elizabeth, from August 1991. Lovina began writing in 2002. The last letter in this book is by Lovina and is written in February of 2010.

The sweet letters are endearing and inspiring. The recipes are wonderful and written in a way that is easy to follow. It is an excellent book.

* Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *

 

 

Southern Style Biscuits

I enjoyed this video so much. It is by a great-grandmother in her 80's as she shows how to make biscuits for the family, the way her mother used to. Her mother made 40 buttermilk biscuits each morning for her 9 children.




If this video does not play for you, here is the direct link: https://youtu.be/pxNQ6Tpb9oA

Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams - Book Review

Book:  Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams

Author:  Pat Williams with Jim Denney

Publisher:  Revell

196 pages, paperback


This is a very well written book, consisting of 9 chapters.  Coach Wooden was a legendary basketball coach.  He not only trained his players in the game, he also trained them for life with his godly wisdom.  This book brings to light the summer basketball camps many were privileged to attend.

We hear stories from some of the coaches who worked at the camps.  We also hear from many of the campers themselves, as they look back over the years to when they were younger enjoying the basketball lessons.

The book is inspiring as it shares many of the wise sayings of the coach.  We also get the sense that he was a very humble man with a great Christian faith.

Here are a couple of my favorites from the book:

Page 65, "The example Coach set by doing things like that made a big impression on me. Coach didn't preach.  He lived his lessons. He set an example. Whenever you were around him, it was lesson after lesson. He'd never say, "This is how you should  lead,' but if you had eyes to see and ears to hear, you'd learn by watching the man."

Page 75, "He would say, 'Drink deeply from good books, first and foremost, the Bible.' I think he spent a lot of time there, and his faith was a grounding point."


Reading this book will make you want to be a better parent. It will make you want to be a better person, in general.   You might even start taking notes, or highlighting passages in the book, for later reference.

* Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *

The Wife - Short Story by Washington Irving

                            THE WIFE

                   by Washington Irving, 1800's

note - this story has been moved. It can now be found at The Legacy of Home Press on the following page:

"The Wife"

What Does Your Home Say About You?

I saw a great quote at a "Sword of the Lord" ministry page.  Here it is:

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G. Campbell Morgan said: 'My father came into my house soon after I was married and looked around into every room, and then he said to me, 'Yes, it is very nice, but nobody will know, walking through here, whether you belong to God or the Devil.' I went through and looked at the rooms again, and I thought: 'He is right.' So we made up our minds straightway that there should be no room in our house, henceforth, that had not some message, by picture or wall text, for every corner should tell that we serve the King."


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I love this!  We ought to have beautiful, cheerful things in our home that show we belong to the Lord.  What does your home say about you?