The Amish Cook’s Anniversary Book: 20 Years of Food, Family, and Faith by Lovina Eicher with Kevin Williams
Photography by Betsy Dellaposta
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2010
Part cookbook and part family memoir, The Amish Cook’s Anniversary Book celebrates two decades in the life of an Old Order Amish family, penned by the original Amish Cook, Elizabeth Coblentz, and her daughter and successor, Lovina Eicher. More than 30 recipes are accompanied by full-color photographs and descriptive articles on topics ranging from cooking and gardening to family meals and celebrations.
The articles in this book were written for a weekly newspaper column and are charmingly recounted in a straightforward, unembellished way.
Several entries describe events that are unique to Amish society. For instance, the benefit of retaining an auctioneer with both English and Swiss speaking skills, whether a three-hundred mile trip by horse and buggy is too much in one day, and the importance of keeping enough fuel on hand for a wood- and coal-burning cookstove.
Other entries recount experiences that will be familiar to readers from all backgrounds, like the expanding emptiness after a loved one’s death, the anxiety parents experience over wayward children, and how to find purpose in the unending household tasks of cooking and cleaning.
Of course, there are also entries defined by food: why home-canned sausage tastes better than hamburger in chili, how to make cottage cheese from sour milk, and the logistics of coordinating twenty-eight women to bake ninety pies ahead of a harvest-time wedding.
At the heart of every entry, this mother and daughter turn to their faith. Inside my copy of the book, I wrote their mantra: “God makes no mistakes.”
The book’s photography is stunning. Betsy Dellaposta has captured an Old Order Amish society without infringing on their belief that a photo of a person’s face is a graven image and therefore a sin. By photographing from unexpected angles, Dellaposta artfully and respectfully brings readers into the heart of a very private community. Readers will enjoy The Amish Cook’s Anniversary Book as a discreet peek into a unique culture.
How about you, reader? Do you have a favorite recipe that’s been handed down through the generations with a hope and a promise?
