The Amish Cook at Home Reviewed by Cincinnati.com

The Amish Cook turns a page

By Polly Campbell • pcampbell@enquirer.com • October 29, 2008

Lovina Eicher, aka the Amish Cook, whose syndicated column appears in The Enquirer and 130 other papers, has a new book, "The Amish Cook at Home" (Andrews McNeel, $29.99) written with her editor, Kevin Williams of Middletown.

The column was originated by Eicher's late mother, Elizabeth Coblentz, and Williams in 1991. Eicher took over writing it in 2002.

She and her husband, Joe, have eight children and live in southern Michigan. They farm with horses, use a horse-drawn buggy for transportation and use no electricity in their home. They do have a telephone in their barn, from which she talked about her life.

She will be in town Nov. 8 on a tour promoting the book, which the publisher describes as "an up-close-and-personal look at today's Amish life and cooking through the eyes of an Old Order Amish family." Williams rented a van to bring Eicher and her family to Cincinnati.

Go behind the scenes:

Question: What chores are you leaving behind for your book tour?

Answer: The garden is pretty well finished, we've made the tomato sauce and juice. Joe let the chickens loose so they finished up anything we didn't.

Q: Is it a good year in the garden?

A: The zucchini did well. I've got some in the freezer. I've put a lot out by the road for people to take. The carrots and the cucumbers did well, too. And I've got about 10-12 bushels of potatoes.

Q: It seems like your children have a lot of chores to do. How do you interest them in cooking and doing chores?

A: We work together. They take an interest in what I'm doing and help. Loretta, who's 4, likes to pick up the broom and sweep. She just started to like seeing the house look nice. They learn sewing by making doll clothing.

Q: You often write about cooking for big events like weddings and church gatherings. That seems to be an important part of Amish life.

A: I went to a wedding recently and was a helper in the kitchen. We made 320 pounds of fried chicken. There were 30-40 women working together, I was helping with the dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. It was very enjoyable; my sisters and cousins were all there.

Q: You don't use electricity, but you have some other conveniences?

A: We have a propane refrigerator and freezer that work really well. I use a hand-held egg beater, and I like a chopper I bought at a Tupperware party. For making tomato sauce, I have a Victoria strainer.

Q: What would you like people to learn about the Amish way of life from your column and book?

A: That we really have a good time together as a family. People wonder what we do at night without TV. We do a lot of singing, read books and play games. We probably do have a lot more chores than most people, but it's not all chores.