I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.
Published by Zondervan on May 11th 2013
Source: BookLook Bloggers
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Cookbooks, Non-Fiction
Pages: 251
Unbeknownst to many folks outside the Amish Mennonite population in America, Pinecraft, Florida---a village tucked away in the heart of Sarasota---is the vacation paradise of the Plain People. Unlike any other Plain community in the world, this village is a virtual melting pot of Amish and Mennonites from around the world, intermingled with people, like author Sherry Gore's family, who live there year-round. Gore has put together a cookbook that represents the people who make Pinecraft unique. With hundreds of easy-to-prepare recipes, 16 full-color photographs and black-and-white photographs throughout, this cookbook includes traditional favorites such as Sweet Potato Sweet Mash and Mrs. Byler's Glazed Donuts, as well as Florida favorites including Fried Alligator Nuggets, Grilled Lime Fish Fillets, and Strawberry Mango Smoothies. Interspersed with the recipes are true-life stories about births, engagements, weddings, deaths, funerals, celebrations, wildlife encounters, and accidents told through years of Sherry's Letters from Home column published in The Budget, the Amish newspaper. This delightful cookbook offers readers a faith-based, family-focused perspective of the simple way of life of the Plain People. It is truly a breath of fresh air from Sarasota, Florida!
I’ve seen a lot of praise for the author of this cookbook from various Amish-Fiction writers so I was excited to have the chance to pick it up. I held off on writing my review until I tried a few of the recipes which might I add—were DELICIOUS! I wanted to get a picture of the recipes we tried but unfortunately the muffins were gobbled up before I had a chance!
About the Book
I thought this cookbook was great but I will be honest that I’m still slightly confused over cookbooks in e-book format. I understand that this book comes in both print and in e-book but seeing as the ebook version is the one that I read…
The reason ebooks as cookbooks make no sense to me is that you get your kindle or ereader filthy and have to have it in your kitchen which isn’t a very safe place for an electronic. Also, it does not make it easy to flip through and look at which recipes you want to view or to just prop your book open and take a look.
Otherwise, the cookbook itself was a 5 star cookbook simply for the delicious breakfast muffin recipes I found inside! I made the Blueberry Streusel muffins and as I said—they were gone before I could even get a picture of them! I can’t wait to try a few variations of this recipe with other fruits. I’m betting strawberry would be fantastic!
This is a book I will definitely be on the lookout for in printed format. I enjoyed the recipes and the stories inside the beginning of each chapter. I knew very little about Pinecraft, Florida or about the Amish and Mennonite that live there. There was also a “statement of faith” of sorts that helped put their belief system into perspective.
If you’re looking for a recipe book with fantastic desserts—I do suggest this one. I DO suggest getting the book in print rather than ebook publication!
About Sherry Gore
Sherry Gore is editor-in-chief of Cooking & Such magazine, the author of “Simply Delicious Amish Cooking”, “Me, Myself and Pie” and a weekly scribe for the national edition of the Amish newspaper, The Budget, established in 1890. The National Geographic Channel featured Sherry prominently their documentary series, Amish: Out of Order. Sherry’s culinary adventures have been seen on NBC Daytime, the Today Show, Mr. Food Test Kitchen, and Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates across the country. Sherry is a year-round resident of beautiful, sun-kissed Sarasota, Florida, the vacation paradise of the Plain People. She has three children and is a member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite church. When not spending time with her family, writing, or eating, Sherry is a cooking show host, and an official pie contest judge.
Sherry is currently under contract with Harvest House Publishers for a 3-book novel series with best selling author Tricia Goyer.
Hello, this is Salyna from Kissed Books and I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Award! I don’t know if you have been nominated before, but if you have then, well, I guess your nominated again:) feel free to stop by my blog at the post I nominated you in and answer the following questions! Thanks!
http://kissedbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/nominated-for-liebster-award.html