The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook (3 page)
Read The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
Homemade Baking Powder
Homemade Grape Juice
Hot Chocolate Mix I
Hot Chocolate Mix II
Lemonade Concentrate
Master Biscuit Mix
Master Brownie Mix
Master Cornbread Mix
Master Oatmeal Muffin Mix
Master Pancake Mix
Mexican Rice Mix
Orange Float Mix
Onion Dip Mix
Onion-Flavored Rice Mix
Playdough
Ranch-Style Dressing and Dip Mix
Red Beet Eggs
Snitz
Spicy and Sweet Barbecue Sauce
Vegetable Dip Mix
White Sauce Mix
SUBSTITUTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS
Bless my kitchen, Lord, and light it with love. As I plan and cook my meals, keep me ever mindful of the wonderful benefits that come from serving my family. I pray, Lord, that my loved ones will feel Your presence and rest content in Your grace and provision. Amen
.
She brings her food from afar
.
She also rises while it is yet night
,
And provides food for her household
…
A woman who fears the L
ORD
, she shall be praised
.
Give her the fruit of her hands
,
And let her own works praise her in the gates
.
P
ROVERBS
31:14-15,30-31
I
come from a long line of good cooks, Plain and otherwise, and many of the recipes in this cookbook have been handed down in my family for generations. Other recipes were gleaned from friends at the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church that I attended.
For as long as I can remember, the women in my family (and even some of the men) have enjoyed time spent in the kitchen preparing meals for those we love. Some of these recipes weren’t written down, but instead passed down as the daughters worked alongside mothers, learning by doing. Certainly, that’s how my sisters and I learned, and by the time we were teens, we were knowledgeable and efficient in the kitchen, and we loved turning out goodies on a weekly basis. Our cookie jar was never empty. Mama also felt strongly that her daughters would learn, among other things, how to turn out a perfect crust, and I still love to bake pies as a result of her careful instruction.
My mother raised four girls and one boy (who is an excellent cook also), and Christmastime was especially enjoyable for us. For weeks beforehand we’d gather daily in the kitchen and turn out all sorts of special baking that would find its way into gifts for neighbors and anyone who showed up unexpectedly at our door, with plenty left over for us. Oftentimes, on long winter evenings, my mother and father would crack sacks of walnuts harvested from my grandfather’s trees, while my sisters and I sat at the kitchen table and copied and recopied family recipes or played board games. Dad would more than likely pop a big pan of popcorn and top it with melted butter and salt—what a treat that was! We’d talk and work and eat, and those memories of the family gathered around the kitchen table are precious to me even after many years.
Family lore has it that during the Depression our grandmother issued a standing invitation to the extended family. Every week after church, the whole clan would gather at her table for a big meal. Sometimes this was the only good meal some of the relatives could look forward to all week, and Grandmother always made sure there were plenty of leftovers to send home with the aunts and uncles and cousins. Because they lived on a farm, my grandparents were able to be generous in spite of the lean times. Mama said they were as poor as church mice right along with everyone else, but food was plentiful and they were openhanded.
When I raised my own family—I have three
grown boys—I was so thankful that my mother had taught me the joys of cooking up love in the form of good food, because sometimes it seemed as if I spent all my time in the kitchen. I always kept a large garden, and we had a small fruit orchard and 53 blueberry bushes that I tended. We raised chickens for eggs and meat, turkeys, hogs, sheep, rabbits, and angora and milk goats. I canned anywhere from 400 to 600 jars of food each season to help see us through the winter, and I froze and dehydrated many pounds of produce as well. We didn’t have store-bought bread, and while raising my children, I ground wheat and rolled oats to use in my bread baking. I usually made four loaves at a time, and one loaf was always made into cinnamon sugar bread, which we would take from the oven and devour on the spot. I took such joy in being able to take care of my family with the fruits of my labor.
The recipes you will find in this book are the recipes my children were raised on. Good, solid food that “fills in the cracks,” as we like to say. My sons are grown now, with wives and families of their own, and every one of them cooks. I love it when one of my boys calls me up to ask me a cooking question—they may not realize it, but they have begun making memories of their own.
In this fast-paced world, there are few things better than taking the time to prepare the ingredients for a great meal and gathering the family around the table to enjoy the results. For a short while, our cares and responsibilities fade into the background, and we can focus on our families, delighting in the small news of the day and savoring the pleasure that comes from a lovingly prepared home-cooked meal. I hope that some of the recipes in this book will find a place in your kitchen, and that as you prepare your family meals you, too, will take pleasure in the simple art of cooking for loved ones.
Blessings!
Georgia
M
orning comes early for the Amish.
Often rising as early as 4:30 a.m., the males in the family head to the barn to care for the many animals usually found on an Amish farm. There are cows to milk, horses and pigs to feed, and eggs to gather from a flock of chickens. So much to do! Morning chores can easily take an hour or more. It’s easy to work up quite an appetite.
Meanwhile Mother and the girls fire up the cookstove and begin breakfast preparations. The morning meal is important for Amish families. It must feed them and keep them going for many hours of steady work—the noonday meal is a long way off.
The breakfast table is also the place where the adults discuss their plans and schedules for the day, where scholars fuel themselves for the hours of learning ahead, and where the first silent prayer of the day is shared by all.
Without a word, Father bows his head, and the family follows. Again without a word, Father begins to serve himself from the many plates and bowls on the table. Prayer time is over. Now it’s time to dig in and eat up.
Breakfast is served!
Joy comes in the morning
P
SALM
30:5
Lord, I thank You that Your mercies are new every morning.
What an encouragement that is! As I begin this new day, may I be mindful of Your love for me. Help me to pass that love on to everyone I interact with today—to my family, friends, and strangers. Open the eyes of my heart that I might see the needs of others. I pray, Lord, that You will use me today to lighten someone’s load and to remind them that You are faithful—great is Your faithfulness!
1 lb. bacon, cut up
1 onion, chopped
6 eggs, beaten
4 cups hash browns, thawed and shredded
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
1½ cups cottage cheese
1¼ cups Swiss cheese, shredded
In a large skillet, brown the bacon and onion, stirring, until bacon is crisp; drain.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients and then stir in bacon mixture. Transfer to a greased rectangular baking dish and bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until eggs are set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
Any housewife, no matter how large her family, can always get some time to be alone—by doing the dishes.
1 lb. sausage
1 batch biscuits, unbaked
1 cup potatoes (use shredded fresh or frozen)
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
5 eggs
½ cup milk
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Cook the sausage until browned; drain.
Grease a jelly roll pan and pat the biscuit dough in the bottom of pan. Spoon the sausage over the dough and then spread the potatoes and cheese on top.
Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over the pizza and bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until done.
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups flour
¾ cup shortening
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup hot coffee
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
Mix together the brown sugar, flour, and shortening just until mixed; there will be lumps. Take out 1 cup of sugar and flour mixture and set aside to be used later for a crumb topping.