The Amish Cook NOTE: By Kevin Williams February is a very busy time in Amish communities with butchering on the agenda for many families. Butchering is often done during the winter when the job isn’t as hot and messy. Lovina and her family are butchering a 1400 pound steer this week, which will supply them with plenty of meat for the year ahead. The job, however, is long and tiresome and involves the whole family. All of the children from the youngest to the oldest participate and have a different job. The Eichers are also butchering hogs which will allow them to enjoy hams, sausage, and chops over the next year. This year, instead of The Amish Cook Friend Club we are holding a “cookbook drive.” We would like to sell 300 sets to meet our goals this year. I am so excited about our arrangement with Amazon.com to print and mail our cookbooks.

Their customer service is superb and this is the future of the column. Had this arrangement been available to us years ago we would have avoided a lot of problems. Backorders are still being filled, now through the wonderful distribution of Amazon.

To celebrate this new cookbook arrangement all six softcover cookbooks, including the newly released Best of The Amish Cook, Volume III, are now being offered for the lowest price that they’ll ever be offered for: $79 (plus $6 shipping) for all six 200-page titles through March 10. To order these titles DIRECTLY through Amazon.com go www.amishcookonline.com/books and that will take you to the Amazon store. Photos of the books can seen there. Orders can also be placed by calling . Telephone orders will ship same day. Orders accepted by mail by sending checks for $85 to Oasis Newsfeatures, PO BOX 2144, Middletown, Ohio 45042. Additional sets can be ordered for $70. All orders will be placed through and will be filled by Amazon (including backorders). Individual titles are also available for $20, plus $5 shipping. Titles available are:

The Original Amish Cook Cookbook: First published in 1993, this is a classic written by Elizabeth Coblentz and Kevin Williams with recipes, stories and Amish artwork.

The Best of The Amish Cook, Vol 1 : chronological collection of all Amish Cook columns and recipes from 1991 – 1996.

The Best of The Amish Cook, Vol 2 chronological collection of all Amish Cook columns and recipes from 1996 - 2001.

The Best of The Amish Cook, Vol. 3, Vol 2 chronological collection of all Amish Cook columns and recipes from 2002-2007.

The Amish Cook’s Family Favorites & Facts: 2003 by Lovina Eicher and Kevin Williams, collection of recipes, facts about Amish life

The Amish Cook’s Treasury: a book of recipes only from Amish, Mennonite and German Baptist kitchens

Meanwhile, Lovina wanted this recipe shared with readers for this week, it is a favorite during butchering season. People in some areas know this has “scrapple”.

Pon Hoss

3-4 lbs. Pork shanks or hocks

cornmeal or flour

salt

pepper

Over a medium heat in a large pot, cook pork until tender. Remove bones and skim fat from broth. Return meat to broth and add corn meal or flour, just enough to thicken (editor’s note: amount of flour to be added with vary widely depending on the meat used, add flour one cup at a time until broth is a thick paste) Season with salt and pepper. Pour into loaf pans. Chill overnight in a cellar or refrigerator. The next day, slice and fry over medium-high heat until golden brown on each side. Serve