This Amish Cook made a splash when it came out in the mid-90s, I think I remember seeing articles about in the Wall Street Journal and NYT
By Kevin Williams
This is a various on our Amish Etsy feature, this is “Amish Amazon”….I just think it’s fun to get a window into Amish culture and pop culture by using sites like Etsy and Amazon as “windows” into that world.
AMISH SURPRISE SPIDER BOX: I had to laugh at this one and I definitely can see this being made by an Amish family. This is right up their wheelhouse in terms of sense of humor. I’m generalizing, but for the most part Amish people have a wonderful and wicked sense of humor. This really would be a hilarious gift (for the right person, some people wouldn’t be so petrified they wouldn’t find it funny). Some details: This surprise box is made of plywood,and handcrafted by an Amish family in Indiana.Size: 3-1/2W x 4-3/4D x 4-3/4H;the rubber spider hidden in the box. Hilarious! Click here to see this, I think it’s funny!
AMISH BUGGY LANTERN: Buggy lanterns are not used everywhere. I feel like I saw them being used in Belle Center, Ohio’s Amish settlement at night. I’m not often in Amish communities at night, my night-vision is not the best and I just don’t like having to watch for poorly lit buggies after dark, but I remember seeing these buggy lights and they were effective, you could see them quite a distance away. They were sort of displayed in a hanging box outside the buggy.
CRYSTAL BUGGY: We’ve seen ornamental buggies made out of coal, wood, or iron, but crystal? Wow, this is beautiful. I should add this to my Christmas list. Click here to see.
SMITH’S AMISH CREAM: Has anyone tried this stuff? Man, it is tempting to do so. I have the world’s worst feet (I know, too much info) Smith, by the way, is not an Amish name so I just find the whole product curious. Their website sheds very little light into its Amish origins and because of that I have a healthy dose of skepticism. But click here to check this out. Let me know if you try it.
PLAIN AND HAPPY LIVING: This is a book that made a real splash when it came out in the mid-90s just as The Amish Cook column was really gaining steam. It was/is written by Emma Byler an Amish woman in Middlefield, Ohio (Geauga County). But this book is much more than a cookbook, it’s a combination journal, cookbook, and medicine cabinet of tried and true folk wisdom. I think the image of the Amish as somehow sitting on some vast reservoir of medicinal/home remedy knowledge that the rest of us aren’t privy to is overplayed for marketing purposes (see the foot cream above) but I DO think that there’s been a lot of wisdom passed down through the Amish generations and some of that wisdom pertains to medicine and is worth listening to. Click here to check out Emma Byler’s book which is still available all these years later.
