Title:	The Pie Lady: Classic Stories from a Mennonite Cook and Her Friends
	Author:	Greta Isaac
	Published:	April 23, 2019, Herald Press
	No. of Pages:	202
	Cover Price:	$14.99 Paperback

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What a delightful book! The Pie Lady: Classic Stories from a Mennonite Cook and Her Friends is full of what cookbook lovers really like. Not only does this book contain fabulous recipes, but it has delightful stories of Mennonite women. Since many of us are unfamiliar with the Mennonite culture, this book gives us some insight. Of course, Mennonites are famous for their incredible food and baked goods, and after each story, there are recipes relating to the stories.

The recipes are well-written and simple. They are for dishes most of us want to cook. Honestly, who can resist Caramel Dumplings or Marionberry Pie. There is a recipe for Christmas Date Salad that is both unique and delicious; it is easy to make, too. Hot Cross Biscuits are a cross between a bun and a biscuit, and are wonderful. There are recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, and main dishes like Smothered Steak and Pea Soup and Dumplings. The book includes a recipe for Russian Pancakes which is easy and good, as well as a recipe for Esther’s Recipe for Pierogies and Onion Gravy. There are coffee cakes, snacks, and salads in the book, and an excellent recipe for Perfect Cinnamon Bread (I cut it down to use in my automatic bread machine for a smaller batch with perfect results).

All told, this is an excellent cookbook. The only real downside is that there are no pictures. In our modern day, with digital cameras and electronics, there is really no excuse to skip pictures. Other than the lack of pictures, this is a book that will be fun to read, and even more fun to cook out of. Every time I pick up this book, I find another recipe to put in my queue. The recipes will keep cooks happy – both new, inexperienced cooks and those who are experienced.

Highly recommended.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.