Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

I’m away at the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta this week and the wonderful Judy Christie has agreed to guest host Thursday’s show. (THANK YOU Judy!) She’ll be interviewing the fascinating Kevin Williams of The Amish Cook.

More About Kevin: Kevin Williams is creator and editor of the syndicated column, The Amish Cook, written by Lovina Eicher. The Amish Cook appears weekly in over 120 newspapers from coast to coast.

In 1991, Williams cooked up an idea for an Amish recipe column and convinced Old Order Amish grandmother Elizabeth Coblentz to write it. Today, The Amish Cook tradition lives on as Elizabeth’s daughter, Lovina Eicher, continues to pen the column each week.  Kevin is an author and speaker, sharing his experiences among the plain people.  Kevin has co-authored 10 cookbooks, including the strong selling “Amish Cook at Home” and “The Amish Cook’s Baking Book” (Los Angeles Weekly selected this book the best baking book of 2010).

More About The Amish Cook: The Amish Cook is a popular newspaper column seen in over 130 daily and weekly newspapers throughout the USA. The column has been penned by Old Order Amish mom, Lovina Eicher, since 2002. But the column has an even longer history.

Elizabeth Coblentz was the original Amish Cook. She penned the newspaper column from 1991 through 2002, charming audiences with her simple wisdom, easy recipes and loving accounts of life on her Indiana farm. Elizabeth’s column grew from one paper in 1991 to over 100 at the time of her death. Her daughter, Lovina, at the urging of her editor, took over the column. Elizabeth’s love and words live on through Lovina’s pen.

Lovina Eicher (pronounced Luh-Vine-Uh EYE-Ker) is one of eight children to Elizabeth and Ben Coblentz. Lovina takes over “The Amish Cook” column from her mother. Lovina is married to her husband, Joe. They’ve been married since 1994. As of October 2002, Lovina and Joe are the parents of eight children: Elizabeth, Susan, Verena, Benjamin, Loretta, Joseph, Lovina, and Kevin. Each week, Lovina – in much the same way her mother did for over 10 years – shares snippets of her life as a traditional Amish mother. Lovina’s column is seen in over 100 newspapers.

Kevin Williams has been editor of The Amish Cook column since its inception 20 years ago. As an 18-year-old college sophomore journalism major, Kevin “discovered” Elizabeth, and an unlikely duo was created. Kevin edits and markets the column, while Lovina – as her mother did before – writes it weekly. Kevin is a nationally noted expert and author about Amish, Mennonite and other plain cultures.

Kevin will soon release his first work of fiction, entitled “The Amish Appeal”.

More about The Amish Cook’s Baking Book: For the Amish, baking is an art form, a pleasure, and a way of life. The emotion they bring to baking is at the heart of The Amish Cook’s Baking Book. Together, celebrated Amish cook Lovina Eicher and her editor, Kevin Williams, introduce a new generation to Amish baking.

This baking book is filled with 80 beautiful photographs and over 100 classic Amish recipes for sweets that have been handcrafted in Lovina Eicher’s Amish kitchen. The Amish Cook’s Baking Book includes the following chapters: Pies; Breads, Rolls, and Pastries; Cookies; Cakes; Bars ‘n’ Brownies; and Special-Occasion Baking. Home cooks get an extra treat with sidebars from Lovina’s children as well as interesting insights into Amish life both inside and outside the kitchen.

“Baking is something my mother taught me, much like sewing and ironing, or gardening. Now, as a mother of eight children of my own, I am beginning to teach them how to bake. I have many cherished memories of baking throughout my life.” –Lovina Eicher