Weekly Blogroll: Amish Pepperoni Rolls, Ohio Amish Country, Pennsylvania Amish Country, Amish Noodles, and Plain Marie

By Kevin Williams

This is our weekly romp through the blogosphere in search of anything and everything Plain.  I came up with several items of interest so let's plunge in and enjoy!

AMISH NOODLES:  What tastes better than a big bowl of buttered homemade noodles with maybe a few veggies tossed in?  I'm sure there is something that tastes better, but I am hard-pressed to tell you what it would be!   Check out this easy recipe from The Canning Granny for homemade Amish noodles and read her thoughts on the Amish practice of shunning (I'll chime in here, more and more it seems like strict shunning is only practiced by the most conservative Amish churches, the practice as it is portrayed in mainstream media is not nearly as widespread as one would think).  Anyway, click here for the noodles!

Buggies outside of a business in Berlin, Ohio

BERLIN, OHIO CAMPER REPORT:   SIGH, those of you who read me regularly know that I have a restless streak....I'll sometimes pass a giant RV on the highway and wonder what life would be like on the road:  no roots, no anchors, just living like a tumbleweed pinwheeling in the wind from place to place with no real plan (LOL, okay, I have the "no real plan" part down).  There's a romance to the road that always seems to seduce me.  I doubt I'll ever live from a camper or RV, but I can see the appeal of it for those that do it.  Anyway, Pop and Meemee, a retired couple from North Carolina, spend about half their time on the open road with their camper in tow exploring various parts of the country. This past week they visited Berlin, Ohio (a lovely outpost in Ohio's Amish country). Some of the stuff in the blog is geared towards family and you won't understand it.  That's OK, check out the blog anyway because she posts some really great photos of Ohio Amish country, from bunches of buggies to a full corn crib.  Good stuff!! Check it out here.

MORE ROADSTERS:  Now, this is coincidentally.  In the same week, another "road dispatch"  this report comes from Jim and Nanc who travel FULL TIME in their Dutch Star motorhome.  And if you look at the map on their website, it looks like they've been pretty much everywhere except the far NW Territories of Canada. I wonder if MeeMee and Pop have ever crossed paths with Jim and Nanc?  It's one thing to live on the road part time, to have a "home base" to return to on occasion, but to do it FULL TIME?  Now, that really captures my imagination.   As a married couple you'd really have to get along well to do it, I'd think.  I think even happily married couples need at least some space. I can't imagine Rachel and I being crammed in an RV 24/7, although perhaps by the time you get to be older, retired, etc you don't need the space. I don't know (it seems like doing this would cost a fortune too, but maybe if you don't have a mortgage, etc, it evens out).  But seems like a fascinating life! Click here to read their dispatch from Pennsylvania's Amish country.

AMISH PEPPERONI ROLLS:  I've never been a huge pepperoni fan, but I'm obviously in the minority there since pepperoni seems like the most popular pizza topping.  This recipe, where the pepperoni filling is ensconced in an Amish bread, might be the closest I'd come to really liking pepperoni.   Check out this delicious recipe and great photos here!

WHAT TO DO WHEN A GARDEN FAILS/BUTCHERING A PORCUPINE:  Checking with with Just Plain Marie this week, she offers some sound advice and humorous commentary about what to do when (and if you garden long enough, it IS "when" and not "if") your garden fails.  Click here to read (oh, and, yes, some interesting stuff about butchering porcupines....something I hope never to do).