Weekly Blogroll: More Art, Swiss Bean Salad, Roasted Vegetable Subs, S’More Bars and more!

By Kevin Williams

Kind of funny how sometimes the weekly blogroll round-up evolves into an unintentional “theme.”  This week?  Healthier recipes are on the menu.  That wasn’t my plan, that was just sort of where the posts led.  Interestingly, Amish cooking as a whole seems to be shifting back towards its roots which were originally farm to table meals.  That became derailed with the arrival of convenience food and processed foods, but many Amish are shifting back towards healthier meals.  Heck, I think Gloria’s column the other week was the first time in 25 years the word “vegetarian” has ever been mentioned in The Amish Cook column.

But, first let’s start with art.

AMISH-THEMED JOURNALS:  I do keep a journal by my bedside so I can record thoughts and ideas and dreams.  I don’t write in it a ton and this one might be a little girly for my taste, but for 99 percent of you reading this, this would be a gorgeous journal to use.  Check out Cheryl McNulty’s new Amish-themed journals here.  While we are on the topic of Cheryl’s art, look at this gem she completed of her niece’s daughter.  Wow, I think she nailed it!  Hmmmm, maybe I need to send her a photo of Aster!:)

Record your thoughts in this Amish-themed journal….

EDITOR’S PICK – SWISS THREE BEAN SALAD:  To appreciate this recipe, you have to read the backstory on the blog.  Really, recipes are “cultural snapshots” into a particular time and place and that’s why I love them.  Recipes are in some ways like fossils unearthed, they capture the moment as it was….This recipe comes from Berne, Indiana (by way of Baton Rouge!)…well, I won’t rehash, you’ll have to go to the blog to read it….I’d love to find that cookbook that the recipe came from. This recipe is from the early 70s and I’m surprised to see garbanzo beans in it, I just didn’t those were that widely commercially available in rural areas during that time.  Click here for the recipe and story.

And while we are focusing on healthier fare, how about….

THE FRUGAL MENNONITE’S ROASTED VEGETABLE SUBS:  News flash,you don’t have to have meat all the time…some veggie versions of foods are just as good and filling and I bet this sub fits that bill! Click here for the recipe.

HEALTHY CINNAMON ROLLS:  Talented young Mennonite writer Briana Thomas offers up a recipe for a healthier version of homemade cinnamon rolls.  Check it out here.

Okay, after all that healthy eating now we need dessert, Mandy at the Amish Side of Me posted a recipe for this decadent treat that I may just have to make with Aster sometime…..

S’MORES COOKIE BARS:  Click here for chocolately, marshmallowy, bliss.