Weekly Blogroll: Ode to August, Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cake, Grandma's Porch, York, Nebraska, and More!

By Kevin Williams

Time for our weekly romp through the blogosphere in search of anything and everything Plain and, of course, many of these steps are just favorite online destinations of mine that I like to visit.  So, here we go:

MAYBERRY MEATLOAF:  We'll be hearing a lot more from Patricia at the Patchwork Quilt blog in the days ahead, but for today, I wanted to feature a meatloaf recipe she posted....looks so good, basic...nothing like this vintage Americana dish.  This particular recipe isn't Amish per se, but it is small-town classic. Click here for the recipe!

ODE TO AUGUST:  I've said before, I want this guy's life.  Just living in the Holmes County hills so steeped in  the seasonal rhythms of life.  This is probably one of my favorite essays from Bruce Stambaugh because he just so perfectly captures the essence of August in Amish country.  If you can't make it to Holmes County, Ohio in August, well, you don't need to, you can just read his essay today and that captures it perfectly.  I'm not sure what my favorite month is in Ohio's Amish country, they all offer their own gifts, but there's a cresendo of time starting in mid-August and going through mid-October that is probably my favorite. Click here to read Bruce's ode to August.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CREAM CHEESE CAKE:  The Amish Side of me shares a recipe for chocolate chip cream cheese cake this week.  Yum.  Click here for the recipe.

GRANDMA's FRONT PORCH:  I like the Amish Side of Me blog because she doesn't disown her Amish roots.  There's an authenticity to her writing and experiential telling that I like.  Like Bruce's post above, you really feel like you are sitting on her Amish grandma's wrap-around porch.  Great post here.

MEEMAW'S ADVENTURE:  Meemaw blogs from her home near Iowa's largest Amish settlement, but she also strikes out on the road a lot and I love reading of her visits to America's small towns and diners.  This one caught my eye because she was in York, Nebraska.  Shout-out to to our readers in York.  The York News-Times is the only Nebraska newspaper to carry The Amish Cook column.  Because of that I have been to York a couple of times to give talks at the local library.  But I never stopped (I should have) at Chances R Diner. Check out MeeMaw's stop in York!