Weekly Blogroll: Hamless Ham and Bean soup, Rebekah in the Barn; Serenity in Ship, Lemon Sponge Pie, Amish and Yoga?, and German Baptist Singing

By Kevin Williams

We have a fun slate of posts in this week's blogroll, our weekly romp through the blogosphere in search of all things Plain.  Check it out and be prepared for some beautiful images and delicious recipes!

UPDATED - HAMLESS (Sort of) Ham and Bean Soup:  This was included yesterday, but got lopped off somehow, so I am updated it today to include it.  This is a recipe for ham and bean soup from talented young Mennonite writer, Briana Thomas.  Call it "ham and bean" soup without the ham. Sort of.  But it is a healthier version of the soup. Most of Briana's recipes follow a diet plan called Trim Healthy Mama (THM)....so I guess what I need to do is develop some recipes for Dads and write a book and a develop a diet called Fit, Ripped Dada...now there is an idea:)   Okay, here is Briana's healthy version of ham and bean soup.

EDITOR'S PICK - REBEKAH IN THE BARN -  Rhode Island artist Cheryl McNulty has finished another gorgeous Amish image.  Sheesh, if you read Cheryl's post that goes with it and replace the word "painting" with "writing" you get my life: I have unfinished writing projects sitting on my desk and the longer they sit the more difficult it is to "get back into them" and resume the flow.  Anyway, her subjects are almost always Lancaster County Amish and Rebekah is a beautiful representation.  Check out her blog post and the beautiful portrait of Rebekah in the Barn here!

SHIPSHEWANA SERENITY:  David Arment photography shares a single image this week of a young Amish boy plowing a field in northern Indiana.  The image is gorgeous and very striking. I mean that boy can't be more than 10-years-old and look how confidently he is handling a team of horses. Click here to view the image.

LEMON SPONGE PIE:  Patricia's Patchwork posts a delicious-looking recipe for Amish Lemon Sponge Pie today, it looks delicious, kind of resembles in looks a chess-pie or a Bob Andy Pie, classic Amish simple fare. Check it out here.

AMISH AND YOGA?  Not sure I was completely sold on the author's connection between yoga and Amish church:), but these posts aren't for me to judge, they are to share, so without commentary from me, here is this interesting post!

OLD GERMAN BAPTIST BRETHREN HYMN SINGING: The above post does reference Amish church singing which is, in my experience, similar to what you hear at Brethren services.  Someone recently posted a bunch of Old German Baptist Brethren hymn singings online.  No photos with them, just the lyrics and the sound, but the harmony is gorgeous and this is a wonderful opportunity to hear a music which really is very rare today. Click here to listen.