And so it begins anew

[Dave Grubb]

My Amish green grocers are open for the year. Yesterday I had my wife stop at one of them as she passed by. She came home with wax beans, green beans, sweet corn, blue berries, straw berries, and peaches. Since my wife knew I had tomatoes here she did not get any.

I just finished cleaning the beans and will make them for dinner along with a large ham hock The ham hock is BIG and has more than enough meat for the two of us and I will toss in two Yukon Gold potatoes. That is such a simple meal and yet is wonderful

Added in edit: If you are not familiar with wax beans here is a discription:

Wax beans are a type of green bean that are pale yellow or purple in color and have a similar taste to green beans. They are also known as yellow beans or butter beans. Wax beans get their name from their color, which comes from a lack of chlorophyll, the substance that gives green beans their color. Wax beans are long, slender, and uniform in shape, with a thin, velvety skin. They are a good source of fiber and vitamins A and C.

We are having 12 guests for a July 4th celebration and I will rely heavily on my Amish friends to supply the freshest and tastiest of produce.

There will be corn on the cob, the obligatory hot dogs, sausage with peppers and onions, brats, and hamburgers.

I am going to make a at least two summer salads, this being one:

[UTAH]

Ahhhh... 4th of July. That's when we had our family get together at our house. Typically, 30 would attend (half were family half were friends). We stopped doing it in 2016 (getting run over by a truck tends to slow one down).

Our big food items were pizza, ribs and chicken. We live on a circle, which was perfect for closing off the street to traffic, as well as doing firework displays. It was considered an honor to light the fireworks - with Nieces & Nephews snapping up those duties - which was extraordinary to see happen. Our new house is on a circle too, which is no coincidence. It's a great way to meet one's neighbors at such events.

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

I'm sad to say that we used to have a much bigger crowd and I would have it partially catered. It took too much out of me to do it all. Now the crowd is thinned---most of us are old, many of us have moved on to a place with endless picnics

Our middle son who is a chef will bring somethings and everyone is asked to bring a desert so it is much easier for me.

My heart was full of joy this week when our grandchildren all expressed disappointment in not being able to be here----they actually like hanging out with the old people on occasion

The two oldest are both working on the 4th. Our granddaughter who is going into her third year at Villanova is working 12 hour shifts at the county hospital and her younger brother, who begins college in the fall, is working at Dick's. They are all good kids.

[Honda]

I love fresh out of a garden vegetables. But Amish diets are far too heavy for me. I don't like to be filled at dinner.

[Dave Grubb]

If I ate an Amish diet I would be dead by now

[UTAH]

No Amish experience, other than what I've seen on the web, I have none. But, searching for "Amish diet" turned up very edible results.

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

I'm not sure what you might have found but in many cases their diet is very high in fats and carbs. They make and consume piles of egg noodles which are homemade and will often make a meal of noodles drenched in high fat gravy.
Many will sell their vegetables and eat little themselves. Especially the older women suffer from obesity. The men seldom have weight problems due to their activities.