Multiple Vitamins

I take vitamins. Besides a healthy diet, exercise, and proper rest, the vitamins help promote a healthy life. I have been sick and I have been well. It is much better to be well.

What is MORE IMPORTANT than the vitamin pills I swallow, are the Spiritual Vitamins that I take each morning. They are life itself. They come from the Bible. It is the “Living Word”.

This morning I had a good breakfast and swallowed my vitamin pills. In a few minutes, I will take two of the Great Pyrenees dogs on a two mile hike. I have already had my spiritual vitamins. They did not come out of a bottle. These vitamins came out of the book of Psalms.

I will share my vitamins with you. They may do you some good too. I know they blessed my heart.

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the Lord.” He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.”

Psalm 91:10,11 “‘No evil will befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”

It is going to be a good day.

July 29, 2010 Posted in: Contemplations No Comments

Not Your Ordinary Sauce

What is now simmering on my stove is NOT your ordinary sauce. This sauce did not come from a jar or a can. It is sauce from the garden and will decorate some pasta for dinner tonight.

The basic ingredients are tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, onions, and garlic.They were all picked from the main garden about an hour ago. After they were washed and chopped and placed in my large stock pot, I made one final trip outside. This time it was to the kitchen herb garden. Sauce just isn’t sauce with out fresh herbs. I cut Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, and Garlic Chives. They were quickly stirred into the sauce to simmer until this evening. Adding a little sea salt and fresh pepper, I completed my sauce.

Sometimes, I add a pound of burger to the sauce. Sometimes, I grate some mozzarella cheese. Tonight is neither. I have been making Pesto for several weeks. My Spaghetti noodles will be topped with the sauce and with Pesto. I make even make some garlic bread.

When we lived in the city, I bought sauce in a jar. It was easy and quick. It was okay if you did not have anything to compare it to. Now we live in the country and grow our own sauce. It is not easy and never quick, but it is the REAL DEAL!

July 28, 2010 Posted in: Kitchen No Comments

Compost Pile

It is amazing what lovely things can grow on top of our compost pile. The pile has straw from the sheep pen and sheep poop. It has straw from the chicken pen and chicken poop. It has straw from the turkey pen and turkey poop. It has leaves, grass clippings, garden trimmings, small tree branches, assorted herbs that tried to invade our big garden, and rotted produce.

Our compost pile is teaming with worms and ugly bugs. It is good that we started it on the back side of our property. It is not neat and tidy like some of the compost piles we have seen in the city. It is not contained in a Forrest green bin. It is huge and ugly and sometimes smells bad.

In spite of all that, our compost pile is a friend of the farm. When it is “ripe” it gets tilled into the main garden and flower beds. It is spread all around the fruit trees and under the grapes. It helps the garden feed us.

Every morning, I go on a garden patrol. I can keep track of things and plan what needs doing. I have not visited the compost area lately. Much to my amazement and delight, it was lovely. Growing on the top of the pile and covering most of it, were beautiful Hollyhocks. There were pink ones, rose ones, white ones, and yellow ones. There were even dark purple ones.

I think it is wonderful that beauty can grow out of unlovely things. I know a lot of people whose lives are like this. What began as a pile of compost, has turned into a blessing for everyone who see them. This is a happy thought and encouraged my heart.

Have a good day!

July 27, 2010 Posted in: Garden No Comments

Chef Bob

Khao Soi – yellow curry soup with fresh noodles – and Gai Pad Bai Ga-Prow – spicy chicken with basil – was prepared by “Chef Bob” for dinner last night. Every so often, he gets hungry for Thai food and I get blessed.

What makes this so good is the fresh basil, garlic, and onions from the main garden. Tonight is leftovers. Does it get any better than that?

July 25, 2010 Posted in: Kitchen No Comments

Cabbage To Kraut

My German Grandmother would be proud. She loved Kraut and would tell me about her Mother( my Great Grandmother) who grew cabbage and made Kraut. Last evening, we celebrated the cabbage crop. It became Kraut. The cabbages are huge this year and in their prime. Bob did the picking and cutting. I did the salting and stomping in the old crock. It will be ready to can in several weeks. Yum!

Every year we learn new things. This year it was that Pilgrim the poodle loves cabbage. He would wait for Bob to drop a piece of cabbage, pounce on it, and carry it into the living room. He would tear it up into tiny pieces and methodically eat them. It was fun to watch. Bob encouraged him and gave him several big leaves to munch. We finally had to stop as we were concerned there might be “doggie surprises” as a result of too much cabbage.

One of my favorite aspects of having a big garden, is dreaming up how to process everything. I love to “make it work” so that nothing goes to waste. The cabbages will be steamed, made into slaw, stir fried, and enjoyed as wonderful kraut. Some of them will be given away. The big outside leaves will be fed to the sheep, the geese, and the chickens. The cabbage area of the garden will be cleaned up and prepared for next year’s planting.

I have noticed that there seems to be a natural rhythm with the garden and what it produces. Each season plays out it’s own melody. I enjoy being a part of the song.

July 21, 2010 Posted in: Kitchen One Comment

Hooray For the First Ripe Tomato

For me, the first ripe tomato is a BIG DEAL. I found my first one this morning. It will be carefully divided in half to have with our dinner.

Ignoring the weeds, I did a garden patrol and found my first ripe eggplants and sweet bell peppers. This is a big deal too. Tonight’s meal will be some type of wonderful Italian dish with the eggplant, green peppers, onions, garlic and lots of cheese! There will be a side dish of pasta covered with fresh pesto. I picked a big basket of Mammoth basil that will be pesto by tonight.

I spent years and years of being a “want to be”. Growing my own food was a dream goal that was a long time coming. No longer a far off happening in the future, now it is a daily event. I get emails and phone calls from folks who want to live the country life. My words to them are always encouraging. Keep on keeping on. It is easy to give up on any dream or goal if it is a long time coming. However, if you can hang in there, it will happen.

I have new dreams and new goals. They sound pretty impossible and out of reach. However, so did my country dream a long time ago.

There is a new season coming. It is a blessing to be able to enjoy today and look forward to the future.

July 20, 2010 Posted in: Contemplations, Garden One Comment

Beautiful Blueberries

If it wasn’t so hot I would bake something. Maybe a blueberry pie. The word for the weather today is yuk! It is hot and humid and sticky.

The blueberries are beautiful and very ripe. They arrived today from Michigan. We buy blueberries and peaches from some Amish folks each year. They are trucked into Minnesota and we go pick them up. The peaches will be here in August.

I just finished “processing” the whole load of blueberries. Before doing anything with them, we ate big bowls of berries with sugar and milk. Then the” processing” began. The end result is as follows. The dehydrator is busy drying blueberries. The dried berries are great on oatmeal and in granola. There is a big bowl filled to the top in the refrig. These will be consumed fresh. There are packages of blueberries in the freezer. These will decorate pancakes this winter. There is a basket full of blueberries sitting on the kitchen counter. These will be made into jars of blueberries jam.

No pie. It is just too hot. I am headed to the porch to sit and do absolutely nothing.

July 17, 2010 Posted in: Kitchen One Comment

Bottle Bombs

Check it out. http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp

I just got an e mail from one of my girl friends–she said that Plastic soda bottles left in resident’s yards may be bottle bombs and explode if moved. She got her info from Snopes and I checked it out. You may want to warn your children NOT to pick up bottles left in your yard or in the neighborhood. The bombs are strong enough to blow off fingers and cause serious burn damage.

This is sick. I choose not to dwell on it. However, I will pass the information on to the people I care about.

July 14, 2010 Posted in: Contemplations No Comments

I Like Lillies

I like lilies. This year will be called “the year of the lily”. They stand like lovely sentinels all over Milk and Honey Farm. Bob has planted every color and every kind of lily. There are lilies in the back yard. There are lilies in the front yard. There are lilies on both sides of the house.

Bob moved some dirt from the main garden into an old sandbox and planted it full of lilies. My grandchildren played in it when it was full of sand. They grew up and the sandbox is now a lily planter. This is my own idea about recycling. The sandbox never looked better.

The vegetables in the main garden feed my body. The flowers feed my soul.