be not weary

It's cloudy again today, rainy, cold.

Sigh.

Between some pesky animals (with digging paws),

 the cold spells, and "endless torrential floods" of rain -

it's easy to feel that all of my hard work on our new garden

has thus far come to naught.

If the seeds weren't completely unsettled by the cat 

and the dog, surely they must've been frozen or washed away.

Discouraged.

A few days ago,

I was in the process of miserably staring through the

rain-streaked windows at my pitiful little garden.

So much hard work, so little reward.

At that moment, every situation facing me seemed so difficult;

I was sick of putting so much effort into projects,

only to have my work destroyed, or not appreciated.

I just wanted to give up.

For a moment I was tempted to doubt that it was worthwhile.

Those are always the instances when the Lord gives

me some hope; and this moment was no exception.

As I stared at that drowning garden,

and allowed myself to become frustrated and weary,
of all those areas that just don't seem worth the effort right now-
the Lord graciously brought a verse to my mind.
Just the sort of promise that I needed to be reminded of;
a verse that suddenly applied in a way I hadn't considered before:

"Be not weary in well doing: 
for in due season ye shall reap,
if ye faint not."

Galatians 6:9

What a perfect verse for this time in my life.

One I've often quoted before,

but never soaked in quite as fully as I am now.

I'll admit, as a single young woman who has chosen

to stay with my family and under my father's protection - 

it can sometimes be easy to see this phase of my life as

a lot of tilling hard ground, planting seeds,

and working through some rainy Spring days -

without a whole lot of substance to show for it.

(Not counting the obvious blessings of being with my
precious family - you know what I mean.)

It takes so much Faith.

Each decision, each step of sanctification and surrender

to the Lord, and His will for my life,

each act of obedience in the tasks I've been handed -

are like little hope-filled seeds.

And I'm called to keep planting them,

to keep cultivating them,

whether I can see the fruits immediately or not.

It's all about being faithful in the "little things" right now.

The cloudy days do come in life,

the seasons when you feel like you sacrifice so much -

and your efforts to human eyes seem a mockery,

or even a complete waste.

But for the Wisdom of a loving Father,

and His precious Promises.

I thought perhaps there is another young lady "out there"

who might at times find herself weary in well doing.

Don't be faint of heart or spirit,

we shall reap in due season.

Never forget where your treasure is.

Those seeds that I felt would never amount to anything,

have now emerged in the garden as tiny seedlings;

they didn't come up exactly where I planted them;  :)

but they are there.

And with time, there will be a harvest.

The Lord has promised.

the Artisan in me

I've always been somewhat of an Artisan bread enthusiast...

The crustier, the chewier, the better - kind of perspective.

I've never had any problem with making an Artisan loaf 

from scratch - I just love bread making - but...

sometimes time is of an essence.

Actually, time is usually of an essence...

So, when a friend told me about the book

"Artisan Bread in Five minutes a Day"

it was great cause for rejoicing.

I looked it up on Amazon,

paid for it with Swagbucks;

and have been rather happy ever since.

It literally takes no effort whatsoever,

and yet the bread is turning out better than the more complicated

doughs; (that took literal days...).

I love the way it crackles when it comes out of the oven.

I don't love the way our smoke detector goes off every time I 

make it... (You yourself can see it isn't at all burnt...)

I guess it just knows good bread when it detects it.

Soup and Bread. 

Mmm.

Victory on the Egg Front

We've had egg issues around here recently...

Life has been pretty chaotic;

we've been distracted;

and the eggs are taking advantage.

Everyday, Dad brings in another dozen or so as the

result of his evening hunts.

The ladies are still not confined,

and they like putting their eggs in the oddest places -

almost as if they have a contest for creativity going.

And no,

the eggs do not arrive in the pristine condition you imagine.

They probably have good reasons,

union issues, or something -

but their favorite thing to do, is break one

and then delicately glaze all of the rest of the eggs with

a nice thin layer of egg yolk.

Then they embellish it with a feather or two -

and allow to dry...

Lovely. Just lovely.

So we've had these eggs, piling up, and rolling all over

the kitchen counters...

One day last week, I received great inspiration for their

potential, and decided to wash them all...

and finish with a vow -

that no matter how crazy life gets,

we can't let them get that way again.

Yep. Those are green eggs...

Off the subject of the eggs for a moment;

here's a glimpse of the gang themselves.

Our ladies; as diverse a group as the eggs they lay.

That is the look they give me when they are demanding kitchen

scraps. They'll chase me all over the yard until I come up with something.

Besides the yolk and feathering practice,

they've also taken up a more vocal form of protest.

I think the main culprits are the green egg layers -

they are Araucanas from South America,

straight from the Amazon...

They are gifted with this tremendous ability to sound like

a herd of wild jungle monkeys.

And the best time of day to express themselves seems to be

around 6:30 in the morning.

The cover for their latest album - The Jungle Chicks.

Back to the egg story...

The Inspiration.

It seems that they realized that overdosing us with eggs - is way more

effective than going on strike, so that's what they do.

Sounds like a ridiculous problem I know, but we can't get rid

of the things. Four people can only eat so many for breakfast,

and they just don't sell at the local Farmer's Market

(they tell me they can buy them at the store for 98 cents...

What does being organic have to do with anything?)

Long story short;

I watched the Homestead Blessings DVD on canning -

and guess what?

Eggs are can-able!

I guess you'll have to watch it if you want to know eggsactly

how - but with a little vinegar, spices, and garlic -

you have pickled eggs, all ready for a Winter potato salad.

(Or to garnish a regular salad, and the list goes on.)

That's partly what I've been up to;

boiling and peeling lots of eggs.

We counted, and realized I've canned 18 pints in the past week;

(that's about 100 eggs to peel...)

But for the first time in years, we're keeping up with

the Summertime rush of eggs; the counter is clear -

and I've actually been out there looking around for more.

The chickens are re-thinking their tactics.

a French Favorite

Don't worry;

I'm not about to do a total switch of genres and

become a cooking blog - or anything like that.

But when I think of warm Summer days,

I think of the garden,

and fresh herbs and produce;

and lots of time in the kitchen.

As life has been somewhat hectic lately,

I've found it good to focus on doing

what I can do to make meals that are memorable,

and relaxing - and special.

This dish fits all of the above.

So I thought I would share it;

and besides - I promised my sister I would post it for her. :)

So here it is -

one of the most lovely French dishes out there...

Chicken Fricassee with Herbs and Roasted Potatoes

In preparation - you'll want to have about 8 pieces

of chicken thawed and ready to go.

(Boneless Thighs work well.)

Preheat oven to 300 F.

On high heat, seal the chicken in 1 T. of Olive Oil

for about five minutes (until browned.)

Season to taste with Sea Salt and Pepper.

Add 2 T. of Butter and 5 T. Red Wine Vinegar,

stir so that chicken is coated.

Add 3 oz. of Dry White wine or Marsala

cooking wine and bring to a boil for a few seconds.

The recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic, but I'm more

along the lines of 9 or 10...

Just pop them in there whole.

Next, finely chop 1 Ripe Tomato.

(I needed two...)

Add the tomato to the chicken.

Here's the secret...

French Tarragon.

It's an absolutely amazing herb that comes back in

our garden every year.

You shouldn't attempt French cooking without it.

Add Two Sprigs of chopped Tarragon and

about a handful or so of Fresh Parsley leaves (opt.)

Stir that into the pot...

This is when it begins to smell amazing.

Now, put a lid on the pot, and stick it in the oven

(preheated to 300 F) to cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I went and dug some potatoes.

There's just something special about growing your

own potatoes -

but the ones from the store work fine too.

Red Potatoes are the best.

The recipe calls for 4 medium sized,

but just make how ever many your family will eat.

Chop the potatoes to bite size.

Put them in a roasting pan,

and add:

Salt

Pepper

Dried Parsley

a Chopped Shallot

and drizzle with Olive Oil

Toss it to get it all well coated.

The chicken should be done by now -

so take it out of the oven and turn it up to broil.

Broil the potatoes for maybe 10-15 minutes;

(stirring them occasionally -but be careful-

that broiler can burn your hand off!)

until they are browned and done on the inside.

Watch them closely though, they scorch easily.

To arrange -

place a helping of roasted potatoes on your plate,

and then top with a piece of chicken, some garlic,

and lots of yummy sauce.

And there you have it.

Food you want to eat so badly;

that you can't even take the time

to get a decent photo of it.

Bon Appétit!

The Dominican seasoning secret

When I visited the beautiful Dominican Republic back in January,

I became a complete fan of their food.

I was raised on lots of authentic Mexican food,

and love rice and beans, and pico de gallo, and everything else...

Someday I want to move to a country where

cilantro and garlic grow like weeds...

But I digress.

I knew from the first bite that there was something

distinctly different, it wasn't chili powder, or cumin.

I spent the entire week trying to figure out what the

amazing combination of flavor came from.

It wasn't until I got home and did some research that

I discovered their secret. Which really isn't a secret.

It's just so common they sometimes forget to mention it...

Being in the midst of Summer,

and an abundance of garden produce,

I thought maybe you'd like to know their secret too.

It's called Sazon.

Sazon is actually the base to most Dominican dishes,

known elsewhere as "Sofrito," Sazon is an all purpose seasoning

made primarily of vegetables.

Ingredients:

- half a bunch of Cilantro

- 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red

medium sized Bell Peppers

- 1/2 of a medium sized Red Onion

-10-15 cloves of peeled Garlic

-1/4 C. of Apple Cider Vinegar

-1/4 C. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-Fresh Oregano to taste (not much!)

To make the Sazon,

begin by thoroughly washing all of the vegetables,

then cut them down into sizes that will be manageable

for your blender or food processor.

Put the vinegar, cilantro and olive oil in the blender first,

followed by the remaining ingredients.

Blend.

Add a little water if it's too thick -

you want a nice 'pasty' consistency.

Store your Sazon in a glass container.

This is powerful stuff! If you keep it in a non-glass

container - it will smell like Sazon for a long time...

The Sazon will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month!

I'm hoping that I might be able to can it -

but I'm still researching that...

It tastes especially good on chicken or pork when used as

a marinade sauce (and baked), and tastes absolutely delicious

when used to season rice or beans.

(Keep in mind that you will need to add Salt!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have...

Just Peachy

On our way home last week,

we picked up four huge boxes of Georgia peaches.

They were just too good to pass up -

and way too pretty not to photograph...

Especially in Grandma's antique pottery bowl,

cracks, chips, and all.

So I enjoyed the beauty while it lasted,

and then got serious.

After a little blanching,

a little peeling,

and so on...

Out they came;

warm, golden - tucked away for a far distant Winter.

Just three-and-a-half boxes to go...

And so the canning season begins.

fearsome potatoes

One would be surprised at what an unsupervised Winter

in the garage will do to a box of potatoes...

They literally take on a life of their own.

It goes without saying that I kept them above ground

a little longer than I should have.

But it's been raining...

We had just a short little window to get them planted.

Dad agreed; these things were pretty scary looking.

Kind of made us happy to bury them.

The dirt was so wet and heavy

that Dad dug the trenches for me this year.

It made me feel bad that I'd insisted on saving

quite so many of last year's potatoes...

Let's just say -

if the Lord chooses to bless them,

we won't be lacking in potatoes this Fall...

Memories for Breakfast

We were so blessed to get to spend this past weekend with my Dad's mom. It was a fun couple of days with aunts, cousins, and Grandma.

Saturday morning, she got up bright and early, to make us her breakfast specialty -

Cinnamon Rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls that she has been making for as long as I can remember; (As long as my Dad can remember...) Cinnamon Rolls that don't have a recipe to speak of; unless you're speaking of the "recipe" Grandma knows by heart.

A few handfuls of flour, a splash of buttermilk;

plenty of drizzled butter;

and lots of sugar and cinnamon.

Only Grandma knows just how much.

And they're always perfect.

Oozing with caramel-y goodness when they're hot,

and turning into sweet sugary chewiness as they cool.

We always eat them with a glass of milk;

and lots of memories.

keeping warm

As the temperature dips into the single digits...

We're keeping warm; with Mom's chicken tortilla soup.
(With sour cream and guacamole...)

Hoping; that the big sheep who always waits for the coldest night of the year to have her lambies - will do something different this time. (It'll be any day now...)

And smiling; because this time next week - we'll be on our way to Florida.

(Lord willing...)