A Bounty of Goodness and Green!

My daughter and her fiance tend the land at Green Gardens ~ they work long days and nights growing vegetables that are “Certified Naturally Grown” which they sell at local markets and to CSA members.   Whether at the Market where their table is overflowing with goodness or out at their farm standing next to the gardens there is always an abundance of green goodness!  I’ll let the photos tell the story…

Rows and rows…

and more rows, each 200 feet long

The new High Wind Tunnel that holds 420 tomato plants.  That’s a lot of tomatoes that will be hand-picked!

See how tall the tomato plants are!

Market bounty…

Kale – the all-time favorite of one of the farmers!

The farmers, framed by an abundance of produce!

May bounty fill your life this season!

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Receiving Resurrection: Occasional Glimpse, #3

It’s Opening Day

Vendors and diners gather

Delighting in food!

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Wanting What You Have: Gratitude

The Poetry Party at The Abbey of the Arts this week is in keeping with the season: Gratitude.   Join the gratitude offering… read what others have shared, then add you own list to the party!

Family ~  at our Thanksgiving Table this year the hands of many were gathered: my parents, my daughters, myself, and the hands of my grandparents who had washed and used the tablecloth, china and silver that graced our table, and the hands of the hundreds who planted the seeds, tended the soil, harvested the produce, cared for and nurtured the poultry, stocked the shelves, and bagged the groceries of all the food we enjoyed.  Oh to be blessed by so many hands!

Furry family members ~ life is simply richer by their presence in our lives and home!

   

Friends ~ near and far, young and old, of just recently and from many years ago, they also enrich our lives!

Faith ~ ever expanding and stretching, grounded and centered, unknown and steadfast!

Food ~ especially that which is grown locally and organically (and I am pleased to add food which is grown by my future son-in-law!), gift of our planet, feast for our senses, delight on our tables!

Indeed I am grateful for what I have.  May you be so blessed as well!

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Sweet Bookends

Every year in October a dear friend and I make applesauce.  It’s a great way to usher in the autumn season while preparing some delicious treats to be enjoyed in the cold winter months.  Three years ago our “applesauce day” followed my “Declaration of Independence Day.”   Just recently the last legal piece was finished up, and the day before my friend and I made applesauce.  Such sweet bookends to this three-year journey. 

Over the years I’ve learned much from our applesauce making…

choosing… lots of options but which one is the best for this occasion?

 

peeling away the outside, taking out the core and seeds, leaving the substance of the apple for the sauce

 

the slow process of cooking which can’t be hurried;

it’s about patience ~ trying to hurry the cooking only results in burnt applesauce which doesn’t taste nearly as good as burnt & crispy chicken

 

and finally, enjoying the fruit of our labors.

 

May you be blessed by the fruits of your labors in this harvest season!

 

 

 

 

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“To Bring Things Together”

Some days things seem to be brought together.  Today was one such day.  At worship this morning we dedicated our Prayer Shawls and all our knitters. 

 

Since we began knitting the shawls and offering one to anyone, anywhere, in need of a tangible form of prayer and comfort, we have shared over 150 shawls.  During the children’s thyme a story was shared about sheep and knitting, and how a young sheep learned that to knit means “to bring things together.” 

And the choir sang, “A Time for All Things”, beautiful words to a Scottish tune with a pleasant lilt to it…

 To everything there is a season…

  A time to plant and a time to reap, a time to lose, a time to keep;

   A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance…

   A time to follow, a time to lead, a time to speak and time to heed;

   A time to sleep, a time to wake, a time to give and a time to take.

   For all the blessings of our God, are given us that we might have..

   A time for all good things.”        (Douglas Wagner)

 

This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending the Southwest Michigan Community Harvest Festival, A Celebration of Local Food, Local Farming and Sustainable Living.

A variety of people and activities came together: food vendors, local musicians, advocacy groups, educators, farmers and lots of community-minded folk.  It was a time for learning and receiving, a time for eating and celebrating, a time for bringing  good things together. 

     

 A community with which to worship, a shawl on our shoulders to hold us in prayer, a song in our heart proclaiming the rhythm of life, a festival of food, music, nature, and community… a day knit together with many blessings.

May the blessings of knitting, of good things brought together, weave their way into your life!

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They Walk, We Walk

 On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in May

we walk a distance of our choosing,

 5 miles or 1 mile or around the park block,

sporting comfortable shoes with perhaps a water bottle in tow.

Chatting with friends, we anticipate the snack we’ll enjoy afterwards.

                  

Every day, of every month, year after year,

they walk a distance already determined by need,

5 miles, or 8 kilometers, or more,

with or without shoes,

no water bottle in tow because they’re walking

to bring back the water, or food, or fire fuel needed for that day,

so they can return again tomorrow for more.

Chatting with family and friends,

they anticipate the work that has to be done before a simple meal is eaten.

                                

                

Earlier on that Sunday morning,

we gathering around the Table,

remembering hunger is more than physical

tho it begins there.

In his words, “this is my body, broken for you,

do this in remembrance of me,”

we hear the call to take steps

to fill the hunger of others.

We choose to walk because they have to walk.

 

 

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Friday Five: With Peanut Butter, of course!

At RevGalBlogPals this Friday’s invitation is all about pancakes: “So pull up a chair to the kitchen table and tell us all about your pancake preferences.”

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain?  From scratch is the best, and after that buttermilk or plain is inconsequential.

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?  Whole grains help the pancakes stick to the ribs a little longer.

3. For breakfast or for dinner? Either works for us.  So does lunch.

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?  Syrup ~ on top of peanut butter.  I thought you’d never ask.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?  My kitchen.

 

Bonus: Any tasty recipes out there, for pancakes or other special breakfast dishes? Bring ’em on!

 Basic Multigrain Pancakes  (Jane Brody)

Dry Ingredients:

     2/3 C whole-wheat flour, preferably stone-ground

     1/3 C all-purpose flour

     ¼ C oat or other flour (e.g., corn meal, barley, buckwheat, millet)

     2 TB wheat germ

     2 tsp sugar

     1 tsp baking powder

     ½ tsp baking soda

     ¼ tsp salt, if desired

 

Wet Ingredients:

     1 C buttermilk or yogurt

     ¼ C or more skim milk

     1 egg white

     1 whole egg

     1 TB vegetable oil

     ¼ tsp vanilla extract, if desired

 

• Mix together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

• In a second bowl, combine all the wet ingredients, whipping them enough to beat the egg white and whole egg lightly.  Add these to the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine them.   The batter can stand for about 10 minutes out of the refrigerator, or for an hour or more refrigerated.

• Heat a griddle over medium heat.  Grease it lightly if not nonstick, and immediately pour sufficient batter to make pancakes of the size you desire (don’t let them get too big, or they will be hard to flip.)  Turn when golden brown on the bottom.

• Enjoy!

 

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