Saturday, May 26, 2012

Beet Harvest

"The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest."
Psalm 85:12 (NIV)


Last Year's Beets

 
I have never liked beets. Never ever. My mom never made them and my only interaction with them was most likely at an elderly relative's house. I really can't recall when I ate one as a child, but I can tell you I honestly believed I hated them.

Then last year, Randy returned from hunting in West Virginia raving about some homegrown pickled beets he'd eaten. I wasn't convinced, but Randy being Randy, he planted some to see if we could grow them in Louisiana. Sure enough, they grew just fine. We didn't plant enough to do anything with, so I picked up more at the store and Randy canned them. I was prepared to hate them. Really. I though he'd be eating those beets all by himself and wondered why he'd bothered with them at all.

And then I ate one. It was sweet. It was sour. It tasted like cinnamon apples.  I fell in love. Head over heels in love with beets.

So we planted more. Lots more. Too many more. We had to thin them out and transplant some. There were still too many, so some of them didn't grow larger than a marble. Some of them, however, grew to a respectable size, and this year we didn't have to supplement from the store. We put up 9 pints today and still have some in the garden for another 4 or so later on. 

This Year's Beet Harvest

I realize that probably isn't a large quantity to farmers and die hard gardeners, but it's great for us. It shows we learned from last year. It shows we were persistent. It shows we were open to new ideas.
Mostly, it shows that God is faithful in His promises. Our land yielded it's harvest.

How could this work in my life? What if I opened myself up to new ideas and let God do His thing? What kind of harvest could I yield? As I work on the fruits of the Spirit, I'm going to be mindful of approaching old things in new ways...kindness rather than indifference. Understanding rather than anger. Patience instead of irritation. I'm going to expect an abundant harvest, too, because He is always faithful in His promises.

                          Pickled Beets                            

Boil 3 lbs of fresh beets (washed, with about 1 inch of root end still attached) for 25 to 30 minutes until fork tender.

 Let them cool. Slip skins off. (Use gloves to prevent stains on hands) Slice them or quarter them to fit into sterilized pint jars.

Make pickling brine:  In a large pan over medium-high heat, add 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 2 cups water, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 tsp each of whole allspice and whole cloves, and 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon. 


Using a canning funnel, place 2 pieces of quartered sweet onions in the bottom of each jar. Then fill each jar with beets, pushing down slightly to eliminate air space. Fill each with brine, leaving 1/2 inch head space.Wipe jars with a damp paper towel and add caps and bands. Place gently into a hot water bath, covering jars with at least one inch of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 minutes. Carefully remove jars and place on kitchen towel to cool. Be sure each jar seals - the caps will be sucked into toward the jar and won't buckle when pressed. Store in a cool place and wait 6 weeks before opening.

Pickled Beets






Tuesday, May 22, 2012

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22,23

Blueberries May 2012

According to the blueberry council (yes, there really is a council just for blueberries!) blueberries are one of the healthiest fruits around. Their benefits include high fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, manganese, eighty calories per cup, and no fat. Personally, I love them because they taste delicious and make the most wonderful pancakes of all the fruits. They're great for smoothies, muffins, and atop cereal, too! One of the more decadent blueberry desserts I love was introduced to me by my mother-in-law, one of my dearest friends - Blueberry Cake Roll. It's really more of an upside down blueberry crisp. It calls for Dream Whip, so I've modified it to use Cool Whip instead. I don't think it's lost a bit of its charm by doing so.

 m
Blueberry Pancakes, May 2011

The beauty of growing blueberries is that the whole bush doesn't ripen at one time. Each day, we gather about a cupful from our bushes. I throw them into a freezer bag until we have enough to make something yummy or I use them right away in a smoothie. Sometimes, I simply graze upon the bushes with my dachshund, Gus Gus. He gets the bottom branches and I get the top ones. How easy it is to gather the fruit and enjoy it whenever and however I choose.

If only the fruit of the Spirit were as easy to gather and use. One of my favorite verses is Galatians 5:22,23:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How I wish I could grow these things in myself as easily as the blueberries grow on our bushes. How I wish I could stop wrestling with the Holy Spirit to attain these sweetest fruits. I love my family and friends. I feel joy sometimes. I'm peaceful upon occasion. I can exercise patience when I must...more or less. I'm sure most of everyone can. But I know this verse means that the Spirit can help us feel these things, as we need them, in every circumstance. That's where I fall short. Do I really love my neighbors as God wants me to love them? Do I feel peace in my spirit as I watch my college graduate ready herself for a move over a thousand miles away? Or when my father, 83, is hospitalized, and I'm making the fourteen hour drive to get to him? Am I really trusting God to see me through the trials of this life, full of the fruit of the Spirit, or am I trying to cope with everything on my own with a withered and dried up spiritual garden? I know what dried up blueberry plants look like because it hit 107 degrees last year while we were on vacation and our sprinkler system, though set to water automatically, simply wasn't up to the task of handling that kind of heat. It was heartbreaking to see the withering fruit and the brittle branches. Is this how God feels when we refuse to bear the fruit He has offered us? Are we just as withering inside as the blueberries were? Are we just as brittle?

I'll contemplate this as we enjoy our bounty of blueberries this season. Each time I graze or gather, I'll think of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and I hope each time I'll choose the best fruit of all - the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It's a sweet gift, isn't it?


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Plant Gardens and Eat What They Produce

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce."
Jeremiah 29:5 NIV

Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes


My grandfather's garden was the first garden I remember. It grew in long, lush rows and produced many things, I'm sure, but I only recall the tomatoes and pole beans. North Georgia soil must have the perfect blend of nutrients for tomatoes because no other tomatoes have ever matched them in taste. They were brightly flavored with firm flesh that held up well in sandwiches, cooking, and canning. He produced so many, he always sent us back home to Tampa with jars of tomato juice and canned tomatoes, which my mother used to make homemade spaghetti sauce and Grandmama's Swiss steak. I can still recall the aroma of those simmering sauces.

It's no surprise that I always wanted a tomato garden of my own. My husband, whose own grandparents had vegetable gardens and citrus groves, got 5 gallon buckets and put them in our sandy soiled backyard. He filled them with nutrient enriched soil and planted young plants from The Home Depot. We had moderate success, but the tomatoes were small and the plants didn't produce as many as I would have liked. After a couple of tries, we gave up on tomatoes and he moved on to peppers and I moved along to herb gardening.

Louisiana Garden 2012

Then came our move in 2008 to north-central Louisiana where a thin layer of top soil sits upon the hardest clay we've ever encountered. If we get storms with high winds and lots of rain, entire trees topple over because their root systems can't get a grip. However, our new backyard was huge compared to our old one, and it cried out for a garden. With determination, my husband, Randy, bought lumber and built three raised beds, then he bought soil from a nearby nursery and filled them up. Finally, we hit Lowe's and bought tomatoes, of course, green peppers, squash, pole beans and cucumbers and stuck those puppies in that dirt...in February. So...after a couple of late February/early March freezes, we replanted those beds one more time. By mid summer we began to harvest our crops - a few cucumbers here, a few peppers and tomatoes there. Unfortunately, we didn't plant enough of anything to do more than get a small basketful of produce at any given time. The fruit that season wasn't of the eating kind but rather of the learning kind. We gained knowledge about what to grow and when to grow it. We determined which plants needed more sun and which needed more water each day. We planned for the next spring while the lessons were fresh in our heads, and waited patiently until the time came to plant again and apply our new strategies.

Over the past three years of gardening, we've determined several things:  squash grows poorly, okra grows well. Purple hull peas produce in abundance, while pole bean plants are stingy in their offerings. Collards flourish, lettuce really can grow when you plant it in the correct season, and harvesting potatoes is as joyful as finding brightly colored eggs at an Easter hunt. And tomatoes? Well, let's just say I won't be canning them and sending them back home with my children when they come to visit. I can send home pickled beets and a variety of pickles, and I can serve up a mean salad, complete with banana peppers and chocolate cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden.

Pickled Beets










                                              Mustard Pickles







I love God's instruction to plant gardens and eat what they produce! Maybe my future grandchildren will cherish memories of their grandfather and grandmother's garden and try their hands at growing gardens of their own.

Monday, May 14, 2012

http://madetocrave.org/

I recently turned back to God thanks to Lisa TerKeurst's book Made to Crave. Quite simply, she posed the idea that God made us to crave Him over food or anything else the world has to offer. While reading her book, I was reminded of God's truths and promises for us as His children. The thought of struggling another moment through life without God suddenly seemed like a futile attempt to run through quicksand. So I chose life over death and victory over defeat.

What does all of this have to do with my garden? It has to do with planting seeds of faith. It has to do with working with my hands and learning to wait patiently to reap the rewards of my efforts. It has to do with cultivating faith and obedience. It most definitely has to do with growing closer to Him and believing His promises for me as His child.

Join me on this journey through God's garden. Help me keep my feet firmly on His path. Reap the rewards of His wisdom as we learn while we grow.