a simple Thanksgiving...

A day of family and feasting.  

A day of home and love.  

A day to be thankful for all the rich blessings 

given from the generous and grace-filled hand of God.

A day to say, "Thank you."

Shouldn't it be every day?

Wouldn't that be the key to real and lasting joy?

Let us come to him with thanksgiving.

Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

For the Lord is a great God,

a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:2-3

 Menu:

Relish tray

Sardines and crackers

Raw veg with pumpkin hummus

Baked lemon cod

Whole pie pumpkin baked with stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Mushroom gravy

Collard greens

Cranberry sauce

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

eggplant everywhere...

Our eggplant is rejuvenated by the cooler temperatures this month.  Both varieties in our garden are producing beautiful fruit, er, veg, in abundance.  We like to roast eggplant or grill it, with a marinade of orange juice and balsamic vinegar.  And we prepared a beautiful supper of eggplant parmesan with spinach fettuccine just a few nights ago.  YUM!

On Thursday, I picked up the first of my Fall/Winter CSA baskets.  It was filled with gorgeous, local, organic items such as arugula, basil, red radishes, green beans, green peppers, spaghetti squash... and one huge eggplant!  Now what?

I had a ton of black cherry and red cherry tomatoes on my counter, along with a couple of Lemon Boys.  There were Cubanelle and Jalapeno peppers in the garden as well.  And some onion, too.  Salsa it is!  But how do salsa and eggplant go together?

 

Eggplant tacos were born in our home today.  I know, other people have done eggplant tacos.  But these are a new favorite in our house.  Crunchy, oven-fried slices in taco shells with veg.  Oh my.

To prepare the eggplant for cooking, I sliced it into large rounds and then half moons.  I then placed the slices on a rack in the sink, sprinkled both sides generously with kosher salt, and left them to weep for 20 minutes.  This process allows the excess liquid from the eggplant to escape, and reduces the bitter flavor sometimes associated with eggplant.

When the weeping process was complete, I rinsed each slice well under cool running water, then pat it dry with paper towels.  Now my breading station...  The first bowl had unbleached all-purpose flour, the second contained beaten local eggs, the third was filled with the secret ingredient: crispy Panko breadcrumbs spiked with cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and a dash each of salt and cayenne pepper.

Each slice of eggplant was dredged in the flour and the excess was tapped off.  Into the egg on both sides, then into the Panko mixture.  The breaded eggplant slices were placed on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil, which is my favorite kitchen invention ever.

Then into a 435-degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes.  The pan was pulled out, the eggplant slices flipped over, and put back in the oven for another 10 - 12 minutes, until golden brown on both sides.

So, we warmed up some white corn taco shells, placed a perfectly-sized, oven-fried, half-moon eggplant slice in each shell, added Vermont white cheddar, shredded lettuce, and salsa fresca.

I wanted more.  I really did.  But I'd already eaten too many tacos and my tummy hurt.  Maybe I'll find more ripe eggplant globes tucked under the leaves of the plants tomorrow morning...

When it's hard to give thanks...

Sometimes the world with its woes crowds in.  Sometimes the news seems all bad and the clouds loom dark.  Sometimes the body is too frail and too exhausted.  Sometimes we lose the ones we love so dearly.

It's these times that thanksgiving gets stuck in our throats, not quite uttered.  Almost too afraid, not wanting to to utter thanks for fear of inviting more trouble.  Wondering, wondering... why can't God be seen?

I have been there.  Too many times.  

My friend, He is there.  He is faithful.  He is Creator AND Sustainer. He is always and knows all ways.  He is beside and behind and far ahead.  God is there, working in every detail, caring so tenderly for each of us.

Give thanks.  He is good.  He is worthy.  Write just one thing.  Offer gratitude for this one gift.  Soon another gift will come to mind.  And then another.  Before long, the list will grow, overflowing with gifts.  Right there in the middle of the world and its woes... finding Crazy Joy...

- slow healing, giving me time to rest

- prayers of friends and family

- smiling Sunday faces

- trading wares

- a brother and a sister

- computers allowing me to work and create

- women gathering to study the Word

- warm socks

- Autumn, sweet Autumn

- Jesus' love and example, preserved in Scripture, available to even me

Larder Swap

food swap:

an event where members of a community 

share homemade, homegrown, or foraged foods 

with each other. 

Swaps allow direct trades 

to take place between attendees, 

e.g., a loaf of bread for a jar of pickles 

or a half-dozen backyard eggs. 

Swap events also include a potluck as an immediate 

 food-sharing (and sometimes item-sampling) component. 

These events are a delicious way 

to diversify the homemade foods in your own pantry 

while getting to know members of your local food community.

(Click HERE for more info about food swaps

from the Food Swap Network.)

I'll be joining

the Virginia Urban Homesteaders League 

in celebrating Mother Earth News' 

"International Homesteading Education Month" 

with a Larder Swap on September 30. 

I'll be bringing hand-made/home grown/home-processed items 

to trade with other like-minded people. 

I've used my own home grown 

or locally grown organic produce 

in the items I'm bringing to the swap. 

Did you see the article in the Virginian Pilot

about our swap?

So great!

These photos are some of my items

in the process of getting gussied up

for the Larder Swap.

More photos after the event...

*happy*

giving thanks for the firsts of Autumn

After the long hot of summer, the Autumn wind whispers renewal and artistry...

Thanking my God today for the firsts of Autumn...

the first pumpkin sightings

the first day back at Sunday School

the first day of a new Bible study with new friends

the first harvest festival

the first backyard campfire

Grown-up Summer Camp, Part Four

we are children of the Creator God...

we can't help but be creative 

This is the drum that I beat daily.  It is so important that we MAKE the time to add creativity, art, craft, beauty to our lives.  It's reviving, therapeutic, and it just makes us smile!  Even in the trees, we made time for art!

PART FOUR:  CREATIVITY

When we arrived, there was this large flat-topped boulder on our site.  It had piles of smaller rocks on its top, haphazardly left by a former camper, reminding me of a witness or remembrance pile...

So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.    

Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” 

And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.   

 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.   

And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” 

Therefore its name was called Galeed,  also Mizpah, because he said, 

“May the Lord watch between you and me 

when we are absent one from another.

Genesis 31:45-49

This pile spoke to me in such a way that I cannot explain, but I wanted to continue the thought, making our own witness pile.

I set to work, gathering the smaller stones from the top, creating a little pathway from the picnic table to the large boulder.

Then alternating stone colors, I spelled out a message, a remembrance, for my amazing husband, leaving it as a surprise for him to find.  When he did, it made him laugh softly, and it brought smiles to the campers who traveled by our site!  I wonder what the campers that come after us will do...

Before our arrival a quick and strong storm had passed through, causing branches and clusters of leaves to fall from the trees.  Hhmmmmm...  gathering some of these freshly fallen leaves with their long stems intact, I set to work creating a crown.  Why not?!  I laid two leaves on top of each other.  I poked two small holes in a straight line along the center vein of the two leaves.  Taking a third leaf, I wove its stem through the two holes, a kind of nature stitch.  Then I poked two small holes in a straight line in the second and third leaves along the center vein.  Taking a fourth leaf, I wove its stem through these two holes.  I continues this pattern, stitching a string of leaves without the benefit of needle or thread, until the string was long enough to wrap around my head.  The first leaf stems were woven through two small holes in the very last two leaves, completing the circle.  

I wore this for some time, feeling quite like a woodland creature!

Cross stitch filled some of my time, reading filled some of Tom's.  He's been enjoying the work of a particularly creative guy, Joel Salatin.  His latest book, "Folks, This Ain't Normal," is thought-provoking and a wild ride through our modern attitudes and food industry practices.

We saw other examples of creativity, too.  Like this lone artist, sketching the loveliness of Sherando Lake in the summer...

and this quaint home for bright red geraniums fashioned from a hollow log...

Get out there.  Be creative.  Find beauty.  Make art.  

And give thanks to our amazing Lord, the Creator, for all the gifts He so generously gives. 

 

Grown-up Summer Camp, Part Three

Part of our daily lives is supporting local and Virginia growers, producers, and artisans... if there is an opportunity to make a purchase from a local vendor rather than a large, national chain, we choose local every time.    

Tom and I enjoy a glass of wine from time to time.  And we enjoy visiting Virginia vineyards and tasting rooms, searching for new favorites.

PART THREE: WINE

Virginia is becoming known for its wine.  On this camping trip, we visited two new places for tastings:  Barren Ridge Vineyards and Ox-Eye Tasting Room.

Barren Ridge is lovely!  The tasting room is large and peaceful, with small tables and an impressive fireplace.  Our guide poured taste after taste of very nice wines, giving us grape history and time to savor each taste.  

Scarlett met the resident dog, Rascal, and rested in the cool surroundings.  Most wineries allow your dogs inside, but always ask first.  

After our tasting, Tom and I went out to the patio with a full glass each to enjoy the view of the vineyards and imagine what a sunset here would be like...  

Another day we ventured into Staunton to grab lunch at Cranberry's.  YUM.  period.  As we wandered this sweet town, we saw the Ox-Eye Vineyards Tasting Room.  Well, here's one we've never heard of.  We ducked in out of the rain and found a bright and cozy space filled with local art and amazing wines!  Every wine tasted was a work of art in itself.  We finally chose one bottle to take with us, but we will be searching for these wines and recommending them to our local winesellers... they are ALL that good!  (Wish I had taken more photos, but we had such a wonderful visit with the winemaker and such a great time enjoying the tasting that I put the camera down.)

So, back at the campsite.  Corkscrew?  No, I haven't seen it.  Did we pack it?  Did you check that bag?  Hhmmmmm...

Here's a little tutorial featuring my genius husband and his solution for the missing corkscrew:

First, find yourself a drill, some vise grips, and a galvanized 3" screw.  Position the screw over the bottle's embedded cork.  (It gets crazy from here, folks.)  Gently, slowly use the drill with a screwdriver bit to twirl the screw into the cork.

Now, grasp the now embedded screw in the already embedded cork with the vise grips, locking them in place around the screw.  

Find a high position allowing you the leverage to pull the cork up and out of the bottle.  Pull with steady and gentle force until...

The cork pops free!

(I will never know why we had these tools with us on a camping trip, and I wouldn't recommend trying this yourselves.  I am, however, blessed to married to such a patient and resourceful man!)