I've" Bean" Blessed!

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We've "bean" blessed! We don't deserve God's blessings, but His love reaches out to us non-the-less!

As the old hymn goes, "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings; name them one by one...count your many blessings see what God hath done."

With the leftover beans from last week's markets we

You can hardly see
Charity breaking beans
beside Destany!

canned 74 quarts of beans, and bartered the rest for 6 gallons of raw milk from a neighboring farm. (A double blessing!) I've "bean" blessed with two special helpers, Destany and Shelby. (Isaac's and Caleb's gals) The look on their faces as they came in the door and saw the mountain of beans was priceless! The men had mounded alllllllll the beans on our 12' farmhouse table and it was at least 3 feet high and 8' long! Their gasps led to proclamations of, "I've never seen that many beans in one place!" We worked most of the day, and then said, "That's enough." The pressure canner jiggled well into the night!

The men are pulling up our mulch, discing the ground and getting things cleaned up a bit at both farms. The strawberries will go into the high tunnels this week! I'm looking forward to the strawberry harvest of 2015 since I missed this year's harvest.

300 broilers (meat chickens) being taken to the USDA processing facility on Tuesday. The guys have a count on how many more times they need to be moved! ha ha! It's a lot of work, but these chickens get fresh pasture daily. They also eat bugs, NON-GMO feed, and drink lots and lots of fresh well water daily. We've "bean" blessed with a good chicken season, and want to share it with you! The meat will be available soon! 

I've "bean" blessed to bake lots of pumpkins this week in the

farm kitchen. I hope to make a big batch of pumpkin butter along with some savory breads that make the kitchen smell like...well, FALL! 

The final jamming is done...and we've "bean" blessed with great sales all ready! The blueberry, blackberry, and peach are quicly being snatched up by our customers! We had fun working two long days getting it all done, but it was well worth it! I hope you enjoy it. There are a few jars left of the above jams left and plenty of strawberry. I thought it would sell throughout the winter...not. Get what you want now before it's gone.

Do ya'll make a major switch in your clothing when fall morning temperatures dip below 50 degrees? We need warm clothing working outside in the fall and winter. So this week I switch everyone's clothing, adding "long-handles" (long johns) flannel shirts, and heavy socks to the mix of long sleeved shirts. It's a huge job getting it sorted, marked with the right amount of dots representing who is wearing it, washed, and finally ironed. I've spent the better part of the week working on this project. I finally got it all into the men's and family closets! Yahooo! We've "bean" blessed to see how God provides our clothing from season to season!

One of the racks of clothes that's been washed and hung...
It was just the beginning as I had 11 people's clothes to sort, wash,hang, iron, and put away.

We've "bean" blessed with good harvests this year!

We've "bean" blessed by a great packing crew that
comes out to help each Friday afternoon!

Packing shares!
Next year we pray we'll be in our new packing shed. Life will be very different...and I'll have a
porch again!

Timmy (the Friday Night Farmer) and
Noah wash bundles of sweet turnips! Noah's "bean" blessed by Timmy's friendship, encouragement, and good Christian example!

With me sticking close to the farm this season, someone needed to jump into my shoes at two markets. We've "bean" blessed with Cerina taking

over the Cumberland Sustainable Farmer's Market in Crossville, and Destany and Jeannie working the drop off in Dayton (no store this season). They have all been faithful to represent our Lord and farm each week and I want to say a BIG thank you to them!!

I've "bean" blessed with the Farmer and my Farmer Boys who work diligently for us all every day. They are up before the sun moving chicken pens and caring for their needs, watering the greenhouses, and keep going all day (okay, Noah collapses during his lunch break) providing fresh, nutritious food for us all! Many days it's well into the night before they call it quits, or come driving home from a market in the city. 

There are sooo many blessings in my life! I could go on for days! But I've "bean" blessed the most for how the Lord foresaw my depravity and  provided a way for me to spend eternity with Him in heaven! Jesus Christ was beaten unmercifully, and hung on a cross to pay for my sins and yours. Now, because I have believed on His name, accepted His provision for my sin, and made Him Lord of my life I can live in daily victory over sin!

I've "bean" blessed with eternal life!

Have you? Accept His gift today!

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

1 Peter 3:23

This Week's Recipes

If you are like me there are days when I pull alllll the vegetables out of my refrigerator and want to use them in a supper! Well, here is a recipe that will work on those evenings. You can also hide vegetables that are harder for some folks to eat in these cheesy patties! It's a clean out the fridge day meal.

Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Patties

2 T. butter/olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

1 C. assorted vegetables, diced*

1 C. bread crumbs

1 C.  shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese (green shaker if you don't have fresh)

3 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Saute onion in oil until clear, add garlic and stir until fragrant. (Do not brown.)

3. If vegetables are wet, pat dry. No extra moisture is needed.

4. In a large bowl combine vegetables, garlicky onions, eggs, bread crumbs, and cheese. Mix well. Add salt and pepper if desired.

5. On a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet (spray foil), form the mixture into 10 patties.

If the mixture is too wet to form a patty, add more bread crumbs. If it's too dry, add another egg.

6.Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

My grandson would eat his with Ranch dressing or catsup. I prefer the taste of cheesy vegetables.

*Try what is in your frig...squash, green beans, turnip, peppers, onions, kale, butternut squash, or what's in your freezer or pantry like corn, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. *

With about 30 cups of pumpkin in my refrigerator I'm getting the pumpkin bread itch! We have our family favorite recipe, but this year I'm going to add some diced apples that just came from the orchard here on the mountain.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

2 1/2 C. flour (we use freshly ground whole wheat)

1 1/2-2 C. sugar or honey 

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. sea salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 C. pumpkin puree (if homemade, drain)

1/2 C. coconut oil

2 C. apples, peeled and chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9" bread pans, or muffin pans.

2. In a mixer or bowl add wet ingredients and mix.

3. Add spices, leavening, then flour. Mix just until the flour is moistened.

4. Add chopped apples and stir briefly.

5. Pour into prepared bread pans.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes (muffins) or 50 minutes for loaves. Test to determine if it's done by inserting a turkey skewer/toothpick. If it comes out clean it's done!

Abundant Blessings!

The Farmer's Wife,

Val

Back to the Roots Restaurant Week

https://www.naturallygrown.org/

Back to the Roots Restaurant Week

is a celebration of Good Food and 

Certified Naturally Grown Farms!

As a Certified Naturally Grown Farm,

we're helping to promote

two local restaurants and a food

truck that have agreed to donate 

a portion of their sales over the weekend

(through the 28th)

to our certifying and supporting 

organization 

Certified Naturally Grown.

The Plaid Apron Cafe

(through the 27th)

(865)247-4640

1210 Kenesaw Ave.

Cafe du Soleil

(through the 25th)

(865)595-0134

416 Clinch Ave.

Tootsie Truck

(through the 28th)

(865)771-8028

*Market Square Farmer's Market*

There are fourteen area farmers that are now Certified Naturally Grown!

Help us by supporting these businesses

to promote and encourage these farms.

Certified Naturally Grown (CNG)

is a peer-review ecological certification that builds farms and community. 

Look for the CNG label at your local 

Farmer's Market!

Because good food is...

Real Food

Non-GMO

Produced with NO Synthetic Chemicals

From a Local Farm, Rooted in Community

Not from a Corprate Conglomerate!

for more information at

www.CNGproud.com/knoxville

THANK YOU!

The Steve Colvin Family

at

www.colvinfamilyfarm.com

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Okay, I'm giving in...goodbye summer...
hello fall.

The summer of 2014 will be remembered by the Colvin family as a great year of learning the balance of farming for CSA and the eight farmer's markets we serve...

The year of my accident here on the farm...the helicopter taking me to Chattanooga for emergency treatment...and the long road of recovery that has lasted most of the growing season.

The summer of several good bean harvests...

The summer loved bloomed for my young men that had waited "patiently" on God for His provision...

After a hard 2013, we had plenty for CSA, and on table sales!

We're thankful for a great melon season.

For the first time ever we've been able to harvest and dry the whole garlic crop!
I'm proud of you boys!

We're delighted with our greatest melon year
yet!

2014 will also be known as the year
of the abundant okra harvests!

2014 was a year to sell out of shares early. We really appreciate allllll our faithful share
holders that have supported our growing
family farm.

Peppers galore! We've had all sizes,
shapes, and tastes.

We won several awards for our "best tasting"
tomatoes.

All we can say is that God has been
very good to us, and blessed our farm.

But now, it's fall...and I'm switching mental gears. 

The winter squash have been around awhile, but
now they are part of my kitchen decorations, and
it just feels right somehow.

My personal favorite of the winter squash is
acorn. They look pretty in fall decorations
too.

This picture was taken two weeks ago, so there
is more color now than there was then. We've been
having coool nights and mild days. That's the perfect
recipe for fall colors!

I love to decorate with fall's
bounty. I can change it weekly and have a new
look with colored leaves, baskets, pumpkins, winter
squash, or whatever I see on my walks. This is the time of year that the children help decorate the table with colored leaves...I chose a color a day for
the younger children to hunt for which keeps their eyes trained to spot the new, and pretty changes about them.

The squirrels are busy too!

We are thankful for a record Butternut Squash
harvest. The boys got to fill several galords of them this week. We'll have them throughout the winter for sale at the year-round markets, and on our online store. My youngest children love to find the small ones and bake them for a personal sized lunch treats!

Use Butternut Squash in any recipe that calls for pumpkin. Click this link for directions from my blog on how to bake them easily for use. After baking them you can scoop them out into freezer bags in 2 cup portions as this is the amount most recipes call for.

Here is another of our family's favorites that can be made with pumpkin or squash.  It's called Pumpkin Roll, but I also make it in mini angle flood pans for individual desserts. These too sell out at our markets in Crossville. Any that may happen to bring home are quickly divided up at the next meal. I also make them for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Roll/ Pumpkin Roll Cake
3 eggs
2/3 C. Pumpkin
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
3/4 C. self rising flour (I make my own)
1 C. sugar

1. 
   1.Grease jelly roll or 1 piece angle food pan. If using a jelly roll pan, line with parchment or wax paper.

2. Mix wet ingredients together in mixer. Add sugar and mix well.
3. Add spices. Mix well.
4. Add flour, mix.
5. Pour into pan and bake at 375 degrees till toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Watch the edges of a thin jelly roll as they burn easily.)
6. Place the pumpkin roll onto a thin towel that has been dusted with confectioners sugar. Roll the towel up to cool. Refrigerate the roll for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
6B. Place the cake onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.

Directions for Pumpkin Roll Cake~ Using a piece of dental floss, cut the cake in half horizontally. Place top half onto the cooling rack. Place the bottom onto the cake plate. Spread a good layer of the filling (below) onto the cut side. Place the top onto the cake. Spread filling over the top, and let it "fall over" the sides. (I do not frost the sides usually.) Garnish the top with a few pecans for a finished look. Serve.

Directions for a Pumpkin Roll ~ Unroll the towel containing your roll cake. Spread filling over the  cake and reroll. (Careful, mine crack easily) Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. "Glue" a few pecans in the center of the roll with some filling. This is an extra special Thanksgiving treat on the farm.

Pumpkin Roll/Cake Filling
1 C. chopped nuts (we use Pecans)
1 C. Confectioners Sugar
1, 8 oz. Cream cheese
1 tablespoon Butter
3 T.  Vanilla

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla till light.
2. Add confectioners sugar a little at a time. Whip well.
3. Add chopped nuts. Either mix by hand or on slow speed.


Well, now my secret fall recipes are out...but here are a few more ideas I use.
1. Make pumpkin cinnamon rolls by spicing up well drained pumpkin and using it for the filling.
2. Make pumpkin muffins to go with your hearty fall stews and soups. They really round out a meal and fill the "hole" in hungry men.
3. Simply fill a casserole dish with mashed pumpkin or winter squash, and top with mixture of ground nuts, oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar (optional), and butter. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

We like to see how God changes His palate in early fall. When the bright yellows and purples dominate in mid-August, we know fall is right around the corner.

Just around the corner is really the lingering thought in most minds here on the farm...fall...a time of more laid back days of harvest (after the remaining 2 CSA deliveries), fewer plantings, school beginning, longer, cooler nights, and God working miracles in the landscape. We all need to keep our eyes open for His finest work will be wrought all around us in the weeks to come. If we're too busy we may miss Him proclaiming His greatness in the orchestra of color painting the mountains and valleys where we live.

Charity encourages everyone to buy a pumpkin this weekend and make her favorite fall treat...

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 scant cups brown sugar
1 C. oil
1 1/2 C. cooked, mashed pumpkin
2 eggs
3 C. flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves

1. Cream sugar and oil.
2. Add pumpkin and eggs. Add flour, salt, baking powder, soda, vanilla, and spices. Mix well.
3. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. (Parchment) Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
4. Make sandwiches from 2 cookies filled with the Whoppie Pie filling below.

Hints for Success

Use Coconut oil and freshly ground whole wheat flour for the exact whoopie pie we sold the last few seasons in Crossville. We always sold out! Choose the size you'd like. I make big ones for market, but used to make tiny ones for my little ones.

Whoopie Pie Filling

1 egg white, beaten
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup confectioners sugar

1. Mix. Then add one more cup confectioners sugar and 3/4 cup shortening. (This year I'm going to try coconut oil.)
2. Spread a "dab" (ha ha! That's my favorite part!) of filling on the flat side of cooled "cookie".
3. Top with another cookie to form a sandwich.
Savor the taste of fall!

Fall means muffin season in the farmhouse.
We made our first batch of the season this week. Faith Anne made "Wilder Muffins" (thanks again Madeline). She shook some cinnamon sugar on top for a yummy treat for supper. 

Look for your fall favorites at your market this weekend. They make great decorations now, and then winter treats later!

"The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." 

Psalm 50:1,2

Abundant Blessings,

The Farmer's Wife,

Val

Jamming in the Farmhouse!

Why is The Farmer's Wife jamming in the farmhouse?

As our virtual farmhand at Full Tummies said this

week we're still delivering "summer fare" in our boxes because of the summer like weather. We're thankful for it as we know there's a long winter coming. So relish all the bounty of summer and enjoy the fallish treats that are starting to make their appearance on the market's tables in small quantities. They'll soon be in your share boxes!

Last Friday night Shelby (Caleb's gal) and I created a new dish for the work crew (17 hungry folks, so I cooked for 25) that I'd like to share with you. It's a fun dish to do with your children or a friend, as there are vegetables to cut, and a sauce to make. We had fun creating a massive bowl of the sauce, 7 spaghetti squash, and 3 lbs. spinach linguine for the crew. Relax...I've cut the recipe down for ya'll. Shelby named it...

Kitchen Sink Pasta.

1 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Butter

3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
7-8 Cups Milk 
1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage, crumbled (or sausage of your choice)

Make a white sauce by first melting the butter

and sauteing the garlic in it for 3-4 minutes. Add flour and let cook, stirring and scraping with a spatula a few minutes to remove the flour taste. Do not brown. Add 1/2 of the milk. Whisk. Occasionally scrape with the spatula to make sure the mixture isn't sticking. As the sauce thickens add more milk. The sauce should be thick enough to give a "tug" to your whisk, but pours easily. Lastly whisk in the Parmesan and salt. Taste to determine your seasonings. Let sit on warm stove. Do not boil.

Meanwhile brown 2 lbs. crumbled Hot Italian Sausage in a large frying pan. 

While the sausage is browning, cut up 1 large

Bullhorn Pepper (those huge, long red ones) 1-2 yellow squash, 1 Patty Pan (flying saucer shaped) squash into 1 inch cubes. Next chop 1 big handful of kale into ribbons, discarding the larger stems. Finally dice up a medium onion into the same sized pieces. Have it all set aside for assembling the dish.

When the sauce is thickens, add your vegetables to the meat mixture starting with
 the kale that needs the most cooking time. Stir occasionally with a spatula, 5-7 minutes. If you get hurried, cover the pan for quicker cooking. Next add all the rest of the vegetable, stir. Continue stirring occasionally until the vegetables are crisp tender. 

When the vegetables are crisp-tender and your sauce is thickened, combine the sauce and vegetables in a nice serving bowl. 

Serve over linguine, spaghetti, or my favorite spaghetti squash. Enjoy!

We've had a full week on the farm. In the fields the boys have been picking okra diligently, weeding carrots, (a tedious job if it weren't for the beautiful surroundings) and of course harvesting for markets.

In the farmhouse I've put my new-found energy to

good use by canning up part of the sea of okra (one day there was 8 BUSHELS of it) that was left over from markets. Really folks...please don't give up on summer vegetables in hopes of the fall vegetables like turnips (they are just coming in in small quantities) or greens (you were moaning about the amount in the spring...remember?!) Let's all remember our commitment to eat seasonally, and how yummy it is compared with store bought vegetables. :) 

Digging potatoes takes lots of time in preparation for

filling shares. The boys get a close up view of the ground and lots of little critters...spiders...pack saddle caterpillars (ouch!!)...snakes...field mice..and much more. We've always liked to study God's creation in nature, so I'm glad it's part of my boy's adult lives. 

I hope you are enjoying the potatoes also. If you can't use them all in one week, spread them out on a newspaper or in a basket in a dark place and allow them to dry. They will keep well into the winter if cared for properly. If you happen to get one with a nick or soft spot (sorry) eat those soon as they won't keep. 

On Monday Adam had truck maintenance to do. Luke (11) was his young helper and he learned a lot about replacing brake pads. Luke loves to take things apart and see how they work. This job was right up his alley! Thank you Adam for taking time to share your skill!

Caleb and his gal went to Georgia with Noah as

their chaperon to pick up our livestock feed. (We're so thankful to have a source for soy free, non-GMO feed now!) They had a great time talking,joking and sharing an rare afternoon together. Noah, the chaperon said, "It was boring." I guess it's hard being a third wheel. His day will come...

Okra blooms are beautiful!

Titus and Isaac cut okra...again. Praise God! They

may wonder if it the okra harvest will ever end...I think they now appreciate the bean harvests a little better now. (They've felt the same way about picking beans for years now! ha ha!)

On Monday in the farmhouse I had big plans! First I

Our version of laundry
detergent that saves us
LOTS of money!

made 20 gallons of laundry detergent for under $8. Next we attacked the okra. Faith Anne (13) and Levi (9) started to cut okra into 1/2" slices and filled a large canning pot. Cerina and I started filling jars with okra pods, garlic and hot peppers for pickling. It's a fun job as we visited while we worked. It was time consuming though, but by early afternoon we had 24 quarts of canned okra, and 19 quarts of pickled okra. I think okra will be a winter staple, so I hope to do this often over the coming weeks until the first frost stops the harvest.

 You probably think I put the same pictures up lately

of the okra...ha ha! Each week there are new ones to post! If you missed the post last week for Okra Fritters you'll have to go to Week 14's Blog and read it. Okra Fritters are a fabulous new way to eat humble okra in our home!

Are you getting tired, and vegetables are beginning to pile up in your refrigerator? Try some easy ways to use up a bunch quick...

• Slice up the vegetables and put them in containers in the fridg for eating raw with a simple dip like Ranch salad dressing. They would make a great addition to your child's lunchbox.
• Roast a large variety of the vegetables. We like to
  
  chop peppers, squash, onions, & okra lately, on a parchment lined pan, drizzle with olive oil, and season to taste. We like garlic salt and Cajun seasoning. Toss with your finger tips to coat the vegetables with oil and seasonings. Bake at 450 degrees until the vegetables show black on their edges.  Easy!
• Make a stir fry! Here is a link to Full Tummies stir fry recipe that can be made differently from one week to the next depending on what vegetables you have to use. Our family loves stir fry over brown rice.
• Make a vegetable quiche. Our virtual farmhand at Full Tummies has a crustless quiche that you can substitute any combination of vegetables in. She uses Swiss Chard, but we've used any green, squash, beets, and more! Give it a try! We love quiche also and use a recipe very similar to this.

With the rain showers that have been blowing through in the evenings lately, our boys sometimes find themselves on the home farm much earlier than

usual. That happened on one free night for Isaac this week. He used the free hours of the evening...then night to bottle up the rest of the honey harvest. He made 203 new honey bears that will be available throughout the winter. Noah worked diligently for hours putting stickers on each belly...he got kind of silly working and even labeled himself! Thanks for all your hard work boys!

If you have summer or fall allergies, this is the batch to buy as it contains pollens from that time of year. Right now we're still in our infancy of raising bees so we are selling our raw, unfiltered honey in 12 -ounce honey bears for $10 a bear. These will be available throughout the winter at the year-long markets and also on our farm's online store.

Soon after my accident in April the strawberry season began in high gear. I usually process all the seconds into jam for the markets. This year we were lucky to get them into the freezer! There they sat with the blackberries and peaches we hoped one day to process. Well, the day finally came!

On Tuesday we began jamming in the farmhouse! Our 12 foot farmhouse table was covered with bus tubs with 2-gallon freezer bags filled with capped strawberries. What a sight! I've done big (80 cup) batches before, but this would take ALL day at that rate. I'm delighted to say that with God's enabling we did it! Again Cerina came to help (Thank you!) and we put up 181 half-pints, and 111 pints of strawberry jam!

What makes our jam so special? First and foremost it is made with Certified Naturally Grown berries...I think our berries taste worlds apart from the store bought variety! Secondly, we use a natural pectin that is made from citrus peels to thicken our syrup. This pectin doesn't jell on the action of the sugar, but the citrus peels. This allows me to use a much lower amount of sugar. Our customers in the past tell me they really enjoy the taste of the strawberries, not just a sweet product. Lastly it's hand made. Each batch is made in our kitchen by the Farmer's Wife and her helpers. (Mainly my children.)

 When you buy our jam, you are supporting a family farm that you know.  It's going on sale starting this week, and we'll have it throughout the winter at the year-long markets and on our store's website. They make GREAT Christmas gifts, so give it a try and see!                     ~  $4 1/2 Pint & $8 a pint~

As I go about my day here on the farm there is often a song in my heart that overflows. My girls often join in with me, filling in the words that I often forget. I've been asked before why I sing...

As a young girl the innocence of my heart had been

trampled, and I was looking for true love. I dreamt of it...longed for it. My heart cried out to be special to someone. I had no idea who that was, for I really didn't know what true love was... that was until the Lover of my soul spoke to me. 

His voice was soft, yet powerful. He spoke in such a way that drew my eyes to His. Here was the "Prince" I had dreamed of, longed for, and hardly dare believe existed! I longed to give him the pure, untainted treasure of my heart, but I could plainly see I wasn't pure. Instead, my heart was covered with my sin, and I was unworthy of all He offered me. Shame stole over my face as I stole a look at Him in all His glory when I knew I had ruined my chance of being set apart for Him. I couldn't bear to look at Him in all His royal brilliance when I was dressed in rags at His feet.

As I walked away in my heart, He followed. I

continue to hear Him whisper my name, and heard His promises for my future...IF I would just trust Him with all my heart to do what I never could. "I can make you white as snow", He gently said. "I can set you apart for me."

As He beckoned me, I wondered if I could truly trust His words. I had never been able to trust love before. Could this really be true? Finally, in desperation I fell at His feet in sweet surrender! I handed Him the rags of my life, for what was there to loose? I had nothing. 

When I looked up once again into the eyes of the Lover of my soul I knew there was a change. There was a look of complete acceptance that flooded my heart with true love. I wasn't the same defiled young girl. I was pure...washed...whole!

My heart sings because of my future as His bride is bright and rich. He's gone to prepare our future home and I'm awaiting His return for our wedding. We'll live for eternity in a mansion He's building for us. 

So, now you know why I sing! Jesus Christ, the Lover of my 
soul fills my heart to overflowing with love...joy...peace! One day soon He'll come for me and my joy will overflow with perfect worship for eternity! 

Now you know the source of the song...why I "jam" in the farmhouse. "...be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is...singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord." Ephesians 5:19

Do you know the Lover of Your Soul? He's whispering your name! He wants to fill your empty heart with true love, and turn your rags (sin) into purity of heart. He wants to wash you white as snow and give you a bright future in Heaven too! Look into His eyes, and listen to His voice speaking.

"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered . Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Psalm 32:1,2

Abundant Blessings,

The Farmer's Wife

Val

P.S. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.."! 

Psalm 107:2 

In the comments section below, give your testimony in a short comment. The Lord could use it to help draw someone else!

This week in pictures....

We have about 300 Black Austrolop hens
that lay beautiful brown eggs. They are fed
Non-GMO/No soy feed and are raised on
fresh grass daily.

Levi (9) gathers our eggs twice daily.

We also have about 40 ducks that lay large beautiful
eggs. They are available by the 1/2 dozen.

The broilers are now 6 weeks old! It won't
be long before they are ready to sell at your market.

Canned okra for the winter. Simply rinse and fry, pour into
gumbo, or simply steam. The recipe can be found on our website.

Cerina has been my weekly
help in the kitchen on canning days.
Thank you sis!

Pickled okra

Adam and Allison became home owners this week
as the Lord provided them with a trailer to put on the
other farm. We all praise His name for His provision!

Luke sells at the Main Street Farmer's Market
in Chattanooga. We're thankful for the bounty
we still have to sell!

Flats of strawberry plants are lined up for planting.
Until then they need daily care.

Cured garlic ready for a market.

Garlic for sale. See week 14's blog for recipes.

Our Friday night work crew! These gals volunteer to
sort, wash, bunch, and pack vegetables for the farm.
Then after a big supper they help clean up the kitchen!
THANK YOU GIRLS!

Timmy Brock, the Friday night
farmer.

Hair cut time. Jeannie not only packs
vegetables and does dishes, she cuts everyone's hair!
(She and Destany (Isaac's gal)  also run the Dayton pick up for me!)

Caleb and Shelby

Adam 

We're thankful for the good
green bean harvest again this week.

Faith Anne (13) learned to stir fry
oriental green beans (my favorite at a Chinese restaurant)
this week from a shareholder. I appreciate all I learn from ya'll!
Chinese Green Beans

1/2 pound Green Beans, ends snapped off
2 good handfuls of mushrooms from Dixie Lee Market, sliced (optional)
A good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
3 wedges of lemon or lime
Season to taste
1. Heat frying pan.
2. Drizzle olive oil in hot pan.
3. Add green beans. Stir.
4. Squeeze lemon juice over the beans. Stir.
5. When the beans take on a "brightness", add the mushrooms.
6. Serve when still crisp-tender.

Meatloaf with Quina, roasted vegetables,
and Cajun roasted okra pods.

A Jalapeno cheddar braided loaf
rising...

Now, it's all baked and ready for market.

True whole wheat bread made with our stone ground
wheat cooling for market.

Braided loaves.

Some of our boys nature finds
of the week...
A spider with a huge egg sack.

A handful of June bug grubs. They mysteriously were
put down Noah's back! Uggg!!

One of my breakfasts this week..
Poached eggs over mixed greens.
It's fun to think "outside the box".

My tired young men...
Titus (18)

Noah (16)