Week 4 The Hot Pursuit!

Week 4

Shares

Crookneck Squash

Zucchini

Basil

Collards

Kohlrabi

Baby Lettuce Mix

Daikon Radish

Red Russian Kale

Welcome to my front porch...the breeze is blowing

This nectarine tree now has ripe fruit on

it!

across the field, the birds are singing in the distance, and it's a beautiful day for relaxing a bit.  While most of the family is off at one of our 4 Saturday markets I get to enjoy the quietness of our farm with Charity (8). There is MUCH to do later, but now is my quiet time!

We had two chickens find a secluded spot under the porch and hatch a chick each this week! The chickens are pecking around the front porch right now. Never far from their mothers, the chicks are in hot pursuit of the protection she gives.

I've been doing a lot of thinking this week on the relationships in my life. This morning, the sweet Holy Spirit sat with me as I read Psalm 34. The theme of the chapter for me is relationship...relationship with Him.

I have friends up north in my home church that I

Charity gave me these flowers this

week!

admire, and am pursuing a close relationship with. One friend is funny, and teases a lot. I try to reciprocate...because they are light-hearted, I am pursing this quality in my life. Both friends desire to be close with Jesus Christ. This encourages me to dig deeper still in His Word, and live my life in a way that reflects God's heart.

I think about my distant friends often. I remember the fun work times we had together last summer as they helped me cleaned out my childhood home. The times of worship, fellowship, quiet talks, jokes told, and pranks played. I have some fond, lasting memoires.

Pursue - to follow after with a view to overtake, to chose, to strive.   ~Webster's 1828 Dictionary~

My husband pursued me...smile...He and I pursue our marriage. We strive to please each other... there is an ideal marriage that we are "following after with a view to overtake". I see what pleases him, and with the Lord's help, become that pleasant thing.

In remembering the definition I looked up of pursue, I wonder if I'm REALLY daily in pursuit of Christ? Are Jesus' delights becoming mine? Do I think of Him often, and even "day dream" of being with Him some day? Do I anticipate reading His letters to me (Scripture) like I do with the letters from my friends or the texts from my husband? Do I "light up" when I'm with Him? Do I seek to be found "admirable" to Him?

I'm encouraging you to read Psalm 34 with these thoughts in mind...are you on a "Hot Pursuit"?

Adam & Allison picked my

favorite heat loving flower

for me this week. (Wild

Milkweed) I am truly

blessed!

It's truly been a hot week here on the farm. I bake for 5 markets, so my kitchen is often "warm". I won't let my mind focus on it though, as it will cause me to grumble.

The heat made it the perfect time for the men to plant okra and other heat loving vegetables. We'll have to wait till late summer though for the harvest.

We saw the first red tomatoes, thousands of pounds of squash, beautiful lettuce, snap peas,beets, greens, and other vegetables being harvested. God's hand of blessing is truly bountiful!

I tried a few new ideas with the vegetables that came into the farmhouse. Here is one of our favorites. I've been making meal-in-a-loaf meals for years, but I love to experiment with fillings. Use what the Lord has put in your refrigerator this week. Use your imagination as you can put just about anything in your loaf! I have even put spaghetti in a loaf and my family LOVED it! Adjust the amounts to feed your family. It's the technique that I'm showing.

Yield: 1 large loaf

Feeds: 6 hungry farm boys

Meal-A-Loaf

1 1/2 lb. bread dough

1 bunch greens (I used Swiss Chard)

1 onion, sliced in wedges

Bacon or Ham, cut up and browned

1/3 C. Shredded Cheese

(This can be put inside the "braid" instead of sprinkled on top.)

Salt & Pepper

Cut up your greens, saving your stems for stir fry later in the week.

Sauté your onion in the last few minutes of browning your bacon or ham.

Using a bit of bacon drippings if needed to stir fry the greens in with the bacon and onion. 

Roll out your dough (frozen bread dough is sold in the freezer section of the grocery store if you're not making it) into a rectangle the length of your cookie sheet.

I switch to a single hand rolling pin (Pampered Chef)

to finish rolling out my dough. I picked it up off the counter and put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. You could finish rolling it out with a drinking glass laid on its' side. You want it to be the length of your pan.

Lay your greens mixture down the center of the dough. If you choose, you can spread your cheese on top of the filling (not pictured).

Next, make the same number of cuts on either side of the filling using a pizza cutter.

Now comes the fun part!

Simply take a strip in each hand and cross them over the mixture in the center. Work your way down to the end, stopping about 3 strips from the end.

Take the last strips on both sides and cross them over the filling. Then proceed as normal crossing the remaining dough strips. This will give you a pretty and secure finish to your loaf.

Cover the loaf with a dish towel, and let it rise until it's "puffy" looking. Bake at 350 degrees, about 1/2 hour. Watch your loaf, as all ovens differ a bit.

Pull your pan out of the oven and sprinkle shredded cheese down the length of the loaf. Return the pan to the oven until the cheese is melted, but not browned.

Remove the  pan from the oven, and let the loaf sit for a few minutes to set. Then remove it to a cutting board or platter for a special dinner. Serve in 2 inch slices.

It's a pretty meal, so it's a good company meal...

It's portable, so it's a good picnic meal...

It's a versatile meal that freezes GREAT when you have leftovers.

Experiment and have fun using the vegetables in your shares this week! I'm going to try tucking squash, onions, and stir fried chicken in a loaf this week!

Abundant Blessings in Your "Hot Pursuit",

The Farmer's Wife,

Val

"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

What man is he that disireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from

speaking guile

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace,

and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,

and his ears are open unto their cry. "

Psalm 34:11-15