DIY SPOUTED WHEAT FLOUR & Centering in a Storm

 Greetings from our lil' farm!

A little business first before I dive into today's blog...Even after 9 years of blogging on Blogspot I can't say I understand the formatting. So to get things to format smoother I've moved the "gadgets" around.  I'd love for you to subscribe and follow the blog. I promise not to contact you about a new blog more than once a week. And when life gets busier this may go to bi-monthly.  There's a spot to subscribe through an email announcement. You'll be able to search for recipes and other topics and at the end of the blog there as there is a listing of some of my older posts from when we were farming full time with our family of 15. 

Back on topic...Centering in a Storm...as I'm writing this blog it is litterally blowing a 

gale outside our "new" farmhouse!  Our 35' tall trees are bending in the wind by my window. I'm not used to the eeiry sounds yet as we've only been here a couple of months. Inside my newly renovated library I'm safe from the torment outside.

There's a different kind of storm raging world wide that no one has escaped. Even with our lil' farm's life going on "as usual" there is a storm in my mind as I read the daily headlines...shortages of food is likened to a nagging storm in my mind, "Do you have enough wheat? You know, your supply of salt is low.  And as I'm planting flats of herbs, flowers and vegetables I hear the scream (you've heard the wind "scream" right?) of the wind encouraging me to plant MORE for those who may need it if our food supply dwindles. 

At the end of each calander year the Lord gives me a word to focus on in the new year...it's like a year long word study in the Scriptures. It seems His choice of words is always timely. So when he gave me the word, "TRUST" the end of December of this year I questioned Him. Life for us looked encouraging and even exciting compared to the rollar coaster of the past few years! He had just sold our farm in bits and pieces, relieving us from a business debt that had been overwhelming for two years. We finally had signed the papers to sell our home on the last seventeen acres...a new start was ahead! Trust??

I accepted His choice of course as I packed and moved. The the winds of the coming storm weren't detected immediately. You've been there I know. It's been a beautiful day, and suddenly the wind chages direction and there is a slight detection of a change in the air that smells of rain. That was in February...my new house didn't feel like home yet when I heard the whisper in my spirit, "TRUST". "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebews 13:5

March was here before I turned around twice with the promise of an early spring. I felt blessed that winter had passed quickly while I was distracted with moving and all the ongoing projects of renovating. I was settled enough now in my makeshift home to pull out the seed catalogs one cozy evening in front of the fireplace. Since we had grown to a small commercial farm I had only looked at the catalogs wistfully for the past ten years or so...so I was thrilled at the names of "old friends" in  Baker Creek Seed catalog...Forellenschuss and May Queen lettuce, Pineapple tomato, Marino's Roma tomatoes,Tennessee Red Peanuts for the children's gardens, and of course all the herbs and flowers that were established on our old farm. I eagerly ordered my "old friends", picturing a perfect garden in my mind! I remember being thankful the 50 lb. bags of bean seeds were a thing of the past so we could return to the world of heritage seeds...but out in the world, news brought to light the gathering winds heading our way. Again and again the Spirit of God whispered, "TRUST".  I copied "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I put my trust: cause me to know thy way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." Psalm 143:8 in my bullet journal and listened for His wisdom. 

I found peace when my mind stayed focused on Him. Staying at home when ordered to me was a joy. This is where I was called to serve Christ thirty-nine years ago as a young bride. But the storm brought occasional winds with questions of preparedness for the days and months ahead, and thoughts of safety for my husband each time he left for town to pick up building supplies. "TRUST".."Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." 

This morning as the winds whistle around the corners of our home bending the huge trees outside, a force likened to lightening struck my mind! Did you hear it too? A news report informed us that Russia, North Korea and Iraq were testing our milatary's metal by harassing ships in the Persian Gulf, while two Russian planes were flying within 25 feet of our surveillance planes in International airspace, and North Korea was testing ballistic missiles that could have a major impact on the safety of American allies and the U.S. forces in the region.

I'm a child of the '60's and '70's. I grew up under the threat of nuclear war and the "big brother" threat of the Soviet Union. Their threats, though very real in my childish mind, seemed very far away. But today with the help of the Internet they seemed much closer.  I remember when President Reagan signed the papers that put an end to the Cold War and the relief it brought. But with one short article this morning the tempset grew a bit stronger like the storm outside my window...and I clearly heard, "TRUST". 

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me." Psalm 138:7

I remember reading once that,"the midst of trouble" means to "go on in the center of trouble". In the center, or eye of a storm there is peace...a quiet place from the storm raging about! Because I'm His child I can TRUST that the "center of the storm" is the place He revivies me, not a place where He will "leave me nor forsake me." Hebrews 13:5b

Later in the day...So, what did I do while the storms raged today? I "centered myself" in the eye of the storm, and then I went "on in the center of trouble".

 I  had mixed up a batch of sourdough waffles last night, so we had a special breakfast to start our day well. After family devotions I dehydrated the wheat I had

sprouted to make sprouted flour, I made a large batch of Basic Sourdough Bread early as it sits for 5 hours fermenting. Then I cuddled on the couch with Charity (12) to study about our amazing solar system. Afterwards we mixed up Sourdough Pretzel dough to wrap around uncured turkey hotdogs for a fun supper. (It sits for 5 hours also.) I supervised Internet research for essays, checked math scores, kept teenage boys focused (a part-time job at times)! I  then planted flower seeds I had soaked overnight into flats, and all the little cleaning jobs a Momma needs to do. Then the dough was fermented to overflowing by 4:30 p.m., so I made a batch of cinnamon rolls that are slowly rising in the refrigerator for breakfast tomorrow morning. Next I rolled out the dough like I had for cinnamon rolls and made pizza rolls to freeze for a busy night in the next week or so when I would prefer working outside in the new gardens. There was only enough dough for one loaf of bread leftover, so I'll be making bread again soon as my frozen stash is running down. 

One of the suppers I made ahead with my sourdough was Pizza Rolls! Oh so yummy! I baked one to test it out, while I tray froze the rest partially risen for an easy meal next week. 

Charity's sourdough Pretzel Dog dough in the foreground, with my sourdough bread overflowing the bowl in the back. 

Charity, our youngest at 12 years old made Sourdough Pretzel Dogs for a fun movie night! If you'd like to know how to do any of these things, just ask in the comments below. 

I don't use sprouted wheat to make my sourdough as they both reduce the carb count and break down the proteins that are difficult for us to digest wheat. I use sprouted wheat to make cookies, biscuits (half whole wheat & half sprouted wheat), or anything I'd be tempted to use white flour with.  I also use it a lot for dusting my "counter" (I'm in a makeshift kitchen at this time.) when working with sourdough. 

HOME SCHOOLING MOMENT...

Sprouting a wheat kernal breaks down the proteins and carbohydrates, releasing enzymes that make the sprouted wheat into a low glycemic flour that is easier to digest!. Including your children in on this "lil' experiment" is science in action! Even if you don't dehydrate and grind your grain after it's sprouted, there is still a lot they can learn. The kernals are then soft enough to chew ...and the clincher is they're kind of SWEET! They make a great low carb topping for sandwiches and salads. Try sprouting the farmer's favorite...lentils from the store!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SPROUTED WHEAT FLOUR

0. Think ahead to how much volume you'll be able to drain easily when determining how much wheat you can sprout at one time. I inherited a super large colunder from my parents that allows me to do a large amount at once. The wheat will swell, so choose an amount that is about half the volume of your colander or come up with another way to easily drain it three times a day. It sprouts quickly, so you'll be done  with the sprouting process in about two days. 

1. Scoop wheat into a large bowl and cover liberally with water.  I used hard white wheat, but hard red wheat works great too. Use the type of wheat you use most often in your baking. Cover the wheat liberally with water and let soak for 12-24 hours, keeping the wheat covered with water. 

2. Drain the water off your soaked wheat into a large colander. Place the colunder over your bowl. (I save the water drained off for watering plants.)  Cover with a tea towel. 

3. Rinse your wheat three times a day by simply spraying it with your sink's sprayer. The water will simply collect in the bowl underneath. I leave it there till I'm done sprouting, and then again use it to water plants with. 

The sprouting process doesn't take long. The wheat in the middle sprouts quicker than the outter layer, so I stir it when I spray it.

4.  I delayed bringing my sprouted wheat to my dehydrater and the sprouts grew bigger than I wanted it to, (see picture in the paragraph above) but soon as you see a little tail emerge from the end of the wheat it is ready for the next step in the process. (Let the kids sprout the tails up to 1/2" long for fun.)

I dehydrated mine in a 9 tray Excalibar Dehydrator  using just 4 of the trays . I set the temp at less than 100 degrees and left it there overnight.  You could also use the pilot light of a gas stove, or the lowest temperature of a convection oven to dry the kernals, but be watchful.

5. When the kernals feel light they are dried. I removed them from the dehydrator with a lil' trick I've learned over the years. I slip a doubled grocery store bag over the end of my tray and tilt the dry kernals into the bag. This eliminates a lot of messy handling.

I had two loads in my 9-tray dehydrator. To stop the sprouting process of the second batch when I ran out of room I simply put the whole colunder down into our deep freezer after filling the dehydrator the first time.

 When I switched loads I took the colunder out of the freezer and spread the rather stiff kernals on the trays as before, and dehydrated it all day. (I broke up the frozen chunks a couple hours later when I passed my dehydrator again.)

6. I have a Nutrimill grain mill to grind all our flour. When grinding sprouted wheat kernals though I need to stand there and "help" the dry kernals feed down into the mill. It helps to allow the wheat to feed quicker. 

 Sprouted wheat flour, unlike regular whole wheat is shelf stable and be kept in an airtight container in your pantry! 

The key to a great day was TRUST...I "went on in the center of trouble" and found peace being creative with the raw materials of life. For Christ assured me earlier that, like Esther of the Old Testament, I was created, "for such a time as this." Esther 4:14b

What does this storm look like for you? There are so many different aspects of it we have no control over..."even the winds and the waves obey Him." Lets learn to FULLY TRUST HIM..."go on in the CENTER of the storm."

Centering Myself in Jesus Christ,
The Farmer's Wife,
Val

The Farmer's Wife Returns

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The  Farmer's Wife Returns 

I know I've been away a long time. Those closest to us know the major life changes we've been experiencing over the past few years. The last you heard from me in my last post was that we had downsized to just 17 acres and were farming our "mom & pop" operation. That did happen, but instead of my monthly blog posts I was caught up in the day to day operation of a small farm with LARGE farm financial responsibilites. I'm thankful to say the Lord Jesus Christ has delivered us from those responisibilities now, but the path was a difficult one of learning, depending on Him, and just plain ole' hard work!

I began baking even more, canning even more, and working in the fields alongside my husband. Yes, we had children to help, but there were challenges there also as we helped the family deal with adolescent autism that "suddenly blossomed" in our son. The Lord was still teaching us major life lessons, despite our "smaller size". We enjoyed the challenge of marketing, but were thankful when the year wound down to one market in Oak Ridge...our favorite market Grow Oak Ridge.  Grow Oak Ridge

We retired from farming at the last market the end of February 2019. We were BEYOND BlESSED when our long time customers saw the newspaper headlines announcing our last market, and came to say goodbye! It was a thrilling but tearful day as I filled bags of cinnamon rolls for faithful customers, accepted gifts from long time customers turned friends, and our marketing family presenting us with gifts and applause at the end of our final market. A year later we are still "homesick" for those friends at market!

During our first summer "off" we prepped our farmhouse for selling it to family friends who had long admired it. This took most of the summer...all of the summer. The children joined in on the work of painting, a family novelty, as the Farmer NEVER paints anything he makes! Once the shock wore off to the whole family (the oldest children kept asking for pictures!) we had a new porch railing, (we hadn't had one because our box trucks used to back right up to the porch to load CSA shares and crates of vegetables) new screens built for each window, and the back of the house got new siding and a porch!

Our life has been linked with the land for YEARS, and when spring showed her face, our pull towards her grew just as strong as in the past. We scaled down our vision that had fed hundreds...and knowing we were moving in June, we planted a small spring raised bed garden. We started out our farm using the Square Foot Method and transfered the intensive planting spacing to our fields. We fashioned these beds after our old 1025 square foot beds that we began our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in 2000- 2002. 

I love demension in my gardens! Since we didn't have hogs this season, I used hog pannels (easily purchased at Tractor Supply) to add arbors to the garden. We grew cucumbers (pickling and slicing) and small melons on them. 

We planted with square foot gardening spacing as usual in our new beds. By using this method, we had the equivilent space of a large garden! 

A little later in the summer you can see that we're growing vertically too! Cucumbers and small melons grew up and over our hog pannel trellises. 

Our herb and flower gardens...or our outdoor classroom was a joy to us! I gave Charity (11) a daily "scavenger hunt" to do...find 5 insects and identify them...find 3 flowers and write down 8 adjectives that describe them, ETC. She would run from here to the vegetable garden  just on the other side of these snow peas!

Since we thought we we'd soon be moving I planted my herbs into a galvanized tub that would be easy to pick up and go!

Once again our gardens     naturally became the classroom of our home school. Charity loved having her own 4 X 4' raised bed and studied art, agriculture, English composition, and many other "studies" while we sat under the plum tree each morning enjoying the peace of the garden. We needed this time of "healing" after the intense lifestyle                   that farming for markets brings. 

With everyone busy amgost the varied fixer-upper projects, the summer sped by. Everyone joined in on the painting, caring for our chickens, gardening (much different than farming!) and paring down the posessions of a family of 15!!!!!!!!!!!! My, we were well stocked with clothing from sizes newborn to men's large, farming equipment, toys for all ages, our massive home school library, and YEARS of photos that were only partially put into albums. Our goal was to pare down, organize what was meaningful into albums and be ready to move into a 750 square foot "tiny house" we owned in the valley.

I acutally got to use the front porch for more than packing
vegetables this year!!

We sold most of our flock, paring down to just 30 birds.
This was a far cry from when we had over 300 birds at a time
on the farm!

I was overjoyed to enjoy decorating my front porch for it has been a packing shed for many, many years. 

The trellises we built early in the season were beautiful throughout the season.

A honey bee visits a cucumber bloom. In the background you can see our outdoor wood furnace that not only
heated our house, but our water as well!

I felt so incrediblly blessed to be able to wander in and out of our garden beds picking and cutting the vegetables
we needed for our meals that day. Instead of selling our vegetables I enjoyed gifting them to folks.

Apples

Our daily salad...

Green onions/scallions fresh in from the garden.

For the FIRST TIME we had allllllllllllllllllllll the asparagus we wanteed!!
I froze many many meals of it, allowing us to eat all we wanted over the winter.

One aparagus harvest. We grow purple and green verieties.

Our outdoor classroom filled in over the season. I also learned that the rusty holes at the bottom of my herb garden pail weren't big enough to drain well. We eventually lost most of our herbs. (But it was a learning experience!)

Our porch with its' new railing took on a whole new personality. This was a quiet
spot to sit and enjoy all the Lord was doing in our lives.

In my paring down and organizing process I eventually got to our root cellar where there were HUNDREDS of canning jars for me to go through. I kept these -PLUS...enough for a small family of  five.

God protected me from this Rattlesnake while I was clearing out the root cellar!

Our farm kitchen where soooo many loaves of bread were baked, jars of jam and vegetables were canned. It was the hub of our home. We were country...hmmm "farmhouse" before it was "in". 

My sewing room....

In my sewing room I used furniture not needed by the family anymore...
The changing table (dry sink) and kitchen table  Steve made 39 years ago became
"my spot". 

Our deadline to move in June, then July and August came and went. With all our energy and time about spent, we saw the Lord had another lesson to teach us! The sale of our home fell through SUDDENLY, and we left the farm to spend time at my family home in Massachusettes, and on the coast of Maine. There we truely rested and enjoyed God's creation, so different than the foothills in Tennessee! During our stay we sought God's will for our future. (When you think you know His will and work towards it, and it suddenly falls to pieces you begin to wonder!) By the time we left the waves lapping against the rocky shore in front of our cottage, we knew we were  still on the right path . The Lord doesn't usually work OUR plan, but HIS ways are ALWAYS better!

Charity LOVED the water in Massachusetts and in Maine! She swam daily up until SEPTEMBER 5th!!
(That is very late to swim in the icey waters of Maine!)

We visited Plimouth Pantation near my childhood home.

We enjoyed time with some of our favorite people "on the shores of Silver Lake".

But my heart goes to Plymouth Bay where I grew up. 

Forefather's Monument
Plymouth, MA

The week we returned to Tennessee we placed the farm on the market. By week's end pictures of the interior were taken and papers signed. Less than a weerk from when we got home, on Monday evening our farm was on the market. Tuesday we had THREE showings, and we had an offer by Tuesday night! After negotiations, we had sold our farm the first week.  God's plans are always sure and best!

On the other hand the paperwork took three months to complete, teaching us more lessons of waiting on God for HIS timing. (I must be a very very slow learner!) Each time the closing date was set back again (three times) I wondered if I should unpack...and we did often because we needed something! Where would we celebrate Thanksgiving?...then Christmas? I'm thankful now that we had those last holidays as a family in our farmhouse, but it was a waiting game for sure!

Our original idea was to live in a 700 square foot house we owned in the valley. But God once again directed us to a small 5 acre farm closer to the highway with a house that needed A TOTAL RENOVATION. With a sigh of relief, we began to rent the farm we would purchase. With the closing papers FINALLY signed on the final day of 2019, we were set for a new deadline.. .We needed to get the bedrooms and bathroom liveable. The clock kept on ticking, but with the Lord's enabling we moved in by the deadline on January 30th!

We're organizing, purging our posessions, and planning our new sustainable mini farm....we were excited to return to the homesteading life of our earlier years.

There are many possibilities before us as we still wait on God's leading for the next phase of our lives. We don't want to settle in too much, as we have a heavenly home that is looking brighter and brighter each passing day! We are looking to see what He has for us to do with expectancy. 

I'll be writing more often now that I've made the plunge to catch everyone up on our lives. I'll be sharing our "homesteading" adventures, our "farmhouse" renovation,  our home schooling adventures (from the past 34-36 years),  lessons the Lord is teaching me, mini farmhouse cooking, and much, much more.

There are many "voices" on the Internet to listen to...but God has directed me to speak what He has taught me in the spirit of Titus 2, coupled with the industriousness of Proverbs 31. 

"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:4-5

Come join me on the journey!

 

Abundant Blessings, 

The Mini Farmer's Wife

Val Colvin