Faith, Farm, and Family
Nothing compares to growing up on a farm.
As a kid, I had the run of acres and acres of land, animals to cuddle and contend with, cousins to explore the woods with or make hay tunnels in the lofts. Mom and Dad were always nearby, as well as uncles if I needed anything. The farm was a playground paradise–with a little imagination. And there was no better place for a game of hide-and-seek.
As an adult, I thrive in the solitude, growing corn and tomatoes, zinnias and marigolds in my garden, taking walks through the fields, watching the seasons come and go in all their splendor.
Farm life has suited me well.
But without family, the farm wouldn’t be nearly as rich. People to share the good life with, to lean on, to love. This farm is full of memories–good times, hard times. Perseverance. Contentment. Togetherness.
Likewise, without faith, there would be no farm or family because the Giver has been good to us. These are His abundant, marvelous, and downright audacious gifts. He’s given us the good times, helped us through the hard times. With Him we’ve persevered, learned gratefulness and contentment. Together.
Faith, farm, and family–my three ingredients for a happy life on the good green Earth we share.
Related posts: Bucking Bales: A Family Tradition
Hackberry Trees, Family Visits, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Eggs: A Dozen Ways to Use Them Up
Or maybe I should have said “E is for Eggs” because my fridge is overrun with them these days. Mom got more chickens back in December, so between the two of us we share the duties of feeding and watering them, alternating days. The one feeding gets the spoils.
Out of necessity, my preoccupation with eggs has led me to finding creative uses for the chicken fruit. What follows is a list of a dozen ways, some fitting in the odd or strange category. Have fun!
1) Make Tempera Egg Paint. Who knew?
2) Whip up a batch of Curried Egg Salad. Simple. For every two eggs, add 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder to your favorite recipe. (I used red curry powder.) My quick recipe is: 2 hardboiled eggs chopped, 2 tablespoons of mayo, 1 teaspoon of sweet and spicy mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon of red curry powder. Yum!
3) Moisturize with an egg yolk facial. Mix a tablespoon of raw honey with an egg yolk and apply it to your face. Leave your egg mask on for 15 minutes. (Avoid scaring small children.) Rinse with warm water.
4) Cleanse oily skin with an egg white facial. Whisk whites with a little lemon juice or water, apply it to face, and let it dry for 10 minutes. Then rinse.
5) Bake Cloud Bread. You’ll find many recipes online, but I tried this one from Sugar-free Mom and thought it pretty good. Admittedly, the bread can taste a little eggy, but as with so many low carb baked goods, it gets better with each passing day.
6) Deter pests in the garden by placing crushed egg shells around your plants to keep away snails, slugs, and cutworms. An added bonus is that the calcium in egg shells feeds the soil.
7) Lose weight by going on an egg fast. In a nutshell (or egg shell, as the case may be) for every egg eaten you eat one tablespoon of healthy fat and one ounce of cheese. I first heard about it from I Breathe I’m Hungry and have tried this several times. Every time I follow it, I lose weight. She also has some pretty good recipes with a lot of variety and makes it simple with menus and shopping lists. Worth checking out if you like eating eggs.
8) Treat your hair to an egg treatment. Beat an egg with a little olive oil, mix until frothy, and apply to hair. Add a few drops of a favorite essential oil to the mix for a nice scent. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water.
9) Add a cooked egg or two to Rover’s weekly diet for a shiny coat. I haven’t tried this, but I’ve seen the tip around the Internet. Couldn’t hurt to try.
10) Make quiche. Real men do eat quiche, after all. At least Hubs does, anyway. For the low carb friendly crust-less version, a basic rule of thumb for the custard portion is 6 eggs + 1 cup of cream or half and half + seasonings mixed thoroughly. Layer 8 ounces of cheese, leftover meat, and veggies in the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie plate and pour the custard over it. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The great part about this recipe is that you not only use up eggs but also leftover meat, veggies, and that insignificant amount of shredded cheese that’s been sitting in the fridge. Often I will use several different kinds of cheese together with good results. Usually.
11) Borrow your neighbor’s children and color Easter eggs. Kits are easily found at the local grocery store, or, if you’re like my granny you’ll use food coloring and a little vinegar. (Don’t ask me the exact amount. It’s been too long.) Now, admittedly, I’ve never tried this with brown eggs, so I have no idea how they would turn out, but it would be fun to try! Send the children home with the colored eggs and the recipe for curried egg salad. Their mother will need it!
12) Give a dozen away. It’s a nice treat for most people. Even better, find some family in need and make up some good excuse about how you just can’t seem to get rid of all the eggs your hens are laying. Tell them they’d be doing you a favor to take some off your hands.
So there you have it. A dozen ways to use up eggs. If you give some of these a try, be sure and leave me a comment. I’d love to hear about it!
Dad
We lost Dad back in January, so he’s been fresh on my mind. The farm feels his absence as though something’s not quite right here. He lived his whole life on this land.
Truth be told, Dad wasn’t a business man, but he did his best to run the dairy. Carrying the weight of it left him weathered and worn. Seasoned. Yet he held a deep and abiding faith in God which saw him through the hard times. He spent his life helping people. Didn’t matter if the cows had to be milked, if a person needed a listening ear or someone to pray, he was there for them. Oftentimes he came home late from the barn, having gotten a late start because a friend of a friend called and asked for his help. Dad knew no strangers.
Now my family and I are left facing a year of firsts–first birthday without Dad, first Easter, first summer day, first Thanksgiving and Christmas. Father’s Day without my father. Things seemingly insignificant, like baking the Easter ham and not having him to share the leftovers with–I definitely inherited the baked ham gene from him!
It’s hard to sum up a life, and I won’t even try. No need to, really, because Dad’s wit, wisdom, and stories will continue to find a place in my posts from time to time. Until the next Dad-ism, I will leave you, dear folks, with something my daughter read at his memorial and is the perfect description of him and so many others: “God Made a Farmer” by Paul Harvey. (Note: The Dodge commercial, though an abbreviated version, is very much worth watching.)
Cat Mom
I love my two boys, cats Winston and Clarence. My friend Patty says they have old man names, but, really, that wasn’t the inspiration. Winston is named after Mr. Churchill, and Clarence is named after the angel on It’s a Wonderful Life. Hubs thought that one up, but it’s pretty apropos, since a couple of years ago Clarence kind of saved my life when I was going through a particularly rough patch. He came to me with a cold and his spine noticeably visible. We needed each other. Or, like Clarence from the movie who feigned drowning to save George Bailey, maybe Clarence pretended to be thin and needy with a bad sneeze.
Winston, a few years older than Clarence, joined our family as a kitten after we’d been “petless” for two days, having lost a dog and cat within the span of a month. He came to us when we needed some joy in our lives. Between the two of them, they have us trained pretty well. Winston knocks his metal bowls together to get me up from the couch, and Clarence waits by the faucet to drink until one of his tribe turns on the tap.
I used to shake my head at those people who, upon becoming empty nesters, treated their pets like children–that is, until I became an empty nester and started referring to myself as their mommy. Go figure.
