Category Archives: Keeping the Home

“Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.”

Posted on by under Homeschooling, Keeping the Home, Musings
If there’s a way we can help out, let us know. Maybe it’s a meal, resource sources, help starting seeds for a garden, canning know-how, meal plan ideas, how to handle having kids home 24/7, borrowing a book or two, swapping board games, food delivery, home school ideas, or just an ear to hear what you have to say.
Those of you working from home or not working at all, I’m sorry. Maybe you’re loving it. Maybe you are fretting. There is hope and God provides. We may not have all we used to have, but God provides. We’ve seen it many, many times in our lives. I have no doubt about it. I hope you can trust in him too even when things are unclear to our view.
Our pastor stated, “How many gods of this world did God take down this week? NBA, NFL… March madness… financial institutions, stocks… health… how many people have put hope in their education? AND OUR GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL DESPITE WHATEVER MAY COME!” (source)
Though we do not always see it, we are in a battle. May you war against the gods of this world and trust in the one who has all things in His hands. Though we may not see an end to this, we also know it’s nothing new (ever read Ecclesiastes?). Also, though this world has more than enough trouble, we’re still alive and there is always hope.
“Ecclesiastes 11:7 asserts, “Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.” In Ecclesiastes, to be “under the sun” is to be identified with the realm of human breath and toil and all the results of the curse. “Under the sun” is the sphere of what is universally true of all humanity, believer and non-believer alike, throughout all time since the fall of mankind (Ecclesiastes 1:3, 9, 14; 2:11, 17–20; 3:16; 4:1; etc.).” By Jason DeRouchie From DesiringGod.org.
For all you moms jumping into homeschooling or the feeling of homeschooling for the next few weeks, it takes time. For us, it takes at least a month at the beginning of each school year to feel like we have things running smoothly and even then we have our bad days. Also, this is all my kids know and want to know for school at this point. With their commitment to it as well as mine, it’s not a daunting task. It’s not easy, I’ll never say it is. Three meals a day, instruction, crabby kids, “bored” kids… Here’s a tip: give your bored kids a chore when they say they’re bored, they won’t be bored much after that one. Also, a daily schedule can really help (maybe the article below will be helpful to you). There are so many resources, but it takes time to look for them. Again, let me know if I can help point you in the right direction.
Give yourself and those around you grace. Go on a nature walk, look up science and art videos on youtube, youtube also has great zoo channels, “visit” a museum online, plant some seeds in containers (maybe even homemade containers), read through a book with your teen that would help him build character and trust in God, learn coding at code.org, take an advanced course through Ed X or Khan Academy, learn a language with Muzzy or Duolingo, check out a free concert, write a story or letter, get outside and learn to run or kick a ball around, borrow a book from us or others, play a board game, build a fort, have a mock election, be silly and have a dance party or impromptu play, teach them to cook or sew, build something, fix something, do something you never have time for, seize the day and don’t get lazy (okay, it’s okay to be lazy sometimes).
Let’s keep the conversation going. Tell us how you plan to spend the next two weeks. Any tips? Are you doing okay? Are you overwhelmed? Are you excited? Can you see past the events happening around you? We hope to hear from you.
On the farm, maple syrup season has started and we continue on with our pigs, cattle, dogs and chickens:

Broiled Goat Chops

Posted on by under goat, Keeping the Home, Recipes

goatchops.jpg

For me I prefer my old go-to recipes. It is hard for me to try new recipes because of the time it often takes to implement something foreign to me. The new recipe I tried yesterday? Unbeatable. It took about twenty minutes, minus the marinading time, to get dinner on and that included all the sides (“Cream Corn Like No Other” and garlic cheese bread broiled with the chops).  I think the meat took ten minutes at most in the oven. Added bonus, the kids loved the meal. Another bonus, I’m finally not hungry. I’ve been so hungry the last few days and just can’t get enough to eat. Goat meat protein always fixes that craving need for me.

We’ve been getting a lot of interest in our goat meat from people who have never tried it. After explaining its qualities in a recent post, they want to take advantage of this healthy meat. After trying a great recipe for goat chops, I am highly recommending that you try it! We found an Indian blogger’s recipe entitled, “Broiled Goat Chops“.

The spice blend she recommends is just right. However, if you have picky kids, you may want to leave out the cayenne pepper. The other issue is that most American cooks do not have amchur (dried mango) powder in their spice cabinet. Luckily we have some we were given from an Indian friend a few years back. You can easily find it on amazon or at the Indian grocery if you live in the city.  Though you could leave amchur (amchoor) out, it does give it a tangy sweetness that really does add to the dish. Also, we used olive oil in place of avocado oil. This recipe was so perfect, I plan to try her recipe for Slow Cooker Goat Curry with one of our roasts very soon.

So now you know what to do with Goat Ribs and Goat Chops. We still have plenty of goat chops, shanks, shoulder roast and leg roast. Give us a call or email, we’d love to hear from you. Unfortunately, we have sold out of ribs and ground goat.

Happy eating! We’ll try to keep the recipes coming.

Rhubarb Is Ready

Posted on by under Farm, Garden, Keeping the Home, Maple Syrup, Recipes

Rhubarb is Ready: $2 per pound if you pick it up or $3 per pound delivered to your area. 218#927#1425

Rhubarb is loaded with vitamin C, K, calcium, potassium, manganese and more. It also has a good amount of fiber and has a very low glycemic load.* Now is the time to enjoy the first fruits of Minnesota. It’s a great time to can up some rhubarb sauce or freeze chopped rhubarb to enjoy all year long.

Be sure to order some maple syrup to go along with it. Maple syrup helps the rhubarb to not have the filmy after feeling on your teeth. You don’t have to use so much sweetener when you use it either. Normally if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, I’ll put 1/2 cup of maple syrup in for starters and can often decrease from there. You may also need to cut the liquid in a recipe if you do this. And for those of you who sometimes get heartburn with rhubarb desserts (likely because of the white sugar), it sure helps cut back on that as well.IMG_7472

Recipes we’ll be making again:
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry, Rhubarb, Lemon Rind, Yogurt, Maple/Stevia Smoothie
BBQ sauce (made with rhubarb)
Rhubarb Scones
Rhubarb Juice
“Refreshing Rhubarb Salad”
or this:

Maple Rhubarb Sauce

  • Servings: about 7
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

1 cup rhubarb, chopped (2-3 stalks)
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)

Stir rhubarb and maple syrup together in a small saucepan. Stir over medium low heat for 5 minutes, simmer for about 3 more minutes or until the rhubarb has broken down and a pourable sauce forms. Taste and sweeten as desired.

Wonderful topping for ice cream, pancakes, oatmeal, etc. This recipe could easily be made in large batches and canned.

We never spray our produce and practice soil health principles to create healthy and yummy produce.

*http://foodfacts.mercola.com/rhubarb.html and http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2056/2 (the ads on this site are not so good for the eyes, but I thought I’d let you know where I got this information)

Gearing Up For Spring

Posted on by under Family, Farm, Homeschooling, Keeping the Home, Maple Syrup, Pastured pride, Picture posts, Urban connect

Our week in pictures: The boys and I took a week off to help Daddy with a number of projects. Enjoy some pictures from our week. Click a picture to read how it was part of a rewarding week of work.

Order of farm life coming up

Posted on by under Family, Garden, Homeschooling, Hospitality, Keeping the Home, Picture posts

It’s time to get caught up on what has happened on the farm these last few weeks. The weather has been beautiful so we have been working outside most days.
Mat worked the ground for a huge garden spot. It took the most part of three days. It is a wet soil, but with some work we hope to have a good plot eventually.
The boys planted a variety of apple trees and a few elderberry bushes around the yard. Silas enjoyed a wheel barrow ride and Peter enjoyed working on his fort once the trees were in.
Last week, the young ones and I took a trip to the post office to pick up our last batch of chicks. Mat was busy cleaning out the brooder and fertilizing our garden with the bedding from the previous chicks. When we got home, Peter, Silas and I worked together moving the third batch of chicks we had to their nice and clean bigger brooder. I am continually amazed at how these little boys take on new challenges. Peter helped catch the little chicks gently and Silas gently put them into their new home.

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