Mormon Monday: Bounty
Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art his steward.
Doctrine and Covenants 136:27
This weekend we went on a nature hike back along the tree line by the creek that winds down the side and around the back of our property. We don’t go there often, haven’t gone there in quite a while actually, because the wheat makes it very difficult to get to.
brown wavy stuff = wheat (the yard slopes down to the field portion, so the wheat is taller than it looks, and since it isn’t our wheat we can’t walk through it and crush it, even though it is our land).
I’m glad McH decided to check it out anyway. Friday he and the kids found several mulberry trees (eh) and a few black raspberry bushes. Yesterday, after church, we found more black raspberry bushes, grapes and cherry trees. Today the older two girls found another black raspberry bush. Truly a free gift from the Lord.
We are so excited!
Our plan was to plant berries and fruit trees (and a meadow) (a circular meadow) after the wheat is harvested (hopefully in the next few weeks), and now we are even more excited to do that because we see that they do grow back there.
I have never been much into canning (which practically makes me an inactive member of my church), and I don’t like the idea of making a bunch of jam because of all the sugar, but I am excited to stock my freezer with berries and share with others who do make jam and other canned items. I have already made a batch of muffins with half the berries from the picture above. Yum!
As much as I didn’t want to move, as much as I’d go back home in a heart beat, I truly am grateful for this opportunity to be a little more self-reliant, and be a bit more of a steward over the earth’s bounty.
And George, if you’re out there, Tewt the Newt has some yummy muffins to share.
A generous, loving gift indeed. The Lord surely knows how hard this move has been for your family. I’m going to need to take a moment to reflect on my gifts because I’m feeling mighty covetous of yours. The berries are beautiful.
Excellent blog… I hope things work out well for you and your family.
Jack
Ooooh that’s awesomeness!!! I would LOVE to have fruit trees/plants here in my very own yard! I love the circular meadow visual, too!
Does your family eat all-fruit spread? I don’t buy jelly/jam because of the sugar but we do use all-fruit spread and I’d LOVE to learn how to make some, homemade! When I tried to figure it out all I found were recipes for sugar-free (ie splenda, asparatame, etc).
What a beautiful batch of black raspberries. I will bring jars and lids when we come up Sunday and we can make jam.
The cherries look like they may not be ready by then, unless the global warming kicks in and the temperatures come up a little closer to normal. I will bring my cherry pitter too – the kids will love that contraption.
What a blessing indeed! I’m another one who doesn’t can. In fact, I’ve done it one time and that was the wrong way. Something about just heating your lids is not good (??) and I’m scared to death of pressure cookers after nearly remodling the kitchen with one.
For the berries here are a couple solutions:
Slow boil them until reduced and then use as a syrup on ice cream and pancakes or reduce even more and use as a freezer jam (sweeten with a bit of raw honey or maple (not pancake) syrup if needed.)
Freeze in portions to make smoothies with.
Eat them fresh till your kids turn purple
That type of cherry is popular in this part of the midwest. Not a true Ranier usually, but you’ll find they are very sweet when first picked, the longer you let them sit, though, the more tart they will get. My favorite way to eat those (besides fresh, is to make a clafoutis. A great recipe is http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2008/06/cherry-clafouti.html
That type of cherry in a supermarket right now is selling for about $7 a pound and about $5 a pound at farmer markets, though it is the end of cherry season here, sadly.
Enjoy your bounty!
Wow, I bet the kids loved that! My boys have tracked mulberry mush all over my floor lots of times when they have been out picking. Did they eat as they picked?
Don’t forget to make yummy cobbler… Lordy, I do love cobbler!
Hey, how are you? the berries look wonderful!! Seems your settling in your new home, I cant believe S is going to girls camp she was just born!! Anyway e-mail me so we can catch up.