Month: September 2015

Jubilee

| Jeanine

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To plant or not to plant…. this is the question!

This year has been incredibly educational for my family and I, in and out of the garden. We started a journey with the Lord of learning more about His calender and feasts. It all started with Easter vs Passover. All of our lives we celebrated our Risen Christ on “Easter”. We found out this year that although Jesus rose on a Sunday, it wasn’t Easter Sunday and it wasn’t a Roman calender Sunday. It was three days after Passover (15th day of Nisan). Why does this matter? The 2 calendars don’t synchronize, therefore we were celebrating it on the wrong day most years. Again, why does this matter? It matters because the feasts are appointed times to meet with God and we were missing it. That’s like showing up to your wedding 2 days late or early!

Where am I going with this? It made us want to inspect God’s calender and find out what else we were missing. Turns out we were missing a lot. For example, Jesus was born at the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacle, not in December. What does this have to do with my garden? Jubilee. This year (which on God’s time started a couple weeks ago) is not just any year. It’s Jubilee. Every 7 years we are required to let the land rest. Then after 7 cycles of 7 it is the 50th year and it’s also a year of rest, among lots of other things like forgiving debts, setting free slaves etc. Meaning this past year was a Sabbath year (49th) and the upcoming is also Sabbath. Is this a big deal? Well…. yes.

Before we continue let me just say that following God’s appointed times isn’t what saves me with eternal salvation, that is belief in Christ Jesus and what He did. However… If Jesus said Himself “if you love me you’ll keep my commandments…” What commandments was he talking about? Is it so hard to follow His calender? I just don’t think so. Have I had to change all of my holiday dates and some of the traditions that went with them? Yes. Is it a small price to pay in comparison to what Jesus paid for me? YES. Why do I want to though? I WANT to show Jesus I love Him. I want to show Him that I believe dates and holidays and traditions mean nothing if not to meet with Him.

Ok… Jubilee. What are some real, tangible requirements of this year that I can follow that will show my Savior these things? No planting, no harvesting of things growing on their own, no pruning. This all catches me off guard since this is part of the staples of our living! Can I trust Him to take care of me regardless? Yes I can. He says that in the 6th year and the 48th year he will provide such abundance that it will carry us thru the Sabbath and 2 Sabbaths in the case of Jubilee. Pretty cool. I missed those years technically, but He didn’t. He knew this day was coming for us and the last 2 years HAVE been abundant!

I’m truly excited to do all the things that I probably wouldn’t do if I was planting, pruning and harvesting. Like building my root cellar, upgrading my fencing, building new beds in my garden and most of all teaching my children what it looks like to completely trust Jesus.

There won’t be a lot of posts about new things I learn in the area of planting pruning or harvesting.  However, I guarantee there will be plenty to learn about God’s creation in this upcoming year as I spend my time letting the land rest!

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Presto, Pesto!

| Jeanine

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I was pulling my carrots by the tons and having tons of fun doing it when I realized that I had no idea’s for all the greens. I thought to myself… surely there must be SOMETHING I can do other than feed them to my goats. Don’t get me wrong, I love that nothing goes to waste at my house because I have chickens and goats! I especially like to feed them my infested plants (aphid or wilt) and eradicate infestations quick and painless.  Anyway… I knew they were edible I just needed to find a great way to eat them! I found it! Pesto!

I found a great pesto recipe online and switched the basil for carrot tops. After you make the pesto to your liking you can put it in a mason jar and cover the top with olive oil and Presto… Pesto! It will save for a couple of weeks covered and in the fridge.  I made a chicken penne pesto that night and then had that same dish cold like pasta salad for lunch the next day.  I bet I could have added diced cucumber to it and that would have been delicious! Hmmm… note to self!

I told my sister about my fun discovery and she said she does that with beet tops too! Oh the fun! My next adventure is figuring out how to preserve it in a mason jar long term. Anyone can buy a jar of pesto at the store on a dry non refrigerated shelf… there must be a way! I’ll keep you posted!

Pesto Recipe:

2 Cups packed Carrot tops

2 Large Garlic Cloves

1/2 Cup grated Parmigian Cheese (I like romano)

1/3 Cup Walnuts (you can use pine nuts for traditional taste but these are more affordable)

1/4 Ground Black Pepper

2/3 Cup Olive Oil

Process everything except the oil in a food processor. I’ve heard that blenders work but you’ll get a different texture. Grind it till its semifine. With a slow stream add the Olive Oil while the food processor is running. Presto…. Pesto!!