Friday Night Lock-In

We've talked from time to time about the youth being the future.   We wanted to have an event for the Youth Group at our church where they could come together and have a good time, but also help them to put some additional tools in their tool bags to help them become tomorrow's leaders, so we had a lock-in Friday night beginning at 7 pm and ending the next morning at 7 am for the Youth Group at our church.  The Youth Group along with a few friends gathered at the Fellowship Hall and first had an intense Nerf Gun battle. Unlike this battle, the battle of life is real.

Nerf Battle

They all ran around for a while and then we had some 'ice breaker' games in which we learned several things about each other that we didn't know.

Action Shot!

We had moved a television from the church into the Fellowship Hall and had a pile of DVD's to watch, but we never even turned on the TV.  We played all kind of fun games, and laughed and enjoyed each other's company.

Russ was the social chairman and had planned most of the games.  One game he planned that had entertainment as well as a spiritual component was a "Treasure" hunt.  In this game he had a Bible verse that he read from a card and asked the young people to listen for a clue (or key word) in the verse that would lead them to the next clue.  Then they would find another Bible verse card in that location with a clue that would lead them to the next.  And so on and so forth.

For example a verse about John the Baptist led them to the Baptistry in the church where they found the next clue.

Where is the next treasure?

And then to the next clue...  They used their brains to put the clues together and found all of the hidden treasure.

Reading (and listening) for the clue

They played Foos ball and a few other games while they waited for supper and snacks to be served.

Foosball

Tricia was in the kitchen in charge of making chili for Frito Pie and a rotel chili cheese dip.  Other ladies in the church brought other snacks and goodies for the young people.

Making Frito Pie

We had a big scavenger hunt that Russ put together that pitted the girls against the boys.  Here is Russ logging in the entries as they brought them.  The girls won it, but the guys gave it their best shot.

Logging in the scavenger hunt items

We had a mid night Bible Study in which we discussed the Book of Daniel and the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  If you recall the story, they were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar and brought back to Babylon where their names were changed.  They were the best and the brightest in Judah.

In Babylon they were forced to become like those in the new country in which they resided.  They were told to eat their foods (they resisted) and then they were told to worship their gods (they resisted).  When they refused to bow down and worship the false gods, they were told that if they didn't worship the gods, they would be thrown into a furnace and killed.  Here is their response:

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”  Daniel 3: 16-18

And this was the main point of the weekend.  We wanted to teach them to remain strong and steadfast in their faith just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had. When the culture demands that you worship their "gods," or participate in activities that go against your faith and morals, even if you are outnumbered, you need to stand strong and have faith that God will deliver you.  Most importantly, we shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was really powerful to know that the God who created the Universe loves and cares about us and is there to help us and stand with us throughout every 'furnace' that we may go through. He is our Deliverer!

We hardly slept at all Friday night.  Tricia and I did sleep for a brief little minute, albeit at different times as we napped in shifts to ensure that the Youth had adequate supervision.

Guess Who?

Tricia seems to be all smiles, despite the lack of sleep!

The Young People had a good time and so did we.

Our Youth - Our Future

We need to pray for our youth.  We need to pray that they will hold fast to the faith and avoid the temptation that surrounds them.  We need to pray that they will stand strong and be leaders to shine the Light amidst the Darkness.

Old Chicken Hatchery Publication

A good friend gave me something the other day that he thought would interest me-and he was right.  It is an old mailout from a Chicken Hatchery that used to be in operation in Cameron, Texas. I say used to be in operation, because I can't find much of anything on the Internet about Hornung Hatchery.  There is only a hatchery named Ideal Hatchery in Cameron, Texas.  I've ordered chicks from there several times.  The website says they ship over 5 million chicks a year!  I wonder if Ideal bought out Hornung or not.

Here is the old faded, yellowed mailout that I'm talking about:  There is no date on it so I can't tell exactly when this was sent out,but I did find information out there that seemed to prove that Hornung was in operation in the 50's.

Hornung Hatchery

If you flip the paper over, you'll see an order form and various specials that they were running.  Many of the "specials" they were running are still used today by other hatcheries like Murray McMurray, Cackle, etc.  You'll also notice on the top left an Order Form.  This dated back to the days where you filled out the order form, cut it out and mailed it (snail mail).  There were no fax machines or company websites to place your order.  Life was a little more slow-paced back then!

Fill out your order and mail it in

One thing I've discovered about Hornung on the Internet is that they were beloved by their customers for a beautiful calendar that they would send out.  Here's what one poster to a popular poultry website said about Hornug:  "Years ago I used a hatchery out of Cameron, TX where Ideal is located called Hornung Brothers. They have long since gone so I use Ideal and they have always done me right. One thing I used to love about the old Hornung Brothers was every year the would send us this big beautiful calendar with chickens featured every month. They were so awesome."

 Here is the order form and reminder for getting the FREE beautiful calendar of all the breeds that the poster was talking about.  I would have liked to receive one of those:

I thought for grins it would be interesting to see the difference in prices between then and now to see how the chick prices have risen and the purchasing power of our dollar has dropped.  The Barred Rock breed is a heavy brown egg layer that I use. Check this out:

Barred Rock

Back when this publication was put together, 50 straight run Barred Rocks would have cost me $9.00 from Hornung Brothers.

Today those same 50 birds would cost me $116 from Murray McMurray.  Wow!!

Let's look at the broilers.  These are the Meat birds that I purchase.  The ad below shows 100 chicks for only $5.00.  Today, those same 100 birds would cost me $201!!!

Place your orders everyone!

I wish I could jump in a 'way-back' machine and go back in time and take advantage of some of these bargains!

Chanterelles for Supper!

There are a couple varieties of mushrooms that grow wild in South Louisiana that are good for eating - Oyster Mushrooms and Chanterelles.  I've posted before several times about oyster mushrooms and today I'll show you chanterelles.  Chanterelles are my favorite!  They have a rich flavor and fleshy texture and nice aroma and are just outstanding.

A good friend of ours had just been out to his property and picked a paper bag full of them and graciously shared some with us.  They like to grow in thick leaves on the forest floor.  Once you find the spot that they are growing, you have a gold mine. Don't pull them.  Cut them off at the base and take precautions not to disturb the mycelium.  What we see as the mushroom is the 'fruit.'  The mycelium is the vegetative part or roots.  As long as you don't disturb the mycelium, you'll be able to harvest chanterelles year after year!

So first we wash them up to remove any dust or other debris.

A colander of chanterelles

After washing up the chanterelles, Tricia put a big dollop of butter in a heated cast iron skillet along withe some chopped onions, diced fresh garlic and the chanterelles and started that sauteing.  Benjamin doesn't even like mushrooms, but came in saying, "Mom, what are you cooking?  I could smell it from outside!  It smells great!"

Chanterelles sauted in butter

Today we're going to be serving our fresh picked chanterelles over homemade linguine made from kamut. Kamut is an ancient grain or wheat that makes good pasta.  It was brought to the United States by an airman in 1949 who brought them back from Portugal after another airman got the kamut from a trip to Egypt.  Russ ground a bunch of kamut into flour and he's rolling out the dough and then will run it through the pasta maker to make linguine.

Making Pasta

Then Tricia added some basil that we had picked and frozen from last year, some green onions, and some chopped up tomatoes right off the vine.  The colors are so nice and I wish you good smell this as it was cooking.

A skillet full of flavor!

Finally, at the very end we'll add some fresh cream:

Adding the cream

We've drained our pasta and it turned out great!

Homemade pasta!

Well, there's nothing to do but serve up a nice bowl of sauteed chanterelles and fresh garden vegetables with a side of sauteed yellow crookneck squash.  We'll shred a little Parmesan on top.

A meal made for a king!

We'll thank the Good Lord for His provisions of great, local, wholesome food and enjoy a wonderful meal and accompanying conversation.  Bon Apetit!  We tore that skillet up.  Sadly, there wasn't enough for me left over to pack for lunch the following day.  

Making (Lacto-fermented) Pickled Beets

We've made a red velvet cake with our beets, eaten the beet greens, steamed them in broth, roasted them in the oven with olive oil, and made beet kvass.  One more thing we usually do with them is pickle them.  In the past, we usually pickle them in apple cider vinegar, red onions, with cloves.  They are delicious, and we serve them as a cold appetizer before meals along with pickled okra and black olives.

Today we're going to use the very last of the Bull's Blood Beets to make pickled beets, but we are going to make them using a recipe out of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions Cookbook that uses lacto-fermentation.  We harvested the last of the beets.

Bull's Blood Beets

Beets aren't a very pretty vegetable like green beans or swiss chard.  They look dull and boring in the bucket.

Bucket o' Beets

Bring the beets inside, poke them with a fork in several places and put them in a tray in the oven and bake them at 300 degrees F for 3 hours or until they are soft through and through when you stick a fork in them. Then go ahead and peel them, exposing the deep, rich, red color.

Baked Beets

Slice the beets, julienne style, in 1/4 inch slices.

Baked Beets - Julienne style

Put them in a quart jar and press them down with a wooden spoon.

Then mix 1 tablespoon sea salt, 4 tablespoons whey (by product of making kefir), and a cup of filtered water, and pour over the beets, filling the jar.

Put the lid and ring on the jar, covering tightly and set aside at room temperature for 3 days.

Sitting at room temperature for 3 days

At the end of 3 days, move into the refrigerator.  I can't tell you how it tastes yet since it is still fermenting and we haven't sampled it yet, but if this is anything like lacto-fermented sauerkraut and gingered carrots that we make using the same basic process, it's gonna be good!  We'll let you know.

Harvesting Garlic

Immediately following our 5 inch rain the other day, I started pulling up the garlic that I have planted on a wide row.  They were ready to be pulled as the bottom leaves had started to die back and with all of the rain, I certainly didn't want them rotting in the ground.  I planted about 100 cloves back in October of 2013 and mulched them heavily to discourage weed growth.  Here is a shot of a water-logged row of garlic after I had pulled 1/3 of them up.

After I pull them, I lay them in the hay on the row to let the sun dry them out somewhat.  I space them out a little so that the air can move around them and begin the drying process.

Beginning the drying process

The next day I roll them all over so that the other side can begin drying as well.  The skins of the garlic on the sunny side are already feeling 'papery' and that is a good sign that the sun is doing its job.

Flipped them over

I've read that you don't want to leave them out in the sun long as the garlic will get sunburned.  This is by far our best year for garlic production, with most of the bulbs being plump with many cloves in them.  Last year many of them only made garlic 'onions' that never separated.  They tasted fine, but weren't the traditional looking garlic.

Nice sized garlic

For my first batch, I brought in 45 heads of garlic.  It was too hot and humid to leave them outside.

In some locales, you can braid them and hang them to dry outside.  Not here.  I've learned from experience that it is far to humid to do that in South Louisiana.  In years past, I lost most of the garlic I harvested as it simply got soft and rotted after I harvested them.  Not good.

For this first batch, I cut off the tops and put them in our food warmer to speed up the drying process.  Here they are drying.  We also started eating some right away.

While this process works to dry them somewhat, many of these got soft and Tricia had to open them up and separate the cloves to salvage them and dry them.

The better option, and the one we had better success with was to bring them in and leave all the leaves on and let them cure inside.  We still check them and some did get a little soft, but for the most part they are curing nicely.  I'll just leave them there for a couple of months drying and we'll use them as we need them.

Last year I laid a box fan on its side where it was blowing air upward and laid the bulbs on top where the airflow would dry them.  I left it like this for a couple of weeks.  I think this would work in other climates to dry the garlic, but not here.  I was essentially blowing hot, wet air over the garlic and it never dried.  I ended up losing a good number of them.  I'm thinking that I should have left them outside with the fan blowing for a couple of months.  Perhaps I didn't dry them long enough with the fan blowing.  For the time being, inside is the better option for drying garlic, but I'll continue to try to learn new techniques for drying as we LOVE garlic!

The Bomb Shelter

We traveled to the small town that I grew up in for Father's Day this past Sunday as my Dad and Mom live there.  We had a great time visiting - just sitting around talking, laughing, and remembering events from the past.  In a lot of ways the town of Kinder has changed from the sleepy little town it once was, but some of the "old Kinder" still exists.

Lots of times memories from the past just sneak up on me and I'll remember something that has been in the corner of my little brain somewhere hiding in the dark corner of my cobweb-filled head.  Like this one: I had an Uncle Ben and Aunt Oma who have long since passed away, but they once lived in Kinder on a street not far from where the old baseball field was where I played Little League.  As kids growing up in nineteen seventy-something, we'd go to their house to visit and the kids would play outside.  Right next door to them were some neighbors of whom our families were good friends with (but of course in a town of 2,500, you're pretty much good friends with everyone).

In any event, these neighbors had a bomb shelter.  It was always so very interesting to me.  It was kind of falling down and in ruins, but it was a real bomb shelter.  In my mind's eye, in its heyday it might've looked something remotely similar to this one and was built with cinder blocks.  As a kid, life was simple and innocent and I wasn't concerned with world events, politics or the worries and responsibilities of adulthood.

Image Credit

I can remember being told that people were very concerned about bombs and some even built fall-out shelters to protect themselves.  My parents were in college at LSU during the Cuban missile crisis and they've told me about bomb drills that they had while in class there when they'd get underneath desks.  LSU is located in Baton Rouge and is home to many refineries, chemical plants, and other petrochemical interests on the Mississippi River that would be prime targets for an attack. Everyone was concerned, rightfully so, as evidenced by articles, filmstrips, bomb shelter plans in THIS LINK from military.com.

When the Cold War ended, and the 'War on Terror' ramped up, people no longer built shelters, but prepared in other ways.  People don't think about a nuclear attack by another super power on a daily basis, and although it is still a potential threat, attacks could come in a number of ways that weren't really thought of back then.  First, there are terrorist attacks in which densely populated urban areas could be targeted with bombs. Then there are chemical or biological attacks or attacks on our food or water supply.  There could be an Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that could put us back in the days prior to the Industrial Revolution in a matter of minutes.

Of course there are always things to worry about and worry really doesn't do anyone any good.  Most Americans just want to live their lives and provide for their families. To me, the most likely event that could compromise our ability to provide for our families is a self inflicted one - a financial collapse brought about by our Government's poor financial stewardship.  In fact, I think this collapse is not only a potential, I think it is inevitable, but I don't think we need to be fearful or waste time worrying.  That is counter-productive.

It is my opinion that we need to prepare as we would for any natural disaster, exactly the preparation that my Uncle Ben and Aunt Oma's neighbor did in building a bomb shelter for what seemed like the inevitable bomb attack.  Being prepared is the Scout Motto and is just good wisdom.  I wanted to just jot down a few of my thoughts:

First, in preparing, I'd make sure that my spiritual house is in order:

 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

In my estimation, our lives are but a vapor.  We're here today and gone tomorrow. Life can be cut so short, so fast.  Eternity is forever.  It doesn't do much good to try to prolong the 75 years on average we're given on this planet and not prepare for the eternity that follows the last breath we take.

Next, I'd make sure that my financial house is in order.  We live in a society where we're in debt and we're one injury or lay-off away from being unable to pay our bills and being forced into foreclosure or bankruptcy.  We should sacrifice, save, and set our sights on becoming debt-free.  It is important to have an emergency fund put aside so that you have some currency to live on during an unexpected disruption caused by illness, job loss, or other catastrophe.

Further, I think it is important to live in the country.  With a little acreage, once can grow a garden, have a few chickens or other animals and begin to grow at least a portion of your own food.  One should begin to acquire knowledge in how to preserve food and start to build a pantry of canned food that can sustain you for weeks or months, if needed.  It is important to build friendships with neighbors and help one another out, sharing produce from the garden, eggs, and baked goods. Good neighbors look out for one another, watch each others' homes, and lend a hand when tough times come.  It is also very important to seek fellowship and community of like-minded believers in a Bible-believing church, coming together weekly as Christians who live out their faith and pray for one another, study the Word, and worship the true and Living God.  

Seek out a church family

I am convinced that God gives wisdom and wants us to use it.  In the Bible story of Joseph, we learn that they stored food during the good years in preparation for the famine that was to come.  How true!  On the other hand, I think some 'preppers' go overboard.  We must ensure that we are balanced.  It is prudent to take necessary steps with the wisdom God's given us, but should make sure that we've built our foundation on the Solid Rock.  In the final analysis, our bomb shelter must be Christ. All the preparation in the world is for naught if He's not our fall-out shelter.

"On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is shifting sand.  All other ground is shifting sand."

And as the psalmist said:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  Psalm 91: 1-7

Notice that He is the Refuge and Shelter.  Notice that He covers us and delivers us and we shouldn't be afraid.  Take time to ensure that you've taken time to build your 'bomb shelter' by getting to know Him today.

I ain't gonna lie, but I am gonna LYE

The tomatoes are ripening now.  Each day we keep our eyes on the ripening fruit and endeavor to pick them and bring them in before the predators eat them first.  We have birds that will peck on a red ripe tomato, squirrels that enjoy taking a bite or three out of them as well.  But the biggest pest, by far, is the stink bug. We don't like spraying chemicals on foods that we're going to be eating, so we've been looking for a natural method to kill or repel these dreaded insects.

Homegrown tomatoes

As the weather warms up, stink bugs appear in the vegetable garden.  They are kind of hard to spot as they will land on the tomatoes and will circle the vegetable opposite of where you are looking.  I was able to get a picture of this one by running my fingers on the bottom side of the tomato.  This made him circle around to the top.

The Dreaded Stink Bug

If you smash them with your fingers, they emit a chemical from their abdomen that really stinks, hence their name.  The stink bugs cause significant damage to our tomatoes each year.  They will land on the tomato and bite the fruit.  They release a toxin into the fruit that causes the outside of the tomato to turn yellow.  The interior below the yellow sting will turn white and hard.  That is called "cloudy spot."  It is unsightly and ruins an otherwise perfect fruit.  You can cut away the affected pieces and eat the remainder.  But it would be nice to find something to eliminate this pest.

Tricia was doing some reading and came across an article that said that lye soap was used as an insecticide in the past.  We eventually plan on making our own lye soap, but for now we purchase it.  A quick search on the Internet turned up the following post from Appalachian Heritage Soaps by Beth Ann Weber.  In that link, the author says that lye soap has been used as an insecticide for over 200 years.  

She says that the way it works is due to the fatty acids in true soap.  Lye soap contains fatty acids made from animal fat.  Those fatty acids in the soap get into the exoskeleton of insects and begin to break down the cell walls, killing the insect. Sounds interesting.  She has a recipe for making it:  Grate a tablespoon of lye soap and add it to a 1/2 cup of hot water.  Once it has dissolved, add 2 Tablespoons of dissolved soap into a quart of water.  We followed the directions and mixed up a batch.

Lye Soap Insecticide

I went out to the garden and sprayed a bunch on all the tomatoes.  It seemed to annoy the stink bugs, but I couldn't really tell if it repelled them.  I picked a few near ripe tomatoes to bring inside as I was spraying. When I brought the tomatoes in, I discovered that I had a hitch-hiker - a stink bug travelled in with me attached to the tomato.  We had a perfect 'lab rat' to see what the lye soap would do.  Tricia gave the Stink Bug a liberal spraying of lye soap and lo and behold...

A Bug's Life Death!

The Stink Bug turned over on his back and died promptly!!  When we went to the garden, there appeared to be less stink bugs on the tomato plants.  I think this method has promise, but you have to apply every day.  I also have a friend who uses a battery powered vacuum cleaner to suck up the stink bugs from her tomatoes. We'll keep trying the lye soap concoction as it seems to be the best option for organic methods of killing/repelling stink bugs.