It has been a looong time since I posted... but I'm starting it back up again... primarily for the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry.com. I will be spinning yarn for my farmer's market booth to sell... so I need a lot of yarn and I'm going to challenge myself to get a lot done.

The sheep are sheared and the fleeces are getting washed. Next to dye them, card or comb them and prep them for spinning. I'll get some pics up soon!

See ya'll soon! :)

Rhiannon's Tarka Dahl

Hi Everyone,
I have been so busy this past year I haven't been able to keep up with the blog... but I wanted to put together a recipe book for all the awesome recipes that our interns have brought and made for us... so here is our first installment, Rhi's Tarka Dahl!

Tarka Dahl (curried lentils)

1 lb lentils

1 onion

6 cloves garlic

Ginger

1 chili pepper

3 T turmeric

3 T Garam Masala (recipe below)

4 oz tomato paste

Lentils and 2x more water, add turmeric and ½ of the garlic whole simmer until tender. In frying pan fry onion until soft and slightly golden add rest of garlic finely chopped, 1 inch ginger root grated, fry til brown (in oil). Add Garam masala to onion mix, cook 2 mins stirring constantly. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 mins. (add chicken, veggies and coconut milk to make curry) Add seasoning and paste mix to lentils and cook for 30 mins.

Serve with rice.

Garam Masala

4 tbsps coriander seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)

1 ½ tsps dry ginger

¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)

¾ tsp cloves

¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)

¾ tsp crushed bay leaves

Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.

When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.

Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.

Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.

Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Enjoy!

Be aware and beware NaturalNews

 

1.Tomatoes: What? Tomatoes? Yes, that's right. It's probably the No. 1 symbol of a GMO food, having been on the market since about 1994. Still, some think modifying them genetically is okay, including those who traditionally shun GMO foods, which is perplexing. The most recent converts are hailing a new technique developed by researchers for extending the shelf life of tomatoes and other crops from the traditional 15 days or so to a full month. This is accomplished by suppressing two enzymes (A-Man, B-hex) which accumulate during the ripening process. Backers say this modification can decrease waste and increase efficiency, but again, it's a process thatgenetically altersthe product, and there have been reports that some animals have died shortly after consuming GMO tomatoes.

2.Cotton: Considered a food item because its oil can be consumed, cotton - in particular, genetically modified Bt cotton, common to India and China - has damaging consequences. According to recent Chinese research, while Bt cotton is capable of killing bollworms without the use of insecticides, its decreased use has increased the presence of other crop-harming pests. Also, Bt cotton production has been linked to drastic depletion of soil nutrients and lower crop yields, as well as much higher water requirements.

3.Canola: This is probably one of the most misunderstood, misguided "healthy" food choices out there right now, but there is little about canola - and similar oils - that is good for you. Extracted from rapeseed, canola oil and others must be chemically removed from the seeds, then deodorized and altered, in order to be utilized in foods. They are among the most chemically altered foods in our diets.

4.Aspartame: An artificial sweetener found in a number of products, aspartame - discovered by accident in 1965 by a chemist testing an anti-ulcer drug - accounts for as many as 75 percent of adverse reactions to food additives reported to theFood and Drug Administration(FDA), according to some reports. Some seizures and even some deaths have been blamed on aspartame.

5.Dairy: A disturbingly high number - as many as one-fifth - of dairy cows in the U.S. today are given growth hormones to increase milk production, a figure that has been rising since the FDA approved a genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone known as rbGH or rbST for use in dairy cows in 1993. While said to boost production by 5-15 percent, scientists have expressed concern that the increased levels of IGF-1 (insulin growth factors-1) from hormone-treated cows may boost the risks of colon and breast cancer. Since 2008, Hiland Dairy has stopped using milk from dairy farmers who inject their cows with growth hormone.

6.Corn: Modified now to create its own insecticide, as many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn, with tons of it now being introduced for human consumption, according to the FDA. Doctors atSherbrooke University Hospitalin Quebec recently found Bt toxin from modified corn in the blood of pregnant women and their babies, as well as in non-pregnant women.

7.Papayas: Genetically modified papayas have been grown in Hawaii commercially since 1999, designed to combat the Papaya Ringspot Virus. Approved for sale and consumption in the U.S. and Canada, GM papayas cannot be imported or sold in the European Union.

8.Potatoes: That favorite of American starches, potatoes, especially those that have been genetically modified with Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki Cry 1, have been fed to mice and those mice have been found to have toxins in their systems. Also, according to Dr. Nina V. Fedoroff Willaman Professor of Life Sciences and Evan Pugh Professor atPennsylvania State University, "rats fed the transgenic potatoes had significantly lower organ weights [...]".

9.Soy: Like other foods, soy, too, has been genetically modified to resist herbicides. Soy is included in soy flour, tofu, soy beverages, soybean oil and scores of other products, especially baked goods and pastries. According to one report, "[a]fter feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups."

10.Rice: One of the most prevalent starches in the Asian and U.S. diets, rice has been modified to contain a high amount of vitamin A. But despite the goal of boosting rice production in countries with high demand, it's not being universally accepted. China, for instance, suspended distribution of genetically modified rice within its commercial food supplies over growing concern about its safety.


See the NaturalNews infographic at:

http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Top-10-GMO-Foods-to-Avoid-Eating.html 

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/036063_GMOs_foods_infographics.html#ixzz1x0zIQcI9

New pics from the farm!

sunset

Shemayim's new baby

31 and Big Boy

Shemayim and her new calf

It's a girl!

Winter is here!

We had a wonderful Chanukkah here on Shekinah Farm! We hope your holidays were joyful.

Now we are planning and preparing for spring planting. We are planning for early planting this year and hope to use all raised beds for our two gardens.

January will bring tree pruning and soil prep. We plan to burn the sorghum field and potato and tomato beds, add a green house and plant seeds for seedlings.

We are also using the Moon phases and astrological signs for planting, weed control and harvesting this year. We hope it will help with the weeds and pests.

We are also looking forward to having some Wwoofers here as well to help with the farm. We love having wwoofers here, they give us such a wonderful insight to our farm and help so much! :)

Well, here we go again!

Sorghum Harvest!

After Sukkot we harvested the sorghum. Here are the pics Grandma took while we cut and loaded the sorghum on the trailer!

Christie and Shelly in the field picking up the stalks after Satch cut them down

The trailer is 20 foot long.

Gathering sorghum stalks and putting them on the trailer

Minding their own business!

Satch picking up stalks

Sheep moseying over

Field is cleared and ready to let the animals finish it off before plowing

It's getting full!

Oh, oh, the sheep found the sorghum. Mmm Mmm Good!

I'm 5'1", the sorghum is taller than me and 20' long! Not bad for a half acre!

As we are putting it in the barn, the sheep have followed. Everyone loves sorghum!

Even the horse get's into the sorghum. Everyone will be happy this winter!

Esav gives Ja'akov a gift?!

This day is significant only because of the two sons' present before each other.

On 17 August, two students made inquiry about the strings attached to my clothes. Because we were at a convenience store, I try to give a quick account about Numbers 15:37-41 and about the woman with an issue of blood, who grabbed Messiah's garment and was healed. The next day before leaving for work, I gather my tallit to take with me, not realizing what was in-store for me. When I arrive at work, I put together some material for the students from the previous day. When the students arrive, I present them the material and show them my tallit and tell them some of what it represents.

Later during the day, we gather for a farewell luncheon. When we're about done eating, our Commandant makes a comment that today's visitor, his supervisor, was fasting during the day, (this would confirm his faith as Islam (Ramadan)). I've been wearing my tallit majority of the day. So, I say to my ABBA “that's a good one Daddy!” He has a gooood sense of humor...

After the luncheon, we proceed to commence with our award ceremony. All the persons that were to receive their awards were concluded, our guest presenter called me up to the stage (remember, I'm wearing a tallit still), I am the only non-military to approach the stage during all this time. I am now being presented with a coin of excellence from Esav to be given to Ja'akov. Remember the story of Yitzak's sons. At the reunification Ja'akov presents Esav with gifts. Now this day Esav presents Ja'akov with a gift. Our Daddy's good humor....