Saturday Homestead Postcard


Where cows get their fill of food and water


May your day or night be blessed in God's grace.

Rushing Through the Day

Sometimes, I get one of those days when suddenly...
it becomes quite busy

so this post comes at a rush late in the day

that's when chocolate is one of my best friends...
as far as food is concerned...
like this cocoa/coconut/cinnamon candy


it isn't hard to make nor does it take very long
the recipe for the candy gives about 12 pieces...
so if you want to make more, just double the recipe
and you can adjust the sweetness and cinnamon to your own taste

the ingredients are:
3 oz dark chocolate
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tsp of raw honey
2 tsp of cinnamon


start by oiling an ice cube tray with a little coconut oil or...
you can use a candy mold tray


break up and melt the chocolate in a double boiler or...
I just put a small saucepan into a larger one with some water
this keeps the chocolate from burning


once the chocolate is melted and smooth...
turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients...
stirring till they are all well combined


spoon into the oiled ice cube tray and put into the freezer for at least 30 minutes
with a knife inserted into the sides of the candy...
they should come out nicely and refrigerated to keep firm 


I whipped up some coconut oil to use as a butter on crackers or bread


to get the coconut oil to whip up nicely...
chill in the refrigerator until firm but not hard...
maybe about 30 to 45 minutes
if it gets too hard, just let it soften a bit for easier whipping

I just break it up into smaller chunks with a knife...


and use my electric beater on high


it's been a pretty warm day, today...
and the coconut oil didn't whip as high as it should of...
but, it still worked well enough for me...
and it will stay refrigerated in a glass jar to keep it's whipped consistency

I like the whipped oil for spreading rather than the liquid...
just nicer and while it is being whipped...
other things such as honey and cinnamon can be added...
for a tasty spread on bread and crackers


May your day or night be blessed in God's grace.

Saturday Homestead Postcard


Where Pilgrim's Farm newest homestead addition is cute as a button


May your day or night be blessed in God's grace.

Harvesting Cinnamon on Pilgrim's Farm

It all starts out with this cinnamon tree


it went into bloom not long ago and is now fruiting
the leaves, which smell and taste like cinnamon, we use for making tea...
and flavoring stews and soups



a few selected branches are cut down...
and the rest of the tree is left to keep on growing



this is a sit down job where the harvesters get to socialize during work...
and you don't have to wear suit and tie...
or sit in an cold, air-conditioned room with no windows...
pushing pens or constantly typing the letters on a computer...
or being bored shuffling through papers piled up on the desk

here, we listen to the birds and talk whatever seems interesting...
while the warm sun glows and the breeze blows cool
well...this is how it is at Pilgrim's Farm



the outer skin of the bark is scraped off with a knife



and the pretty cinnamon color of the bark is revealed



the fragrance of the cinnamon bark is starting to make for a headiness in the senses...
as the scent rises to the windows and floats along with the breezes...
throughout the rooms of the cottage



once the thin outer skin is removed...
the bark is scored around the circumference top to bottom of the tree boughs



and the bark is now removed using a knife to separate it from the wood



 sometimes, it helps to loosen the bark from the wood by tapping it gently with a hammer



 which will make the job of removing the bark from the wood a little easier


really, that is all there is to it
the cinnamon is now ready to dry in the sun for a few days...
and then ready to store

if I need it in powder form...
I just use my mortar pestal to grind it down or let my coffee grinder do the job
fresh as can be

next week, Lord willing, I'll give a recipe, or two, for using cinnamon

you can look up more info on cinnamon at treepicturesonline.com for pictures
and, for history, cultivation, and uses... 


Did you know that the songs of Solomon in the Bible are about Jesus Christ and His church?
The beautiful versus in this book describe the wonderful relationship between the Lord...
and His bride.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates,
with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard,
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes,
with all the chief spices:
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters,
and streams from Lebanon.

Awake, O north wind;
and come, thou south;
blow upon my garden, 
that the spices thereof may flow out.
Let my Beloved come into His garden,
and eat His pleasant fruits.
Solomon's Song 4:16

May your day or night be fragrantly spiced in the grace of the Lord.

Saturday Homestead Postcard


Where hens snub their cozy coop nests in favor of crowded open plastic bins
(go figure)


Coconut Oil Use on Pilgrim's Farm


This post will not be about the greatness of coconut oil

while it is a good oil when made without over-processing and chemicals...
I do not know all the possibilities of coconut oil...
so I won't be pretending great knowledge in this food but...
nevertheless...
coconut and it's meat and oil is a good, healthy food...
and it's used in remedies for different health issues around the world

if you want to research more on health benefits of coconut oil...
there are many websites that give the information
just make sure you sift through the gimmicks and such to get real info

in our case here on Pilgrim's Farm, we enjoy using it over any other oils on the market...
and I much prefer the unrefined oil, for sure

one of my favorite ways of using coconut oil is in cooking and baking
it makes a great substitution for other oils or even butter

because I get my coconut oil from the local ladies...
it still has the taste of coconut in it and I like the taste


 it is easy to solidify and use as a skin cream
easy to whip up and use as a "butter" spread
as a butter spread, a little raw honey, or maybe some spices mixed in...
can rev up the taste on a piece of toast or cracker


I do like to use it in my dogs' food as the good fat in the coconut helps with giving soft, shiny fur...
about a tablespoon a couple of times a week for my 90 pound dog...
about a teaspoon for my 40 pound dog

sometimes, because we live in the tropics, the ants like to come around my dogs' dishes...
when the dogs haven't eaten every morsel as yet
I take a few drops of coconut oil on my finger and slide it around the rim of the dishes...
and the ants don't even bother coming around

if we are having a seasonal influx of sand flies...
I smear just enough coconut oil on my legs and arms...
and moisturize my skin at the same time


whenever one of my pots become burned from a food that was cooking in it...
I have found that scrubbing coconut oil on the burned parts will help loosen the dirt...
as long as the burn is not hardened too much

coconut oil works great on sap that has leaked into the water from unpeeled green bananas...
onto the sides of the pots and has become gluey...
that is...
if I have forgotten to add a 1/4 teaspoon of oil to my pot of water before cooking


coconut oil when it has not been too refined tends to have a thick and creamy texture to it
and will solidify easily during the night when the breezes blow through our windows

and although it looks lovely in a cup...
we do not drink it like this


it is much too rich and even coconut oil should be eaten in moderation
coconut proponents do say...
a tablespoon of coconut oil taken each day, is good for you


it is written of Jesus Christ...

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou lovest rightseousness,
and hatest wickedness:
therefore God, thy God,
hath appointed Thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Psalm 45:6,7

May your day or night be well oiled in the grace of the Lord.

Saturday Homestead Postcard


Where we harvest cinnamon under the aroma of this fragrant spice


May your day or night be in the fragrance of the Lord's grace.

Coconut Oil


I bartered a bottle of raw honey from our hives...
for a bottle of fresh coconut oil with my neighbor


the lady who makes this coconut oil does a beautiful job of it...
she works a lot of coconuts to get this bottle of oil for me...
and I cannot but help admiring the light golden color of it


as silly as it was...
I couldn't help snapping a few shots of it...
there...


here...


and anywhere it looked good

there are plenty of sites on the benefits of coconut oil...
which you can go look up to read more info on it

this is the one oil we use most on Pilgrim's Farm...
for our animals, ourselves, and in the kitchen...
and this month I will post on coconut oil and how we use it...
and also on the tree bark, cinnamon...
and how we harvest this gorgeous spice from the cinnamon tree on Pilgrim's Farm


May your day or night be well oiled in the grace of the Lord.