Spice and Everything Nice


Herbs are one of my favorite foods on the homestead...
and because I grow a variety...
they are used every day of the week, in one way or another

they smell good,
look good,
and taste good

herbs not only taste good...
they are good for the body

two of my favorites are rosemary and oregano
they both pack a power supply of medicine and nutrients


this morning, rosemary and oregano were eagerly invited to breakfast...
honored guests on my plate

let me show you how they brought spice into this morning's breakfast

when a light meal is good enough for me...
I take one onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, lightly mashed, then chopped


in a hot skillet put in...
2 pats of butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder


stir the curry into the oils and fry for about a minute


add the onions and saute until they are soft


add the tomatoes and garlic; saute another 2 minutes...
stirring so as to keep the garlic from burning
you can add some sea salt and black pepper if you'd like


I dish my curried onions and tomatoes on top of lettuce...
then with a scissors, I snip the rosemary and oregano onto the top of the curried dish
I prefer my herbs added after the cooking simply because...
it keeps the nutrients intact and medicinal


with an addition of sardines, moringa leaves and a banana...
this meal is complete for me


but, a cup of moringa blooms and leaves make a great top up...
to wash the meal down with


I steep the flowers and leaves in a cup of hot water for 7 minutes...
then strain into a drinking cup and sweeten with a teaspoon of raw honey


there is nothing like real and fresh food to get me going into the day...
and truly, this is good to the palate


Bless the Lord, O my soul,
O Lord my God,
thou art very great;
thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
He watereth the hills from his chambers:
the earth is satisfied with the fruits of thy works.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
and herb for the service of man:
that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
and wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
and oil to make his face to shine,
and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
Psalms 104:1,13-15

May your day or night find food in the grace of God.

Leo Lion and the Mango


Life is pretty busy but, in spite of that,
the pretties on the homestead never fail to give delightful moments along the way

the doves have been lounging around as always, 
perpetually stealing shares of the chicken feed and looking ever so nice among the fruit trees



climbing along the kitchen garden fence,
the bean vines have been putting out lots of full pods that never seem to wane...
and really, it seems I must make an appointment once a week to harvest all those legumes


beans of all kinds are a great storage food and these will be shelled,
and put away in tight lidded jars



my husband picked the coffee beans that were too high up for me to reach...
and it looks like each time we harvest the coffee trees,
we get just a little more beans than the last pick



we found a few coconut trees just coming out of their pods...
growing under the tall trees of the forest

we picked up a couple and have them in water till we can get them into the ground
we are hoping they will take to the dirt on our homestead grounds
one cannot have too many coconut trees around, after all



my forever sleeping Leo the Lion is cradling one of our first mangoes of the season


and although the mango looks rather pretty under Leo's nose...
I think perhaps I will eat it instead


my little lizard friend, who I call "Dragon",
is looking on above Leo and his mango 


this lizard is only about 4 inches long and has been with us for about 2 years
he's been doing a great job of keeping the bugs down in the veranda...
and he especially likes any fly that may slip in through the door



I score the mango in sections


pull down the peel


and cut away bite size chunks, eating them as I go along
once down to the seed, I suck on anything that's left

this mango had a subtle coconut undertone to it
not sure if our coconut trees and mango trees being to close to each other...
have something to do with that;
but, I do wonder when they are both flowering at the same time...
and the insects and birds are feeding off the nectar and pollinating around the grounds...
if perhaps something nice happens in the natural realm of things
something maybe to research 


in any case, this is my breakfast after walking the dogs...
a mango, a banana and some raw goat milk



meanwhile, as the lion sleeps tonight with the fragrance of mango in his dreams...


May your day or night find sweet fragrance in the grace of the Lord.



The Artificial and The Real



Since the advent of processed foods...
diseases of various sorts that were rare in past times...
have become the norm, such as...
cancer, heart, arterial, neural and cerebral diseases


we have high to the sky problems with mental disorders...
and diseases in children that were once old age diseases

this is not to say these have not existed before but...
they have climbed to an extreme high in modern times...
in less than 150 years

in spite of all the research and studies as to why...
(which leaves me to scratching my head over)
it should have become quite evident that our modern foods are very unhealthy


the genetic messing with food that are contrary to God's ordered creation...
is not only dishonoring to the Lord, but...
causing catastrophic problems among farmers and healthy atmospheres

the man-made synthetic chemicals that are used in everything...
including the modern "foods"...
have caused changes in our bodies' chemistry that cannot cope with diseases

artificial foods is what most people are eating today...
and I might dare to venture that the results...
are indeed a judgment from the Lord God on mankind for our wicked ways


here on Pilgrim's Farm, we realize that artificial food and real food are...
about as different as night and day, and what we eat can hurt or heal

again, this is not to say that...
a person who eats healthy, real food won't get sick or die in the end
of course, sooner or later, we all die
but, I believe that, by the Lord's blessing if He so chooses...
we can keep fairly healthy until the end when we stick to eating real food...
that is grown without chemicals and as naturally as possible...
according to the order of God's creation


this leads me to another artificial problem we have in this world...
and that is...
the artificial "gospels" that pervade the churches throughout the whole earth
this is even worse than the problem of artificial foods...
because you see...
in the end, when we die...
it is our spiritual health that is more important than our earthly health...
here on this temporary world age


according to the Bible, God's word...
there is only one real Gospel...
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 4:12 says...
"Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved."

If this is true, and the Lord says it is...
then any other "gospel" which claims to lead someone to heaven...
is artificial, that is, false!
and is it not God's prerogative in His own sovereign right...
to say what is true or what is false?

For it is said in Romans 3:3-8...
"For what if some did not believe?
shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written,
'That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged.'

it is a rare church these days where the real Gospel is being preached
most people who sit in the pews are quite content...
to spiritually "feed" off the words of false preachers who teach man's artificial religions...
and do not go to the Lord and His word to find truth, or the real spiritual food...
that will tell man what he truly is and why he cannot and is able not to find God...
without the Lord's intervention in his sinful and wayward heart


why is it that so many people love to have their ears tickled with the words...
of false preachers and prophets?
it is because we, as fallen creatures, have no love for God and His truth
in Romans 3:10-12, it says...
"As it is written,
'There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way,
they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.'
notice it does not say "some"; it is ALL.

if we are to hear the real Gospel of Jesus Christ...
then, we would do well to read the word of God and pray that He might...
open our eyes, ears and hearts to His real spiritual food...
that He may perhaps in His sovereign grace and choice...
save the person whom He has inclined the heart of towards Himself...
for it says in Psalm 65:4...
"Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest,
and causest to approach unto Thee,
that he may dwell in Thy courts"


beware of those who would lead you down the road to hell
in Deuteronomy 18:18-22 the Lord said of the real Prophet, Jesus Christ the Saviour...
and the artificial prophets, those who teach false gospels...

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee, and will put my words in His mouth;
and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words
which He shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name,
which I have not commanded him to speak,
or that shall speak in the name of other gods,
even that prophet shall die.
And if thou say in thine heart,
'How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?'
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord,
if the thing follow not, nor come to pass,
that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken,
but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously:
thou shalt not be afraid of him.

if a preacher, or any other man, speaks of any other way of eternal life...
other than Christ Jesus as the one and only way to heaven...
then he is not the real thing...
he is an artificial preacher, giving you artificial spiritual food
and let those who would preach a false gospel beware of Galatians 1:8...

"But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have  preached unto you,
let him be accursed."

God's word alone is the real food...
"And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues,
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people."
Matthew 4:23


May your day or night be found in the Light of God's grace.

Gone Riverside on a Gingerly Walk


Early in the mornings...
I fill my coffee thermos and me and my dogs...


head on out for our usual walk


the air is heady with the fragrance from the cinnamon trees interspersed in the forest...
among cocoa and various fruit trees


the parrots that take a tree break on their morning flight to their foraging...


preen and make love a bit too far up in the trees for a clear picture with my camera 
(sorry)


a farmer's land still has orange trees holding on to their fruit...


 although the citrus are a bit pass their prime...
they are still good...
and he has been collecting them to sell


the mango trees are in full bloom all around us...


and the fruit will take it's time to come to picking season


the woods along the way towards the river is full of bamboo grass...
but there is more brown than usual as we are now still in our dry season


the river (or creek) always runs and the water is always cool


Shadow is a big aficionado of water...
whether it be sea or creek


this week...
my husband dug up some of the ginger growing near the garden


it's a good time to dry ginger while the rains are not here

the humidity from the rains will not hinder the ginger drying


there was probably about 4 pounds of ginger


after it was scrubbed clean...


I put aside a few with green knobs for replanting...


not bothering to peel the skin off...
I broke them apart at their joints for easier handling...
dried them on a paper towel...


and sliced them up into thin slivers...
about the thickness of a coin


I spread them on a grid tray and into the sunshine until they were drying up pretty well...
so they don't have a chance to mold...
and now they are drying in a cool room till brittle enough to easily grind into powder

some will be left as they are for cooking purposes such as tea and flavoring in soups and stews


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 flow in the spice of the Lord's grace.