Tuesday Tidbits...

Ain't she sweet?
this teeny tidbit of a finch is a young one who fledged not so very long ago

when these babies leave the nest for their first flight...
the whole world of finches on our farm set up a frenzy of chirpy excitement
it seems to be a big-to-do for them...
that catches my attention with all their pretty music

and then, there was this nest high up in a guava tree just feet from the cottage

a very once-elusive bird that I believe may be the Bare Eye Thrush...

decided the food around the farm was too good to pass by...

without nesting in one of the trees to bring babies up in

I found it quite difficult to catch a good snapshot of mama...

she was nervous and moving too much...

so I left her alone to feed the babies

but, if you look closely, you can see the yellow ring around the eye...

which is how they came to be named Bare Eye Thrush

the Lord gave 3 chicks to this particular pair who boldly came to our farm

and just recently, these cuties winged their way from the nest and are somewhere out there

the Giant Gray Sphinx Moth caterpillars mentioned in the July 25 post...

have done an excellent job of stripping the Frangipani trees of their leaves

only I'm not so sure they all got their fair share...

as we only have two of these trees and they are not very large quite yet

I am hoping they all got enough to get them to the next step of cocooning into moths

and in spite of denuding the poor trees...

already, the new leaves are starting to push their way out from the branches

and, I did not notice when the photo was snapped...

but, there he is; a little lizard sitting on the right-hand branch

my husband decided it was time to re-polish the wood floor inside and out 

he had not quite finished a small part as yet...

so we could go in and out while the rest finished drying

and then, of course, when he was ready to finish...

the dogs had to go outside in the yard until the last part was dried

now, the wood looks new again

I have been waiting for the Heliconia to bloom

well...they're here

a very nice color against the cottage's aqua green...

which didn't show up very well in these photos

but, I did find some eggs in the rock garden

the other day, I finally found out where one of my hens was laying her eggs...

and found 10 eggs

she'd been laying there for some days, obviously...

right in front of my nose all along, the sneaky girl

but, I've got her number now

after we thought the cherry trees were done for the time...

one of them suddenly took to blooming and fruiting past the cherry season

but, oh my, don't they look purty hangin' up there from the branch

we may soon start looking like mangoes...

because there are many, many more than we can eat

I've been cutting up a few to freeze for later use when the season is over...

and they will be good for smoothies and mango sauces...

and perhaps some tarts

my husband brought in a 27 pound pumpkin

I put the cup inside to show you how big the cavity is

the fibrous strands goes to the chickens...

and the seeds to us

the ribs of this pumpkin have deep dents that give it a flower shape...

which looked kind of pretty to me

my husband enjoys having pumpkin and pigeon peas in his brown rice...

and it does taste pretty good 

as for the seeds...

they were roasted with some sea salt

I don't bother rinsing off the pumpkin bits from them...

it gives a nicer taste to the seeds

I wanted to let readers know that, this blog will take a two month hiatus...

from August 1 to September 30

if the Lord is willing...I will be back Oct 1

but, there will be two Saturday postcard days during the hiatus...

something in the form of slide videos instead of just a photo

I hope you look for them and enjoy

meanwhile...

may your August and September find wonderful blessings in the Lord's grace

and...

have a cup of cherries, please

Every word of God is pure:

He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

Add thou not unto His words,

lest He reprove thee,

and thou be found a liar.

Proverbs 30:5,6

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

- jean

Farminess and Homesteading...

Thought instead of my usual Saturday postcard...
I'd share a cute video by a homesteader
and don't worry...the ending is pleasant : )



May your day or night be pleasant by the grace of God.

Sorrel Picking...

After watching for a time...

all the lovely sorrel, aka roselle hibiscus, aka Florida cranberry, flowers...

bloom their way into sunshine...

they then developed...

into beautiful, waxy-looking calyxes...

ready for the picking

with the sorrel plants still blooming and giving us fruit into the next season...

I will be drying some for tea throughout the next months...

and making some homemade jam this week with fresh picked sorrel

sunshine, warm weather and cranberry-colored sorrel

are some of those outdoor blessings from the Lord

May your day or night find warmth and sunshine in God's grace.

Chick Delight...

I'd say, we have some of the broodiest brooders on earth

they do so like to keep churning them out

one of our newest comers to the farm
so far, every black chick has turned out to be a hen
more eggs, please : )

May your day or night be soft and gentle in God's grace.

Cocoa/Coconut/Banana Brownie Cake...

Cocoa, coconut and bananas make a great combination for the taste buds

so...I wanted to try baking a brownie cake that would finish off...

an evening of listening to a reading of the Gospel of Matthew with my husband

because I must be gluten free...

I did make this cake with gluten-free flour

but, it can be made using the same recipe with regular flour

ingredients

(this will make 6 3x3 inch size servings...double recipe for more)

1 cup of flour (any good gluten free mix of your choice)

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking powder (omit if your mix already has it)

1/4 tsp sea salt (omit if your mix already has it)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup of pecan or walnut pieces

2 bananas, mashed

2 large eggs, beaten

6 TB butter, melted

2 TB honey

heat up the oven to 350* F

butter and flour, with a bit of the cocoa, the baking pan

combine the wet ingredients, including the bananas, and mix together well

combine the dry ingredients, mix well

stir in the nut pieces into the dry mix

this will help the nuts from sinking or collecting in lumps in the dough

fold the dry mix into the wet mix, gently combining everything well

use a spatula to pour into the pan and spread the dough evenly

put into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes

check at 25 minutes with a knife inserted into the middle

if it comes out clean, it is finished

if not, let it bake another 5 to 7 minutes

enjoy!

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

Homemade Cocoa Powder Pt 2...

Whenever I'm ready to use cocoa powder...

there is no need to go to the market for it

this is a continuation from my last post

the cocoa beans (which are actually the seeds of the cacao fruit)

are put on a cookie tray and roasted at 200* F for about 20 minutes...

or until the hull is easy to slip off the bean

the hulls get put into the compost and the beans are ready for grinding

because I usually use just enough beans for a recipe...

the coffee grinder is enough to do the job

and the beans are ground to a fine powder in just a few seconds

when I need a larger amount...

the food processor is more convenient

it is as simple as that

a cup of roasted cocoa beans will make a cup of powdered cocoa

and I can tell you...

the taste of fresh ground cocoa is nicer than shelved cocoa from a long time ago

the same way...

fresh ground coffee always tastes better than shelved sittin' around...

for who knows how long : )

while commercial cocoa powder is refinely processed...

our cocoa powder is truly unrefined and fresh from the tree

and I know that in this fresh state, it probably has most of it's antioxidant nutrients intact

if your market sells it, use organic, raw cocoa powder for your baking and cooking

And God said,

Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,

which is upon the face of all the earth,

and every tree,

in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;

to you it shall be for meat.

Genesis 1:29

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

Homemade Cocoa Powder: Pt 1...

We have a cocoa orchard on our Pilgrim's Farm

that makes it convenient for making our own cocoa powder

I thought perhaps you might be interested in knowing how we do this

below, is a photo of the backside of the cocoa orchard...

and you are looking at some of the trees

we know the cacao pods are ready to harvest when they turn a deep yellow or red

my husband takes his cocoa picker and selects the ripe ones...

with Foxie "helping", of course

she loves to go chasing after the falling pod and bring it back up the hill

my husband opens up the pod

to reveal the pulpy seeds

and puts the seeds into a box for "sweating" preparation

the creamy pulp on the outside of the bean is edible...

and quite sweet when the cocoa is fully ripe

(btw, a cocoa seed can only be sown and grown when still wet with the pulp)

Foxie knows how good it tastes

and for her "hard work" of picking up the pods that roll down the hill...

she gets a wee bit of it and will lick the fingers clean

once the beans are in the box...

my husband puts freshly picked green banana leaves...

and carefully covers the beans

he makes sure the leaves cover the beans tightly enough...

to induce them to "sweat" the pulp off

the covering keeps the warmth in and this actually causes the pulp to melt

this process is also known as fermenting the cacao

then, he will cover the fresh leaves with dry ones to keep the green leaves from drying out...

and shrinking to expose the beans to air

the cocoa beans are then set aside and let to "sweat" for at least a week or two...

depending on the weather

after the beans have "sweated" off their pulpy covering and...

dried in the sun for another week or two...

this is what they look like

part 2 of this process coming up later this week

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