On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Well, Bacon Day is winding down. It began before sunup this morning with a few loud claps of thunder and a short downpour of rain. At the first clap of thunder every dog in the yard was at the back door howling to get it. Softy that I am, in they all came, and once calm again, were sprawled across the living carpet like dirty (wet) laundry.

Since I was up early, I decided to make a hearty breakfast for John and my Dad. I did a simple Sausage and Egg Scramble with pumpernickle toast. To a spicy ground sausage, I simply added diced onions and diced rainbow peppers. I seasoned with salt and pepper only, since my Dad is not fond of herbs.

Sorry for the quality of these pictures. The lighting is terrible! I hope to improve at indoor photography as I continue this blog.

My first attempt at scones didn't go too bad! I made Bacon Scones using a basic scone recipe from Ina Garten. I didn't press them out as thin as the directions instructed, and so I had very large scones, biscuit-like because I decided to cut them in rounds instead of wedges. I sent a half-dozen of these scones home with my sister, who said they were better than the bacon biscuits I gave her at Christmas.

The BLTs were a hit! Always so simple to prepare, and so delicious to eat! I used thick cut bacon, and piled it on. I add thinly sliced onion to my BLTs. I learned a long, long time ago that the onion really gives the sandwich a boost of flavor that takes it out of the ordinary realm of BLTs. Lots of mayo, large slices of tomato, shredded lettuce, salt and pepper, and you've got a hearty, delicious sandwich! I didn't have a chance to take pictures of a BLT. They were gone before I could pick up the camera!

I have always loved cooking. For more than 30 years I hosted every holiday family gathering, doing all of the cooking and entertaining. I was always in my element creating elaborate meals for my family to enjoy. After my mother passed away, I stopped hosting the family events, but still enjoyed cooking for my husband. In the last two years, however, my energy level has dropped significantly, and for a time, I wasn't cooking much at all. In the last few months though, I've been pushing myself to do more around the farm, including more cooking, and over the holidays I did quite a bit, ventured into baking, something I've never bothered to try before now. I find that I enjoy baking, and it's much easier than I ever thought. I hope to be doing a lot more cooking, and baking, while the weather is still cool!

Bacon Scones
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Scones

4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, diced
4 large eggs, beaten together
1 cup heavy cream
5 slices (more to taste) thick sliced bacon, diced large

Mix together the first four ingredients. Add the diced butter.
In a separate bowl, mix together the beaten eggs and heavy cream. Pour these into the flour and butter mix and stir gentle to combine.
Add the diced bacon.
Don't overmix the ingredients. The dough will be soft and wet.
Pour the dough out on a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a round.
Press out to 3/4 inch, cut, and brush with an egg wash (egg and water).
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (longer if the scones are large).

Instead of bacon, you might like to try adding blueberries or cranberries, raisins, or other savory items like cheese and chives, or herbs.

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.