RHUBARB

One of the nice things about the half back yard of our rental house here in Mobridge is a planting of Rhubarb. It is quite close to the property line with Glader's yard and usually shared by families of both homes, but this year, Glader's didn't partake of the crop. We used it once or twice and the rest went to seed, which isn't all bad. Next year will probably bring a strong harvest.

Carolyn O'Meara gave me an excellent recipe using rhubarb and a yellow cake mix which she calls Magic Cake that I would like to share with you. It is also in the Timber Lake Holy Cross Alter Society Cook Book under the name Rhubarb Custard Upside Down Cake, submitted by Marie Biegler. Marie suggests a white cake mix and a slighter shorter baking time.

I baked the Magic Cake with the yellow cake mix and can vouch for it's excellence. It is a keeper and even a reason to keep and freeze Rhubarb. If you are a fan of custard, you will love this dessert.

Next blog will list freezing and caning tips for rhubarb.

Since I temporarily misplaced Carolyn's recipe, here is the church cook book version:

Rhubarb Custard Upside Down Cake

Prepare 1 (yellow) or white cake mix according to directions on box and pour into 9x13' pan.

Mix together:

2 cups finely chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

1 cup sugar

Sprinkle evenly over cake. Then pour 1 cup of cream with 1 teaspoon pure vanilla over all and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or more.

FREEZING FRESH GREEN BEANS

Carolyn O'Meara shared another little tip with us and that is regarding fresh green beans:

Pick fresh beans from the garden and snap off tips. Wash and dry completely. Freeze beans on a cookie sheet in so they are not touching while freezing. After they are individually frozen, they can be placed in a freezer bag, and will be just like fresh beans when cooked.

MORE JOYFUL BOUNTY RECIPES

Carolyn brought us some of her refrigerator pickles and the recipe for them which follows:

Refrigerator Pickles:

12 cups sliced cucumbers

2 cups green pepper

2 cups onion

1/2 cup canning salt

Mix with cucumbers and ice for two hours and drain.

Mix 4 cups sugar

2 cups vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seed

Mix all together and add to drained cucumbers. Wait five days before eating. Keeps for a year in refrig.

Carolyn O'Meara

JOYFUL BOUNTY

Joyful Bounty

Everyone here has been very gracious in sharing the bounty of the field and gardens as well as preservation of the harvest. That is the reason for this blog entry.

I have learned some excellent ways to quickly pick and freeze crops for later use of all this natural goodness. The key word here is quickly , because in the past some of the harvest has been wasted if there is a build up of some garden items.

Thanks to our relatives, I am able to share these tips with you, so I'm anxious to pass them on while they are fresh in my mind.

Jims sisters, Carolyn and Rita drove out from the Rapid City, South Dakota area on September 9th, 2009, to spend that day and the 10th, which was Jim's 67th birthday with us. They brought

some wonderful canned goods as gifts, which included, (from Carolyn) Rhubarb Strawberry Jam and Rhubarb Raspberry Jam, and Refrigerator Pickles, and (from Rita) Buffalo Gap Honey (from the Baker Ranch), Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, Apple Plum Jelly, Grape Jelly, Squash Relish, (which is sweet and some-what like pickle relish, and cherry rhubarb jam.

Here are some tips from Carolyn (Brockamp) O'Meara

Tomatoes:

Pick tomatoes fresh from garden. wash, dry well, and freeze whole with skin on in freezer bags. When ready to use, remove from freezer, rinse under hot water and skin will easily pop off. The Brockamp family loves garden tomatoes in Homemade Tomato Soup. Recipe follows. Carolyn gave this recipe that Grandma Mary (Crain) Brockamp made for the family. This is the one that Jim grew up on and loved. He found it very comforting when his mother brought it to him when he was sick. This alone is a family heirloom, so prepare it with love darlings, and think of your father and your grand-father, and grand-mother Mary Elizabeth. Can't you feel the love?

Homemade Tomato Soup

1 quart tomatoes

Heat to boil in pan

Add 1 teaspoon baking soda

Add 2-3 Tablespoons butter

and 3 tablespoons flour and combine to make a roux.

Add 2 cups half and half to roux; heat and add to tomatoes.

Yummy.

Carolyn 'OMeara

Another family favorite is Home Made Tomato Juice

SHARING A POEM WITH UNKNOWN NAME

Life by life, and love by love

We passed through the cycles strange

And breath by breath and death by death

We followed the chain of change

Til there came a time in the law of life

When over the nursing sod

The shadow broke and the soil awoke

In a strange dim dream of God

Langdon Smith

1858-1908

SUMMER'S END

After reading through earlier entries in this Heirlooms Blog, there is an obvious gap for the month of August. With only a few days remaining in the last official month of summer, I'd like to apologize once again for my negligence and attempt to provide an update on our activities.

When last I wrote, we were a bit discouraged and a little apprehensive about getting the hay in on time, but I can report that it is done now. The haying endeavor was a success, in that 80 acres of square bales and 80 acres of alfalfa produced an unprecedented harvest this year, and all of it was baled and off the field just before the grasshopper invasion.

In the spring and early summer we had a lot of rain and a bumper crested wheat grass and alfalfa crop. The fields were beautifully green, with lush grass. The view from our bluff was breath taking. We couldn't get enough of the sights and sounds and smells of this land. It was enough to go to the top of the bluff and look out for miles and to just take it all in. The place itself fascinated us and we had, ( and have) dreams) for nurturing it as long as we are able.

When the time came to cut the hay, we had just enough sun to dry it and bale it. Then, even though it seemed agonizingly slow and hard work for Jim, he got the bales off the field and ready to sell just as a plague of grasshoppers moved in.

Each day Jim would freeze a container of water to take out to the field to help with hydration and heat exhaustion. It helped, but the effects of working in the hot sun were evident. My husband was starting to look somewhat like a raisin, especially his arms and face. His jeans were wearing out where the bales rubbed, which was about thigh level and he cut a flap of denim and attached it there to his worn out blue jeans to protect his leg from further beating, and to save wear and tear on his work clothes. He was also losing weight, becoming thinner and thinner. Dare I say he could be mistaken for a tattered raisin scarecrow of a man in his ragged jeans and sun parched body?

On the positive side, this is the first and last year of the hard work. We had a profitable year and can buy better farm equipment next year, which is a very good thing.

Our son Jamie, daughter-in-law, Denise and grand-children, Katie and Jared arrived for a visit in the midst of baling, in July, and did all they could to help with the work while they were here. Denise drove the truck hauling the hay wagon, while Jamie and Jim loaded bales under the hot July sun. They were a tremendous help both here and at home and the time went too fast before they had to return home to Washington state. Jamie hated to leave Jim with such hard work. He wants to be able to help with all of it, but at the time he had no choice but to get back to his job in the city. That is another blog, another issue of mine, the yearning for a self sustained lifestyle for our family. Is it all a dream or is it remotely possible for our family to be self employed and self sustained? I could write on and on about that subject, but as I said, that will be another blog.

After Jamie and Denise had to leave us, I drove the truck some, out there in the hay fields and pulled the hay rick between rows of bales. Jim would load the square bales onto the trailer and climb up and stack them very tall to get the maximum load on each trip.

There were days when Alan Nelson and Dennis Fischer went out to help Jim with the work and mechanical problems, and times when Quinn's provided help and support and we are very grateful for that. On the final day of baling, Jim and Dennis and the son of a friend, Chris Zeller, went out and finished loading the last of the bales.

That night I posted a message on facebook saying: " All the bales are off the fields. We're celebrating, and the drinks are us if you can get here before bedtime." Of course most people were far away and unable to take advantage of the free drinks offer in such a limited time. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, you know. LOL.

We have learned a lot of things this year, and we are thankful to God for giving us this time in this place, and for allowing us to celebrate this joyful bounty.

Hence the name,

J.B. Heirlooms Farm/Joyful Bounty/J Brockamp *

*Update: The name of our Farm has changed since this blog was posted.

WHAT YOU ARE IS GOD'S GIFT TO YOU

WHAT YOU ARE IS GOD'S GIFT TO YOU.

WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOURSELF IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD.

There is a hand painted rock on my desk that reminds me everyday that we should make good use of all of the the God given gifts bestowed upon us. While we should need no reminder for such an important issue, somehow we manage to push superficial things to the forefront of our minds, while ignoring the basic message that we are here to serve the Lord, by finding our divine purpose in life.

I read the message here on my desk:

What you are is GOD'S gift to you.

What you make of yourself is your gift to GOD.

And meanwhile, the Lord, Our God is all around us, whispering in the wind, the rain, the prairie grass and the current of the river, as well as the churches in the communities to remember our divine purposes on this Earth.

Do you personally search for your calling? If not, please begin to think about what it is.

There is a book entitled The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, which I recommend.

In today's busy lifestyle's, sometimes it is difficult to find the clarity to focus on what is important in life; and this book brings these faith based issues into perspective.

While I am not a regular church goer, I feel a connection to God, and don't always feel that men and women need an organized channel to God. There are many pathways to God. The churches are road to God, but the way and the light of God is everywhere.

I am searching for my calling, and divine purpose, and find God's will can be done on a small scale bit by bit, piece by piece, while waiting to give on a larger scale.

That being said, here is my own personal prayer:

"Heavenly angels stay close to us.

Watch over over our family and friends, both living and those loved ones who have preceded us in death.

Guide us to divine principles and stewardship of our earthly flora and fauna.

Give us the strength to stand up for our beliefs, and eloquently speak our minds for the good of all people, and to defend the defenseless.

Return the memories of our ancestors pride, honor and work ethic that we can carry on their heritage. Our roots run deep and we should not forget our past, as truly the circle will someday be unbroken.

Embrace us as we celebrate our blessings and cherish our loved ones, now and forever.