Sharing our Gifts in the World...

How do you discover the gifts you bring into the world?  These often reveal the purpose for why we are here and what we are supposed to try and achieve in this lifetime, but sometimes finding out what that purpose or gift is can be a challenge.

Once you identify your gifts, what can you do to sustain them and not experience burn-out?  In other words, how do you use your gifts without over-expending yourself? How do you determine the right way to use your gifts that achieve the highest and best good?
How do you keep yourself on the right path in using your gifts and not becoming pulled off center by the distractions and temptations of the world?

When most westerners think about gifts the exchange of material goods is the image that is most familiar. Little time and attention is given to finding, sustaining and sharing the gifts that lay within each person in western culture. However, exploring the spiritual aspects of life and sharing personal gifts are crucial ways to deepen connections to the world and to the best parts of ourselves. Speaker and spiritual leader Sobonfu Somé shares,

"It is always challenging to bring the spiritual into the material world, but it is one of the only ways we can put people back in touch with the earth and their inner values."

Sobonfu will offer rituals and healing from the Dagara tribe of West Africa with participants in the Asheville, NC area on November 12-14, 2010. Her work involves healing and preparing the mind, body, spirit and soul to receive the spirituality that is found inside and all around each person. This deeper spiritual connection can be used personally and to support others in recovery. Sobonfu’s work has moved African spiritual practices from the realm of anthropology into lives of Westerners, to a place alongside the world’s great spiritual traditions, with a message of profound significance and practical application. This experiential weekend will illuminate ways participants can expand personal and communal connection while nurturing ways to share their gifts for a lifetime.

On November 12th Sobonfu will present at MAHEC, 501 Biltmore Ave in Asheville. This evening two-hour event is open to a wide audience and light refreshments will be served. Sobonfu will continue her work with up to 40 participants through the weekend at the Laughing Waters Retreat site located in Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community in Gerton, NC.

The heartbeat of the earth

The drum is the heartbeat of the earth.  This is the belief of many native Americans with a link to the indigenous people of North America.  While there are different customs related to the drum and different kinds of drums, in general, many are used for prayer and spiritual ceremonies...to connect to spirit...to creator.

The music is said to originate form dieties or spirits, or from particularly respected individuals.  Stories are orally transmitted through song, with the drum keeping the rhythm.  Dance, costume and song inform the ritual.  As the drum takes the consciousness into other states of awareness, there is a conflation of music and power.  The music and the essence of the story can not be separated as they are not different but a unified power being transmitted.

Drums are powerful.  They are the heartbeat of the earth.  And Joe Roberts will tell you much more about the custom at the Drum Building Workshop on October 2nd at Laughing Waters Retreat Center.
To learn more go to www.LaughingWatersNC.com or call


 

Apple Butter - more fall fun

It takes a half bushel basket of apples to make 8 pints of apple butter!  Making the stuff is definitely an act of love (and persistence).  Gathering the apples was fun, during our workday in the orchard last weekend.  It’s true what they say about one bad apple.  I didn’t get to the peeling/coring for a few days, so when I did, I ended up having to toss out a bunch of the apples we had gathered.  Preparing the fruit was fun, with the three-pronged gizmo that does all the work for you.  Then the apple slices (plus a ton of sugar, some cinnamon, cloves and lemon) simmered in water for a loooong time, until all was soft and sweet and smooth.  Next came sterilizing the jars and the canning process.  All in all, a task that took several days.  But the product is YUMMY, especially on toast with your morning coffee.

- 4 pounds apples -mix several varieties, if possible - 2 cups sugar - 1 cup apple cider or water - pinch salt - 1 teaspoon cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon cloves - 1/2 teaspoon allspice - 1 lemon (optional)

Container: large pans, half-pint jars with lids suitable for canning

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

• If you will be canning the apple butter, get suitable jars, lids and rings ready. In a large pot or water bath canner, cover jars with water and boil 10 minutes. Turn off heat and drop lids in.
• Peel, core and cut up the apples. Combine with the cider or water and cook until the apples are soft.
• Add sugar, salt, spices and, if using, the juice and zest from a lemon.  Continue to cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until the mixture is very thick. (Test by scooping up a heaping spoonful. The mixture should keep its rounded shape and not flatten out.)
• To process: with tongs, remove a jar from the hot water, fill it to 1/2 inch from the top with apple butter, wipe the rim clean and retrieve a lid from the hot water. Put the lid on, snug down a ring and return the filled jar to the pan of hot water. Continue until all jars are filled and/or the butter is gone.
• Return the pan of filled jars to the stove. Add more hot water if necessary to completely cover jars, then cover the  pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Allow to cool somewhat (or completely); carefully remove jars to a dry surface. Cool completely before removing sealing rings.  Check for seals following lid manufacturer's instructions. Freeze any that don't seal or refrigerate and use soon.

More apples than we can deal with!

With over 115 apple trees, this time of year is always exciting.  We've been out cleaning up the orchard for the 3rd annual Apple Fest.  And picking apples.  With all of these delicious fruits we're making lots of good dishes.  This week - apple cake. (My brother-in-law's favorite food!)

APPLE CAKE

Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar.
2 cups of diced apples.
1 beaten egg.
1/2 cup of vegetable oil.
1 1/2 cups of flour.
1 teaspoon of baking soda.
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Directions:

Mix in order. Pour into a greased 8*8 inch pan. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Bake at 350F for half an hour.

Raining apples

It’s time to turn some of these apples into pies, cakes, and apple butter for the Apple Fest. Yesterday there were 10 of us sprucing up the orchard a bit. Gardner climbed up into a red delicious tree, then a golden delicious tree and shook the branches until it
was raining apples. We scrambled to collect the fruit as it pelted the ground. Later we stuck our feet in the creek and splashed around with the kids. Now the real work begins!






Apple Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients:

3 large  apples, peeled and sliced.
1 cup flour.
1 cup sugar.
1 teaspoon cinnamon.
1 large egg.
1/2 cup butter, melted.

Directions:

Put apples in the bottom of a lightly greased 8x8 inch baking dish.

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and egg until it looks like coarse cornmeal.

Sprinkle topping over the apples.

Pour melted butter over the entire dish.

Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Taking home some beautiful crafts.

My sister Lynne has been creating homemade goodies for the Apple Fest at Hickory Nut
Forest Eco-Community for the last three years. Lynne has always been a go-getter and she has a hard time sitting still, so when we first came up with the idea to have a celebration around the apple harvest in our orchard, she asked if she could make a few things to use as prizes or giveaways for our event.

We had no idea what was in store.

Lynne loves crafts, just like our mother did. She’s always knitting or doing cross stitch when she watches TV. At the first Apple Fest, our guests were delighted to be able to choose take home gifts from the pile of things she had created. The second year was even more successful, and we used her knit bears as prizes for the apple toss and apple pie walk.

This year promises to be even better. Lynne says, “I used to look at anything with an apple on it and ask myself, ‘Could I use this somehow for the Apple Fest?’” This year she has broadened her approach to include anything with an autumn theme. If you come to our Apple Fest at Hickory Nut Forest on Sept. 25 and you are lucky enough to win at apple bobbing, or breaking the piñata (kids only), or win a raffle prize, you could end up taking home a fine handcrafted item. Fall-colored Onsies with a cross stitched pumpkin decoration, aprons with apple regalia, and knit bears with striped sweaters (it takes her two days to make one of these) are just a sampling of what’s possible. Come check it out!

Apple Fest coming just around the corner

Apples. They’re not just for pies anymore! In addition to applesauce and butter, there is caramel apple bars, apple buttermilk bread, apple kugel, apple-cabbage ravioli with thyme, apple mulligatawny and so much more.  To find fall apples for these creations, visitors and the community are invited to the Third Annual Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community AppleFest on September 25, from 1-5 at on Rt. 74-A in Gerton/Bat Cave, NC.  It is free and family-friendly event.

According to local apple authorities, the height of the apple season usually runs from late August to late September, and with North Carolina being the 7^th largest apple-producing state in the nation, Apple Fest is a time-honored tradition.  According to celebrated author Creighton Lee Calhoun, “in every region of the South apples have been grown and esteemed for centuries.”

Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community near Asheville “found” their 10-acre orchard under “jungle of overgrowth” several years ago.  With the help of friends and volunteers they cleared the land and discovered 115 trees of 10 different varieties including: Golden and Red Delicious, Stamen and Turley Winesap, Lodi, and White Russian.

“We started AppleFest as a way of giving the apples something to do,” says John Myers co-founder of Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community.  “First, we invite members of the larger community to harvest. Then the Gleaners come and gather apples to the food banks. Finally, people come and pick up the ground apples for their animals.  It’s a win-win for everyone.”

This year’s AppleFest includes music, cider making, kid’s events and sampling of various apple goodies by Jack’s Catering of Asheville.  People are encouraged to bring their own containers to take the apples home.

When harvesting and preparing, the top authorities on apples suggest the following:

·      When picking, an apple’s skin should be shiny, not dull.  A dull apple won’t be crisp and tasty. Also, make sure the apple is firm and free of bruises and punctures.

·      When storing, keep apples at about 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  They won’t stay crisp on the counter top for long.

·      When preparing, Protect cut apples from oxidation by dipping them into a solution of one part citrus juice and three parts water.

Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community is currently expanding the orchard into a permaculture food forest with over 40 varieties of perennial fruits and nuts. The community, located on 270 acres, features green-built homes with renewable energy, organic gardens and orchards, and a community center called Laughing Waters for retreats, community gatherings, and education events. 

For more information and directions to AppleFest visit  www.HickoryNutForest.com or www.LaughingWatersNC.com or call John Myers at (828) 712-4926.

Oyster Mushrooms - Yum!

After a patient year of periodically checking on a pile of logs, some fruits of our labor have appeared.  At Laughing Water last year we hosted a mushroom innoculation class with about 30 participants.  We used various species of trees from the Hickory Nut Forest eco-community land and innoculated them with edible mushroom "plugs."  These plugs contain the microrizae or "roots" of certain prized mushrooms including:  shiitake, lion's mane, oyster and chicken of the wood. 

After the heavy rains last week, oyster mushrooms have sprouted from the logs.  Tonight I prepared a delicious meal of them sauteed lightly with a pinch of salt.  So good!!!
I'm looking forward to these tasty treats for years to come.