FAITHFUL FOOD: Harvesting joy, hope, and peace

Harvesting joy, hope, and peace

“ The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters will never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

In March when the shelter in place order was given by our governor I, like many, had no idea what it would hold. Some people asked me if I thought this was the “end of the world”. While I briskly replied “no, of course not” I wondered how life would look on the other side of this situation.

In the meantime…I cleaned, purged, dusted, moved furniture, and drank more coffee than normal. And that was just the first week!

After tackling the immediate (and aforementioned) “inside” projects I found myself standing in my backyard wondering about planting a few tomatoes. I had not gardened with any degree of seriousness and intention in many years. I had the remains of an herb garden consisting of out of control lemon balm and a steady ever-widening clump of chives along with the ghost of what had been. I am a bibliophile-a fancy justification for eating canned beans and spending as much of the grocery money that I could get away with at the bookstore which I have happily done for decades. As a result, I had many books on gardening but was surprised when I discovered the notable absence of any actual garden tools. I had read about gardening and never got around to it. I shied away from the prophetic nature of this realization which like most all prophecies was unwelcome and resolutely ignored.

Once I began I still haven’t stopped. I found something holy about digging, weeding, sweating, and pushing a seed into the dirt, offering a prayer it would sprout. There was something sacred about rising earlier than I had in years and slipping my feet into my rubber boots and checking on the garden. I breathed deeply, I found myself smiling, drinking in the unexpected view of life, and I prayed from my heart, unabashedly, openly, and intimately. This was different from anything I had experienced and the gratitude along with the space in my life I afforded God grew and ripened along with the tomatoes and eggplants, the herbs, and the cucumbers. My efforts extended to beauty as well as practicality; a once neglected space has become a prayer garden, a space to stop and consider the God of life, an offering to our creator.

In this holy space, both interior and exterior, I have mourned the loss of a childhood friend, prayed for both friends and strangers, praised the heavens for the safe birth of my grandson who was born during the height of the pandemic, I have prayed with the saints, and warbled my grandmother’s favorite hymn “In the Garden”. I have followed God’s lead with a light spirit and surer footing than I have ever known.

I have plans, big plans for a fall garden. There are scarecrows in the making along with space for fall flowers. I am sending videos to my grandchildren chronicling the growth of the pumpkins I planted for their October jack-o-lanterns. I am planning for a greenhouse. In this space, I have harvested joy, hope, and peace.

I am walking in Eden.

Kim Long DRE, St. Mary of the Pines Church

EGGPLANT DRESSING

In the lean years of my life when my children were young and there was very little grocery money (none of which could be siphoned for books either!), my friends and I tended to call anything stretched with breadcrumbs, rice, and cheese “dressing”. Here is a staple which appeared in the summertime when gardens were productive and imaginative cooking shaped itself to that end.

1 eggplant 1 chopped onion ½ bell pepper 3 stalks celery 1 pound ground beef or turkey ½ cup rice 1 can stewed tomatoes Chicken broth (or your favorite) Breadcrumbs Cheese (grated, your favorite)

Slice eggplant into rounds, place on a plate covered with paper towels and salt to draw out any bitter taste-about 15 to 20 minutes. During this time brown meat with chopped vegetables, salt, and pepper. Crumble meat into small pieces. Add tomatoes and continue cooking.

In a buttered casserole dish layer eggplant, meat, rice, breadcrumbs, and top with cheese. Add about half the broth. Cover with foil and bake at 350 until rice is tender. Check after 20 minutes and if needed add more broth.

Enjoy with salad and iced tea for a summertime treat.