Several people recently used the phrase, āliving the dreamā to describe what Vinny and I are doing here at our new land.Ā While personally I am hesitant to describe it that way exactly, the sentiment is appreciated.Ā It means that there may be something universally appealing about the āideaā of it anyways, at least for some people, and this encourages us to see that it becomes more and more ofĀ a reality.
We appreciate the encouragement, too, because right now when we walk outside and look around, things donāt feel very ādreamy.āĀ Itās muddy and messy.Ā There arenāt finished places for guests to stay in yet.Ā There are no bee hives, chickens, or goats to tend – all of which would be helpful to make a property even remotely self-sustainable. Ā Thereās not even a vegetable garden!
Except … a patch of horseradish.
Dreams Seeds
Despise not the day of small things, which are small beginnings.Ā Zechariah 4:10
It strikes me as funny, that of all things, there is a lush patch of horseradish flourishing here.Ā It stands out like an oasis in a desert. (Or a sore thumb, depending on your perspective, LOL).
At first, however, it wasnāt that funny.Ā I mean, really, horseradish?Ā Why couldnāt it be asparagus?Ā Or blueberry bushes?
As I thought about it more, however, I remembered that God creates everything with a purpose.Ā Even horseradish.Ā If this lowly vegetable, which was coming up every year on itās own, was something weāve been given to work with, then as good stewards of the land it is our priveledge to learn everything we can about horseradish, and like a ādream seedā – trust that something good will come of it.
So I dived in.
When the first snow came, I rushed out to this symbolic ādream seed patchā and dug up a bunch of surprisingly large, white tubers. All of the ābabiesā I left for next year.
Soon after I was whistling in the kitchen, preparing homemade sauce and packing them in small glass jars.Ā It was very easy to make, and much more delicious than store-bought.Ā We love the flavor it adds to mashed potatoes, and to sandwiches when mixed with mayonnaise.
Not only that – there is enough extra jars to be able to give as gifts for the holiday. :-)
Joy in the Journey
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step – Chinese proverb
I have to admit, sometimes I wish we bought land with some improvements already done on it.Ā We arenāt as young as we used to be, and it would be great to take some huge progressive leaps, instead of a lot of little steps.Ā But who really is a good judge of progress?Ā To an ant, one of our tiny steps is like a mile.Ā I just know that when I slowed down last week, and took the time to appreciate and harvest our horseradish patch (which I thought to be insignificant at first), a huge leap was made in my spirit.Ā It was like time stopped, and for those moments, āliving the dreamā was an enjoyable and satisfying reality.
So remember.Ā Take the time today to āstop, and smell your horseradishes.ā :-)
And your dreams may come true, too!
You and Vinny can do this I know you can . love and miss you giyd
:-)
Love what you’ve done with the place šš
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God always prepares for us what we need, even if its a mystery to us initially,God always uses His preparations for our good.Where we see work and labor ,Gods seeds are already planted, what He reaps through us we sow within His blessings. I see God making horshradishes which may seem like trash to some become treasure for others, beauty from ashes.t that is the gift that keeps on giving. What a great story of blessing and provision from our unfailing and quite humurous God, smell the horshradishes along the way Ha Ha, this story made me smile :)
Thank you for your comment, Cat. Thatās an interesting point you made, that āGodās seeds are already planted.ā Thereās some truth to that symbolically, in that Adam was put into a garden that was already there. He didnāt have to āmake things happen,ā other than the tending of something God already planted. Obviously in the case of the horseradish (to me), that rings true and is a great (and yes, humorous) reminder. :-)
Dear Pam & Vinnie,
Horseradishes are a symbol of Purification and Exorcism. Very Powerful plant medicine. So interesting ins’t it! So what is seeking to be purified right now? Getting deep into the gifts of this our Earth Ship. Sounds like your new plantation is like a clear clean whistle a Tabula Rasa ~ a blank canvass for you to paint any way you like. I am excited for you both. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Rich Blessings of Abundance, Energy to do what it is you are seeking to do on this special place, and Peace Profound. Catarina ~
What a beautiful blessing and wishes for good upon us, Catarina! And I am intrigued by that symbol for horseradishes! You have given me even more be aware and sensitive to. Thank you so much!
Hi Pam! I’m old enough I can remember dealing with hayfever without meds using a mixture of horseradish and honey – which per grandpa was a traditional german folk medicine. Simply mix fresh ground prepared horseradish with honey in a bottle and let it marinate/meld in the fridge for a several weeks. When sinus congestion or sore throat strikes, take a teaspoon of it and hold it in the roof of your mouth with your tongue as long as you can (15 minutes or so). The vapors clear and sooth the sinus, and juices coat and sooth the throat. After marinading, the horseradish isn’t so hot. Sorry I don’t know the mix ratio for it.
I planted it when we lived in rural IL in containers – 5 gallon buckets with the bottoms cut out – dug into our raised bed garden. It’s prolific and the buckets were supposed to keep it contained. Well, it didn’t. It went to 2′ deep, turned the corner around the buckets and began coming up as I recall even through the weed barrier cloth I had between the raised boxes. I dug it out to nearly 3′ deep, and still it came up. Round up just made it ‘burp’. Hit it with even stronger stuff, which made my red-bud tree 20′ away sick and still it came up. Finally just took to plucking up every shoot by hand and in 3 years finally eradicated it. Love growing the stuff, but it really needs to be in a place by itself – as it would have taken over the garden in time.
That I’m sure is a lesson – just how well it does on its own – it’s resistance to being dug up and eradicated because the roots run so deep. Yeshua’s ‘ekklesia’ is kind of like that – ‘called out’ (isolated) – hardy – needs no tending – reminds me of the scripture “how I wish you were either hot or cold – but because you are luke warm, ptooey!” Well, horseradish is definitely hot – in fact, in making it, the longer you leave it in ground state before adding the vinegar to stop the oxidation (?), the hotter it gets …
Man’s church is like – oh I don’t know – sweet peas. So so temperamental and fussy … miss watering them one day and they bake. In the natural world, it doesn’t rain every day – so sweet peas survive only by artificial rain (hand-watering). Parable about the wise and foolish virgins come to mind … running out of oil and all …
WOWWWW! I am tempted to take that whole comment and make a whole post out of it! That was incredibly fascinating and educational. I am going to try to make that horseradish and honey concoction, for sure! I did run across a recipe for fermented horseradish that was made with honey-water, left outside the fridge, that was supposed to be a power-house for the digestion. I am very curious what the plain horseradish and honey, marinating in the fridge will be like. I’ll let you know next year! (I think I harvested everything this year that I could). And as far as the resilent and spreading nature of the plant – wow. I heard that was true, too, but not to that degree! And, not with that spiritual insight behind it, too! It reminds me of leaven…which Jesus used in one GOOD sense, as to the Kingdom. It cannot be stopped, either. And finally your insight into it’s heat. Wow. You gave me so much to think about. Love it. Thank you so much!
Pam, I can understand where you are coming from. Jim and I have lived on our land in Fosters for four years now. There was a lot if times when I gazed over our land and only saw the many, many things that needed doing. Over the last few months God has opened my eyes to see the lush potential in whatcHe has provided for us. Keep seeing your land as the gift from God, and the many things that need doing won’t seem so unsurmountable.
I bet! Iāve seen your place twice now, and the second time there was such beautiful progress made on it. I can only imagine the next time I would see even more! :-)
Thank you so much for the encouragement. Send our love to Jim, too, from both Vinny & I.
Another friend wrote me by email…
Horseradish is such a great God medicine! It is anticancer, heals flu, tonsilitis, heals UTI’s, anit pathogenic fungi, heal respiratory disorders, heals danruff, treats joint discomfort, etc….. food is medicine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And he shared this link:
http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2009/11/horseradish-protection-against-cancer-and-more/page-01
Thank you Tim!
Probably the most fascinating thing this article above states, is that unlike it’s relatives: cabbage, brussel sprouts, mustard greens, etc. horseradish’s benefits does not lessen after preparation. It has a way of actually getting stronger and stronger. And it’s more concentrated, so anti-cancer affects can be received by consuming only a small amount.
More from Jack:
I’ve tried to find the recipe on line, but couldn’t. Helser clan emigrated from Germany, and my grandfather often used horseradish and honey for hayfever, as did my dad. Hayfever emerged for me about ’66 when I was 10. So bad that dad installed air conditioning in our house – very unusual for a Puget Sound (Seattle) area house back then and in summer I stayed inside during June and early July for the filtered air. My doctor hadn’t seen such allergies in someone my age, and was reluctant to prescribe any of the limited number of antihistimines / decongestants they had then. So all I could do was the horseradish and honey mixture – and a cool damp washcloth over my face for hours a day … some years were pretty miserable.
The #3 recipe at this link looks similar, but I don’t remember using lemon juice. And we let it ‘ferment’ longer than 24 hours.
http://preventdisease.com/news/14/031314_Horseradish-More-Effective-Pharma-Clear-Sinus-Infections-Mucus-From-Respiratory-Passages.shtml
My wife is a Keller, who also emigrated from Germany. One Thanksgiving, I made a cranberry-horseradish relish for supper, which was passed around the table and every one of them turned their noses up at it. What kind of Germans don’t like horseradish? When it got back to me, my brother-in-law’s mom who is more recently German enjoyed it with me mumbling something like “not real germans – them” ;^)
One of my nephews used to challenge me to eating hot peppers to see “who was the bigger man”. No one else in the family would eat them. One day I challenged him to a heaping teaspoon of fresh ground prepared horseradish and he woofed like a dog when the fumes hit his sinuses. Couldn’t spit it out or drink a glass of milk fast enough. Me? I chewed, swallowed and said “man, that’s good”. He never challenged me to eat a pepper again. ;^)
Here’s that cranberry relish recipe (from: http://www.foodwine.com/food/egg/egg1296/cranrlsh.html )
Cranberry and Horseradish Relish
by Judy McCann
Put one pound of washed raw cranberries through the food processor. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of horseradish, and one teaspoon of lemon juice. Put in a jar and cover or put it into a dish and cover it. Leave in refrigerator for a couple of days to mellow the flavor. Great with turkey or chicken.