A tribute to Carla Bartolucci

Today I felt led to write a blog post in tribute to a woman though I never met personally (only through a few emails) who has deeply impacted my life. Carla Bartolucci co-founder of Jovial foods left this earth on Saturday May 22, 2021. According to their Facebook page her death was the result of a brief illness. She died according to their post surrounded by her family. The pain being felt in the loss is immense I am sure having lost a child in miscarriage, my own mother, father, father-in-law, two sisters not to mention two brother-in-laws in the span of my lifetime. All 61 years of it. Her death will be felt for years to come. Our prayer is the God of all comfort will comfort their hearts.

Einkorn is an ancient grain of wheat, and about 6 years ago or so I discovered this wheat for the first time. Now anyone who has baked with einkorn knows that this is no conventional wheat. I consider myself an experienced baker but einkorn certainly humbled me to novice status for sure. At the time there were limited recipes or even worthwhile cookbooks dedicated to this wheat variety. Shanna & Tim Mallon published their cookbook Einkorn in 2015. I immediately purchased it and began baking my way through. My research continued and I came across Carla’s book Einkorn also published in 2015 so again I ordered it immediately and received a signed copy which is a blessing to this day. Carla and her family have really taught me so much about how great einkorn is and how to make some absolutely fabulous food using this ancient wheat. Today I bake almost exclusively with einkorn, there are rare occassions when einkorn just won’t work but these times are rare indeed. Jovial Foods is my number one source for organic All-purpose Einkorn flour. Throughout the corona virus plague Jovial did their best to get their products to America. Italy was hard hit and their country suffered greatly as did ours. Einkorn AP was in short supply but thank the Lord that American growers of organic einkorn were there to rescue me! I was deeply indebted to their hardwork and products. I bake the majority of time for others. So I had to get creative and from the teaching of Carla and the proper way to handle einkorn I was able to keep making delicious products for my customers.

So I end this post with a heartfelt “thank you” to the Bartolucci family. Your loss is great and we feel it to and we trust that the God of all comfort comforts your hearts deeply and grants grace to continue on. Guilia you will do well following the path your mother walked before you. Do not lose your focus and remember that life is worth it.

Elizabeth

Summer is on the horizon....

Greetings farm followers! Spring has run over me it seems and Summer is just over the horizon. Temperatures are heating up fast here in the Upstate of SC. In the high 80’s today and we are expecting 90’s and above over the next few days. Thankfully we have most of our late Spring/early Summer veggies in now. My husband Farmer Craig was kind enough to build for me three garden boxes before lumber prices went through the roof. I am so thankful for those boxes, less bending for me which is a great help. We used a great deal of our compost that we have made over the last few years. Also gave our Suburban Farmer daughter Ashley enough to fill two large boxes that her husband built her. Her total is now five boxes filled with nice organic veggies. My grandchildren will have lots of fresh produce from their own gardens very soon. Their momma does a great job finding organic produce from places like Misfit Market to make sure they get what they need to grow strong and healthy till they have produce of their own.

We are continuing on with our plans to renovate this old place to receive paying guests in the future. We are gathering supplies so we can tackle many of the jobs ourselves. The more difficult jobs we will hire our neighbors who are professional carpenters, builders and the like. Hopefully soon we will have the supplies bought and ready to be put into use. We have sold Zoe our heifer and are still awaiting the call for our Oberhasli goats and Awassi sheep. We have our names on the waiting lists of the farms who raise these lovely breeds of animals so we are trying to be patient. God’s timing is everything you know.

We were notified by the Breeder of whom we are hoping to purchase two Corgi herding dogs from. We are making our way up the list and Lord willing now we are anywhere from 2-6 months out. Exciting times. We have added three new rare breeds of chickens to the farm. Lavender Wyandottes, Cream Legbars and a German breed called Bielefelders. Lord willing we hope to be able to offer either fertile eggs for hatching or baby chicks from these birds in late Fall. We purchased these chicks from a farm that imports these rare breeds from the Countries of origin. They have been in business for sometime and have an impeccable reputation. The birds are quite expensive but their rarity makes the cost tolerable when we factor in saving these breeds.

My baking clientele seem to be rising in number. Many folks more interested in eating sourdough bread these days. Einkorn makes an exceptional loaf of delicious and crusty bread as well as many other bread products. Our pitas and tortillas are joining the ranks of some of the more popular items as well. However, the most popular item I sell is our Sourdough Sandwich bread. I probably make 20-30 loaves of this bread per month. And considering I am a small Cottage Baker baking from my home kitchen that is pretty exceptional I think. God continues to bless this little endeavor.

Well farm followers thank you for reading my little blog post. Please let us know how you all are fairing in these difficult times. We do thank God for each of you and trust He is your strong tower as well.

Elizabeth

Welcome 2021 Didaskalos Farm Vacation Destination!

Greetings farm followers! Now that the previous year 2020 being firmly behind us I have been so encouraged by God that 2021 is not without hope. Though my heart grieves terribly for the condition of our country God has not called His people to give in to self pity nor defeat. Some days I would like to just draw the covers over my head and stay in that warm place forever. However, God has placed us here and His purposes are not always ours. My husband and I have been praying very specifically this last year about a possible different direction for our family farm. You see the Lord brought us here to this big old 7 bedroom, 3 bathroom historic home measuring in size to be about 5000 sq. ft. about 7 years ago. With all of our children grown and none at home I could not imagine why such a big house Lord? At the time of purchase I made inquiry with the Zoning folks over in Abbeville and was given a description of how we could use this home and property within its zoning category. A bit frustrated at the time I thought OK “wow just gear yourself up to begin really putting the talents you have been blessed with to teaching and empowering others” easier said then done! If you know me that is! :-) Nevertheless the years have past and here we are. I have grown much here in 7 years (at least I think so) and now having leaped over my fifth decade of life I am officially into decade #6. Actually I am now “61” years young to be precise! We are excited to be gearing up to truly do what God has called us to do in this place.

So without further ado by the providence of our mighty God we will start entertaining paying Guests to come and learn here and lodge on this farm Lord willing by mid Summer. The County Planner has made it his mission to change the wording of the current regulation governing Bed & Breakfast businesses in the county. Sadly many of us are excluded from participation simply because they are not located within the City limits of Abbeville proper. This county has many, many beautiful large historic homes that could easily be brought up to necessary code requirements and offer some real revenue back into our small communities. These wonderful old homes are valuable and many of these fine places are in areas with very limited commerce. So hopefully we can start a trend. Till the regulations are completely updated we will operate as a teaching farm lodging guests. Afterall, Didaskalos does mean “teacher” in Greek. We will build a profile on https://farmstayus.com/ and trust that those who decide to come here will learn all that they can and totally come away with a life changing experience. Every single person in this world is born with a value given by God. Whether you are a religious person or not you matter. Come let us show you that you have something to offer other folks in this world. Let us work together and share our common bonds rather than being destructive and negative tearing down one another. Life is meaningful when we realize we do have VALUE! Come, let us pour into you and together we can make the world a better place full of hope and kindness. As we make progress we will update you all.

Faith Building in Turbulent Times

Greetings farm followers! DIDASKALOS: The Greek word for Teacher, a Master Teacher to be specific, someone knowledgeable to teach. Very powerful word in English and we take this word seriously since God bestowed this name upon 7 years ago when we moved here to SC and to this home. Though we have not arrived to the place to be called true “masters” ourselves we follow The Master. So as 2021 begins we will assert once again that this is a TEACHING farm. We teach many things on this farm. Our hope and faith is in the Word of God and we call ourselves “Christians” humbly but all are welcome here and we allow open expression without violence nor profane behavior.

Sadly we recognize the changes coming upon our beloved country. God has truly blessed our nation in its long history for sure. However, that is about to change very rapidly and very sadly. Nevertheless God is still on the Throne and thankfully He directs the world not puny tyrants. God gave our family the privilege of being born in this once great country. I weep for where she is now and the senseless pain that will come as we slide further down the path of total godlessness. We are ALL created in God’s image and no matter where you are and what you think or believe that fact will not change. I respect your humanity but that being said I do not respect your godless attitude nor behavior. God reminds me that PERFECT LOVE drives out fear and His love is perfect therefore I do not fear what man can do. Heaven is our home and when and how we go there is God’s decision. We are a peace loving family and we heed God’s word in His blessings to all godly Peacemakers. We are Americans protected by our Constitution and we believe in ALL of it.

2021 will bring many changes here on this farm. We are moving in another direction with our animals. Currently we raise Gulf Coast sheep, mini/mid Jersey cows, Narragansette and Beltsville Small White turkeys, Silver Appleyard ducks and several varieties of chickens. We have one surviving organic bee hive. Many of the wonderful animals we raise are endangered breeds. We still believe in that mission and we will take it in just a slight different direction. Lord willing we will be adding two new variety of chickens (maybe three) :-). some Oberhasli goats, Awassi/Asaaf sheep and hopefully be making organic sheep and goat’s milk feta for the select few in the years to come. We have decided to scale down the size of our milking animals simply because we are aging and the necessary help sometimes is in short supply. We do not feel called to give up our endeavors so we will just scale down a bit. We are selling some of our precious animals so inquire if you like. Only experienced folks need inquire. We take our livestock seriously and we do not want to place them in unsafe situations. Neither do we want to see people fail. We are willing mentors but foundational principles and practice must be understood and practiced.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen …Hebrews 11:1 But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him…Hebrews 1:6

So I end this blog post full of faith in God that He will be that Strongtower for us and that He will finish what He started here on Didaskalos Farm.

Happy New Year 2021!

Happy New Year all you farm followers! Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for our family this year. We made it through 2020 and we praise God for it. We are looking forward to blazing new paths. God has blessed our family so very much and we are extremely thankful for all the privileges He grants to His children. We have two grandchildren that will be 15 this year! Wow!! That just amazes me. We already have a 21 year old grandson but now two are catching up with him it seems. Our youngest will celebrate her first birthday this month as well. God is so very good to us here on Didaskalos Farm.

As the dawn of the New Year rises I am filled with such hope and joy. Seasons come and everything changes but God is constant and that is what I base hope upon. I look to Him to open new doors, to stretch myself spiritually and fulfill every purpose He has called me for. Pray for us especially as we continue to pour out our hearts to impact this world for Jesus Christ. Each gift He gives is needful and I trust mine will be tested beyond my limits thus proving once again that ALL is done by the GRACE of God for His glory and our good! Excitement fills my heart as we trust each day that God will bring good things to us.

My goal this year is to expand my sphere of influence to all the einkorn bakers I come across. I will be offering some classes both here on the farm and by Webinar. Cost will be reasonably priced as I know tough times have come upon many. Also as our farm endeavors grow I will also offer on farm classes as well as webinars in daily farming life that can be very beneficial to newbies. We have learned much since 2003 when we began our farming journey. All the courses I teach come with lifetime (mine) support. Also looking forward to expanding my customer base. We enjoyed a successful Gingerbread baking class and also sold a few organic Gingerbread kits that we received wonderful positive feedback on. Will be expanding my holiday baking classes this year. Time to ramp up my little cottage to be able to offer more classes over there. I do use the historic building but not nearly enough. I also have had some requests for another Cheese Making class which I am considering. Though we have no fluid milk of our own right now I have been ordering wonderful milk from Azure Standard that is just like mine. Lord willing next year we will have several varieties of milk available again.

Well I have rambled long enough! Thank you all for loving us, praying for us and most of all being in our lives! We appreciate every single one of you and remember God is real and He cares! Happy New Year!