Transylvanian Cheese Crackers

Recently we discovered Transylvanian Romanian Cave Cheese from Happy Farms at Aldi's, always up for trying something new we brought it home. After cracking open the package we found we loved this stinky cheese. It's similar to Asiago but bigger and bolder. After all, it's aged in a salt cave and soaked in red wine. Did we mention it's AMAZING? And Stinky. And altogether awesome. And what better way to put this cheese to good use? CHEESE CRACKERS of course!!! 

Related Articles: How To Make Your Own Pizza Rolls

1 cup of shredded Transylvanian Romanian Cave Cheese

1/4 of a cup of softened grass fed butter

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt (adjust to taste)

1 cup of organic all purpose flour 

2 tablespoons of ice water

Measure grate and measure your cheese. Place your softened butter and sea salt into a bowl and add the cheese and stir well until creamy. Next, you want to add your flour. Then, add your water slowly until it forms a nice ball. It takes a little bit for it to get into the ball so don't add too much and get mush. :)

Pat your dough down and refrigerate it for until nice and stiff (about an hour or so).

Preheat your oven now to 375 degrees F.

Remove from the refrigerator and roll out with your rolling pin until it is nice and thin. It needs to be about 1/8" thick.

Pat the dough into a disk and put in the fridge for an hour.

Then, roll out the dough until it’s 1/8 of an inch. When your dough is the right thickness cut them into 1" squares.  You can use a pizza wheel, a ravioli wheel, pastry wheel or knife to do this.

 Place them on your baking stone or cookie sheet and poke a hole in the middle with a skewer or chopstick end. 

Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove and let cool and then taste (often).

This article contains affiliate links. Affiliate links cost you nothing extra but help to support the Rosevine Cottage Girls so we can continue bringing you recipes, travel posts, garden and farm posts and so much more.

Tale As Old As Time

A tale as old as time.

Those lyrics are timeless, bringing back golden memories. For me they will always remind me of my grandmother, the voice of Mrs. Pots and my grandmothers will forever be superimposed in my mind.

A few months ago one of my Facebook friends was talking about how excited she was for Beauty and the Beast to come out. We share a mutual love of fairy tales, and as I was reading through the comments on the Facebook post she mentioned how she loved the Beast, that he reminded her of our lives before the love of Christ makes everything new. How beautiful illustration is that? And how true.

Without Bell in his life, pouring in unconditional, selfless love he would forever remain the beast that terrified the village. Without Christ's selfless unconditional love - sweeping away the pain and bitterness, chipping away the rough places- we too would remain imprisoned in dark fortresses of our own making.

Related Article: Shield Of Virtue Sword Of Truth - A Look At Sleeping Beauty

But when we open our hearts - surrendering our towers of pride to be torn down, and 'keeps' of bitterness to be washed clean, throwing wide the gates of our heart that it may be swept clean, to become a new creation. The dark languishing places, now filled with light and hope and Him.- and let in His love to make us new we are revealed as the creation we were always meant to be.

We must step into the shoes the storyteller has created, and embrace the story He is weaving or we will never realize the fullness of our story, or our "tale" It'll never be as amazing as it could have been, so open your heart. Ask Him in. Throw wide the gates, let Him come like a cleansing rain and make you new.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Beautiful Autumn Farmhouse Pillows

Fall is here! And our southern weather has finally caught up with the time of year. The leaves are changing to beautiful scarlet and oranges shades, a wildfire of shades that make you want to take a walk just to take them in. 

We thought we would share our favorite autumn farmhouse pillows with you, I can't wait to get some of these on our couch!

 Autumn Chill Is In Air

 Happy Fall

 Crunchy Leaves, Cozy Sweaters, Bonfires. It's Fall!

The Autumn Leaves

The Falling Leaves

 Amore

 Bella Vita - Beautiful Life

Home Sweet Farmhouse

Home Sweet Home

Life Is Beautiful At The Cottage

Give Thanks

Good Morning Pumpkin!

Capharnaum – Jesus’s Headquarters | Holy Land Tour

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulum and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned’ “Matthew 4:12-23 NKJV

Every day I am excited about the upcoming journey and filled with anticipation. This is especially true around Galilee where Jesus and His disciples spent so much of their time. Today was no exception. Eric, my son, always gets up early to find coffee, call his family, and walk, explore or talk to people. It takes me longer to get it together in the morning, but I do make it down in time to partake of the wonderful breakfast buffet and onto the outdoor patio overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee. Each morning it seems I’m sitting with a different party from our group, often those traveling on a different bus. It was so wonderful meeting other believers who are on this journey with us.

Every day of our journey we have visited multiple sites and this day was no exception. I’ve been sharing them as separate adventures in an effort to keep them short. However, there is so much to share about each and I’ve not always accomplished the short goal I know. One of the stops today was Capernaum -called Jesus headquarters. Who wouldn’t be excited about that stop!

Synagogue

Capernaum is located at the north corner of the Sea of Galilee and really not very far from our hotel. Just around the lake a bit. This is the town where Jesus began His ministry and where He spent most of His time during His earthly ministry. WOW! Besides calling this Jesus’s headquarters others just call it Jesus’s town. Why Capernaum? The name means village of Nahum (and Nahum means comforter – so Village of the Comforter. A perfect name for someplace Jesus would call home. Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would come here 700 years before it happened. Not by the city name but he gave 4 indications of where it would be. Mathew refers to Isaiah and specifically, he is referring to Isaiah 9:1 -both verses quoted at the beginning of this piece.

Villiage Ruins 

Again, why here? Besides the name, this wasn’t too far from His hometown of Nazareth, which could be another one of the reasons. Perhaps again, because this is where His disciples lived. Fisherman Peter, Andrew, John and James lived here as did the tax collector, Matthew all of whom became Jesus’s disciples’.

“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Mathew 9:9

Finally, why Capernaum? Because Jesus is God and He came not to abolish the old testament, nor the law, but to fulfill it.

Peter's House

A priority to Jesus was to teach in the local synagogue of every town He entered.

“And they went into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught” Mark 1:21

This synagogue logically would have been the one He frequented most often because He lived there. Unfortunately, there are only partial remains of the original synagogue where Jesus taught. A larger Roman synagogue was built on top of the original. This one also now in ruins, with the exception of the foundation and columns (see pictures). We stood among the ruins on that hot day, trying to imagine what it would have looked like during that time. The newer ruins were constructed of white limestone. The older local black basalt so you could tell the difference.

The overall ruins of the village consisted of about 1/3 of the town that would have existed back then. It is estimated that there would have been about 1500 people living there. Surrounding the synagogue, you could see more of the black basalt stones, remnants of what were once homes and perhaps businesses where real people worked and lived just like us albeit more rustically.

The really cool part of this site is that we saw Peter’s house! It was built in a circle and we were able to walk up to the perimeter, touch the rocks, peek inside. The Greek Orthodox constructed a church on the rock- like stilts above the house to protect the site. It’s not like there is so much to see inside the house and really you have to use your imagination of where they would have slept or eaten or just hung out together. But come on, it is PETER’s house where Jesus and the other disciples spent a lot of time and it was here Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Awesome! (refer to Luke 4:38-40)

There were many very “religious” Jews living in Capernaum. In fact, we’re told they were shackled with religion to the point they couldn’t see the truth that was living with them. So sad! ½ of the recorded miracles and works were done in this town and nearby area. Jesus didn’t turn one person away who needed healing. Crowds followed Him hoping to be healed or witness a miracle. But Jesus wasn’t there to heal temporarily –we all die, 100% of us. Rather, Jesus came to heal us forever! He came to show that He had the authority over life and death. He is the comforter and healer IF you CHOOSE to allow Him to be. Tragically people in His own town chose the temporary healing or wanted to see the healing like a circus show. They rejected the Healer and the eternal healing just as those in Nazareth had done. The people that actually followed Jesus as Lord, were from the other side of the Sea from the Decapolis area. This is the saddest thing ever! To be living with Jesus -right in front of your face and miss the healing that allows you to live in Heaven FOREVER and to live a new, better life here on this earth for the time we have left. It is also why Jesus consigned both Capernaum and Nazareth to one of the deeper regions of hell for rejecting Him when they had the most exposure to the truth. He came to open the eyes of the blind to see eternity. Sadly, most in Capernaum chose to see only the earthly.

“And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades “Luke 10:15

This week, I saw a documentary film that Pastor Greg Laurie had made on the Life of Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen was a famous and very successful actor, but he had a horrible, abusive childhood. He lived most of his life angry and bitter. Whether he was poor, homeless and running the streets or living the life of the rich and famous, he was not fulfilled and the demons from his youth were with him. That is until he met Jesus. He then saw THE Light. His blinded eyes were opened by the truth of love and grace. He finally found peace. He contracted cancer soon afterward and died at the young age of 50. He said his one regret was that he wasn’t able to tell everyone about how Jesus had transformed and healed his broken soul. 25+ years later, Greg Laurie, who also had a heartbreaking childhood, heard Steve’s story, and it resonated with him. Greg felt compelled to make this documentary allowing Steve’s regret to be fulfilled so many years later. God has a plan and has a miraculous way of fulfilling His purpose
.

Both Steve and Greg’s eyes were opened to eternity. Steve is now in heaven totally healed, Greg still here on earth leading I don’t know how many thousands to true healing including my own pastor, Jack Hibbs.

How about you? I pray you too will accept healing of the soul that has eternal rewards.

Shalom!

Debbie

Debbie lives in Southern California with her husband Doug and her children and grandchildren.

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Miss an installment? Find them here.

Mrs. Cottage's Amazing Dressing Recipe

There is something wonderful about dressing. It is filling, satisfying, cozy and delicious. This recipe is made with sweet apples, raisins and sometimes dried cranberries.  It has ribbons of carrot shreds in it and just a dash of sweet wine or white grape juice. This has been part of our Cottage Thanksgiving for many many years now and never fails to satisfy.

What is in your traditional stuff or dressing for your turkey?

Ingredients:

8 Cups Organic Fresh Bread Cubes (she bakes bread slices and cubes them and toasts them in the oven) 

1 Onion

1/4 Cup Carrots (grated)

1-2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Apple (chopped)

1/2 Cup Turkey, Bone or Chicken Broth 

2 Egg whites (beaten)

1/8 - 1/4 Cup Raisins can use cranberries too

1/8 of a Teaspoon Sage (We usually use fresh pineapple sage but you can use 1/4 of Teaspoon dried sage)

1-2 Cloves Garlic (chopped very small)

1 Cup White Grape Juice (you can use wine if you want)

Garlic powder 

Onion powder

Salt 

Pepper (optional)

Directions:

Saute' the vegetables until very tender. Set it to the side off the heat. In a bowl mix the bread, raisins, apples and your sage. Stir together and add seasons to taste. Add your vegetables, grape juice, stock, and egg whites stir it together place in a covered casserole pan bake 40-45 minutes at 350F

What is in your favorite dressing? Do you stuff your bird or serve it on the side?

Leave a comment below or just stop and say hello! We love to hear from you!

Where Are Your Accusers? There Is No One There

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” John 8:10 NIV

She'd been dragged before Him, a test. She knew her guilt, knew their accusations were true. She was everything they said- can you imagine her reaction to those words? As she looked around- and found, no one. Her accusers had all left, disappeared convicted of their own blemishes, their own sins glaring and unignorable leaving her at her Savior's feet.

“No one, sir,” she said. John 8:11a NIV

  The voices of accusation, rejection, and condemnation all were silenced, in His presence. Every sin marked in bold, all the masks ripped away to show the dirt beneath, the things they tried so hard to hide.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11 NIV

 Six words, twenty-four letters, with those words he wiped it all away, swept it clean - removed the bruised, worn, broken places- and set her free.

Related articles: My Alabaster Jar

People are quick to judge, the slightest hint of a blemish and they gather like hungry vultures. They draw up battle lines and prepare to destroy - all in the name of the preserved blight, never mind mercy, never mind whether it's true or not. He knew her sins, knew her guilt in bold brush strokes nothing was hidden from him. He saw every tear, every choice, every place she had fallen, every alley she'd stumbled through- but He also saw theirs.

As they stood their stones of judgment clutched tightly in their hands, they came face to face with their own sin, the spots they hadn't turned over to Him. They saw just how dirty their own hands were. They became uncomfortably aware that they were just like this woman, their whitewashed lives were filled with just as much dirt and grime.

There is one striking difference between them though, the woman they had brought to stone and their Instagram fake lives. When the others found their reflection, they left. The rocks ready to be thrown in judgment now abandoned. And so she found herself at her Savior's feet, not accused, not condemned - But met by grace and mercy.

Forget the world, your would be accusers and fall at your Savior's feet. Fall into His grace and mercy, let Him wipe it all away, sweep clean your slate, remove the bruised and broken places and set you free. Let Him close the chapter with Himself, and open a fresh page. A new beginning.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Where We Belong Book Review

Peel back the cover and fall into the Sinai Desert, feel the sand beat against your tent, the growl of the camels and accents of there drivers. Journey through the Rebecca and Flora's past, from Chicago to Paris, on ships and trains, then on to the Holy Land. Feel the roll of the ship, the vibration of the horse's hooves, and the sway of the camel the sun beating on your head as you sail down the Nile, explore the pyramids and trek across the Sinai Desert as they seek their purpose in His story.

Jump into a wonderful adventure, and find yourselves in the characters and struggles.

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Open the cover and fall into the Sinai Desert, feel the sand beneath your feet, the sun beating down on your head, the sway of the camel. Step fully into the past as you become friends with Flora and Rebecca and journey with them from Chicago to the holy land. This is a wonderful book of sisters, friendship, and adventure that draws you along with the sisters as they seek for their purpose. Received this book from the publisher.

View all my reviews

This article contains affiliate links. Affiliate links cost you nothing extra but help to support the Rosevine Cottage Girls so we can continue bringing you recipes, travel posts, garden and farm posts and so much more. Received this book from the publisher for our honest review.

Victims Of Fascism Memorial

This beautiful memorial was built to remember those who were persecuted and lost there lives for political, religious and racist reasons.

The monument is flanked by two figures, the one on the left symbolizes hope and points to a brighter future. A new beginning and learning from history. The second figure on the right mourns for the victims of the National Socialism. The forced laborers, the resistance fighters and the persecuted. Over the gate is carved "The Annihilated 1933-1945 The living ones I call- the dead I lament."

Related Post: Dachau Concentration Camp 


Once you enter the memorial you find another inscription "Soul does not forget it, the soul does not forget the dead".

The Dorenkranz represents the crown of thorns upon Jesus's head when He was crucified. The long pointed thorns stand as a reminder of how the National Socialists destroyed people, cultures, and religions bu war, condemnation, extermination camps, forced labor camps and by the Gestapo.

Related Post: Löwenburg Castle - Kassel, Germany 

As a crown of thorns pierces the head of the one who wears it, perhaps it points to the propaganda which influenced. Perhaps it represents punishment and consequences, even the crucifixion we see through a wreath of thorns.


Related Post: Wilhelmshöhe Palace Museum Kassel Germany 

Apple Hand Pies Recipe

Who doesn't like pie? Especially fun hand ones! These are perfect for get-togethers like bonfires on crisp fall nights and Thanksgiving parties- or just because. Flaky crust gives way to sweet apples and cinnamon. These are super tasty treats! 

Crust Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Organic Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Salt 

1/3 Cups Grass-fed Butter

3-4 Tablespoons Cold Water 

In a medium size, bowl place your flour and salt. Stir and add half of your butter and cut in. Add water and stir. Slice the other half of the butter into thin slices and knead into dough. Place in the fridge so the butter can harden.

Related Article: Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Filling:

4 apples
Organic sugar
Organic cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon grass-fed butter per hand pie
Lemon juice

Roll dough to the size of a canning jar ring. Place canning lid upside down in the ring, place dough over the lid. Pile apples into the center of the dough, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add just a touch of butter and lemon juice.

Related Article: Apple Crumble Cake

To Finish:

Roll dough out and cut it a bit larger than your ring. Slit the center of the dough and place over the apples. Brush crust with egg whites. Using a fork pinch the edges of the crust together. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until apples are soft.

This article contains affiliate links. Affiliate links cost you nothing extra but help to support the Rosevine Cottage Girls so we can continue bringing you recipes, travel posts, garden and farm posts and so much more.

My Alabaster Jar

While He was in Bethany [as a guest] at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster vial of very costly and precious perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head. Mark 14:3 AMP

The gift, the offering from weary, battered hands. World imposed labels emblazoned across her skin, sinful, broken, worthless, dirty, used up, trash.

But there were some who were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii [a laborer’s wages for almost a year], and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. Mark 14: 4-5 AMP

Derision, she'd come; with her most valuable possession - costly perfume -, once the narrow neck was broken there would be no going back. All would be laid bare, open- no going back, no stopping it back up, this was her all. Her sacrifice and those near were angry, angry she had taken her alabaster - a precious stone, filled with expensive perfume- and surrendered it to her King.

But she wasn't there for them, to show them she was trying to change or impress them- she was there to surrender to her Lord, to leave everything at his feet. To pour out her all, like so many women in scripture she was used up, the sweet smell covering the jar's broken neck, the brokenness in her heart. But with the breaking of that jar, she was coming face to face with her hurt, her broken cracked places and surrendering them to Him.

There is a practice called Kintsukuro (golden repair) or Kintsugi (golden joinery), it is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. It treats the breaks, and cracks and repair as part of the pottery's history. Making the broken piece whole again, revealing its worn places in a unique and beautiful way rather than disguise it as the same piece it was before it was broken.

Related Article: Standing Empty

We all have reached our breaking point, we try to cover those places -make them invisible, and unnoticeable. But God takes our broken lives, collecting all of the battered, worn and chipped pieces fitting them back together and filling the cracks with Himself turning the broken places into a beautiful story of His love.

Ultimate beautiful surrender, nothing held back, nothing hidden or disguised. Not restored, but recreated into something beautiful and unique. What is your alabaster jar? What are you holding back, that needs to be surrendered at His feet?

If from the 2015 edition:

"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. www.Lockman.org"

If from the 1987 edition:

"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC),
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. www.Lockman.org"