07 June 2009

Independence Day #4, 5, and 6... Bad Erika...

1. Plant something: transplanted tomatoes, dragon peppers, jalapenos, and a curry plant. Round two of potatoes, soybeans, and arugala, round one of mung beans. See #7, Work on local food systems for more!

2. Harvest something: green onions, parsley, mint/oregano for drying, arugala, amaranth leaves, rosemary, lavender, thyme, basil, strawberries (MMMMM… note to self, plant MORE, MORE, MORE)

3. Preserve something: My first batch of Kombucha is coming right along… I’ve got a VERY thin layer of SCOBY forming! Still working on vanilla extract. First round of herbs hanging to dry.

4. Preparation and Storage: took Sharon’s questions from the other day and started answering them, explaining my goals, motivations, and dreams is really helpful; not to mention having a plan is the first step in getting it done! Working on Breakfast from storage. B found a great deal on bell peppers, so we chopped and froze them.

5. Cook something/Eat the Food: Had the last jar of cherry jam – it was really good, this coming from someone who doesn’t really like cherries! Found a great recipe (sorta) from the B’ham coop for using quinoa, carrots, and parsley. Batch cooking – beans, spaghetti sauce, rice, oats, etc. baked bread with freshly cut herbs…

6. Manage your reserves: Used some of the frozen produce in the freezer to make room for more/get it outta there… started dating everything that gets opened to get an idea on how much we use (especially on condiments like shoyu and katsup)

7. Work on local food systems: Planted plants that were destined for the compost (overgrown/not okay for sale) – nasturtiums, peas, two kinds of beans, etc. Planted peas, bush beans, and parsley with kiddos from the apartment complex I volunteer with – discussed basic techniques of cultivation w/them. Discussed other cultivation techniques with adults working on the project (e.g. Broccoli gets big – needs more than 4 inches of space…). Prepared area for bean-tipis, if more kiddos would have come to plant (only 3 out of 15-20 came!), the bean-tipis would have been in. Does it count if Grandma gave me jam – she’s not local, but I went down there, and it was local to her! Local milk (MMM, Golden Glen Creamery!) Pork chops, tomatoes and radishes from the Farmer’s Market, Oh, and we get eggs from B’s co-worker (OMG, I’ll forgo eggs before eating store-bought again!), lettuce from locally supplied (and locally owned) produce stand.

8. Reduce Waste: Acquired more jugs to use as planters… used paper bags from work that just held ground coffee once for produce, used my tumbler or didn’t get a drink @ work, **Gross alert** Jessi-Lou threw up the other day, and instead of using paper towels for the whole mess and the carpet cleaning, we just used them for the really icky parts, and then used rags (well washed afterwards, and sun-bleached) for the rest. **end Gross alert**

9. Learned a skill: still (slowly) working on Spanish... Learned three ways to eat radishes, learned to cook pork chops, and I am learning to treat “hot spots” without chemicals (and without Bag Balm).

My new category: 10. To Learn or Do or Find/Purchase List:
In no particular order and certainly never finished: Lehman’s (or similar) hand-wash agitator, get shoes repaired, find old tire parts to attempt to craft own shoes from, seek out affordable, sustainable diet for Jessi-Marie Wigglesnort…

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