Garden plans get scaled down, too

I had planned a larger garden this year. The plan included pole beans, chard, four kinds of lettuce, peas, bell peppers, tatsoi and tulsi for tea. Instead, I re-upped for the vegetable CSA and scaled the garden down to two kinds of lettuce. Lettuce is something we eat daily that isn't available through our CSA.

Our farmer has loads and loads of kale, especially in the early months of deliveries. We love kale, and most of it gets used. At the end of the season last fall, I had two batches of kale cooked and frozen. Both were used within a couple months. He also has tomatoes in great supply. There were a few strawberries last year, but not nearly enough.

I got the lettuce planted today. I have two kinds: salad bowl and black seeded Simpson. Both should do well in our warmer weather, and both should be good for cut-and-come again, which is how we use our lettuce more often than not.

I plan to start some bell peppers in the Aerogarden, and perhaps some strawberries to take outside later in the season. Once the bells and berries get a good start and I move them to the garden, I'll put some lettuce in the Aerogarden to feed to the guinea pigs. They love leafy greens, but go through a pound a week. My little garden can't keep up with that demand on top of ours.

While I was at the home center yesterday, I picked up some easy-to-grow annual flower seeds for the kids. Our yard is starting to look pretty ratty and I'm not convinced the decorative (?) grass will be back this year. I'd like to dig it up and plant ornamental edibles. But for now, we've planned some simple seedings for summer.

Unless I invest in soil, I have one more pot available for planting. I'd like to grow something for tea. Mint is always good, especially in a pot where it can be controlled. I like the health benefits of tulsi. I had considered stevia, but I hear it can be difficult to grow outdoors. Maybe that's a better Aerogarden plant.

100-yard challenge

I'd heard about the 100-mile challenge: eat only what grows within 100 miles of where you eat it. But I'd never heard of the 100-yard challenge until today. Our Homeowner's Association prevents us from putting in a full backyard garden like I've always dreamed of doing, and my physical state would not allow me much participation in its upkeep, but I think the idea of a Victory Garden is worthy of consideration. The challenge is not a commitment to eat three meals a day, seven days a week from one's own garden, only one meal a week. I could eat fresh tomatoes and tea made from the mint on my patio for lunch one day a week, easily.

One of my greatest challenges in life is moderation. I am a very black-and-white, all-or-nothing kind of thinker. I don't want a small patio garden, I want to plant my whole backyard in edibles. I don't want to agree to one meal once a week, I want to go all out. I don't want to "just" grind my own wheat and bake bread at home, I want to build my own house and get off the grid.

That is just SO not happening.

And I realize it. But I have to maintain my attitude that every bite of local food on my table improves my overall health, the health of my family, the economics of my city, the ecosystem, the farmer that grew it, and the world in general. I have limitations (and a man's got to know those, per Clint) of time, finances, pain and endurance, which dictate much of my life. I'd love to embark on a utopian dream of self-sustainability, but the inevitable setbacks and failure would dash my hopes and embitter my heart. The phrase "start small" has little meaning to me, but I'm working on it!

Last night's dinner was yummy.

That's locally grown broccoli, steamed just past raw. I love the leaves, they are richer in nutrients than the florets and don't make a mess between my teeth. The stems were so tender that they didn't even need peeling. This local variety was very delicately flavored, without the strong sulfuric flavor and odor of grocery store broccoli. Hm. I wonder if the sulfuric odor comes from travel and increased storage time.

The entree was storebought black beans and corn, cilantro from my patio garden, locally grown red bell pepper and green onions mixed in with storebought couscous. I made a bit of dressing with olive oil, lime, red wine vinegar and cumin, but what really boosted the taste was the spoonful of salsa on top. It was so good I had some more for breakfast!

I have an ice cream maker that has been run daily for the last couple weeks. It's not the old fashioned crank with ice and salt kind I used as a kid, but the kind with the tub that lives in the freezer until it hooks up to the electric base on the counter. I love it. Not only have we made fresh fruit sorbets, but we used it to quick-chill some lemonade when unexpected guests dropped by.

Last night, though, I used it to make the most wonderful ice cream. I got a vanilla custard going on the stove with local half and half and local whipping cream while I beat the yolks of some local eggs with sugar. I whisked it all together and warmed it until it got thick like a thin pudding, then refrigerated it until late afternoon. Before I started dinner, I put the custard cream into the frozen tub and started the motor. Rose chopped some local cherries (where did the cherry pitter go?) and I located some organic chocolate chips that we added when the ice cream was soft-serve consistency. I could NOT wait for the ice cream to harden in the freezer, so we ate it soft and creamy after dinner. It was marvelous. It was so rich and full of flavor that four tiny ounces really was a full serving! (I always laugh at the serving sizes on cartons of Ben and Jerry's. Yeah, like I'm really going to stop after four ounces.) Next time, I need to either find some miniature chips or give them a chop before adding them. They were just about twice as large as they needed to be.

The tomatoes, the silence, the new venture

My cherry tomato plants outgrew the Aerogarden this week and I couldn't bare to prune them as much as they would need to be to keep the tiny, compact size needed to fit in the machine. So, I transplanted them (or Blair did, under my instruction) into the Earthbox outside. She used twine to tie them to the fence for a little support, and they are doing quite well. I expect the first harvest in a week or so. I do intend to prune them as vigorously as needed, when they get to about two feet in height. But one foot tall just seemed a bit soon. They'll have loads of room in the Earthbox to grow and augment my salads to their hearts' content.



Haven't been posting much. Haven't been doing much at all. My knees have gotten to a point where if I bend at the waist I hurt myself. Imagine being a mom and not being able to bend at the waist. No picking up stuff off the floor, and cooking and laundry folding must be done from a sitting position. I did the grocery shopping today and every step was daggers in my knee. It didn't help that my sciatica on the other side was acting up, or that the bulging disk in my neck was sending a nerve headache to my head. I don't do pain well, which is a shame since I seem to have a lot of it. My wimpy little Darvocet didn't touch it this morning, either, which means a dose of much stronger Vicodin tonight. All these factors conspire to deepen the darkening clouds of my recurring depression that began gathering yet again at the beginning of June.

But, much to my protestations otherwise, all this sitting has had one benefit: I read a book! It was, of course, non-fiction, and on a topic I hold dear. It was The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It's a title being bandied about on blogs I read and I was piqued. It was very, very good. I had a teensy bit of overlooking to do (a little language, a lot of "old earth" theology, and some just plain silliness) but there was enough ammunition to fuel another battle in my "eating well locally" war I wage with my family. (Not against my family—I try ever so hard to not fight against them! Side by side we fight, in the style of Minutemen soldiers.) So, I've decided I'm going to begin blogging about my locavorous journey. Fear not, the posts (other than this introduction) will be separated from the other stuff of my life, so you can easily tiptoe around them. Won't bother me a bit. Like most of what I blog, what I write is more for the clarification of my own thoughts than the enlightenment of others, anyway! Not that I don't appreciate you, reader(s). And you know who you are.

The faster I get behind, the more time I'll have to catch up.

Ah, life. It's been kinda crazy around here. I've been working as a mystery shopper, a subject I'll deal with in a not-too-far-in-the-future post. So, life has been a little different for us. Suffice to say I got behind fast so I must have a lot of time for catching up!

John turned 16 this month. His big present was a set of golf clubs. His last set is about four inches too short for him, so he's passed those down to Kate. He also got Super Smash Brothers Brawl, a video game he's wanted since Christmas. He and I are great fans of the comic strip Zits, and I gave him a compilation book. Blair made his cake, with a magic theme.

I took my camera outside for some photos of the spring flowers coming up in my garden. This was the only thing in bloom:

The girls have been doing more cooking lately. I got some plain aprons and fabric paint, thinking they may as well enjoy the job with a hand-painted apron they designed themselves. It was a lot of fun, but mostly it was a mess. I'm glad we chose a windless, sunny day to do this outside.

For the want of a nail...

Chutt Chutt has gone to the vet again this morning. They are keeping her this time, and removing the offending toenail. The swelling isn't going down, and is creeping up her leg. Poor baby. It was SO hard to hand her over. She's so tiny and trusting. But, sometimes to save a life you have to do hard things.

I have an online acquaintance whose mother is in the hospital, at death's door. After several years of unmanaged diabetes, they had to remove her leg above the knee. That would be bad enough if it were the only thing. But this woman also has had several cardiac arrests and major organ shut-downs during the process. She's not saved, and her negative attitude profoundly affects those around her. She's hurt her family over and over to the point that her grandchildren want nothing to do with her. She's alone now, her family has all moved out of state. Her ex-husband has been kind enough to deal with some emergency issues for her while she is incapacitated. My heart breaks for this woman, and I pray for her often during the day. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

On a more "up" note, take a look at my Aerogarden! It's only been two weeks since the last photo, and look at these little plants go! I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is to see things growing and not dying under my care!

The car, on the other hand, is not doing so well. We're having fuel injector issues (I think, but I'm not a mechanic, so that's just my best guess) and looking at more major repairs. On this particular car, to get to the fuel injectors, you have to disassemble the gas tank. We've done this once before and it cost us over $1000. Let's hope that tax refunds are running fast this year!

We stayed home from church this week, but hubby listened in on the web simulcast. He took notes and we'll discuss it, but I can tell from the notes he took that our pastor is seriously misled. There will be a Q&A during the Wednesday night service, but I don't know that we will be able to make it. It wouldn't matter anyway, really. I've heard this teaching before and it is heretical and insidious. There's no Q my pastor could A to my satisfaction that this particular teaching is Biblical.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I'd like it to be my last birthday, the one I never age from, like Bob Hope did. But, with kids you can't do that. Not only do they keep getting older, but their birthday is such a positive, happy thing that they don't want to deprive you of the joy they feel! Why am I not feelin' the joy??

It's growing in my schoolroom

I've always had a bit of a brown thumb. ("a bit" read: I can kill even artificial plants.) But when I read the review for the Aerogarden, I thought just maybe here was a Me-proof method for getting green living things to grow in my care.

My wonderful family gave me one for Christmas. With all the busyness of the holidays, I didn't have time to set it up until January 6, but here is a photo of it growing quite happily on January 20:


Amazing! The light turns itself on and off every day, the water lets me know when it's getting low, there are little food pills I feed it when the light goes on saying "feed me." I obey its commands and the little plants grow just like they are supposed to!

This first batch I'm growing are herbs, some for the kitchen, some for the cavies. I'm thinking, though (and here's where I get into trouble - thinking) that if they take off well, I might be able to transplant them and keep them growing this summer.

They have "kits" for tomatoes, flowers and herbs. I want to try them ALL! I'm so excited!