Independence Days

One of the projects that I want to try to keep up with on this blog is my participation in Sharon Astyk's Independence Days Challenge (http://www.sharonastyk.com/). Yesterday (May 11th) was update #2 -- weeks run Monday-Sunday. I'm going to try to remember to note my daily activities ... we'll see how it works out. Here are the categories we're focusing on:

1. Plant something.

2. Harvest something.

3. Preserve something.

4. Reduce waste.

5. Preparation/storage.

6. Build community food systems.

7. Eat the food.



IDC - Monday:

1. nothing

2. nothing

3. nothing

4. Mom brought me some basil from her garden last week that I forgot in the fridge. I salvaged as much of it as I could to use in my spaghetti sauce. Also, I held onto the sauce jar to use for dry storage; I'm getting a HUGE collection of jars!

5. I cut my finger pretty badly while chopping basil. I'm listing that under preps because it made me realize that, while I was awfully glad we HAD a first aid kit on hand, it needs some additional supplies. Also, I finally understood why they say a dull knife is so dangerous. :( We'll be getting them sharpened ASAP.

6. nothing

7. See #4. :) Also used ground beef and bell peppers from freezer; onions, garlic, jarred sauce and pasta from storage.
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This evening, I harvested radishes that I grew all by myself! I was so freaking excited! Guess what I found out? I don't really like radishes. :P My French Farmhouse cookbook suggested just eating them fresh from the garden, dipped in salt. It tasted like ... hot perfume? I don't know, are they an acquired taste? I have another cookbook that has a recipe for steaming them. I'll try that before I take the lot of them to the office.

IDC - Tuesday:

1. nothing

2. Radishes

3. nothing

4. Added tin can to the recycle bin.

5. Bought "liquid bandage" stuff for the first aid kit.

6. nothing

7. Girls ate leftover spaghetti and black beans w/ salsa and sour cream (beans were from storage). I ate leftover pulled pork that Bodi smoked himself.

The rest of the garden is coming along, I guess. The corn is taking forever, and the germination rate doesn't seem that high, so I'm awfully glad mom & dad have planted lots. Our squash are up and looking healthy, and the potatoes have started to flower. The onions are developing flowers/bulbs on the tips of their greens. The eggplant seems to have recovered well from transplanting and, while they aren't tall, they've leafed out nicely.

I have some onion bulbs that I didn't put in the big garden; I think I'll make a space for them in my herb garden for harvesting as scallions. I also have a bunch of herb seeds that I want to get in the ground this week. There's a chance of rain every afternoon, so I'll have to time it just right.

I got a bonus at work! We're going to use the money to finish the 2nd herb bed, and whatever's left over I want to use to buy materials for a chicken coop. :D

Okay, gotta wrap this up ... the day is calling!