j souther

After having chickens for many years, we switched to ducks about 5 years ago. Their needs are a bit different but nothing crazy difficult. The eggs taste more "eggy" if that is possible. Some people we have shared them with didn't like the taste, saying they were too rich, but this could be a matter of being used to WalMart eggs. We love them, as do our family members. One advantage is that they poach much easier than chicken eggs. The whites hold together really well. Ducks lay more eggs across their life span, and are better at foraging. They love slugs, which I could never talk my chooks into eating.

Saute whatever veggies need to be finished and taste good together. When they're half done or so, spread them out in the pan, add a little more oil or butter and throw an egg on top. Turn down the heat and cover it. Maybe turn it over, maybe not. Sprinkle some cheese and recover. Make sure you start the toaster in time to have everything on the plate together.

We use mostly glass with snap-lock plastic lids. The oldest of the lids have hung in there for at least 7 or 8 years. I look for them in thrift stores regularly. We also have a good collection of silicone food bags that have replaced ziplocks for us. Not as easy to use or clean, but I don't care. I haven't bought a ziplock bag in about 10 years, longer for plastic wrap.

If I put a large mixing bowl in the fridge, I use a plate to cover. Then something can be put on top of it also. Cut veggies, like onions, go cut side down on a small plate. Does that mean something else in the fridge might get tainted with a whiff of onion? I guess so. Do I care? Nope. It will get used in the next day or two anyway.

I should add that I almost never cook anything in a 13x9 dish, as I am normally cooking only for 2. I don't know what I would cover that with...a cookie sheet maybe? Doesn't seem practical, space-wise. I guess I would transfer leftovers into something smaller.

Some people would point out that silicone is a kind of plastic. I have looked into that a bit, and not come to a strong conclusion. I decided that the environmental harm from manufacturing is better when weighed against the manufacturing and throwing away of disposable options. I would love to hear some real science on that point.

My husband and I eat much less than we used to, and I no longer cook for our kids who now cook for themselves. But I will still sometimes buy large size produce. One cabbage can be sliced and sauteed into a stir fry, then a bit added to minestrone. A new favorite is to oven roast wedges with olive oil and seasoning of choice. Prepared this way, we can polish off half a head in one meal. Another quarter of it might get finely shredded and put in the fridge to add to salads. I'll prep it any way I can, but there might still be a big wedge in the fridge waiting for future use. When I do pull it out, I just shave off the cut side that turned a bit unpleasant looking, and carry on.

We often have 1/2 an apple cut side down on a plate in the fridge. Same with onions, avos, grapefruit, etc. We make an effort to finish it in the next couple days, and we usually do. I think the trick is to tell yourself that you aren't going shopping again until you eat up what you've got.

It also helps to plan a meal beginning with the vegetable, and not as an afterthought alongside the protein. And if you absolutely can't stand the thought of another cabbage dish, check with your neighbor.

I just want to elaborate on something Pearl mentioned--the flammability of tents. All synthetic fabrics are much more flammable than cotton, linen, wool, etc. We learned this from when our friends' cabin was badly damaged in a forest fire. We found the curtains--polyester--thrown outside away from the house. It was one of the first things the firefighters did when they arrived.  We also had this fact pointed out when we attended a fire prevention talk.

We recently sold our Toyota Highlander hybrid to our daughter; still in the family but not close enough for me to use, boo hoo. I know some folks would not put straw, buckets of compost, lumber, boulders etc in their car, but in the absence of a truck, we did. Even buckets of manure went in the back, on a rubber floor protector. It fits 7 people if they like each other, and we occasionally put the back seat down and slept in it on a road trip. Not great, but safe, dry and cheap. We called it our "truck" and we hauled all kinds of things in it. But I'm not one to consider a vehicle something that needs to be pristine. A car, like a hammer, is just a tool. And a tool that gets used is going to show wear and tear. It's going to get dirty, and it can be vacuumed out.

My wire whisk is definitely older that 10 years, maybe 20. Can't remember where I bought it. It has no brand but at the base of the solid, heavy handle it says  "Stainless Steel  Made in India"

I would have to agree with some comments that we try to eat as diversely as we can for the sake of both nutrition and enjoyment. However, we have simplified our diet in that I barely use cookbooks or make complicated dishes with strictly required ingredients. Eggs from our ducks, veggies and berries from the garden, homemade sourdough, some peanuts we buy raw and roast ourselves, etc.  For meal prep I start by looking in the fridge and freezer: what needs to be eaten? What would go well together? Does the dish have an official name? Nah, but I can make one up.

We also tend to eat seasonally. In the summer we eat a lot of salads although that word is used loosely and might not contain lettuce. Stuff mixed and dressed, eaten cold or room temp, that's a salad. In the winter I make more soup but again, whatever veg fresh or frozen is available, some lentils, plenty of herbs. Cuddle with the bowl and listen to the wind outside. Delicious.

I do buy chocolate, cheese, hemp milk, raw cow's milk when our daughter's cow is giving it. Also olive oil and coconut oil, tea and coffee. And my husband would say "Don't forget the tortilla chips." A food group in itself for him.

For several years I have been experimenting with growing beans for drying and some kind of grain. Successes have been black beans and grain sorghum: for hot cereal, not syrup.

I filled a raised bed cheap and in a hurry 2 years ago. The first thing I threw in was old half-rotted wood branches I had laying around, plus any nonseedy weeds and stalks of whatever. Then the soil that I purchased, mixed with homemade compost. We didn't have a lot of rain that year; at least 2 long dry spells when the rain barrels and the skies were empty. But that bed showed the least stress and wilting compared to others. I think the old wood acted like a sponge and held water for the roots.

However, this year I was desperate for space and planted sweet potatoes in this bed. I suspect that the potatoes are going to be difficult to extract from the wood in a few places. I might be tearing the soil all to heck come harvest time.

Someone mentioned filling with 100% compost; is this a good idea or not? I have been asking myself if there needs to be more clay mixed in, or at least native soil. Seems to me I read somewhere that clay has more minerals, while compost has plenty of nitrogen.

I have 4 forsythia that I brought home from a friend's yard and planted, but I didn't want them spreading the way they tend to. So I trained them as a single trunk. They were quite small when I got them, but 10 years later, they have decided to obey and almost never put out ground-level suckers. I don't top trim them much;  I only trim off branches that are bending toward the ground and likely to touch.

Yes, it was troublesome for a few years, but it was worth it as I truly love the look of small trees.