Eyes Wide Open

I am interested in your dishwashing method. Can you give more details on what, how much, and where do you use? I mean, don't orange peels go flying around the dishwasher? It does sound like a nice method, though. How much do you pay for a year's worth of castille soap?

I did a loaf using just (white) bread flour and the traditional kneading/rising process (with my Carla Emery book open before me). Whoo! That is a whole different experience - much better. I really do prefer the taste of wheat but the difference in the quality of the bread (kneaded vs no-knead) was incredible. I could see what kneading does. I am planning to wait until I have my wood stove installed before making my next loaf (because I spent way too many resources keeping my last batch of dough warm enough to rise) but I plan to add increasing amounts of whole wheat flour to the mixture and see how much I can get away with. I assume people can make 100% whole wheat bread - heck, we have a legacy of thousands of years with nothing else. Maybe not as fluffy as white but GOOD bread, nourishing bread. I have renewed confidence that I can get there.

Thanks, that was all helpful. I'd rather just keep it. It's nice to know I don't have to panic So from what it sounds like, it's not a big deal and maybe I'll have to pull something out of the grass every now and then but that's pretty much it - and if I change my mind and don't want mint I could probably cook it. That's all I need to know.

I've decided to try a standard basic recipe with bread flour. I'm fine doing the kneading, it's just that the no-knead technique was described in a magazine and that piqued my interest in bread baking in the first place. I may prefer whole wheat flour, but I figure I can start with bread flour and get the knack for it, then add increasing amounts of other flours and just play around with it. When I master a basic thing, then it's easier to have success with the next steps.

All that's next to it is grass. Lawn. We're not picky about the lawn. If an errant mint plant pops up every now and then, I'm happy to just pull it out. But some of the things I've heard have kind of scared me Like our lawn would become literally overgrown with mint no matter what I did. I've heard you can't kill mint. Not even rototilling will do it, or so I've heard.

I do hope to plant more on that hill - my goal is to get rid of the majority of the grass and grow something useful. I have my work cut out for me though, since the slope is so steep - I'll need steps of some sort to reach things. Add a few neighborhood children and dogs (that already tear up that part of the yard) and I'll want to take it VERY slowly.

@ cloudpiler - your example is very interesting. I don't think I was able to communicate it very consciously, but that's exactly what I am trying to avoid. I don't want to just mow down the forest without understanding what I'm doing.

I have been putting out feelers to see if anyone in the area has knowledge of wild foods, possibly mushrooms in particular. I have already seen a good selection of books at my library as well about wild foods in the northeast.

Some of those trees are coming down anyway. My husband is chomping at the bit to get them. He even asked for a crosscut saw from his mother for Christmas this year. We'll be getting a wood stove so we won't waste the wood. It's all I can do to hold him back somewhat. I did get him to agree to get my input on which trees should come down. He probably sounds like he doesn't care about stuff like this, actually he does but we just don't see eye to eye on this tree issue. There's a bigger background on that, and ultimately he is trying to protect his family, but I still want to be extremely mindful of what we do.

I saw Scott Kellogg earlier this year, presenting for his book. He was terrific and very inspiring. I think he will be continuing to give a lot of energy to his work.

We planted a 10x10 bed of peppermint last year because we were tired of mowing it (it's a STEEP hill, over 45 degrees) and liked the idea of having something useful. The mint was nice, we made plenty of iced tea with it.

We knew before we planted that mint is treacherous, but we did it anyway. Should I regret it? Should we pull it up? Should we put a tarp over it all year next year in hopes of killing it? How badly do I need to panic?

Interesting. I just baked a pumpkin to make some pie in a while. Maybe I'll go set some cinnamon and nutmeg into eggs already. You said for cookies, not pie, but surely the principal must be the same!

I'm interested in building a root cellar, but I think I might also be able to take advantage of some existing climates in my house? For example, my back hall is fairly cool in winter - maybe not cool enough, though (I'm guessing 58-59F).

Still, I wonder if it's cool enough for short-term storage.. or maybe certain warmer items (I could be wrong but I think squash might store fine at that temperature). So what do people do, get a thermometer and put it in a different place for a day and watch the temp twice a day?

And what about moisture? Root cellaring techniques give an ideal temperature but also an ideal humidity for storage. How do I know what humidity a particular place is?

If we do build a root cellar, do I really have to be visiting it twice a day? The book I'm reading makes it seem like it... to open or shut the vents depending on the weather, etc. My vision is very poor and our basement steps are 105 years old. I just really honestly have no desire to be going up and down those stairs twice a day all winter. I probably just won't do it. And maybe I'll lose the food investment. Another worry is mice - our house is clean and there is no sign of mice in our living area, but there are signs of mice in the basement.

Anyway, just curious about your thoughts. I have other places in my home that I will visit more often, and where I can keep a better eye on the food - like the back hall, or the closet under the stairs (which is also probably under 60F but, again, maybe not cold enough for anything). I also have enclosed porches but while they are protected from precipitation and wind, they are not protected from temperature or  sun - so probably not good for anything. I also have a pantry, very near the under-the-stairs-closet, and a bit warmer than that actually, where I have been storing a few pounds each of carrots, potatoes and sweet potatos for a week with good results thus far (have them covered from light). They don't seem to be softening or shriveling. But they probably wouldn't last all winter there of course.