Loaf Review and a Food Note

The loaf was everything but tasty. Just not enough flavor. The texture wasn't bad, but it was bland. I tried again the next weekend. It was tastier (I used veggie broth as the liquid and doubled or tripled the spices and garlic). BUT then it was too mushy.

Then I got sick so haven't tried another. I had the flu (no stomach/intestinal involvement) or a super nasty cold...but I'm pretty sure it was the flu. Anyway, on the mend now and will try another loaf in a couple of weeks or so.

I've been working on the garden...by "working" I mean I put some seeds on wet napkins to sprout before I plant them in little pots. We'll see if it works. I also managed to tear up some free wood I got. I tried to buy wood at a large DIY store but no one wanted to wait on me and they don't let you get it yourself. So I figured forget that. I went to the dumpsters and sure enough someone had dumped a homemade bunk bed from thick wood. I put that in the subaru and today I tore it apart. It was easier than I expected. Now I need a saw. Some of the boards are about the same length as windows I've had sitting around waiting to be a cold frame so maybe I can get that going. I really need a saw...a power saw. My bum arm doesn't hold up to using a hand saw for more than a few minutes at a time. Just the hammer and prybar use today has it a bit bothered. Oh well. Not much of a handicap in the grand scheme of things.

I've also been reading up on growing potatoes in a bucket (or proper container if you wish). Looks like 5lbs for a 5gallon bucket would be a good yield. We'll see what I get. I scored a giant plant pot at the recycling center last week. I was pretty stoked. This will all go towards my research into how much food one can grow in a parking spot. My sister googled it for me and says 9' by 20' is about an average parking spot. It seems big. Leaving a 1' aisle down the center would make two 4' by 20' beds. That's 160 square feet of garden. That's pretty good. I plan on gathering containers and having 1 or 2 4'x4' squarefoot gardens this year and trying to total a ground coverage of 160square feet. It will be interesting to see how much I can grow in that space.

In other news, I went to the first meeting last Friday of a local food security group. 72 people showed up! That's amazing in an area where I often feel like the only one cooking at home. I know I'm not the only one...but some of the others are scary survivalists and the attendees at the group were not of that ilk. Lot's of families. There was a free dinner, made with mostly organic items, a movie, games for kids and some introductions. I made dessert...but only expected about 20 people so I didn't make enough. Next time. I did make pie from local feral cherries and it was a hit. Anyway, I'm glad some other people in the community are interested in access to local food. I just don't think everything needs to come from so far away. It gets beat up enroute and growers end up growing varieties for thick hides and long shelf life rather than good taste. And the nutrients leak out enroute. Well, they don't leak out but they do fade the longer the item has been out of the ground before consumption. Also, why not help the local economy?