Following up

I spent last Thursday and Friday on my Very First Business Trip. I attended a conference related to one of the larger, federally funded, studies we are conducting where I work. One item that was stressed a number of times is the importance of getting study participants to complete follow up visits.  It got me thinking that I should follow up on some of the topics I’ve covered in this blog. Besides, it is still too flipping cold in central Massachusetts to get the garden going.

Remember those strawberries I planted back in ’12? The tower I put up for them has seen better days. This year, if it ever gets warm enough, I have 200 fresh plants ready to replace a good chunk of my front lawn. Because lawns are silly. We should grow things we can eat. I will probably plant herbs where the strawberry tower is now. It think it will be convenient to have the seasonings right by the kitchen door.

The GMO debate is still raging as hard today as it was in 2014. I still have not seen GMO salmon in my local stores. Some food manufacturers are voluntarily labeling foods as containing GMO ingredients or not. There are still no answers to my many questions. If GMO’s can end world hunger why are there still so many hungry people? Is it not better to buy a GMO tomato from a farm in the next town than an organic tomato from the other side of the county? Why does nobody have anything nice to say about Monsanto? When will I be able to buy one of those cool looking pink GMO pineapples I have been reading about? I am waiting patiently for answers.

I have not tried sprouting beans again. I think I would have to try it during a week off from work when I have no big plans. The sprouts need a lot of attention. I just do not think I can keep up.

I am still experiemnting with kimchi. I have made multiple batches and I am starting to get a feel for how much chili is too much for me. I recently made a batch with plain white cabbage and turnips because both were on special at the grocery store for St. Patrick’s Day. I call it “kimcheap”. I think I might need to try making some with just the turnips. They are very tasty when fermented.

The chickens are doing better. Sort of. Agnes Featherduster healed all her wounds. (At first I did not think she would make it!) We built a bigger chicken run and sent her back out side.  However, Martha Clucker was still intent on keeping Agnes from the food and water. Martha is now in Chicken Jail (the pet crate under our kitchen table); meanwhile Agnes, Madame Ovary, and Camilla are going just fine outside. We shall see if a week or two in solitary confinement changes Martha’s attitude.

Spring will eventually make it to New England. Or, perhaps we will skip right to summer. While I wait for the ground to warm up and dry out a little more I’ll keep nibbling my kimchi, baking batter bread, and stockpiling jars for putting up ketchup. What are you doing? Share in the comments!