Category: Sustainability

Salad with Sprouts & Lettuce

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I’m going to document meals I’ve made that use a home-grown ingredient, and create a cookbook/recipe idea collection.

Here, I have a slice of pizza with a salad made with garden lettuce and mason-jar-germinated sprouts.

Salad:
– Balsamic vinaigrette: 1:1 balsamic vinegar and olive oil, dried basil, touch of honey, shake in a jar
– Lettuce from the garden: Ruby red, tango (frilly green one), and mezclun blend
– Sprouts: alfalfa seeds germinated in a jar
– Pumpkin & sunflower seed topping
– Apple slices

Wok noodles with Little Flowering Kale Thing (Raab) and Black Garlic

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I’m on a mission to identify what’s growing in the garden and enjoy cooking with it. There is kale starting to form flower buds, resembling thin broccoli florets. I discovered these flower buds are called “raab”. They are tender and significantly less bitter and fibrous than broccoli.

I harvested these stems (leaving the leaves) and tossed them with shiitake mushrooms, garlic, onions, soy sauce, sesame oil & seeds, protein and egg noodles to create this dish. I used diced bacon and think firm tofu would work well too. Use high heat for that wok hei! Serve with kimchi and black garlic. Enjoy!

On “raab” etymology:


“Turnips are the true “Broccoli Raab”, also called Broccoli Rabe, or Rapini. “Rape” is the Italian name for turnip, and broccoli means something like flowering thing (in Mike’s rustic Italian). Adding “ini” at the end implies that it is a small thing, so if we put it all together “rapini” is a little turnip thing, and broccoli rabe is a flowering turnip thing.”

from https://whistlingtrainfarm.com/rapini%E2%80%94its-all-in-the-name/

Rain Harvest

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I’ve been working on a new project to collect rainwater. Call me crazy, but getting huge plastic tanks for this is a long-time dream come true. Here’s what I did:

  • Identify an appropriate spot for a 300-gallon IBC tote (a cube container with 3.5-feet long sides). It should be under a rain gutter downspout that gets good flow, and somewhat out of view to reduce the eyesore (ie do not block windows).
  • Obtain two IBC totes from Craigslist. Request delivery (these won’t fit in an SUV). Make sure they are food-grade/food-safe and did not formerly contain toxic chemicals. Water collected in these totes will be used to irrigate vegetable gardens and provide drinking water for chickens. Seller confirmed they are from a dishwashing business and are safe to use.
  • Clean the inside of an IBC tote (or ask seller to do so) with a pressure washer. Empty out the water. Make sure the spout works.
  • Obtain & use a T30 star driver bit to unscrew and remove the top two metal bars of the cage. DeWalt bits are good quality. T30 star bolts are standard on IBC totes. You can look for the letter “T” on the bolt to check.
T30 bolts on tote & T30 driver bit (largest 6-pointed star bit in most bit sets)
  • Remove plastic tote from the metal cage.
  • Set newspaper or cardboard under the plastic tote. Wear a mask to reduce inhalation of paint fumes. Paint the plastic tote so that it is opaque, which will inhibit algae growth. Look for lighter areas & thoroughly coat with paint until light doesn’t shine through. Using “Rustoleum Comfort Grip” or a similar product is optional but makes extended spray paint sessions significantly more comfortable for the hands.

    I used 3 spray paint cans of “Rustoleum 2x Satin Finish” in color Colonial Red to fully coat one tote, and the red color will make the tote blend in slightly with the red brick of the house. I also got the same spray paint in “Claret Wine” (a slightly darker, purpler tone) for the second tote. This one requires 5 cans to fully coat. Who knew some colors take more quantity to cover a surface than others.
  • Let the opaque painted tote cure and dry under a covered, sheltered area for 3-4 days. The longer the better.
  • Set up cinder blocks around the base of the IBC tote’s designated location. 6 blocks set edgewise (so holes are facing up, not the sides) sufficiently form the perimeter. The IBC tote spout is very low so raising it up on blocks will give height clearance to fill a jug and let water flow down hose by gravity better.
  • Insert plastic tote inside of tote cage. Set up tote on top of cinder blocks. Even with 2 people, the tote is heavy!
  • Cut wire mesh screen (the kind used for window screens) and place over the top opening of the tote. Cut a little bigger than needed. Secure with the ring-lid or bands. This screen is fine enough for most debris, and mosquitos cannot enter through the holes and lay eggs in the collected water. (The biggest enemy will be algae. An occasional pressure wash inside will help).
The screen would be better under the black cap, not temporarily secured with rubber bands which will get brittle from the summer sun. The black cap was too tight to unscrew for the time being.
  • Set up rain gutter downspout to flow into the tank through the screen. Pour a jug of water down the spout to test that the downspout is positioned well, secure, and water flows into the screen.
  • Set up an overflow system in case the tote fills up. For example, drill a ~1″ hole on the side, near the top, with a hose through this hole that goes out several feet away from the home and foundation.
  • The IBC spigot is very large and does not fit standard hoses. Set up a coupler and standard hose-size brass spigot.
  • Enjoy collecting and using rainwater! It’s better than city-treated water for watering plants because it has dissolved oxygen and is not treated with chemicals like chlorine and fluoride. This is better for the garden. Total cost including tools was about ~$336 and there are city rebates available. After the initial set up, it also means a free supply of water!
Initial set up. Will add overflow, coupler and hose-compatible spigot.
Rainbow after a downpour. Fort Knox Chicken Box in construction in the background.

Stop that mail!

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Do you like getting mail advertisements? I do not. I seek to minimize the amount of time spent and paper wasted in the form of grocery flyers, Valpak coupons, and insurance or credit cards offers. That means stopping it from flowing in through the mail.

Here are a few free resources to stop receiving marketing mail in Seattle-area. I used these at my previous address and it considerably reduced ads mailed to me to almost zero. I’ll be using these again each time I move:

Say I receive a Macy’s catalogue for the previous resident, I look up the company’s customer service online contact form or email. I write that I do not wish to receive mail anymore to the address. It’s tedious, but it’s like combing lice – at first there’s a lot, but there’s less and less with each pass of the fine-toothed comb. It’s worth it.

Fort Knox Chicken Box

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Last night I watched Life Below Zero, where subsistence fishers and hunters carve out life in Alaska. Just one episode makes my upcoming project of building an enclosed, walk-in chicken run and secured coop seem much less daunting than it did two days ago. This coop run in this video is my model. I call this project “Fort Knox Chicken Box”.

A pigeon-sized hawk attacked my littlest hen last week and severed her neck. I grieved, then resolved to secure the roofless chicken run. I’m chipping away at the daunting fear with the passage of time, research, watching run build videos, procuring tools, and exploring our premises to see what tools and scrap wood the previous resident left behind. I’m one shovel and YouTube video in. Measurement and wood to come. 50-foot hardware cloth roll and pneumatic staple gun on the way.

I noticed that people with an unenclosed, open-air (roofless) chicken run:
i) often have a dog trained to guard the chickens during the day from hawks, weasels, etc.
ii) accept a non-zero mortality rate of their flock. One book says 5% each year.

In the mean time, I am that guard dog, supervising the hens’ free ranging until it’s their bed time.

This is an ambitious project, but I want the hens to roam safely, and to learn construction along the way rather than getting on Carolina Coop’s 4-month-long wait list for someone else to do this.

Steps I will take:

  1. Measure desired perimeter of enclosed run. Divide border into about 6-8 sections. Mark corners with stones or upright sticks. Mark where door will be positioned.
  2. Measure each section length. These will determine the lengths needed for 2×4 horizontal beams to go about 3-feet up the side and around the top (to hold the roof).
  3. Set up string line around border, anchored beyond stone markers so they don’t interfere when digging holes at the markers. Use extra cotton twine on hand. (Optional: Use leveler to ensure string line is flat.)
  4. Obtain wooden posts. 4″x4″, about 7 feet tall. They will be buried 1 feet and make a 6 foot walk-in height.
    Obtain “quick mix” concrete and a large tray for mixing.
  5. Obtain or find 2×4″ wood pieces around the premises, and cut to correct length in step 2.
  6. Mark depth on wooden posts that they will be buried.
  7. Apply waterproof stain or primer + stain/paint to all wooden posts and side pieces.
  8. Dig holes where there are markers.
  9. Set posts into holes. Check that horizontal section length still matches step 2.
  10. Mix concrete in tub. Can use rake.
  11. Shovel/scoop concrete into holes. Line up posts against the string line.
  12. Check vertical alignment with a leveler.
  13. Use string line and visually check that they are aligned.
  14. Let the concrete dry and set according to instructions.
  15. Install horizontal wood mounts on the posts along top and middle. Mount on corner sides for the corner posts, and on opposite sides for the side posts.

Next steps will involve hardware cloth on the walls and along the floor, choosing roof type and installation, and the entry door. Stay tuned.

To cluck or not to cluck

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I’ve been coding! Like the slow erosion of a river forming a canyon, I am steadily pecking away at Python to become a better programmer. Here is a lil project I did today. Why chickens? I’ll explain in a future post. Stay tuned! Bok bok bok!

# Magic 8 Ball - Ask a question, reveal an answer.

import random

name = "Heeju"

question = "Should I get hens this weekend?"

answer = ""
answer_2 = ""

# First question random answer generation
random_number = random.randint(1,10)

if random_number == 1:
  answer = "Yes - definitely."
elif random_number == 2:
  answer = "It is decidedly so."
elif random_number == 3:
  answer = "Without a doubt."
elif random_number == 4:
  answer = "Reply hazy, try again."
elif random_number == 5:
  answer = "Ask again later."
elif random_number == 6:
  answer = "Better not to tell you now."
elif random_number == 7:
  answer = "My sources say no."
elif random_number == 8:
  answer = "Outlook not so good."
elif random_number == 9:
  answer = "Very doubtful."
elif random_number == 10:
  answer = "Don't rush it. Give it some time."
else:
  answer = "Error (number outside of range)"

# Second question random answer generation

random_number_2 = random.randint(1,9)
if random_number_2 == 1:
  answer_2 = "Yes - definitely."
elif random_number_2 == 2:
  answer_2 = "It is decidedly so."
elif random_number_2 == 3:
  answer_2 = "Without a doubt."
elif random_number_2 == 4:
  answer_2 = "Reply hazy, try again."
elif random_number_2 == 5:
  answer_2 = "Ask again later."
elif random_number_2 == 6:
  answer_2 = "Better not to tell you now."
elif random_number_2 == 7:
  answer_2 = "My sources say no."
elif random_number_2 == 8:
  answer_2 = "Outlook not so good."
elif random_number_2 == 9:
  answer_2 = "Very doubtful."
else:
  answer_2 = "Error (number outside of range)"


if question == "":
  print("You didn't ask a question. Please ask one!")
elif name == "":
  print(question)
elif name != "":
  print(name,"asks:", question)
else:
  print(name,"asks:", question)


print("Magic 8-ball's answer:", answer)

print("Is this truly random?", answer_2)

The great reveal:

Lettuce Rest

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Lately I’ve been working on hard projects and this leaves me exhausted. Mentally exhausted from thinking about career and what aspects of lifestyle I desire. Consuming sustainability and gardening tutorials through books and YouTube videos contributes to the chatter in my mind. It’s all in my head, but it makes me tired.

What I’ve found to be helpful is:

  • Rest – sleep enough hours, or even an hour or two more than usual. Go to bed around the same time, take naps when needed.
  • Eat healthy – an occasional main or side salad harvested from the garden, a colorful vegan meal, homemade baking even if the muffins sink in the middle and look funny.
  • Exercise – go on walks, even just for a few blocks. You won’t get that wet if it’s raining a little.
  • Decompress – talk to someone who is a good listener, or write about the chatter in a journal. Getting it out helps. Being able to pen down a looming worry onto a few lines on paper shows that it’s not too big to be written about, and therefore can be managed bit by bit.

Here’s to working towards big goals and resting along the way!

Tip: This photo is of some “living lettuce” I bought at the grocery store and replanted. These come with the roots intact and last longer in the fridge. Enjoy most of the leaves, save the core of innermost leaves and roots intact, and plant in soil. It’s a similar cost to buying seedlings (about $3 for 3 lettuce plants), plus you get to enjoy more harvest before planting!

Once Crazy

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There are some ideas and cleaning recipes that sound crazy to me. Such as:

  • Making your own toothpaste, and oil-pulling (swish oil in your mouth for several minutes)
  • Not using shampoo (my scalp feels itchy just imagining this!)
  • Wearing the same outfit every day

They sound crazy because they seem hard. I want to try some things like these in order to see if it’s possible, but I fear I won’t enjoy the transition or will feel unclean or unhappy.

I will say, however, that I’ve done some things that past year that were on my DIY crazy list that were actually not so hard and even enjoyable:

  • Grew my own tomatoes – 3 kinds! And daikon, lettuce, kale, one jalapeño, and strawberries
  • Made kombucha using home-grown strawberries and foraged Italian plums and blackberries
  • Made decent cappuccinos with foamed milk (next up: latte art)
  • Roasted coffee
  • Made homemade surface cleaner & window spray that works (alcohol, castile soap, eucalyptus oil, corn starch)

Maybe one day, the things that sound impossible to me will feel normal!