#I CAN GROW CHILIS AND TOMATOES

[thepioden]

I planned on making hot pepper jelly and habanero sauce this weekend, but I think salsa and candied jalapenos may also be in the cards. There's still at least this many baby chilis down in the garden.

That is a 3 gallon bucket of tomatoes, for scale.

#I CAN GROW CHILIS AND TOMATOES #and ONLY chilis and tomatoes #ALL my cucurbits got slammed with blister beetles #but tomatoes and chilis are going ham

[peiikko]

so excited for summer now that spring is here :) my roommate and i are going to start a garden on our balcony and i just started the germination of thyme and peas !! :)

#the afternoon-evening sun shines so nicely on our balcony #i just need to go back home to my mom's place to get my gardening equipment #then we can have a full scale garden #we are going to grow peas thyme basil lettuce and some flowers #maybe get a tomato or chili plant

[svish]

Some of my 2022 harvest (forgot to get a pic of the blueberries i picked and all the chili i grew)

#cloudberry #chanterelles #Tomato #Gonna grow a bigger breed of tomatoes next year but these were a nice test to try out my set up #I also harvested more chili than i can eat so im gonna make chili powder #My freezer is still full of mushrooms and blueberries #Using some to make blueberry liquor #This has been a good year and im looking forward to the next #:) #cottagecore

[dabblingreturns]

It came to me in a thought.......if American Chease was labeled a "a edible dairy product"

I would carry on with my life

Thus throught brought to you by the magical half an hour after a take my meds but before they kick in were I'm ready to work....but my impulse control is still getting in gear

#i would not shame anyone for likeing american cheese #but my brain does look at it and go chrafting supplies #and my brain puts in in the same food ajasent catigory as tomato's and chili pepers #where other differnt humans can get it and grow strong but my own body will reject it #i hope this doesnt count as trama dumping #only even drama dumping #only comedy caused disasters here #adhd thoughts #american cheese #cheese

[olomaya]

Sludge Be Gone! Toddler Food and Snacks

2-Sep Update: Thank you @jeebeehey for the French translation. Please redownload if you'd like them.

25 July update:

Fixed an issue where the Trail Mix was resetting Sims. One of its components got lost when I was merging all the objects together so it kept giving an error when trying to pull it up. It should now not happen for either the high chair or the activity table. Redownload both the MAIN and the merged Objects file

24 July update: Thanks to @simdreams and @zanynka for the Brazilian Portuguese and Czech translations! You can redownload at the links below.

(Update: I forgot to include one of the files in the Objects file. It's just a little piece of food that toddlers pick up when eating snacks. If you downloaded both files already, you don't need to redownload anything, just download the file and add to your game.) (Just download the updated Objects file)

They literally call the baby food "sludge" in the game files. EA really did TS3 toddlers dirty.

This was actually originally part of my Quickie Food and Snacks mod and I abandoned it (this seems to be a theme with me). But then I came back to it after TS4 Growing Together came out. I still haven't played that game but I know there's a preference/taste system in the game for baby food, which is really cool!

So this mod adds two interactions to the high chair to feed toddlers meals or snacks. There are 11 meals and 5 snacks. Similar to Growing Together, toddlers will love, like or hate certain foods. This preference is based on their favorite food (see more after the cut).

The foods work somewhat similar to recipes in that they require ingredients to be available. However, you only need to have at least 1 ingredient. Whatever ingredients you have will be used for the meal/snack. The icon images will tell you which 3 ingredients are required.

Teens+ can serve toddlers and they will stay and watch to make sure the toddler eats like a good little girl/boy.

There was a second complementary mod to close out this little series that would allow toddlers to eat their foods and snacks on their own on little tables but I probably won't have the time to finish testing it before I go on my summer holidays so I'll release it sometime end of next month when I'm back.

Credit/thanks: The food tray and bowl is from @aroundthesims. All other assets are from EA (TS3 and TS4). Icons are from Freepik.

Download HERE / Alternative: SFS

Enjoy! I'll be totally offline starting 1 July for about 2 weeks so do let me know before then if you run into any issues!

More info and details on features after the cut

Meal/Snack recipes: Each meal or snack requires 1-3 ingredients (either in your fridge or personal inventory) to be available. Again, you only NEED 1 of 3. Some of the ingredients are from the Store or cc (Icemunmun's Baker's Basket or Hot Chili) but if you don't have it, the game will just ignore it. If you have none, it won't be available.

Food categories/preferences: Preferences are based on the toddler's favorite food and along 4 categories: Sweet, Savory, Veggie and Cheese. So based on what their favorite food is, you can tell what their food preference category is. If you change the toddler's favorite food after playing with the mod, it will adjust to their new tastes BUT will keep whatever food they liked or hated before.

Category Preferences:

Sweet hates Veggie

Veggie hates Sweet AND Savory

Savory hates Sweet

Cheese is chill and can give or take anything

Here is the detailed breakdown below (if you want to be surprised and figure it out for yourself in the game, you can stop reading here):

SW - Sweet, SV - Savory, VG - Veggie, CH - Cheese Store - TS3 Store BB - Icemunmun’s Baker’s Basket HC - Icemunmun’s Hot Chili

Snacks: Trail Mix (SW) - Banana, Walnut (BB), Pecan (Store) Cheese Crackers (CH) - Cheese Apple Slices w. Almond Butter (SW, CH) - Apple, Cheese, Almond (BB) Cucumber Tuna Bites (SV) - Cucumber (Store), Tuna, Tomato Pita Chips w. Carrot Hummus (VG) - Chickpea (HC), Carrot, Lemon

Meals: Chickpea Salad (VG) - Chickpea (HC), Carrot, Watermelon PBJ Sandwich (SW) - Strawberry (Store), Almond (BB)  Pancakes and Sausage (SW) - Any fruit, Sausage links Chicken Nuggets (SV) - Chicken, Carrot, Blueberry (Store) Fishsticks (SV) - Any fish, Potato, Carrot  Meatballs w. Yogurt Sauce (SV) - Patty, Cucumber (Store), Tomato Mushroom Omelet (VG) - Egg, White Cap mushroom, Onion Fried Plantains (SW) - Banana (I considered making a custom plantain ingredient but too lazy), Tomato, Onion Falafel w. Yogurt Sauce (VG) - Chickpea (HC), Cucumber (Store), Tomato Cheese Ravioli (CH) - Cheese, Tomato, Strawberry (Store) Mac and Cheese (CH) - Cheese

So for example, the toddler in the photos, Duncan. His favorite food is Fried Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich (oh, America) which is in the Sweet category. So I know he will eat any of the sweet category foods. He tossed the mushroom omelet when I served it to him but he likes mac and cheese.

@kpccfinds @pis3update @s3cc-finds

#download #s3cc #s3cc download #sims 3 cc #toddlerfoodnsnacks

[akkivee]

Intensely Spicy Curry Training: Hypmic Curry Drama Track TL

Kuukou: Y’all sure took your sweet time getting here! I’ve already got everything prepared!

Jyushi: But didn’t you tell us to meet you at the temple?

Hitoya: If we’re making curry, why the hell are we way out in the mountains to do it?

Kuukou: Because I just had a great idea. Check this out!

Jyushi: Ooooh, look at all this meat! So, we’re going to be using all of this in our curry?

Hitoya: Beef and chicken, huh? I guess it would make sense not cook these while inside your temple.

Kuukou: You’re half right, and half wrong.

Jyushi: What do you mean?

Kuukou: I don’t plan to make just any ol’ curry. Now it’s time for the both of y’all to mince the hell out of this meat!!

Hitoya: I didn’t know whether to expect if a corrupt little monk such as yourself knew how to cook, but I’m surprised. Instead of using something pre-made, if we pound and mince the meat ourselves, we’d get a far more superior product. Is that what you were thinking?

Jyushi: Oh, I see! That’s amazing, Kuukou-san!

Hitoya: So, where’d you put the food processor?

Kuukou: Ah?? The hell are you on? You’re grinding this meat with your bare hands.

Jyushi: …Eh?

Kuukou: Jyushi, you’re on beef! Hitoya, you’re taking the chicken! Punch it with everything you’ve got and make minced meat out of it!! This is a new training session I thought up!

Hitoya: What the hell is this fool saying??

Jyushi: B-But there’s so much meat!! Grinding it by hand is impossible!!

Kuukou: I don’t want to hear any complaints!! You don’t know that unless you try!

Jyushi & Hitoya: *reluctantly pounds the meat by hand*

Jyushi: *tearfully* …My body’s going to become minced meat before the actual beef!

Hitoya: Damn it, I can’t believe I let my guard down like this…! I shouldn’t have expected we’d simply make curry…!

Kuukou: You can’t expect to get anywhere with a weak spirit behind weak fists like that!! Lemme show you how it’s done!

Kuukou: *starts punching*

Hitoya: You bastard, those are vegetables!!

Jyushi: E-Even I could mince a tomato by hand!

Kuukou: It doesn’t matter either way!! Whether it’s vegetables or meat, all that matters is the heart you’re putting behind it!!

Jyushi: T-That doesn’t make any sense…!!

Kuukou: “Enlightenment can be attained through one thousand fists!” Don’t just keep yapping and put some energy into your hips and legs too!

Hitoya: Tch, I don’t see any way out of this… Then, I might as well get it over with…!! UWOOOOOOOOOAAAARRRRGHHHH!!!!!!!! *maximum effort punching*

Jyushi: H-Hitoya-san??

Kuukou: Hyahaha! There’s the effort I wanna see!

Jyushi: Guh… Because My God has unshackled the chains binding his true power, I, too, must unlock mine to continue alongside him…! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!! *maximum effort punching*

-------------------------

Jyushi: I-I can’t move another inch…

Hitoya: Ugh… I can’t even take the cap off my water bottle…

Kuukou: *sighs* It’s pretty pathetic to be that exhausted just from cooking.

Hitoya: You…!!!

Jyushi: But, I think it would be really nice if our training efforts could be felt by those eating our curry…!

Hitoya: …Well, I don’t think I’d say it like that, but I agree with the sentiment.

*the trees rustle and the birds chirp and there is peace*

Kuukou: The fuck are y’all talking about? There’s no point to this if the people who eating aren’t going through training too.

Jyushi: Eh?

Kuukou: Training can only be felt when you grow from the trials you’ve experienced yourself. Hopping off from other people’s efforts won’t mean shit.

Jyushi: B-but I mean, we’ll still be serving the curry to others once it’s finished cooking, right?

Kuukou: Yup. Which is why I’ve got…!

Hitoya: UWAH!! MY EYES!! IT’S IN MY EYES!!

Jyushi: That powder…!!

Hitoya: It’s red chili pepper!! Jyushi, run!! Move upwind so it doesn’t blow and stick to your mucous membrane!!

Jyushi: Eeek!!! *runs away sobbing*

Kuukou: HYAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Hitoya: Kuukou, you bastard, what are you doing? Are you trying to ruin everything we worked on??

Kuukou: I’m not ruining a damn thing! This curry will be spicy so I can provide a remote kind of training!

Hitoya: Stop fucking around!! There’s gotta be a limit!!

Jyushi: *runs back over* I think there’s more chili pepper powder than ingredients now…!!

Kuukou: Then it’s just right! Now try it.

Jyushi: NO!! I will not be eating!! I absolutely refuse!! Don’t even try me!!

Kuukou: Hey stupid, watch it, that’s dangerous!! Stop fighting me and just—Ahh??

Jyushi: T-The inside of the pot is pitch black……!!

Hitoya: Obviously. Chili peppers burn easily. Haah… Let’s just remake the curry.

Jyushi: But doesn’t that mean we’ll have to mince more meat??

Kuukou: Whatever, I was thinking our “Intensely Spicy Curry Training” was made too halfheartedly anyway!! Time to give it all I got and win this championship!!

#kuko harai #jyushi aimono #hitoya amaguni #bad ass temple #hypmic #hypnosis mic #til that you can make a meat paste at the very least by using a mortar and pestle LOL #the curry pissed me tf off lmao it was so spicy but underneath all that spice was a ridiculously flavourful curry #it's spicy enough that i can tell it's comfortably spicy for people used to eating spice tho!! #habenero is the worst experience with spice i ever had and it wasn't that bad lol but i got the sense it could have been #so i assume jyushi and hitoya talked kuukou down lmao or we didn't want a repeat burnt product lol #i decided to tone down how i usually write bat to try and not show my very obvious bias lol hopefully it worked #i remember slug mentioning sometimes a tl will come off vague in order to not get in the way of future developments #and i actually felt that tling this lmao like when hitoya was telling kuukou there's a limit for everything #i had to choose whether to make this about kuukou and training or kuukou and the chili peppers #the statement itself was a vague warning so my own interpretations of bat were getting in the way probably lol #statements without a clear subject usually default to the person speaking so kuukou saying give it everything and win the championship #is me assuming he's talking about himself and again i'm a little worried my own interpretations of bat are getting in the way #since kuukou's self reliance is blatant but also not if you're casually looking at bat SO IDK LOL I THINK TLING IS HARD #curry tl

[mochinomnoms]

https://www.tumblr.com/mochinomnoms/750399534369275905/your-talk-about-museums-and-ancient-artifacts

No no, please, do tell about the agriculture of Mexico! They made islands for agriculture?? What type of products grew on them? How did they work??

Do you have any recommendations of sites or works to see more of it?

Also you should see the type of economy Incas had, like, they didn’t have a writing system; which is why keeping languages like Quechua really complicated, and their economy was more family based? It’s kinda complicated to explain for me but it’s more akin to trading than anything modern in my opinion.

Chinampas! They're very cool and a super ingenious method of agriculture that doesn't affect the rainforest around them but utilizes the lakes! I'll be using this and this as my main source to reference.

"Chinampa system is an historical system adapted to face hydrologic and climatic constraints and the pressure by the high city’s food demand. The chinampa farmers have been able to handle certain balance between the sustained yield and the environmental and technological management factors. This ecosystem performance has been based on the biological stability improvement, including sophisticated farming methods such as multiple cropping and shift of crops."

As you can see, they're man-made and developed by the Mexica (Aztecs) in the 14th century in the lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco, which surround Lake Texcoco, the lake that Mexico City takes residence in.

They're best described as “floating gardens” and due to the nutrient rich materials used to built them, are very fertile and can grow a great variety of crops. This of course includes Mexico's staple crop of maiz, but also beans, squash, tomatoes, chili peppers, and even flowers. The chinampas system provides a built-in natural irrigation system, and were home to aquatic wildlife and birds. This benefits the system further, as these animals increase the fertility and nutrients in the water and soil. There was also a drainage system, which facilitated the movement of water and sediments!

There were some cultural practices in association with chinampas, but they're best associated with the sort of 'urbanization' that Tenochtitlan was going under as the Mexica grew.

There have been much more recent studies done on the chinampas system, as modern agriculture as we know it is highly unsustainable due to lack of land and the general environmental concerns around agriculture. Utilizing chinampas in modern agricultural system has several benefits which include space efficiency, biodiversity, sustainable water management, carbon sesquention (migating climate change), and community engagement.

The last is particularly important, as it involves local communities in food production and builds on the concept of 'third-spaces' for people. Third spaces are typically places that individuals can spend time with their communities without the need to spend money for services or products. Libraries are the best example of this, but there have been others that have been lost over time.

This is not to say that chinampas don't exist anymore! They very much due primarily in San Gregorio, Xochimilco, Mexico City. THere are also some in San Luis, Tiahuac, and Mixiquic.

Other countries around the world have been inspired by chinampas, such as the Floating Gardens of Bangladesh, the Green Float project in Osaka Bay, Japan, and the Urban Rivers project in Chicago, USA.

There are some difficulties in maintaining current chinampas and bringing them back, as many of the original lakes were drained by the Spanish which reduced their ability to support agriculture. Earthquakes have also damaged them and the canals, as well as the scarcity of fresh water, pesticides, climate change, urban development, and water pollution.

I've gone on a bit long now, but I am familiar with the Inca and Quechua communication system you are referring to! It's a system based on knots if I'm not mistaken! I might be inclined to go into that in a future date!

#mochi asks #professor mochi #chinampas my beloved #nowadays theyre a popular tourist attraction #i think ryan and shane even went to a haunted one during buzzfeed unsolved

[hellenhighwater]

Right now all my veggie gardening is happening in bin planters, and it's going uh. much better than planned. I may be succeeding to death on this one; I'm beginning to worry about overcrowding. I only did four bins initially (I just added two more for purple, red, and white carrots) of tomatoes, bell peppers, and chili peppers. The tomato bins have combined into a super-nightshade of rapidly growing proportions. I started all but three of these tomatoes from seed back in March! Now they're up to my shoulder. They should bear black strawberry tomatoes. The three odd ones were on sale at the greenhouse and I don't remember what kind they were.

I've got four different patches of herbs, plus the potted ones on my porch, which I'm mostly leaving to their own devices. Half my hydrangea are coming in very blue and the others are just starting to bud pink, which means I've got some wild stuff happening with my soil acidity.

And not to sound like an Avatar extra, but my cabbages! are so pretty!

All of this is just to say that even if you're in an apartment, if you have a balcony that gets full sun you can grow an obscene amount of tomatoes and veggies in plastic bins.

[heartstringsduet]

MICHELLE! I NEED TO KNOW, THERE'S NO TIME, THIS IS MISSION IMPOSSIBLE AND THE CLOCK IS RUNNING OUT, YOU MUST ANSWER: What's one thing tarlos has tried once in the bedroom and then never ever spoke of again? (after after care of course lol)

"Uhm so..."

"Yeah," TK says, blinking up at the ceiling. "I didn't know..."

"I thought you might..did you like that?"

TK shifts so he can look at Carlos even if it's the last thing he wants to do with a face growing hotter than it has in any burning building. His mouth opens to reassure his boyfriend that it was perfectly okay to do this. Their sheets are sticky with guacamole and salsa and lime and they even tried a corn tortilla but it was...not at all like the one time they used chocolate sauce. And maybe chocolate sauce is also off the table after what...that was. Places on Tk's body burn in a way that grows increasingly more uncomfortable.

"Shower?" he asks instead and Carlos nods and nods at the ceiling, and brushes off chip crumbs and tomatoes. "Shower."

Sorry Shannon I went through a list of kinks that I was either like: "yeah I mean they might try and at least talk about it" to "NEVER they wouldn't" to land on "let's just write crack". Didn't go for the balloon kink and just thought yeaah they'd escalate with food to the point where maybe chilies shouldn't be involved.

#michelle answers #nice ask week

[memehyena]

Gardening Sentence Starters

Feel free to change pronouns as necessary, and remember to specify muse for multimuse blogs.

CW: Food, Smoking Mention

—

"That's a tomato, I know it looks weird. They start off green."

"Can you hand me that trowel?"

"It isn't a 'tiny shovel,' it's a trowel."

"I'm just fertilizing it."

"We made a killing with the vegetables/fruits this year!"

"Don't touch that basket."

"I need a new pot for this."

"Those are honeysuckle flowers, you can eat them, too."

"You're growing tobacco?"

"These are beautiful flowers."

"Can I pick some of these?"

"The stupid aphids are eating all of my plants."

"I thought this chili oil water was supposed to keep the bugs off the plants. All it does is make me hurt my eyes when I rub them with my gross hands."

"That's called a -insert plant here-."

"How about we don't run on my garden plots? Stay off the flowerbeds, too."

#rp meme #rp memes #roleplay meme #roleplay memes #rp starter #rp starters #roleplay starters #roleplay starter #rp meme starter #rp meme starters #roleplay meme starter #roleplay meme starters #rp starter meme #rp starter memes #roleplay starter meme #roleplay starter memes #writing prompts #dialog prompts #dialog starters #dialog memes

[mrdangam]

Grocery List

Remember to get raw meat—the kind that resembles the palms of your hands before they turn into angry fists; also, get tomatoes, you’ll know it’s good when it’s as red as your face like when you’re about to burst out of frustration; bite your own tongue, nobody believes a girl your age, instead, pick up some cow tongue for tonight’s curry; leave your heart to rest at home, people become greedy and grabby over things that aren’t theirs; grab milk, skip the skim, you’re not here to impress anyone; get this brand of chai masala, the one that impresses a man, but not enough to make him stay; skip the clothing store; find a salwar kameez cut from the same cloth as you and me, it’s cheaper that way; make sure you grab a newspaper on your way back; don’t stay out too late, it gets dangerous; have you heard about the mother who intentionally broke her daughter’s leg to save her? no amma, and please don’t do that to me, I promise I'll come home to you every night, just like I always do, I have nowhere else to go; only buy this particular brand of sugar, it’s sweet enough to satisfy a man’s desires yet respectful enough to safeguard a woman’s integrity; your split ends need attention; get bhringaraja oil, almond oil, and alma oil—specifically Dabur Vatika, not Parachute, that’s what you’ll need to grow hair long enough to keep you warm on cold nights, when there’s nobody to hold you; no need for jasmine perfumes; bottle your sadness into a scent, like the salty oceans out front; pick up some basmati rice; it’s just around the corner from the mishti store—what, you don’t know where it is? no, ma, there’s nothing there, the mishti store hasn’t been around for years; there was one, at least when I was younger; it must have been Pakistan that razed it to the ground; flames would seep from ruptured points and exit wounds on the streets as I made my way home from school; did you know they would sell rasgulla and rajbhog for a couple hundred taka? just like the amount your parents sold you off? Was it love then?; Mamoni, if it’s love that you’re looking for, you won’t find it for sale anywhere, true love only exists in poetry and books; can’t I buy books and read it out loud enough times until it becomes real enough for me to hold it in my hands?; mark off the food mold at the top of the list; it seems like it’s already shaped you into the woman you needed to become; don’t flash anger on me; anger is what a man exhibits when feeling insecure; are you any less than a man? no, amma, but sometimes I feel lesser than the lizards that crawl out inbetween the cracks of our walls at night; it’s not cruel; our ammas make us do this too, turning us into constant wars in our minds with no clear sight of the goal and out of reach; don’t look too deeply into the man with kajal under his eyes, dressed in a black kurti, even if he greets you with his hands down; he’s not the type to pen dramatic shayaris for you during arguments; he’s fluent only in Hindi, can’t even read Sanskrit, while you effortlessly weave poetry in Bengali, Hindi, Arabic, and hold onto the little Urdu you know, only because I raised you that way; he won’t opt for rickshaws or autos when you can easily walk the 8-minute distance to the grocery store; he’ll buy you the saris; he’ll buy you the jhumkas; he’ll even buy you the mendhi but won’t learn how to apply it for you; he won’t treat you to pani puri from the street vendor outside or let you coax the older bhai to add more chili powder to the mysterious liquid that’ll most definitely give you food poisoning; he won’t center your bindi for you; won’t allow you to adjust the collar of his kurti; doesn’t even consider offering you the last samosa; he’s a man raised among girls who were taught that their thoughts speak louder than words, and sometimes, not to speak at all; he won’t let you experience the freedom you have with me; don’t even entertain the idea of leaving me; oh, and one last thing, don’t forget to wear that dupatta; you always forget; sometimes, I think you do it deliberately to upset me

#excerpt from a book i'll never write #spilled ink #thoughts #writers on tumblr #poetry #writers creed #anger #desi tumblr #desi aesthetic #desi core

[sallysgrancanwrite]

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Masterlist

Sam Jeffries, the man from the garage, looked at her car.

“Well, it’s probably going to cost anywhere between $1500.00 to $3000.00 to get it off and repaint it. And I’m going to have to find the exact color. It might take a few days to get the color in but I’ll start removing it right away if you want.” Sam told her. Is it okay if I have the car for a while or do you need it?” He asked Chloe.

“Let me check on getting the money together and I’ll call you. If that’s okay.” Chloe said.

“Sounds good. Just let me know.” said Sam.

Chloe went into the house. She was going to have to borrow the money from Edith and Bob. She hated asking. She only had liability insurance so they weren’t going to cover all the damage.

“Bob? Edith? May I talk to you both?” Chloe asked them.

“What’s up?” Edith asked.

“I’ll call my insurance but I don’t think they will cover all the damage. Could I borrow the money until I can start using mine and Michael’s money? I just have no access to it yet.” Chloe asked them. “I’m sorry to have to ask.” She said,

“Chloe, you never have to worry about asking for help. We know the spot you’re in right now.” replied Edith.

“How much is it going to cost?” asked Bob.

“Between $1500 to $3000.” Chloe answered.

“You and Edith drive it in tomorrow and have him get started on it. We’ll take care of the bill.” Bob said.

“Thank you so much!” declared Chloe. “You are always there for me, thank you.”

“You’re a daughter to us Chloe. We raised you like one. We will always be there for you.” Edith stayed.

Chloe hugged them both and went to check on Emma, who was still sick with the flu.

She felt extremely blessed to have such great friends who supported her through everything.

Emma was quietly resting. Chloe just closed her door and went back downstairs.

“How is she?” Edith asked.

“She’s asleep so I didn’t bother her. She needs to rest.” Chloe answered.

“At least she seems to have stopped throwing up.” Edith remarked. “The Pepto must have helped. I’m glad for that.”

“I’m sure she’ll feel better tomorrow.” Chloe said.

The next morning Chloe drove her car to the garage while Edith followed. It was the first time Chloe had driven since getting out of the hospital. Hopefully she would be able to start driving herself around. She hated relying on someone to drive her all the time.

“It will be a few days or better before it’s ready.” Said Sam.

“That’s fine, just call when it’s ready,” said Edith. “Bob and I will be paying for the work.”

“Sounds good,” said Sam.

Chloe and Edith had to stop at the grocery store quickly. Edith needed some eggs, cream cheese, coffee, tomato sauce and garlic bread.

After the store they stopped home quickly to start a pot of chili.

“ I need to get to PT and then the gym,” said Chloe. “Would you let me borrow the car to go?” asked Chloe.

“I worry about you being alone and Michael being out,” said Bob.

“I have the day off, I’ll go with her,” said Beth. “Besides, you're busy schooling Emma right now.”

“Okay Beth can go with you.” Edith said.

“When am I going to be able to drive myself?” Chloe cried.

“When Michael is in jail.” Bob said. “I know you want your freedom but we just don’t trust him.”

“We just care abou you Chloe.” Edith added.

“I know,” said Chloe reluctantly.

“Let’s go,” said Beth. “Smile. We’ll make a day of it. Okay. Like old times.”

“Okay,” said Chloe.

The girls left and Edith got back to schooling Emma. Bob went to work on some cabinets he was building.

Beth sat and waited for Chloe to be done in PT. When they got to the gym Beth actually worked out with Chloe. It made it more fun.

“Thanks for working out with me Beth,” said Chloe.

“Hey, I need to work out. Eating all Edith’s cooking has made my hips grow.” Beth said laughing. “Let’s go to lunch. My treat.” She said.

“Sure. It’s been a long time since you and I got to do that.” said Chloe.

As they walked out of the gym Michael was walking in with the new girl in his life.

“I wonder if he hits her,” said Beth under her breath.

“Looks like you need the gym.” laughed Michael.

Beth turned around and before Chloe knew it Beth had punched Michael right in the mouth. His lip started to bleed. Chloe wanted to laugh but didn’t.

“I’ll get you on assault!” screamed Michael.

“Go ahead!” yelled Beth. “We’ll charge you with harassment.”

Michael wiped his lip and walked away angrily.

“That was awesome!” said Chloe. “I mean I know you shouldn’t have but it was great to see his face.” laughed Chloe.

“Come on, let’s go,” said Beth. “My hand hurts now.” She said smiling.

#original fiction #original story #writeblr

[garden-with-squid]

8/31/23

Last day of August! Just passed another heatwave, so I watered, pruned, and fertilized. I removed the Black Cherry tomato, may it rest in peace, because it looked spent. Your fruit made so many bowls of pasta - store bought does not hold a candle to your deliciousness.

For seeds, the onions are leggy but alright (I added sifted compost and half strength fertilizer), the lettuce has germinated, and the zinnias look amazing. I think the compost mix really held moisture like I wanted. And since I struggle with starting indoors, I sowed some more onion seeds in an outdoor container. It’s shallots, then Texas early, then red onion (I think)

This rest of this post under the cut will be a season review and planning for fall.

Summer season review: Overall, I did experience the same garden fatigue from the heat and watering, even though this summer was way more mild than last year. The ollas work great so far, so maybe that will help next year. I loved every bowl of homegrown cherry tomato pasta we made, and we even got some chilies and bell peppers. Great improvements over last year!

While it will stay hot for another month or two, I’m excited to try new things during fall. Apparently, California’s expecting lower than average temps and more rain; the whole year’s been like that.

Considerations for fall:

How densely do I plant to soak up extra water while allowing airflow/avoiding disease?

Will be there be enough sunlight to grow everything?

What if we get a freeze?

What if there are storms?

Upcoming projects/plans:

Cover crop beds 1 and 3

Plant beds 2 and 4 with onions, carrots, garlic, lettuce, broccoli, etc

Start a container garden on the pavement with berries, strawberry tower, tea plant, dragonfruit trellis, flowers, etc.

Install ollas and arch trellises between the beds

Replace daybed with little table and chairs to make a nice seating area, no rat nests!

Maybe set up an outdoor seed starting station? The bench is getting pretty full

Add dwarf tomato to the kitchen windowsill

At my parent’s house: harvest persimmons, sow wildflower seeds, plant trailing nasturtium

As you can see, I really want to do a lot this season. Invest some money and level up my gardening! I’d love for my garden to look more like the ones I see online, and it will take a few more years of experience to get there. If I challenge myself, I can get there.

#garden logbook #gardening #tomato #onion #flowers #seed starting

[breesays]

We are what we consume

What an honor it is to parent this little one. An honor? A delight. A task. A challenge. An experience that constantly melts me and reshapes me.

"Mama, I want BROSH."

You want what?

"BROSH"

What is BROSH? BRO-SHURE?

"No, BROSH."

I need a category. I need context. What do you do with BROSH?

"You eat it, mama, it's soft."

BRIOCHE? The bread?

"Yes, I want bree-OSH. And Hawaiian bread."

Only one bread, pick a bread.

"Ok, BROSH."

Like those paw-print sprinkled bumper stickers that say "who rescued who?!" Who is teaching who, here.

My therapist said, in our last meeting, that despite my anxieties, none seem centered around being a good parent. I am not worried about making the wrong choices, of passing down my traumas. "I'm here, aren't I?" I already know I'm imperfect, and I am always doing the work. There's no sense of being worried about it IN GENERAL.

The way I see it, he just needs to hear as many stories as possible. Not all of them, all at once - but a landscape of stories he can stumble through, at his own pace.

Tonight he ate a whole mango, skin and all. "Hey Google," we asked, "are mango skins edible?" Google said yes, it has lots of nutrients. Edible, but unnecessary. I went to the bathroom to floss mango flesh out of my teeth while he yelled, "hey mama, have you tried the skin?" Yes, I said, and I don't like it. "But it has NUTRIENTS" he said, nailing a word he'd learned about 2 minutes earlier.

I don't know if I would have what I finally feel like is a normal relationship with food if it wasn't for Des. I am still peripherally enticed by hacks, intermittent fasting, restriction. But I also have BUTTER in my fridge right now, and full-fat cream cheese. Me, who would for years only buy the lowest lightest skimmest barely there version of itself foods. It isn't dangerous, or taboo. It's for recipes, for baking, for taste and I do sample nearly everything I feed Des at least once. Food is an adventure, an experiment. Energy. Not the enemy.

He's a skinny preschooler, but admirably adventurous when it comes to eating. He pops cherry tomatoes like candy. We had tiny tuna wraps with nori, tuna, rice, avocado and cucumber last night. He will sample Flamin Hot Cheetos with curiosity but not destroy a whole bag. True, he has also dipped seaweed snacks into oatmilk "just to try it" but for the most part he is a paragon of intuitive eating.

Also true that I have to remind him to eat more often than not because he gets distracted, gets an idea or decides to start a project. But that's a lesson in inspiration, too. It is my job to interject before we hit HANGRY, and also my job to occasionally make meals interesting. I let him choose a couple nights a week, he often requests salmon. He's learning to chop, grate, grow, savor.

We do not forbid much, but we pay attention to what certain foods do to our bodies, our minds. Chili mangoes are not a bedtime snack. Actually, we've been tuning into what things -besides food- that we consume do to our bodies, our moods, our disposition. Videos, music, movement, how we talk.

I am learning so much.

#intuitive eating #parenting #breesays #food

[absolutebl]

FOOD GAME (+ BL version)

Tagged by the lovely @LOTUS-SOUP-POT and always willing to engage with anything food based. 

Let’s do this thing! 

Favourite fruit: in sheer quantity = probably avocado, tomato, for mouth feel = the lowly blueberry, I love it but I gotta be careful = cherries, and it just makes me happy and I can eat it all day = papaya and watermelon 

Favourite vegetable: Cucumber, spinach (and other leafy greens), garlic, onion, chili pepper 

Fruits you absolutely can’t stand: durian - it’s the only fresh fruit I actually will never give a second chance to 

Vegetables you loathe: none, I’m mostly vegetarian for no other reason than I adore vegetables 

Food you couldn’t eat in the past/when you were a child, you can eat now: none, I wasn’t wild about spinach or sprouts but we lived off the land, you ate what you grew and farmed, it’s that or nothing 

Food you started to dislike as you grew up: there is pretty much nothing I won’t eat, even durian I’ll try in cooked, fried, chipped, or candied 

What would you eat as your last supper? a chili verde street taco from my local Mexican hole in the wall, mushroom sundubu jjigae (Korean soft tofu stew), roasted duck from the farm-to-table place in the Embassy district of Paris, a bougatsa from that Greek bakery I found in Edinburgh, passion fruit fool. What? Try to stop me! 

THE BL VERSION

1. Fruit that surprised me in BL: cherry tomatoes as the fruit special honoring (Taiwan - We Best Love), of course it makes sense, they’re a fruit, but it was just amusing to see something so mundane to me show up in pride of place like that. 

2. BL made me eat it - Vegetable: Thai water spinach (turns out it’s a kind of cress) I had to get the seeds and grow it in order to eat it (I think it was in one of those TayNew Eat The World specials) 

3. BL made me eat it - Fruit: none actually, I’m usually familiar with what they’re eating, but I do want to learn how to peal fruit “properly” since it’s such a “thing” in Cdramas 

4. BL made me eat it - Savory dish: Khai Palo (Thailand - Enchante), it’s yummy and way more Chinese influenced flavor profile that I was expecting, full of 5 spice 

5. BL made me eat it - Sweet dish: hawthorne candy (China - Addicted), I’ve only found a pre packaged candy version so far, it’s hella sweet 

6. BL made me drink it: Pink milk (Thailand - SOTUS), OMG no, way too sweet 

Feel free to play the game and tag me back if you do because I wanna see your answers. 

#meme game #food game #all about food #thai bl #chinese bl #SOTUS #addicted web series #thai food #enchante #chiense food #taiwanese food #favorite food #favorite fruit #favorite veg #Pink milk #Khai Palo #last meal

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

FALL CSA WEEK 1 & 2 so belated

P I C K L I S T

october 18

carmen peppers - habanada pepper - hungarian hot wax - poblano peppers - zinnias - mizuna - red onion - garlic - cilantro - acorn squash - plum tomatoes - broccoli

BREAD OF THE WEEK: olive focaccia

P I C K L I S T

october 25

NAPA CABBAGE - CARROTS - GINGER - DAIKON RADISH - LETTUCE - SNACKING SWEETIE PEPS - CARMEN PEPPER - CAYENNE PEPPER - HABANERO PEPPER - LEEKS - PLUM TOMATOES - GARLIC - RASPBERRIES - HOUSE PLANT - CARVING PUMPKIN - FLOWERS   

BREAD OF THE WEEK: AUBERGINE BREAD

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Literally meaning “sour stuff,” this is the everyday Vietnamese pickle that you’ve seen and eaten countless times in bánh mì, on rice plates, and in other dishes. Ðồ chua is typically made with daikon and carrot, but you can use jicama instead of the daikon for a crunchy-sweet result. It does require more time: You can’t massage it as it will just break apart and you need to chill the pickle 1–2 days to allow the flavors to fully develop before using. If using daikon, choose one that is dense with firm, smooth skin, which are signs that it enjoyed good growing conditions and will likely taste more sweet than bitter. Precut jicama may be sliced into matchsticks for this pickle.

Makes about 6 cups

2 lb. daikon (about 1), peeled, cut into 3x¼" matchsticks

12 oz. carrots (about 6 medium), trimmed, peeled, cut into 3x¼" matchsticks

4 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

4 tsp. plus 1 cup granulated sugar

2½ cups distilled white vinegar

Preparation

Step 1 Toss 2 lb. daikon (about 1), peeled, cut into 3x¼" matchsticks, 12 oz. carrots (about 6 medium), trimmed, peeled, cut into 3x¼" matchsticks, 4 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 4 tsp. sugar in a medium bowl to combine. Let sit 20 minutes. You should be able to bend a piece of daikon to make the ends touch without it breaking. (If you need to speed up the process, you can massage and knead vegetables with your hands until softened, about 3 minutes.) Step 2 Rinse vegetables in a large mesh sieve or colander under running water, then press or shake to expel excess moisture. Divide between two 1-qt. glass jars or airtight containers. Step 3 Stir 2½ cups distilled white vinegar, remaining 1 cup sugar, and 2 cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pour into jars to cover vegetables; reserve any excess for making salad dressing (you may have about 1 cup liquid left over). Cover and let sit at least 1 hour at room temperature. Drain before using. Do ahead: Vegetables can be pickled 1 month ahead. Chill.

BAECHU KIMCHI BY MORIHOUSE (@mori.house)/ Makes about one 750ml mason jar

1 large Napa Cabbage**, about 1kg/2lbs

Sea Salt (non-iodized), fine to semi-fine- 3% the weight of the Napa Cabbage

3-5 GARLIC cloves, thinly sliced

zest of 1 Lemon, sliced into thin slivers

2 dried Togarashi Chili Peppers or Chile de Arbol, chopped (deseeded, optional)

3-5 cloves Garlic, crushed into a paste

3-5 Tbsp Gochugaru (Korean Chili Pepper Flakes)***

1 Tbsp Fish Sauce (optional)

Pickling Brine* or Filtered Water

JENNY’S NOTE: 

OTHER CSA CROPS TO ADD TO THIS KIMCHI RECIPE JULIENNED CARROTS/ SLICED DAIKON RADISHES/ MINCED OR GRATED GINGER

Supplies:

1x Mortar & Pestle

1x Large Mixing Bowl

2-3 Spoons for mixing

1x 750ml sterilized, air-tight Mason Jar

1x Knife or Cleaver

1x Heavy object like a large stone or a large mason jar filled with water for weighing down your pickles.

1x Dish Towel

1x Small jar or pitcher for collecting excess brine

1x Fork or utensil to press down the pickles into the jar

Prepare the garlic scapes, lemon zest and chili peppers as described. Cut your cabbage into 1/8ths lengthwise and then widthwise into approximately 3 inch chunks. (JENNY’S NOTE: Add your julienned carrots, sliced radishes, grated ginger here to the mix)

Place into a large bowl and scatter the salt, lemon zest, garlic and chili peppers over the cabbage. Gently massage the salt into the cabbage mixture evenly. As you are doing this, you will feel the cabbage excrete its water content. This will take just a few minutes.

Next use a plate or another round flat object which has a smaller circumference than the bowl, so it fits just inside rim and on top of the cabbage mixture. Using a large stone, mason jars filled with water or another heavy object, weigh the plate and cabbage down. Cover the top of the bowl with a towel to keep dust from getting in and let it sit weighed down like this for at least 3 hours to lightly pickle. After the 3 hours or more have elapsed, you will find the water from the cabbage will have filled the bowl to cover the kimchi in what is now a salty *pickling brine.

Decant the brine into a pitcher or jar and gently squeeze a little out of the cabbage mixture. At this stage you will have a fresh, lightly-pickled style of napa cabbage known in Japan as “Hakusai no Tsukemono”. If you don’t like spicy, you can skip ahead to the jarring stage.

Crush your garlic into a paste with a mortar and pestle and a couple pinches of salt to break it down easier. Add your gochugaru, fish sauce (if using) and using small amounts of the brine, make a paste similar in thickness to a tomato paste. Chuck this paste into the drained cabbage mixture, still in the original bowl, and massage all together, making sure the paste is distributed evenly.

Use the following final steps for both the spicy and non-spicy versions: Layer your kimchi into the mason jar in 3-4 stages. Between each layer, use a fork to gently press the kimchi down as flat as you can. Continue to do this until all the kimchi is in the jar. Give it a few more presses with a fork, getting as much oxygen and as many air bubbles out as possible. If your kimchi paste was the right consistency, brine will rise to the top as you press the air out of the kimchi. If not, add small amounts of brine until it does. If making only non-spicy Kimchi, you will definitely need to add some brine. This extra thin layer of liquid at the top will help to seal your kimchi during the beginning of the fermentation process. Seal the jar and place it in the coolest and darkest part of your home.

Next is the waiting! 1 MONTH is the sweet spot but while it may not be for everyone, do try to wait at least 5-7 days before tasting. It takes at least this long for there to be any noticeable fermentation. In the colder seasons, it may take even longer, up to 10 days. If you want to “taste-as-you-go”, be sure to use a clean utensil and DON’T double dip! However long your preferred fermentation time, you will need to help the kimchi release carbon dioxide gas every couple of days. You may notice that when you open it, the kimchi will bubble. Sometimes it will bubble like soda but it may also only bubble slightly or barely at all. Either way, you can rest assured that it is fermenting. Each time you release the gas, you will also notice the kimchi may have risen slightly. Using a fork press it down again as much as you can. Brine may or may not rise to cover the kimchi at this stage and that is ok.

Note: Depending on whether or not you sterilized your jar properly and the environment temperature, you may occasionally find trace amounts of white, blue or green mold on the top of your kimchi. DO NOT worry about this. Simply remove it from the kimchi or wipe it off if it is on the jar or lid. However, if you find black mold, I’m sorry to say your kimchi may have been contaminated by unwanted outside bacteria. At that stage, it is better to start over just to be safe. All this said, mold is highly unlikely using this method.

After 1 month (or shorter) has elapsed, enjoy your kimchi as a side to most of your favorite Asian dishes, cook it in a dish or eat it as a snack!

**Do not use standard or savoy cabbage to substitute. However, you can use Bok Choy (same weight) as a substitute if Napa Cabbage is nowhere to be found.

***Note: I have had some students use Cayenne Pepper, Paprika or Chili Powder in lieu of Gochugaru before, but please use caution as the spice levels between these differ substantially. If you are absolutely unable to get Gochugaru and still want to try making spicy kimchi, start by making your paste with just one tablespoon of one of these substitutes. Taste it first, then add more, tablespoon by tablespoon until you reach a spice-level which is tolerable for you. However, I suggest you do try to add Gochugaru as a regular item in your kitchen. It is very versatile and easy to find online or at Asian Markets.