I've been reading the fermenting thread and Free's food journal. I'd been introduced to fermented foods before, like sourdough and pickles, kombucha tea & ACV, but I'd never really learned all the health benefits of them. Since reading those 2 posts I've been doing a little research. I'd really like to learn more, so hopefully, Free will do her distance learning class this fall/winter and I'll learn even more. My crunch granolo friend from Little Rock, AR is a big kombucha tea & ACV proponant, so he should be proud of me. Maybe I can even teach him a little something afterwards. And, i was in GNC the other day and they have unprocessed ACV with the mother! I can make my own vinegar! I'll prob have to ferment it at my mom's, as my house is very hot at present and killed my fermenting pickles
I put the thermometer where I had the pickles and it was a lot cooler than the rest of the house, but I've learned 85-90 is too hot to safely ferment.
I've been trying to get away from the processed foods for some time now, but DH is the chef now that he's a stay-at-home-daddy. Meaning that he shops for it, plans it, cooks it and serves it about 80% of the time. I'll usually cook the side dishes for his entrees, or toss something in the crock pot as a main dish. Anyways, the end result of that is we end up eating more boxed stuff than I really want to. I try not to complain, after all he's doing the cooking, but the crud just does not taste right to me. Also, I see no point in using a box of "alfredo" pasta when it only takes about 10 minutes to have a homemade white sauce done, that tastes WAAAAY better than Betty's version, is seasoned exactly the way we like it and of course doesn't contain all the crud that Betty's does. Now, this doesn't mean that we eat boxed dinners every night, maybe 2-3 times a week. And the rest of time we eat very healthy, salads made with homegrown greens or bagged spring mix, homemade chili, spaghetti, quiche with fresh veggies, my fresh salsa rocks too! But still, I'd like that junk out of our cabinets altogether. One thing that helps is when I get stuff almost ready for him, chopped & diced & marinating, so all he has to do is cook it. He'll actually use it. But for some reason, instead of waiting until I get home to let me make the white sauce, he'll have the boxed dish almost ready when I walk in the door. Then its just a waste of "food"...
Another reason is that DH has reflux. Doesn't flare up often, thankfully, but he does wake up in the middle of night occasionally and has to go sleep in the recliner so he can rest without feeling
I've noticed that when we are lower on money, and have to scrounge for fresh veggies or go dig in mom's garden, he doesn't get it nearly as bad.
I have an eggplant fruit! Its tiny now, but it will be joined by others soon, 3 more blossoms have spent themselves and have small swellings developing! Eggplant parmesan mmmm.
I've been debating pulling some money out of my 401k plan to finance some of the endevors we want to accomplish this year, like the solar panels. We have no net metering policy here in ms, (which is the height of ignorance to me) nor are there any programs offering rebates, incentives, etc. Only loans are available, except through a few of the smaller energy companies. Tennessee Valley Authority is one of the best in the state by a long shot, but they ae way out of our region. We don't have any good credit built up, and have had a few dings to our credit, so of course, our # is very low thus our chances of even qualifying for a loan are very low. We don't want a full system just yet, we want to start small & add to it over time. With starting small & utilizing the federal tax credit, we'd be able to reduce our bill & save more money to buy more pieces. I'm only allowed to take out 50% of my total balance, and I've only been contributing for 8 years, sometimes very little at time. Still, roughly 2500 bucks would go a long way. We are definitely going to use our christmas club money to work on our SS fund. And I'm in a very good position as far as job cuts would go. Advertising is one of the worst things to cut when sales are down, and our work would cost double what our budget is if it were outsourced. Plus there are only three people in my department, including myself & the boss and we do the work of a 6 person design team. The other chick would be the one to get cut. I know, thats terrible to think about, but ya gotta be realistic. Plus her hubby is employed, so it wouldn't be as much of a drop for her as it would me...
This year, folks are getting canned goods, thrift store finds & jarred gifts, specific to the person. 1 cousin luuuvs my homemade tomato soup, another is diabetic but wants to drink sweet hot cocoa, another wants books for whatever the occasion, any kind of book. There's three I can do quite easily & cheaply too!
The oldest cousin & I have tried to talk everyone into contributing a set amount to a charity or food bank instead of gifts to each other, maybe drawing names or at least only buying for the actual kids, but that never gets agreed to. It'd ruin the fuuuun of it. I'm sorry, I thought Christmas was about sacrifice for yourself & giving to others, not fuuuun. Bleh... And don't get me started on the food...
Wow, this got long...
