I'm almost tempted to stop cooking my pancakes. bonus of no animal ingredients is that I can eat just about anything without cooking it first (kidney beans excepted). It just feels so decadent to drink raw pancake batter. but it tastes soooo good. Gotta think on that one.
Oatmeal was better but too sweet- used 1/4C ea- chopped apple, raisins, almonds. Seasoned with 2T sugar, 1/4tsp cinnamon, splash vanilla. Way too sweet. But fast to make when I put lunch off until almost dinner.
For dinner I had half as many potstickers and twice as much asparagus as when I ate it for breakfast. And somehow I managed to get too much salt on the asparagus. Ate it anyway, asparagus is tasty and expensive.
In other news, I went to the "Freds" place. Found some seeds 4/$1, and (like an idiot with no self control) bought two. So now I have eggplant and pea seeds. Anything else is going to have to wait until I find a better price. I want to add at least basil and tomato, and really really want zucchini and maybe a winter squash, but I don't know how well they grow down here. I'll also have to hit the Re-Store for possible trellis material. I don't want to buy something new just to have it rained on and rotting. Still don't have an answer on a garden. Should probably look for planters too.
I'm glad you're looking at growing vegetables. The "Mom voice" in me has been saying "Tell her she needs more greens in her diet." I try to tell it to be quiet ;)
ReplyDeleteHave you considered growing some type of greens? I know you said you had a brown thumb. The advantage of lettuces, spinach, kale, etc. is that you can eat them as soon as they get a couple of inches tall. No need to keep them alive long enough for the edible part to set and ripen. Also, you can sow a little seed every few days, so you always have some coming along. And almost anything works as a planter - bowl, old cake pan, shaped tin foil.
Don't know if this is useful or not or how it fits into everything. But I bought some of these seeds to grow in my apartment.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5218/
I don't have a yard and I have a small apartment so I've been wanting to try out some serious container gardening. If you like bok choi these mature really quick, within a month and you get 100 seeds for $1.75. I'm assuming one could eat JUST one and that would be satisfactory (Mine will be planted this weekend). So we're talking less than 2 cents a piece if they all develop.
Of course, I don't know how you would figure in shipping or anything within your budget. But it was just a suggestion since you love your stir-fry's and all. ;) And if you're into "free food by mail" I'd totally mail you some of my seeds. Again, just a thought.
On my container garden list and pretty cost-effective:
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5137/
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5601/
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5368/
Also completely mailable. Sharing seeds wouldn't be cheating, right?
A few other great seed purchasing sites are http://www.underwoodgardens.com/ and http://www.jungseed.com/ those two combined with parkseed should give you the best amount of options and bargains if you're interested. Also, if your thumb is as brown as you say (mine is practically black) you should check out http://www.eartheasy.com/ for some helpful information or stick to the easy stuff (which is what I've resigned myself to) like peppers, squash, tomatoes, etc.
ReplyDeleteCongrats for keeping up the good work!
@SunShadow- I'll check out the greens. I might have to grow only baby greens inside, though- I'm afraid if I leave them outside I'll forget them for a day or two, and they'll fry or bolt.
ReplyDelete@Alyse- Wow, those look great. I'll probably go for better seeds next year, but I'm kinda enjoying the treasure hunt-like adventure of finding the seeds I want for next to nothing.
@nicole- I'll add those to my list too, but I don't know if they're in the budget this year. My big growing goal this year is to successfully grow more than 1 zucchini to the point it's worth eating. Last year the hail took out the one plant with a chance. Year before that they just... died... So I'll use eartheasy and hopefully actually get to eat something I grew this year...
Just coming to your site today and I don't know where you live. I live in Las Vegas. Most greens grow here in the fall-spring, but I can grow swiss chard year round. Walmart has seeds for $1 a package right now. You just cut off the outer leaves and it keep producing. Loose-leaf lettuce and spinach can be harvested the same way until they bolt.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where you're buying your oats, but I get a 25 pound bag for $7.60. If you need some more super cheap recipes, come visit my site; my food budget isn't much different than yours (per person); I just have several more people to feed!
Brandy
www.theprudenthomemaker.com
i live in GA and the zucchini and yellow squash grows like a weed down here. i wouldn't think you'd have any problems with it in SC.
ReplyDelete