peanuts

so apparently I need arginine to live well,
and I hate depending on others to live,
so I was wondering if I can grow it on my own
and I found this,
http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/amino-acids/arginine-content-food.php
after a bit of math,  about 8 to 16 spanish peanuts after each meal would be all I need,

can the solution cost only peanuts ?
I tested using just the peanuts, and it seems to be kind of working,

and the squash seeds should work even better (once I am growing them)
http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/amino-acids/arginine-in-foods/page-2.php
I found this very exciting before testing, and not quite so much after testing.

sugar addiction

so many people are addicted to sugar,
it is not that big of a deal,
but it does mess with the taste of other things,
if you are growing your food then you are going to have lots of things that are not made of sugar,
you have to stop eating all sugar for about a month before your taste of will change,
and I am not just talking white sugar, I am talking all sugar even if it is natural.

so when planning what to grow or eat, keep in mind that taste will change if you have sugar in your diet now.

squirrel spotted

there was a ground squirrel spotted just 1/8 mile from here,
they are out there and nearby, but the cats keep them back just a short distance,
it is a reminder that my garden would be nothing at all without the cats here,
I could screen in the entire garden, but that is about the only way unless you have cats,

just gets me thinking that a small change (like no longer having cats),
could end up in huge changes to my gardening,

trying to predict all the interactions in nature can be a challenge

parsley root

does everyone know about parsley root ?
I had no idea what it was till just a few days ago,
parsley grows an edible root...
and I had no idea.

seeds
http://www.rareseeds.com/parsley-hamburg-rooted/
and another kind, 
http://www.rareseeds.com/parsley-demi-long-root/

even Martha Stewart knows about it,
http://www.marthastewart.com/351198/roasted-parsley-root

so much left to learn...

zoning laws

zoning laws are very annoying
I have been seeing this sort of thing for years,
this one is not even farming
http://offgridsurvival.com/targetingselfreliantlifestyle-zoninglawsaws/
but the guy was trying to make a living while living the way he wanted to,

it is super easy to violate zoning laws when growing your own food,
they can be things like building fences, or using water on food plants, or having plants go to flower
just be careful

grain planning

so it was pointed out to me that I missed grains on my planning list,
I just don't eat many grains anymore,
but I guess others do,
so...
here is the list of grains I would think would cover much of what is needed,

     durum wheat, it is for making pasta, couscous, and some fancy bread (who needs the regular bread if you have this?)
     hard winter wheat, for bread, and biscuits
     soft spring wheat, for cakes, and pastries
     buckwheat, for pancakes and noodles
     oats, for oat meal ! (this one is gluten free)
     barley, for beer, animal feed, direct eating, or flat breads
     quiona, for eating
     amaranth, for eating
I know that I did not list them all, or even what are good varieties for any area...

for the most part you might be limited by what you can grow in an area,
I have already tested a hulless barely and an oat here in a very dry winter, and they did very well growing with no external water,
but you never know what will fail from one year to the next,
so I suggest that you grow a few grain plots in case one fails, remember that you have to plan for failure.

each grain has it's advantage and disadvantage,
some grow in the summer and will need water here,
and some grow in the winter and will likely not need watered at all,
some are tasty and some are durable when growing,

I had this post on my list of things to post today,
but I also met someone today from the same area that likes growing grain as well,
and after going to the funeral I needed something happy,
it cheered me up quite a bit knowing that others like growing grains near here,

here are a few places that carry grain seeds,
have fun figuring out what will likely work well where you live,
and then testing them

http://sustainableseedco.com/grains/

http://www.bountifulgardens.org/Grains-Fibers-and-Oil-Crops/departments/4/

http://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/grains/

http://www.adaptiveseeds.com/catalog/grains

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/grains.html

http://www.southernexposure.com/grains-cover-crops-c-29.html

don't forget about this great grain preservation group
http://ancientcerealgrains.org/

melty cheese / velveeta shortage

once a year there is a velveeta shortage, or at least the news claims it to be true,
so if some sporting event has messed with the availability of one of your favorite foods,
then make your own,

it is super easy to make,
the trick is to replace the calcium ions in the cheese with sodium ions
so all you do is take a pan,
and out about a tsp. of sodium citrate in it (I keep mine in a salt shaker),
then add some water, a tablespoon might be about right, but maybe 2, you might have to play with that a bit
dissolve the bitter salt (sodium citrate) in the water,
then grade hard cheese into the pan on low heat while stirring,

in no time at all you end up with a fantastic melty cheese that you can cool off and it turns solid again,
and heat up and it melts perfect,
it is very fun,
and you can use high quality cheese as well.

sodium citrate is the primary ingredient in Gatorade, and it use to be marketed as "bitter salt" long ago, but just fell out of popularity, so don't fear it.

today was an exciting cooking day.