Great stuff. Love it. Can't seem to find much time to focus on my own writing these days. How are you prepping? Just curious. I know how to pickle vegetables. haha.
I have a huge vegetable garden going in this year, comparatively speaking (maybe 500 square feet?). Thinking about chickens. Have lots of stored dry food. Have a solar generator (though not sure what use it is if the cell towers don't work either? I suppose it's good to be able to charge things.) Don't keep much $ in the bank.
A lot of my friends seem on edge but the past couple of weeks I've not had much time to focus on news or even Substack articles. Too busy with practical stuff. Doing something seems to help calm the brain. :)
I, too, am finding it difficult to have the time, focus, and energy to write. I try and do only a paragraph or two at a time. I’m spending all my time gardening. I won’t pickle until the fall. But my ma and I pickle everything. You haven’t lived until you have some Bulgarian pickled watermelon rinds. We also do the ajvar and baba ganoush (we call them luitenitza and kiopou). And jams.
Basically everything you’ve mentioned for prepping, I’m doing. Planning on buying a solar genie in case we need it for an electrical heater or for light or to refrigerate food. I also thought about chickens. I might ape into it in the fall but the more research I do, the more I wonder how I’m gonna be able to feed them.
Really looking forward to your next instalment of Coley’s Toxins. I shared your article with a few friends who are having a hard time with their chemo. Told them to start looking at some of the research and seeing if it’s for them. I think the biggest obstacle is the licensed allopathic docs who are telling them it’s all mumbo jumbo. The state of mind of a human goes a long way in help healing the body. And if you’re told to doubt, you’re less likely to have a positive outcome.
If you’re still on the go and passing through Chi, holler.
I like making sauerkraut... if you can call that pickling. I'll start preserving my cabbage that way as soon as the cabbage is ready. Some will get root cellared, so to speak... I would LOVE to learn from you regarding pickling. Yes!! I have to try those watermelon rinds! I have never had them! I will probably have a dozen watermelon this summer at least. :D Can you share your method?
I guess you must live in the burbs or you would have no space to grow this stuff!
I came from the midwest to the east coast last week. I'm in Zone 7b, so it's great growing weather here. Season from mid-April to late October or even though to November. I don't need to get my potatoes in until late June. I feel lucky.
I didn't swing as far north as Chicago this time but it may not be the last trip I make this summer. :)
I live in the city but have a fairly large backyard (for the city). My garden isn’t very big. The veggies I pickle have been store bought mostly (except for the green tomatoes and the peppers).
I love sauerkraut. Tried pickling whole cabbages in a barrel a couple of winters ago (for stuffed cabbage) but it made the house stink to high heaven. My gardening skills are only a few years old and I am learning as I go so trying a little bit of everything.
Pickled Watermelon Rind Recipe:
Wash well and cut in square bites, removing the pink.
1 soup spoon of salt at the bottom of the jar
1 tea spoon of sugar at the bottom of the jar
2 and 1/2 soup spoons vinegar
2 aspirins
Rinds
Fill with boiling water, close tight.
Turn jars over on their lids until they are cool.
Then turn right side up and store
Ready to eat in about 10 days
If you do make it back to the Midwest, bonfire, pickled veggies and Bulgarian rakija will be here for you. 🤗
I guess we had to leave Afghanistan in order to find new wars to spend money on, to maintain the military-industrial complex. I fear for the millions of Americans who have no clue, and no reserves--of resources or community. But PamelaDrew is right--a community of like-thinkers is some solace, and maybe a source of intestinal fortitude?!?
I have no doubt that community is our greatest asset for moving forward. Take Substack, for example. I had never heard of it until last year. Now it has become an anchor of sanity where we can discuss ideas and expand our resources. Like the books you sent me!
"In three months, in fact, the US has sent more money to Ukraine than it spent on its 20 year failed war in Afghanistan. It’s about to send another $40 billion which would be more than the entire Russian military’s annual budget."
Powerful example of political priorities and wonderfully engaging piece. As a New Yorker the concerns you have for shortages are a very real question about what will happen when we get to crisis phase. While the future is unknown there is some comfort in finding similar thinking, it leaves room for hope that those who can identify the problems will lead the way to solutions, thank you. :~)
Great stuff. Love it. Can't seem to find much time to focus on my own writing these days. How are you prepping? Just curious. I know how to pickle vegetables. haha.
I have a huge vegetable garden going in this year, comparatively speaking (maybe 500 square feet?). Thinking about chickens. Have lots of stored dry food. Have a solar generator (though not sure what use it is if the cell towers don't work either? I suppose it's good to be able to charge things.) Don't keep much $ in the bank.
A lot of my friends seem on edge but the past couple of weeks I've not had much time to focus on news or even Substack articles. Too busy with practical stuff. Doing something seems to help calm the brain. :)
I, too, am finding it difficult to have the time, focus, and energy to write. I try and do only a paragraph or two at a time. I’m spending all my time gardening. I won’t pickle until the fall. But my ma and I pickle everything. You haven’t lived until you have some Bulgarian pickled watermelon rinds. We also do the ajvar and baba ganoush (we call them luitenitza and kiopou). And jams.
Basically everything you’ve mentioned for prepping, I’m doing. Planning on buying a solar genie in case we need it for an electrical heater or for light or to refrigerate food. I also thought about chickens. I might ape into it in the fall but the more research I do, the more I wonder how I’m gonna be able to feed them.
Really looking forward to your next instalment of Coley’s Toxins. I shared your article with a few friends who are having a hard time with their chemo. Told them to start looking at some of the research and seeing if it’s for them. I think the biggest obstacle is the licensed allopathic docs who are telling them it’s all mumbo jumbo. The state of mind of a human goes a long way in help healing the body. And if you’re told to doubt, you’re less likely to have a positive outcome.
If you’re still on the go and passing through Chi, holler.
I like making sauerkraut... if you can call that pickling. I'll start preserving my cabbage that way as soon as the cabbage is ready. Some will get root cellared, so to speak... I would LOVE to learn from you regarding pickling. Yes!! I have to try those watermelon rinds! I have never had them! I will probably have a dozen watermelon this summer at least. :D Can you share your method?
I guess you must live in the burbs or you would have no space to grow this stuff!
I came from the midwest to the east coast last week. I'm in Zone 7b, so it's great growing weather here. Season from mid-April to late October or even though to November. I don't need to get my potatoes in until late June. I feel lucky.
I didn't swing as far north as Chicago this time but it may not be the last trip I make this summer. :)
I live in the city but have a fairly large backyard (for the city). My garden isn’t very big. The veggies I pickle have been store bought mostly (except for the green tomatoes and the peppers).
I love sauerkraut. Tried pickling whole cabbages in a barrel a couple of winters ago (for stuffed cabbage) but it made the house stink to high heaven. My gardening skills are only a few years old and I am learning as I go so trying a little bit of everything.
Pickled Watermelon Rind Recipe:
Wash well and cut in square bites, removing the pink.
1 soup spoon of salt at the bottom of the jar
1 tea spoon of sugar at the bottom of the jar
2 and 1/2 soup spoons vinegar
2 aspirins
Rinds
Fill with boiling water, close tight.
Turn jars over on their lids until they are cool.
Then turn right side up and store
Ready to eat in about 10 days
If you do make it back to the Midwest, bonfire, pickled veggies and Bulgarian rakija will be here for you. 🤗
Keep Writing! I can't say this was uplifting, but I enjoyed the humor and style. Thank you for another great essay.
The p value of Joseph’s. I needed that LOL!
😂
I guess we had to leave Afghanistan in order to find new wars to spend money on, to maintain the military-industrial complex. I fear for the millions of Americans who have no clue, and no reserves--of resources or community. But PamelaDrew is right--a community of like-thinkers is some solace, and maybe a source of intestinal fortitude?!?
I have no doubt that community is our greatest asset for moving forward. Take Substack, for example. I had never heard of it until last year. Now it has become an anchor of sanity where we can discuss ideas and expand our resources. Like the books you sent me!
"In three months, in fact, the US has sent more money to Ukraine than it spent on its 20 year failed war in Afghanistan. It’s about to send another $40 billion which would be more than the entire Russian military’s annual budget."
Powerful example of political priorities and wonderfully engaging piece. As a New Yorker the concerns you have for shortages are a very real question about what will happen when we get to crisis phase. While the future is unknown there is some comfort in finding similar thinking, it leaves room for hope that those who can identify the problems will lead the way to solutions, thank you. :~)
But I also need to ask, do you have a plan for escaping NY if shit hits the fan?
Not really, too much of what I love is here so I will stay put and go down fighting.
I’m following your lead, Pamela!
Much appreciated but too sweet an attribution for working together with shared aims. <3
More please!! 😃
Love the ‘relentless real’. Stealing that.