Brandon Zeringue

Today was productive. I put on A Clockwork Orange Original Soundtrack vinyl and I started taking things apart. I saved some things but for the most part it was a day of demolition. I kept hinges and screws and such and the rest of it went out in many pieces. It has much more room now and I have plans that will add some storage without compromising the openness that I created. I look forward to painting it. I still have work to do. I want to remove the bathtub sink combo, the water heater, and the AC unit. None of this stuff works so I’m just getting it out of my way. I won’t just build around broken outdated junk. I don’t even plan on pulling it or having a vehicle that can so I don’t need it to be light or even have the weight well distributed. Also, I want to see as much of the floor as I can so that I will know if I have to fix that.

My original approach involved adding the lentils and rice at the same time and letting it all cook together. Although there are some benefits to this approach the draw back is that it doesn’t help me to learn the two in isolation which would provide me a more versatile understanding.

I stopped adding the rice and focused on cooking lentils and vegetables with minimal seasonings. I put some oil in a Stainless Steal pot at dial mark 2 on the electric stove. Then I add some garlic, an entire onion chopped up, a bunch of celery, and then after that has gotten kinda juicy I add about two cups of French Green Lentils and as much water as I can fit.

I let that cook on the Low setting covered and stir it with a Wooden Spoon from time to time. I don’t monitor it too closely since it’s on low with a lot of water. After an hour or so passes I watch it more and when all of the lentils are soft I turn off the heat. I stir it a bunch to break up some of the lentils, add a little salt and usually some dried basil.

Next I put it all into wide mouth mason jars. Plastic containers are ridicules so I refuse to use them. Also the jars keep better, wash better, stack easier, and if a lid gets messed up then you can buy more lids. Plus you can recycle glass. Try to replace just the lid of a plastic container. If you can then try to replace the lid 3 months from now. Yeah. Mason jar lids will always remain compatible. They come in two sizes and in two parts.

I use One Pint(2 cup) Wide Mouth Can or Freeze Mason Jars. This type stacks the best with the bottom of one jar setting in the lid of the jar below. I can store my dry or cooked lentils, rice, dried fruit, anything. Moths, Ants, and other pest won’t get in. They won’t even know that food exist in your house.

Instead of rice I have been working with Hard Winter Wheat Berries from the bulk bins at WholeFoods. I cook them on low for a long time. The berries swell and split and the extra water becomes cream of wheat. This I can use for breakfast mixed with raisins, nuts, dried cranberries, and such or use as a rice like addition to the lentils bringing in even more iron and fiber. I call it Complete Cream of Wheat because the Bran and Germ haven’t been removed. It could be cooked less as well for less cream effect. Cream of Wheat is usually made with soft wheat.

Variation: Vegetables could be given less cook time by adding them after Lentils have cooked some. I would recommend cooking the Lentils by themselves and deduce how long it takes to get them the way you want them. Then with that duration in mind, throw in the vegetables whenever you want so that they finish up at the same time.

Feel free to let me know what you think of all this.

Well, Chances place didn’t work out this year. The tiller wasn’t acting right, My truck broke, Then I got a temporary job. Over at my place I couldn’t get the planters made in order to transplant. This is because my ceramic studio is still a mess. Because my ability to transplant was limited only a fraction of my plants survived. My best tip is to be ahead of yourself as much as possible. Try to have the next phase secured and ready to go well before you need it. Eliminate the potential for hang-ups. I hope that all of this learning will help me to be a great success next season. I do have some plants which have flowers so I hope to have some vegetables.

Also for container gardening I recommend using the biggest pot you have and only transplanting once so that you don’t hurt the roots or have to water constantly..

I have put a lot on my effort in to composting and that has been going well. I am going to start a worm bin as well as make a bat house. This is all due to the price of organic potting soil and my drive to learn and be independent.