My Favorite Wild Edible & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  There was some lovely rain last week, which should help all the transplants settle in.  I made a large batch of laundry soap, using my grated soap for one of the ingredients.  I steamed a large bag of our chard.  It never ceases to surprise me how much it cooks down.  After working in town, I went by Walgreens on their 20% off day, buying neosporin (buy 2 , get 1 free), packing tape (buy 1, get 1 for 1/2 price), & greeting cards.  At the grocery store, I used a $3 coupon for dogfood, used a $2 off beer deal, and got dog treats and wine on sale.  I used my own shopping bags for a discount.

My bank, which was recently bought, will print out deposit slips for you if you're in the bank, but charge if you order some to be mailed to you.  It makes no sense to me, but I requested the free ones.  A good rain allowed us to collect several hundred gallons of water.  I made yogurt, kefir, and suet for the birds.  I made a Dr's appointment for an infected toe that was not getting better despite my best efforts.  The appointment wasn't cheap, but I did get a 55% discount as a self-payer, and they told me I could have a pen from their large stash at the checkout counter, a small frugality.  Afterwards, I picked up produce... grape tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, and bread, cheese, apple juice, sparkling pink lemonade & wine at Aldi's.  Most of these were organic.

On a cooler, very windy day, I baked our sweet potatoes, and prepared a cabbage & egg noodle dish that was shared by Jane.  J & I both agree it's a keeper.  I had made a similar dish a few months ago, but now that we've had this one, it will be the go to dish.  Comfort food at it's best, which was needed, as I had a minor procedure on my toe that day and needed a bit of comfort.  The cabbage was the last of some store bought and the first of what we planted in the fall.  Unfortunately, J found two cabbage heads that had split and sent up a stalk already.  I had covered them with row cover during warm February days, when I saw cabbage moths checking them out.  But, out of sight also means they can get missed.  Oh well, I'm happy we got the three heads we did.

There have been some serious winds recently, which gave me the gift of several more tufts of usnea to add to the tincture bottle.  Each time I add some,  I cross out the old date and add the new one, to be sure it "works" six weeks.  If this keeps up, I may need a new scrap of paper, as the old one is getting pretty filled up. A dear friend and I went to a rummage sale, which supports the local arts guild.  Treasures found included a covered basket, wool rug, container of 21 assorted quality threads, piece of pacific cloth, pillowcases, scrap of embroidered material, immersion blender and pantry moth trap, all for $22.  There were several boxes of free items, in which I found 2 jelly jars and a pint canning jar.  Though I've donated items, I hadn't been to this sale in several years.  It's a good one.

Our sea buckthorn trees arrived.  J planted them along the pond, and also transplanted two peach seedlings that had volunteered near some older trees.  I suspect the squirrels had some part in the peach pits left there, but at least there is a benefit.  I use sea buckthorn oil as a soap ingredient for it's skin benefits, and hope to someday be able to use home grown.  We strung up twine for our pea plants.  Some of them are starting to bloom.  There was a major mishap with my homestead meeting seedlings, which fell to the floor after watering.  I salvaged and transplanted all I thought might possibly live.  I think several money plants will make it, maybe a couple of cutting celery, and I'm not sure about anything else.  A double batch of coronation cauliflower was made for a family gathering, and a green salad which used some of our lettuce as well as lettuce we were given.

I harvested a large basket of lambs quarter, and researched some new recipes for it (scroll to bottom of linked page for recipe links).  I've said before that it's my favorite wild food, and it consistently provides well for us every year.  You have to love an edible plant that shows up without any assistance.  J dug up several plum offshoots, and planted them in several spots.  We were happy to see that we do indeed have some peaches, and it appears we'll have about half of our blueberry crop.  We had light frost this weekend, but that's the last in the forecast at present.  Our wounded hen is doing well, with feathers filling back in and her wound healing nicely.  A couple of japanese beetle larva were dug up during our plum moving, and I brought them to her, the extra protein helpful for wound healing.  J tilled some garden areas, and we discussed where plants will go this year.

While walking with the pups, I nibbled on sheep sorrel and cat briar tips.  Both have fresh, spring tastes with the sorrel being quite tart.  I'll be covering two mornings at one of my occasional jobs this week.  I'm quite behind on gardening chores this year, and spring cleaning has gone by the wayside, but there have been other things to attend to, and I'm trying hard to be kind to myself.   I hope you are being good to yourselves, my friends!