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• Beer Battered Nopales Tacos

  Ahh, nopales. Growing through fences and in vacant lots around Southern California and much of the Southwest, prevalent in landscaping even in places like Brooklyn, New York, the noble nopal (or prickly pear cactus in English), is a brilliant plant. With numerous different strains and cultivars that thrive in various climates, this hardy perennial cactus produces edible green pads and delicious red fruits. While the tradition of eating the pads seems less common among non-Mexican or non-Chican...

• Post #2769218

  Thoughtworm about how a blatant inability to view death as something that is natural and not always horrid, or put another way: about how *total horror* at death is tightly coupled with socioeconomic privilege.

• Post #2769213

  I mean forget about meat, if we're considering the ecological footprints of most cooking oils lard is like... more valuable than gold in my opinion. It's unfortunate that it's become such a taboo source of fat because of the alignment of its image with Mexican people and health issues (eh hem), because truly the backyard hog was an enormous point of sovereignty for many before regulations made keeping them impossible in most areas.

• Post #2769212

  Bunny. Cuddle. Puddle. Happy Sunday!

• Post #2769211

  Since January 1st of this year, we've produced: 111 dozen eggs 175 pounds meat 18 pounds of vegetables 14 pounds of lard 4 pounds of grass fodder I wish we could change the ratios a bit, but our inputs have been minimal: organic animal feed (which is not insignificant, we know), our own labor, well water (though much of the produce was produced with greywater from the house). We've given lots away, and have lots preserved or in the freezer for the summer.

• Post #2769210

  The ultimate goal for the end of summer season is to start establishing other elements of the mesquite guilds in the West garden now that the canopies of those trees are maturing. Mullberry, elderberry, and a few others to be determined. Now that the soil has been decompacted and rebuilt a bit, perennials are more likely to establish and annuals don't flourish as well in the shade, so we're moving away from those.

• Post #2769209

  At this point the thing that "takes down" healthcare may not be an EMP or significant natural disaster (though regionally the latter is worth considering) but widespread adoption of, say, AI diagnostic or image intepretation tools. Worth thinking about what we would or should do should that happen!

• Post #2769208

  Has anyone done the math to see if your carbon footprint is reduced more by buying a used truck or a brand new electric truck? My guess is, because electricity still mostly comes from natural gas or coal your carbon footprint is smaller if you keep your gas truck until it dies rather than buy a brand new electric model to "go green"

• Post #2769207

  Another four pounds of animal fodder and three pounds of nopales (in our world these are a vegetable) added to the harvest log. Nice to catch up a bit on gardening and hopefully some long-term planning.

• Post #2769206

  In the meantime, though, a mini rant, for fun (for those of you who enjoy): My threshold for "should this animal be captive in my house" is pretty much: can this animal learn to not poop in the house? Which pretty much negates anything living inside but a dog, who is pretty much outdoors all the time. And it's pretty simple: while animals other than dogs can totally bond with us, few can have *all* their needs actually met within a house.