Raiding the kitchen
May. 18th, 2020 06:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spacealien_vampThings are chugging along here as usual. I took advantage of a Mother's Day sale earlier this month to buy something that several people have been wondering for years why I didn't already have: a KitchenAid stand mixer. (I even managed to get a color that matches my interior decor before it went out of stock.) I make all my own bread, so I'm sure it will come in handy. However, once I got it, I had nowhere to PUT it. My counters were already full of other supplies and appliances. I used this as an excuse to buy a shelving unit specifically to house all of my major appliances, even some that have been packed away in the dark recesses of my cupboards.
This led to spending nearly the entire weekend rearranging the contents of my cupboards for more efficient access and then, while I was at it, scrubbing my kitchen from top to bottom. It's actually shiny and presentable now! (We'll see how long that lasts...)
I'm continuing to harvest more loquats. I have a huge bowl taking up space in the refrigerator while I decide what to do with them all. Mulberry season has started, so I've been picking those. I turned my first big harvest into about six cups of juice that I managed to stuff into the freezer. The cherries are not quite ready yet, but I'll have to put the bug netting over them soon. The strawberries have started, but the blackberries need a bit more time.
I've begun harvesting some of the beets and radishes that I planted early. Now I just need to think of ways to eat them. Asparagus season is coming to an end, but rhubarb season is just starting. I've frozen two quarts, and there's plenty more on the way. I don't have much of an ume crop this year, sadly, but I'm crossing my fingers that I get some good apricots. A heavy wind knocked a bunch of unripe Santa Rosa plums off my tree last week, so I gathered them all up and set them to soaking in shochuu in place of the ume.
The corn patch is coming along splendidly. Unfortunately, slugs ate nearly all of the sweet peppers that I transplanted out; only one survived. I started more seeds, but it's getting late in the season for them. I set out six cabbage plants, and so far they are all still alive. The Chinese cabbages in particular are growing like crazy. If they do well, I may have to remember that for the future.
One other thing that I did recently was refinance my car loan for a lower interest rate. It took about an hour of talking on the phone to get it done, but it should save me a few hundred dollars.
This led to spending nearly the entire weekend rearranging the contents of my cupboards for more efficient access and then, while I was at it, scrubbing my kitchen from top to bottom. It's actually shiny and presentable now! (We'll see how long that lasts...)
I'm continuing to harvest more loquats. I have a huge bowl taking up space in the refrigerator while I decide what to do with them all. Mulberry season has started, so I've been picking those. I turned my first big harvest into about six cups of juice that I managed to stuff into the freezer. The cherries are not quite ready yet, but I'll have to put the bug netting over them soon. The strawberries have started, but the blackberries need a bit more time.
I've begun harvesting some of the beets and radishes that I planted early. Now I just need to think of ways to eat them. Asparagus season is coming to an end, but rhubarb season is just starting. I've frozen two quarts, and there's plenty more on the way. I don't have much of an ume crop this year, sadly, but I'm crossing my fingers that I get some good apricots. A heavy wind knocked a bunch of unripe Santa Rosa plums off my tree last week, so I gathered them all up and set them to soaking in shochuu in place of the ume.
The corn patch is coming along splendidly. Unfortunately, slugs ate nearly all of the sweet peppers that I transplanted out; only one survived. I started more seeds, but it's getting late in the season for them. I set out six cabbage plants, and so far they are all still alive. The Chinese cabbages in particular are growing like crazy. If they do well, I may have to remember that for the future.
One other thing that I did recently was refinance my car loan for a lower interest rate. It took about an hour of talking on the phone to get it done, but it should save me a few hundred dollars.
