New Food Reviews; Optimizing Projects

I love novelty. Despite getting in trouble for trying new foods (I ended up in an ambulance once), I enjoy new foods enough to keep trying them.

With the flu going around the office, I thought I'd try fermenting L. casei shirota in pawpaw fruit puree. Pawpaw is a mango-like fruit native to eastern North America. It's very sweet, but fermentation reduces sugar. I cooked the raw puree before fermenting it, then had a few bites with some pork. A few hours later, I was vomiting. It's been days and I'm still not feeling right.

Despite the web full of articles on the amazing properties of pawpaw fruit, it contains neurotoxins. Even members of the Lewis and Clark expedition might have gotten sick on it.

Fortunately, I have fermented pear juice. I put a few capsules of Floristat in the bottle and left it on the counter for a few days. It tastes good and makes my stomach feel a little better.

Finally, Mark Sisson has come out with a healthy queso dip in his Primal Kitchen line. It's a plant-based dip, but it's rich, creamy and really does taste like nacho cheese. I enjoyed some tonight with celery and carrot sticks.

* * * * *

It may have felt like spring last weekend, but it's been a good week to stay inside, do my taxes and carefully consider home improvement projects. I've kept researching what to put in the paths between my raised beds. A look at the photos submitted by Home Depot customers who put in their own pavers convinced me that paver installation is a job for professionals--or at least amateurs willing to put in the time, money and effort to get presentable results. I don't fall into either category. I thought sod would be the answer until someone quoted me $1350 to resod the area. No, I didn't type an extra 1 in that quote.

So I think I'll go back to cardboard and wood chips. Fifty dollars' worth of chips will cover the paths three inches deep, and a $50 roll of cardboard that's the width of the paths will make easy work out of putting down four layers of a biodegradable weed barrier. Yes, I could collect some cardboard for free, store it downstairs, then cut or fold it into pieces in the right size and hope it doesn't blow away in a strong wind. But the cardboard roll seems like a better, reasonably priced solution.

The paver review photos and a YouTube video on DIYs that don't suck got me thinking about outdoor projects. Look around working class neighborhoods and you'll find that the number of outdoor "projects" is inversely proportional to the upkeep of the property. They're typically prohibited in higher end neighborhoods, or at least subject to review by a homeowners' association. Twee little hardware stores, not big home improvement centers, are what you find in the latter area.

To be fair, higher end houses are designed not to need patios, sheds, and other "features" added. But there's also an emphasis on maintenance, not projects. So anytime I feel the urge to take on a project, I'm going to ask myself, are my house and yard in good condition? Need and tidy? Free of anything that needs to be cleared out? Until I can answer yes, I'm not starting any more projects. I'll finish the few I've begun, but the first priority will be maintaining what I already have.

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