Minimalism Accomplishments

I found my Marie Kondo checklist and decided to check off all the items I'd gone through since April. I've skipped around a lot and some days I feel like I've made very little progress. But as I read through these categories, I've done an awful lot! Maybe even more than half?

There are a few things I've been working on, or started, and will take me some time. I'm more than half way through 'lecture notes & handouts.' And I've made some progress with 'scrapbooks'. I've done cleaners, but I don't know how to dispose of them, so I've been trying to use them up. I've heard rumor there's a hazardous waste drop-off day but depending on where you are, it may be only once a year. I'm not sure how to find out about it locally. Google?

Today I did Skincare, Samples & Travel sizes, Soap & Body wash, and Oral hygiene. I had a huge pile of lotion products I never use because I don't like creamy-type lotions, and I called each company and determined it's expiration date. There were two large bottles that were still in date, and one small hand cream that wasn't far enough past date that I felt it needed to be chucked. So the little bottle is in the bathroom. In theory, my husband occasionally uses lotion, but I suspect he hasn't actually in years.

I also found a second stash of medicines, so I went though all my medicines again and checked dates. I have a very full grocery bag to drop off at the police station. I called around and found my city's police department takes expired medications. I've also heard that some pharmacies do. There's still quite a pile of 'expired' medicines I think I'm still keeping. It's shocking to see how quickly the dates come up on them and how little of the product I use. It's shown me that most of the time I need to purchase the smallest package possible. I think I have about 6 medications that are actually within their use by date. I probably had about 50 boxes and bottles of medications originally.

I did the home school closet and added bubbles and water balloons into it because that seemed like a better spot than the kitchen... I hope. As long as the kids don't dump it out in the closet. I also added the twin sheets into that closet because that's the only room in the house with a twin bed, and it doesn't fit in the laundry room. It's way more useful and accessible in my son's closet, especially where he's wetting the bed often. I usually lock his closet, so he doesn't get into it.

Minimalism & Hoarding

I started a minimalism journey back in about April. Well, technically before then, but I didn't know the word "minimalism" and the culture related to it, until this year. My "Minimalism" journey started with watching YouTube videos of people decluttering. A lot of them were talking about Marie Kondo and her book, "The life changing magic of tidying up". I checked it out from the library and read it in about 3 days. I realized that re-organizing was only getting me so far when there were so many little things that I never used. Her guidance was to hold each item and determine if it brought you Joy. Some parts of the book were a little cheesy, but the basic ideas were helpful. 

Sometimes you buy something because of the joy of shopping (especially on vacation), but when you get home, it sits on a shelf and isn't particularly meaningful. That is when it's time to let it go. It brought you joy to buy it, but that joy is gone, so thank it for that bit of joy and remove it, since the joy isn't continuing. 

Holding an item and determining its "joy" factor is helpful when I'm feeling overwhelmed with the amount of stuff around me, and although I do 'like' a lot of this stuff, is it adding to my joy or is it adding to my clutter-stress? 

History

My dad is a hoarder and I've learned the value of items from him as well as the importance of taking care if it. I've also learned, from his bad example, that if you can't access it, you may as well not own it. For this reason, I organize and reorganize over again to make things as clearly visible and as accessible as possible. 

After getting married, I started to collect furniture and things others were discarding to furnish my home. I often brought stuff home to our apartment that I didn't technically have room for. I was saving it for our future house. Three and a half years ago I moved into our first home. After moving it all in and organizing it, I realized I had over saved! I still had too much stuff! I was amazed that I had somehow carefully stuffed our previous 2-bedroom, 700 sq ft apartment, to overfill a 1750 sq ft house! I got rid of a few big things right away, but it's been a long journey trying to go through the little things. This is when I realized I may have some hoarder tendencies. Confronting your stuff is more about internal conflicts than the actual item. 

Hoarding is an anxiety disorder. And when you start to talk to yourself about getting rid of things so that you fit inside your space, you have to confront those anxieties. What If I Need This Someday!!!! But This was a Gift!!! I need this to Remember that one time I... 

Or more specifically, if I donate all my textbooks from college and throw away all my notes, I might as well THROW AWAY MY DEGREE!! Right? 

I have too keep all of my favorite books because they helped make me WHO I AM! And I'm totally going to read those other 50 books on the shelf; it's on the to do list and I want to know that stuff. 

What if the internet is inaccessible and the power is out, and I need some information? I've gotta have this in my filing cabinet!!

But I was so proud of myself when I made this. Shouldn't I keep things I am proud of and did a good job on? So what, it's dusty and nearly ruined?! Maybe I could fix it. 

I will definitely fix this someday. It's on the to do list and in the "fix this" box. It would be fun on some rainy afternoon.

My Journey

Since I am a constant re-organizer, I have actually gone through most of my piles throughout the house at least once. So going through it again with the Marie Kondo method or KonMari method, I figure was going to be a bit more difficult for me than for others who have been ignoring their piles for years. Or maybe it's just harder because I might be a hoarder. Or maybe I just tell myself that it's harder for me than other people so I feel better when I don't declutter down to the level I was hoping... or when my donate pile is quite small. 

I started with Marie Kondo's suggested areas - clothes, then books, then paper. I didn't quite follow all of her instructions... like I didn't pull it all off the shelves and make a big pile. But I did pull each book out and decide if its staying or leaving. But paper is a very difficult spot for me, and since the majority of the paper isn't in the way, I got about half way and skipped forward. 

Then skipped around. And back and forth. And around. And backtracked. A couple things got pulled back out of the donate pile. So now I'm thinking, I don't feel like I've accomplished very much, and instead, I have a huge list of UNFINISHED PROJECTS! paper system, school notes, scrapbooks, craft supplies, sewing projects, books to read, recipes to digitize, home-school system to create, child activities to laminate, meal plan system to finish, jewelry to fix, etc.

Haha. Oops. 

I may not be giving myself enough credit however. Once something leaves your house, it's quite easy to forget you ever had it here, so it's good to take before and after photos so you feel more accomplished. In May I donated 9 large bags of fabric and sewing supplies. I donated a bag of toys in the summer and a box of craft supplies. I donated another 8 large bag/boxes of stuff in about August... though about half of which came from my fathers storage unit, never entered the house and was items from my and my sibling's childhood. Then a couple weeks ago, I participated in a garage sale and sold another two bags of items and took most of the rest of it to donations - about 2 more bags. 

Stumbling Blocks

Anxiety is a stumbling block. I had post-partum anxiety after both pregnancies, but it didn't go away after the second one. Apparently it's going to be lingering with me a while. I can tell when it's particularly bad because I fixate on things that are huge "what ifs" that I really can't do much about. What if there's an earthquake and my house is leveled?! What if I'm stuck in the corner of my basement and the house has fallen into a sinkhole?! 

When I have high levels of Anxiety, it makes it nearly impossible to work on decluttering. My ability to make decisions and focus on a task is already compromised. So the first task in decluttering is taking care of myself. When I get enough sleep during sleep normal hours, eat well, and rest when I'm sick, I have a higher level of functioning. This can be difficult though, because when I am highly anxious and stressed, the clutter bothers me far more. 

Bad Habits. When you hit a spot where you can't come to a decision, you take a break, and never come back. Or move on to something else. It's a bad habit. Soon, every room in the house has a pile that needs addressing and you haven't spent any time or energy on trying to solve the problem. I like picking the easy piles as much as the next person. But plugging through the difficult one will give you the biggest self-esteem boost and feelings of accomplishment. 

Some examples of problems without solutions that I currently have are: 

How to I dispose of cleaners I don't like? I'm conscious of the environment and don't want to dump it down the drain. I could try to "use it up" (though that just means it goes down the drain in small increments anyway), but it may take months to get through that much cleaner, and I need the space. What's the chances my friends and neighbors will take it off my hands? And lotions...

I'd like to get my fabric and sewing supplies down to one utility/gorilla shelf (currently 2) but in order to do that, I need to spend a lot of time finishing my projects. However, I'm impatient and want it done sooner than later. It's impossible to do well on a sewing project when I'm feeling impatient. But I've already slimmed it down to about as much as I can do without finishing some more projects! Obviously I could just get rid of my projects or the supplies I might need to finish a project, but I feel like that would be counter productive in the long run, as I'd just have to go buy it again. This is my hobby and it doesn't make sense to dump your hobby just because your on a cleaning spree!

I have that same problem with all those books I intend to read. Most I'll donate, some I'll keep as a favorite book, but either way, I can't read when I'm impatient and want to clear off two shelves of books! And I really do want to read these ones! I could donate it to the local library and keep a list of those books, then check them out and I'll have 3 week deadlines on them to get them read... but my library is small and they're more likely to resell them.

Craft supplies. I definitely have more than I need, but I'm not sure how I will utilize them when my kids are old enough to use them. I'd love to have most of what they'll need to do fun projects but at what point is it clutter verses useful? Since I've never had experience with homeschooling, I just don't know. (and where am I doing homeschool anyway? Many people have either a dedicated room or else use the dining room/ table, but I have neither.)

I intend to have at least 4 kids. I'm pregnant with #3. I have both a girl and a boy and there's almost zero gender neutral clothes on the market. So I have 24 totes full of clothes for both boys and girls in every size from Newborn to 6T. I also have no garage and almost no storage area. Where do I put it all?? Is it worth a storage unit (especially since I'm renting out one bedroom in my house... which use to store the bins?) Or would it be more economical to repurchase those clothes again from the thrift store for every kid? (And go through the pain of scheduling a time to do it without the kids... or try to keep track of them while I'm shopping?) Then there's the 5 totes of holiday decorations and 2 totes with life jackets and outdoor toys.

The solution I came up with yesterday is that I'm going to do about 10 outfits and 5 PJs per size per gender. And they will be combined into a single tote. I'm done having a tote for boys 2T and girls 2T. They have to fit in the same 18 gallon tote. Then I'll just have to do laundry more often than once every two or three weeks. (feel free to laugh at me. I hate laundry.) 

I realize a lot of these are things my anxiety are playing into, and you may not have these difficulties. Or you may have them in other categories than I do. But then there's the element of Perfectionism.

I have this grand idea that my home will look almost like a model home when I'm finished. No clutter, clean spaces, elegant decor. But I have two and a half kids and we actually live here. The whole house will never be immaculate all at the same time (and if it was, would we be bored???!) Secondly, I can't make my husband be a minimalist. If he wants 3 shelves full of computer parts, it's not mine to declutter.

More specifically, perfectionists have difficulty calling a category "done." It seems like it could always be slimmed down just a little bit more. Like all the 'maybe' items should have been 'no' and instead got left there as a 'yes' or 'i'll think about it a little longer' while you get mixed back in with the 'definite yes' pile.

Or thinking you wanted it to all fit in this designated spot, but after discovering that most of it 'sparks joy' it still takes up two or three times the space you intended for it. Aggravating.

Solutions

This is a work in progress.

Allow yourself to go through a category and call it "Done" even if it's not quite where you want it to be. There's no rule that says you can't come back and declutter it again. Check it off a visual list.

Give yourself some time to problem solve. Sometimes just trying to 'problem solve' sounds like a stumbling block all by itself (thank-you public schooling in America) but talking to someone about the issue, drawing up a diagram, or writing it out in a blog can help you work through the issue.

Tell yourself that it's possible to get through the pile. Practicing a positive attitude will help you achieve a positive attitude and positively influence your ability to accomplish it. Try to minimize your inner sarcasm. It will do you no good.

Take before pictures! No one does this because they forget or don't believe they'll really make a dent, and if thats true than you can delete the photos. But you can't easily remember what it looked like when you started, so you need it to be able to See your Progress to keep up a positive attitude and your motivation!!

Find a permanent spot for a "Donate" box and a "Sell" box. And even a "Maybe" box. This helps you not have random piles in the hallways that get knocked over and mixed back in with everything else. This process is going to take months and it'll be less stressful for the whole household if they're not tripping on donation boxes all the time. These boxes are your "tools" and tools need a home.

Beware of the floating piles! These are things that you want to keep but you don't have room for in that particular room in the house. As you declutter different categories and areas, these items float from room to room to room. The first solution is to determine where this item's home SHOULD BE. An example would be a humidifier that's not currently in use. Does it belong in your bedroom closet? Or should it be in the linen closet or laundry/utility room? The second solution is to declutter to the point that humidifier fits on the laundry room shelf (or build a couple shelves, if you don't have any. $10 at home depot.) If it's important enough to keep, then it deserves a priority spot on the shelf.

Watch YouTube videos and visit forums where people are trying to solve a problem. I've looked up things like "what college textbooks should I keep?" and "how I organized my craft room". They can be both motivational and helpful when you're solving your own issues. Sometimes I just need them to validate my concerns or fears and know I'm not alone in feeling like I'm 'throwing my degree away!' when I get rid of those college textbooks. Validating your feelings is huge.

Other Resources

My other favorite book about tidying (and time management) is called "Live More with Less: The gift of Minimalism: simplify, declutter, and get organized." It has probably 150 spelling errors, so beware, but it's probably the best book I've ever read to help a hoarder. It's also a fairly short read. I've read that book at least 2 and half times over the last 5 years.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18875064-live-more-with-less

Creative solutions to potty training

A- is 3 and a half years old and fully capable of using the toilet himself. Put he prefers to do good old number 2 in the diaper. So to encourage him, I have bought him prizes. In this case, small construction toys.

I've already learned the hard way that this child doesn't care very much about items, but he loves to open a surprise, just like Ryan does, on "ryan's toy review" on youtube. So they're all wrapped and in homemade boxes made from cereal boxes and yarn.

I realize these homemade boxes are ghetto and why would I ever put them up on a blog for show? Two reasons: they're fun and creative, but I won't be upset when my toddlers play with them and tear them up. After all, they cost me zero dollars and minimal time to create. And secondly, my kids will enjoy the puzzle and practice fine motor skills trying to get the yarn on and off of those boxes.

I use to think I should make and buy only quality stuff, but the last couple years have taught me that each kid has a different opinion about whats "fun" to play with, and usually the "trash" is their favorites. As I've been trying to create more "space" and eliminate "stuff", I've come to appreciate "disposable toys and entertainment" aka toilet paper rolls, boxes, dollar store puzzles, empty peanut better jars, etc. At toddler age, everything new is interesting.

BBQ Cover

My husband got a BBQ grill a while ago, hand me down... and the plastic-canvas cover for it was shredded. So he asked me to sew one, and I finally did. I spent about 10 hours on it between yesterday and today. I quilted two layers of fabric together, so it could be put on inside out or outside up (and to make it heavier and more durable). I also did a tie string on the bottom. I used old fabrics that use to be table cloths - I think its denim fabric. Pictures are below!

I'm so super proud of it, partly because it's such an unusual and useful thing to sew, and partly because it only took me two days! That's amazing with two little kiddos to take care of.

Best part is, I didn't spend ANY MONEY to make this!!! And I USED UP lots of ends of spools and bobbins! Like 4 spools and 4 bobbins, plus one, nearly full spool of navy blue. And the plastic piece that's on the string to cinch it off, I took off of the old shredded cover. WoOt!

Halloween Centerpieces

I started these about a month before halloween, and here I am a few days after Christmas, finally finishing them. I blame it on my cramped apartment and my lack of time organizational skills/ having an adorable baby.

The jars are canning/mason jars that were chipped or otherwise unusable for food and canning.

I have a picture painted on the front and back of each jar! Great for center pieces on a long table! 

I used orange acrylic paint on the insides of the jars. I should have used thinner in the paint, however, because it was so thick it took several days to dry. Also, if the paint was thinner, I could put little tea lights inside and make it glow like pumpkin lanterns!

For the black paintings on the outside, I used some random paint I had around the house leftover from other projects - in this case it was model paint; oil-based, clean with turpentine. It worked perfectly! Because it was oil, however, I did have to wait a couple days between painting the front of the jar and the back of the jar.

I used the design pages for carving pumpkins for my picture inspirations.

Then I cut out some 7x7 inch halloween fabric and screwed the canning ring over it!

Last of all, I made two table cloths. The purple pumpkin one is square to fit this fold up card table, and the orange cats/bats one is 6 ft long to fit my kitchen table.

This project was very fun and I definitely recommend it! 

Unique Picture frames

My hubby wanted some pictures in picture frames to put on his desk at work. He picked two out and printed them on 4x6 photo paper, and I went about looking for frames. I could only find 5x7 frames, and I don't have mat board or the stuff to cut it with, so I used scrapbook paper. They came out so cute, I think I'm going to do it this way every time!

These were old frames I had in a box somewhere; I wiped them down and cleaned the dust off the glass, and they ended up looking adorable! I think I'll go shop Savers and D.I. for a few more to collage a wall with (possibly sand them and repaint them too). Hehe! 

A Zillion Meals

I have been making lots of fun meals as of the last two or three months, but I just don't seem to have had the time to post them. So I'll do a quick run down of things I've tried with links to the recipes, and then tell you about my new adventure with the food plan I started tonight!

About a month and a half ago we bought a Blendtec - Classic Series (blendtec.com) - a fancy blender that competes with the Vitamix (vitamix.com), but is less expensive with only minor differences. ($330 at Costco; Occasionally on sale for $300. Amazon and other sellers sell it for between $400 and $550, fyi.) It came with a fancy recipe book and it helped us learn how much liquid to fruit/veggie to frozen ratio to put in the jar in order to make the perfect smoothie/ whole juice/ milkshake, etc. My husband has a heavy-on-veggie smoothie every morning for breakfast. I have a milkshake about every 3rd day, and we share a icey fruit smoothie every other evening. It's great! We've also noticed our digestion systems have been performing much better than before. :-D

So, because of having this blender, we were going through fruits and veggies quadruple-y faster than before. So we started ordering produce from a co-op called Bountiful Baskets (bountifulbaskets.org). It costs less getting fruits and veggies from there than it would if I bought the same amount of stuff from the store. However, we won't know what's in the basket till we pick it up on saturday morning. However, that hasn't been a big deal for us, because we'll eat and enjoy most anything, and we're familiar enough with the blender, we don't need to work too hard to follow the 'official' recipes.

Next, we've gotten quite a few things in the Bountiful Basket that I've never used, purchased and sometimes even seen before. So each week I get on Allrecipes.com and find a recipe with good ratings that uses that unusual ingredient. Here's a list of our most recent adventures:

Chilean Milkshake
http://www.lafujimama.com/2013/06/chilean-banana-milkshake/
I had this growing up, but not in recent years until I ran across this blog. I got 80% through making it before I realized it was just a double recipe of the one I made as a kid. My only suggestion is occasionally using blueberries instead of vanilla. It's Incredible!!!

Napa Cabbage Salad 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/napa-cabbage-salad/detail.aspx
I got a huge Napa Cabbage in our Bountiful Basket, we barely managed to fit it in the fridge... Allrecipes seemed to have 30 versions of this, so apparently there's only one mainstream way to use a Napa Cabbage. I liked this recipe, but I probably won't go buy Napa Cabbages every month.

Key Lime Cookies
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/key-lime-cookies-ii/detail.aspx
These cookies were great! Only thing I'd do different is put it in a better storage container - I kept accidentally leaving the lid off on my rubbermaid, and the cookies dried out and got crunchy too fast. Oops. I'm also only so so on having lime peel in them.

Tostones (Fried Plantains)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tostones-fried-plantains/detail.aspx
I always thought plantains were some sort of weird huge banana and when I found this recipe, I was convinced it'd be a dessert. However, think "banana flavored potato."It was good. It's often served with rice and beans (actually a Winco bulk recipe of beans - I'll get to that later), and that's what we made with it.

Lettuce and Tarragon Soup
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lettuce-and-tarragon-soup/detail.aspx
Great for using up lots of lettuce - we had a gazillion heads of it with Bountiful Baskets coming every Saturday. Not as wonderful as leftovers, though.

Plum Flummery
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/plum-flummery/detail.aspx
LOVE THIS! Kind of like Jello meets Pudding. We've made this twice in 3 weeks with the plums that come with Bountiful Baskets. I generally don't like plums, but in this, Love it.

Beets and Greens
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beets-and-greens/detail.aspx
I'd never purchased beets before, and had only had a bite or so here or there, enough to know that 'I think I like it...' Great recipe and I'd definitely make it again. Less desireable as leftovers, however.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-perfect-mashed-potatoes/detail.aspx
I love this recipe - I'm getting pretty sick of "easy and fake mashed potatoes", however, my husband would prefer a creamer version than this - so add more butter and milk!

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sauteed-garlic-asparagus/detail.aspx
Great way to use asparagus and enjoy it. Delicious. Also, check out this blog to discover better ways to store your asparagus in the fridge!
http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2011/05/how-to-store-asparagus.html#.Uei-7GR4bpU

Now for tonights Dinner adventures:
Yesterday upon listening to Dave Ramsey's on KNRS, he mentioned a company called eMeals.com - you pick a meal style - classic, vegetarian, low carb, low fat, natural & organic, gluten free, etc and they send you a weekly meal plan (You can sign up for dinners only or do 2 or 3 meals a day with food plans. Groupon.com occasionally runs deals with them). They also compile a weekly grocery list, you check off what you already have and go to the store, buying only 2 lemons, 1 large tomato, etc, so that you aren't buying more than you can use or eat in a week or so of time. Less waste.

I went shopping to day with that list, and it took me less time to shop than usual, but more than I expected, simply because I didn't know where everything was or what everything was. However, I'm sure I'll get faster as I learn. The hardest ingredient to find was Farro, which I did not succeed in finding. I called about 4 health food stores after leaving Winco (who didn't carry it,) to see if they carried it. All said 'No' but one said they were looking for a supplier for it. I ended up buying Spelt as a substitute (found at Good Earth Natural Foods). There were several substitutes that were recommended on various websites including Bulgar, Barley, and Brown Rice.

I would like to mention that for one week of dinners with eMeals, my checkout cost (plus the spelt), rounded up to the nearest dollar was $55. (actually that's 6 days not 7; I skipped one meal because I am not a fan of Scallops.) If there are 4.5 weeks in a month, that's $248 for dinners. And I'd like to mention I bought 4 TYPES OF MEAT (6 chicken breasts, 1/2 lb pork loin, 1 lb. 2 (4oz) Salmon fillet, and 1 lb. flank steak). I usually only buy one type per week, and we go a little heavier on veggies - that is, when I remember to cook dinner. Sometimes we end up eating chips and snacks.

What I'm trying to say is that between January and June of this year, my grocery budget has wavered between $230 and $500 - with a median close to $370. Using eMeals to help me plan and cook, I'm predicting, it will make my budget a lot more regular, and cost less on average. But we're not having "beans and rice, rice and beans" either. On my way out of Winco, I'm often tempted to grab a chocolate bar or treat of some kind, but this time I wasn't. Why? Because I am getting spoiled with steak! Who wants crappy candy when you're getting a gourmet meal?

So today's recipe was Creole Pork Chops and homemade Creamed Corn. I'm never going to back to canned creamed corn again!!! Homemade was like sweet candy in my mouth and I didn't add sugar! Just husked corn, butter, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Wowzers.

I'd post the recipe here, but eMeals.com threatens to kick me off their site if I play in that water (legally, recipes cannot be copyrighted, but they could probably still throw a fit about me sharing stuff - "meal plans" whatever that means, and I probably wouldn't go through the hassle of running it through court, so I'll just say it's on eMeals in the "Clean Eating" Meal plan section). I'm not sure how that differs from other meal plans, but we kept switching plans until we realized there were limits to it... Can't switch again until August 16th. Oh well. A picture will have to do.

Almost lastly, upon perusing the bulk section at Winco (wincofoods.com/recipes/), I discovered that there were items there that looked fun to try and many of them had recipes to go with them... sitting right next to them. I've tried a couple of them... and they're on the website (theoretically), but it's not easy to search without a bin number, so I may have to go find those before posting. I considered doing that now, but it's almost midnight, so I'm going to end this rather long food post.

Oh, oh, one more thing... I've been visiting an Asian food store - it's within walking distance of my house - I either bring a recipe with me or have the person working there help me pick one... then they walk me through the store and get the ingredients for one meal. I've done yellow curry and vietnamese spring rolls so far. It's very exciting learning asian cooking and realizing it's not as hard as it looks!

Note: An alternative to eMeals, for if you would rather specifically pick the meals you want to eat each night, I suggest looking at Allrecipes.com pro version. They do basically the same thing as eMeals, but you pick your meal plan and it costs less per month for the membership. Don't worry about trying to pick recipes with similar ingredients because your only buying exactly what you need for each recipe, so it likely won't save you any money. But perhaps, after you've done it for a couple or few weeks, you might pick recipes where some of the ingredients are in their peak harvesting time - they'll be on sale and taste better.


Great Cooking!

Chili Cook-off 2012

My LDS ward had a chili and soup cook-off competition this last weekend. I created my own recipe from 'special ingredients' I had learned people put in their recipes last year. This year I brought that dish. I thought I'd win a slot for sure... but the judges were different...

However, my neighbor said she Loved my dish and that she's generally fairly picky, so she's asked for the recipe. This is a copy of the recipe I am giving her:

Keshia's Sweet and Spicy Chili

-Saute 1 lb hamburger (rubbed with red curry paste) and chopped green garlic-chives. After it's browned, add flour (to thicken and absorb grease) then add to soup pot.

-In soup pot put:

5+ cups water

5 sm. cans tomato sauce

EZ chili powder1/3 c. sugar

cinnamon1/2 bag frozen peas

1 c. cooked beans

1/4 c. dried onion

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

Bring to boil and let simmer 10+ minutes (to mesh flavors).

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*NOTE - this is the recipe I put together after last year’s chili cook-off. I did it just a bit different this year - 

-2 lbs. hamburger + abt. 1 Tbsp red curry paste. 

-no green-garlic chives; I used green onion tops from the garden - walla walla onions. 

-6 cups water

-1.5 cups DRY kidney beans, soaked overnight, and cooked before adding to soup

-No dry onion, but 1 pint home-canned walla walla onion. (1-2 fresh med-large sweet onions, chopped, from the grocery store would work. Sauté them in oil or butter first before the meat goes in.)

-3 bay leaves

-Simmered in crockpot for 3 hours. 

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I’m glad you liked my recipe! 

Oh, PS, ‘Red Curry Paste’ can be found in Asian grocery stores, but likely you can just skip that ingredient and it’ll turn out about the same. Red Curry Paste consists of: dried red chili, garlic, lemongrass, salt, shallot, Galangal, Shrimp paste (shrimp, salt), Kaffir lime peel, pepper. 

Canning, Dehydrating and Saving Produce

We bottled our Walla walla onions using our pressure cooker. You've never smelled anything better than these onions right out of the pressure cooker! Wowzers! Super sweet! I seriously think this in my new favorite smell. 

We used the following instructions we found on the internet:

According to the USDA, use onions of 1-inch diameter or less. Wash and peel onions. Cover onions with boiling water; bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Pack the onions into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add ½ tsp salt to pints; 1 tsp to quarts, if desired. Fill jars to within 1-inch from top with boiling water. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process.

Process in a Dial Gauge Pressure Canner at 11 pounds pressure OR in a Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner at 10 pounds pressure: Pints or Quarts:40 minutes

NOTE: Sea level pressure is 10 pounds. Pressure has to be increased as altitude increases by ½ pound per 1000 feet.

 I believe since this paragraph was written, however, that sea level pressure has been changed to 11 pounds. Below, pictured is onions on the left, roasted peppers centered, and cucumber relish on the right. 

Roasted Peppers (from Pesto Pressure Canner and Cooker Instructions and Recipes, 2010)

PEPPERS—HOT OR SWEET (INCLUDING BELL, CHILE, JALAPEñO, AND PIMIENTO)

Preparation of Chile peppers—Cut two or four slits in each pepper, and blister using one of the following methods:

 oven or broiler method: Place chile peppers in a 400° oven or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister.

 Range-top method: Cover hot burner, either gas or electric with heavy wire mesh. Place chilies on burner for several minutes until skins blister.

Allow peppers to cool. Place in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. After several minutes, peel peppers. Remove stems and seeds.

Preparation of other peppers—Remove stems and seeds; blanch 3 minutes.
Hot Pack: Small peppers may be left whole. Large peppers may be quartered. Pack peppers loosely in clean, hot Mason

jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust jar lids.

Process at 11 pounds of pressure – Pints 35 minutes. For processing above 2,000 feet altitude, see page 11 for recommended pounds of pressure. 

Altitude and Pressure Chart for Canning Vegetables

Altitude
2,001 – 4,000 ft.
4,001 – 6,000 ft.
6,001 – 8,000 ft.
Processing time is the same at all altitudes.

Pounds of Pressure for Pints and Quarts 

12 lbs.
13 lbs.
14 lbs.

I don't usually blister the peppers; the skins aren't tough enough out in Utah for this to be a concern. It's actually a lot harder to try to get the skins off, and they're not at all unpleasant to eat anyway. 

 Cucumber Relish

(from an old canning book such as a 'ball blue book')

12 lg. cucumbers peeled

4 lg onions

6 green peppers, stems and seeds removed

4 tsp each celery seed and mustard seed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 Tbsp ground turmeric
3 1/2 c. cider vinegar
2 1/2 c. sugar

Put the cucumbers, onions, and green peppers through a food chopper, using a medium blade or chop. In a 5 or6-quart saucepan, combine vegetables, celery seed mustard seed, salt,chives, turmeric, vinegar, and sugar. Quickly bring to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours or until reduced to about 5 pints. 
Prepare 5 pint-sized canning jars, following step 1 under Processing with a canner on page 31. (wipe rims, put heated lids on, etc.) Proceed with steps 3-9. Process for 15 minutes. Makes 5 pints. (Don't forget to adjust for altitude.)

Bread and Butter Pickles

6 cups sliced/chopped/speared cucumbers

Mix:

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 Tbsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp celery seed or more

2 cups mild cider vinegar

Bring slowly to boiling point and boil 5 minutes

Put cut cucumbers in a jar, then fill with vinegar brine with 1/2 inch headspace. Clean the top of the jar, put lids on, and water-bath for 10 minutes. Adjust for Altitude. 

1,001-3,000 ft = +5 minutes

3,001-6,000 ft = +10 minutes

6,001 - 8,000 ft = +15 minutes

Yield 4 pints. Store for 4-5 weeks+ before opening for best taste. 

(as I was typing the original recipe, I realized I didn't follow even half of the instructions listed. So, I retyped the recipe to be what I actually do, and included correct water-bath instructions. The original recipe actually says you don't need to water bath it to seal it... so I must of gotten this recipe from an un-reliable source...)

Italian Tomato Sauce

Yield: about 7 pints or 3 quarts

4 quarts chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 24 large)

1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)

1/2  cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper (about 1/4 medium)

1 Tbsp basil

1 Tbsp oregano

1Tbsp minced parsley

2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner. (adjust for altitude.)

I tend to vary this recipe from week to week, depending on if I have celery, onion or peppers. Most weeks, I have left all 3 of those out, and added 1-2 cups of shredded zucchini to each quart jar. I also don't usually blanch (peel) my tomatoes or de-seed them when making it into sauce; rather, i run it through a food processor and can that extra fiber into my meal. 

I've also noticed that tomato varieties play a large role in how runny your sauce is. Celebrity tomatoes tend to be very meaty, so there is no need to extract any juice before putting it through a food processor. Other varieties seem to have a lot of juice. Methods to take some of that extra juice out (and possibly can the tomato juice separately), is streaming the tomatoes in a juicer first; or, mashing quartered tomatoes in a colander while catching the juice in a bowl under it; or, after it's all been through a food processor, cooking it down in a pot for an hour or 3 (without the lid) so the extra juice can evaporate out, or else, in a crockpot (without a lid) over night. The last resort - say you've sealed that sauce into jars and it's still too runny - add that water/cornstarch combo to thicken that sauce right up, as you use your jars for dinner meals. 

We have zucchini coming out of our ears, so we tried drying some zucchini for food storage. I did some sliced (for use in lasagna and meaty casseroles), and some grated (for use in spaghetti and casseroles). There's instructions out there for how to re-hydrate these veggies before, use, but I have yet to go look for those...

Lastly, I dried my cheyenne peppers. I got a needle and thread and just strung it through the peppers, then left them to hang in my kitchen. I don't have an A/C, so my kitchen is plenty warm enough for them to dry properly, but if yours isn't, or you're in a more humid area, hang them outside in the sun, or use a food dehydrator. Station the dehydrator outside your house, though, so you're eyes aren't burning in a couple of hours. 

Drying (thin-skinned) Peppers and Chiles

Drying, Smoking, Powders, and Spice Blends

Drying is the oldest and most common way to preserve pepper pods and works well for most peppers—except for the very meaty ones such as jalapeños, which are smoke-dried and called chipotles (see below). To dry peppers, select those that have reached their mature colors, or are just starting to turn. If they are picked while still green, it is very likely that it will never turn the mature color. Avoid any pods that have black spots, because these will mold or rot. On dry days, the peppers can be placed on metal racks and set in the sun. Placing them on a surface that collects heat, such as a car hood or roof, accelerates the process. They can also be hung individually on a clothesline. Another method to use is a home dehydrator—just follow the manufacturer's instructions. Jalapeños and several other chiles will dry well in a dehydrator. Cutting the thick-fleshed chiles in half, or into several pieces helps to speed up the process. Some of the larger growers use forced convection solar dryers, which reduces the time for sun-drying by 65 percent.

Dehydration also works for fresh New Mexican or poblano peppers which are first roasted and peeled (either green or red), and then placed in the sun to dry. Lay long strips of the peeled pods on nylon window screening, cover them with cheese cloth, and place them in semi-shady location with good air circulation. The more humid the climate, the more sun that should be applied to the drying pods. This process makes chile pasado (chile of the past, see below), which will turn an unappetizing dark color, brown or almost black. However, when the chile pasado is rehydrated in water for about 30 minutes, it regains its green or red color. One ounce of this chile pasado is equivalent to ten to twelve fresh pods.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/chile-pepper-gardening/189-processing-and-putting-up/3000-drying-smoking-powders-and-spice-blends

Our Garden is Producing!

Keshia and Dave's Apartment Garden has been flourishing too. These are our cherry tomato plants. They are about 6 feet tall in this picture... almost 7 feet in a couple of spots. They regularly grow up the bottom of the next window above it, and then flop over because they're too heavy to hold themselves up. They've done this about 3-4 times now... however, they've only done it 1-2 times when I took this picture. 

These are some of my herbs: I have, from left top to left bottom, pesto basil, thai basil, (dead sweet basil); middle top to bottom: cilantro (end of season), parsley, cinnamon basil; and on the top right: chives, garlic chives, mint, and to the very far right: walla walla onions and a rose bush. I use grass clippings as mulch to keep the weeds down. 

These are our beef steak tomato plants. They look respectable in the picture, but since then, they've grown so big, they're like one huge bush that's threatening taking over the grass. They're so heavy that even my heavy duty cages can't quite hold them up anymore. I've been mildly frustrated with these plants however, because they haven't produced a lot of tomatoes. There's a good chance it's because we failed to prune them regularly. They're also in partial shade. 

On the other side of the rose bush, we have our Huge Sunflower coming up!

This is back in our highland garden. Celebrity tomatoes in the middle; winter squashes to the left, and peppers and onions to the right. Far back there on the right are zucchini plants and huge sunflowers.  

Dave sporting his hard working self. He does most of the work to make this garden look so good!

We took out the onions this week (July 24th), and planted red potatoes that didn't quite stay cold enough in the cellar this last year. As we were planting them, we realized the roots had already started making baby potatoes! So we popped those off, took them home, and made a tasty soup! It was so Good! Other ingredients are corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onion, grated zucchini, couple bay leaves, and... I might have put in some basil or parsley, or perhaps some red curry paste; cinnamon or a bit of brown sugar. I really don't remember. 

Here's my pregnant self, in front of our growing cherry tomatoes! 

And the Sunflower is almost about to create its flower!

This is one week's worth of produce (August 11th)! We were so surprised by how many boxes we got, and how amazing it all looked, we had to take a picture!

Produce includes Zucchini, tomatoes, Parsley, cucumbers, banana peppers, bell peppers, cheyenne peppers, blueberries, and anaheim peppers. 

Next Blog - - what did I do with all of this stuff?

To Save, or Not to Save, ye Books?

I come from a family where my father buys items that are a good deal that "we might need someday" and "I could use this... i think" and "this is valuable, I must save it!" My mother buys only what we need... unless it is sewing material. Then, "the woman with the most cloth when she dies, wins" and I think I could add, 'unfinished crafts' to that.

I was always the organized child, most likely to throw something away. But upon adulthood, I learned that I'm more like my family than I thought I was. In college, I knew whatever I didn't take with me to college, had a chance of never finding its way back to me... being buried in my father's collections. I could only fit a third of what I owned into my college dorms. However, I soon discovered that this one-third I owned, was more than many college students owned as a whole. Apparently I saved a lot more stuff than most people do.

Getting married was even more of an adventure. As we combined our belongings, my new husband says to me, "You own a lot of stuff. Why are you keeping this? Or this? What about that?" And I would explain, "It's valuable and could be worth a lot someday" and "my friend who died a couple years back gave this item to me" and "My future kids would probably like to use this/ play with this/ read this." But this wasn't completely a one way conversation. There were quite a few things he had that I wanted to know why he was keeping too.

Over two years have passed and we are preparing for our first child. Maybe I'm experiencing the "nesting" syndrome, but then again, this isn't altogether unusual behavior for me. I live in a small 2 bedroom apartment... probably somewhere between 600-900 sq. feet. We've had free furniture come and go; we've had phases of hobbies; I'm constantly trying to create more space without throwing out items that still have some life in them. We often buy medium-high quality appliances, cookware, select furniture, electronics, etc. and I'm constantly moving things around to make it convenient to use and store.

One category I've been collecting stuff in is books. As a teenager, I loved the library room my grandparents had in their house. They had bookshelves built into the wall as well as a work desk. The room was furnished with a computer, piano and comfy couch to lounge on. I enjoyed spending long afternoons in there, especially in the winter when the sun would shine through the window and keep me warm while I read.

For many years I have been collecting various types of books to go in such a library of my own... in a house I hope I will someday be able to afford. I liked the classics, mostly, but also children's books, and favorites from middle school and high school level fiction. Then a dictionary or so, reference books, and a pile of my favorite self-help books and some religious study novels. I have 2 Billy bookshelves a little more than full of books right now (if you're familiar with IKEA's Billy Bookshelf). I have things on there that I'm saving for my future kids to read... even stuff they won't be able to read until they're in high school. I have books that I think I should read, like "The Federalist Papers," even though I hate reading history books. I have books about various topics such as astronomy that were printed 30 years ago, and when I'm honest with myself, I really never will get around to reading those. I found a huge collection of books for 50 cents each at a second-hand type store, and bought a zillion... thinking I won't have to worry about local library deadlines with these books... that I want to take my sweet time reading.

But I think I've finally accepted the reality that I will likely never read random books that don't have deadlines. I won't read about astronomy from a beat up book that's over 30 years old and has almost no pictures. There's a good chance I'll never finish "The Federalist Papers." And an even better chance that when my kids reach the age of attending high school, they'll say, "Mom, I don't like to read that kind of genre. And, if I am going to read a book, it'll be on my eReader or Tablet." Alas, technology. I may have spent all those years carefully storing and preserving something just to find out that my kid doesn't want it.

These revelations have lead me to do what I've been doing this morning; purging my bookshelves. I have 4 bookshelves in my tiny little apartment, on top of having 5 utility shelves that are holding cookware and food. Somehow, I've got to make room for a crib and a nursery in my second bedroom. Truth be told, I could maybe move to a larger apartment, but I love my landlord, and I love how little I pay in rent. In the long run, I'll help me save for a house. Secondly, I am of the opinion, (and maybe this was derived from living in my parent's house) that if the number of bedrooms equal the number of people divided by 2, you should be able to fit, however possibly tightly. Or in other words, there should be 2 people per bedroom at maximum and everything everyone owns should be able to fit somewhere, even if it's not aesthetically pleasing. If you can't, you've got a stuff problem, not a size of apartment problem. But that's just me. And this is a simplified equation, of course. Obviously you wouldn't want a teenage girl in the same room with a boy of nearly any age.

So back to purging bookshelves. What did I have left to say about this? Oh, yes, I'm embracing technology. I'm saving only my favorite 10 books in hardback copy, (and my scrapbooks, which unfortunately take up 2.1 shelves) plus some college textbooks relating to my degree... in case I ever need to study up on it to get back into the job market. My husband thinks that's silly to save those textbooks. If he's right, I'm not willing to see that reality, yet. Most of my reference material... if I decide it is worth keeping, and I actually WILL use it again, I'll scan and make a digital PDF of (I think it's important to mention that we have 3-4 backups of all our digital material, so I feel confident in storing important information there, without a hard copy. If you are interested in this option, consider purchasing an external drive to save backups to, and/or purchasing a Crashplan subscription or another iCloud backup service. I don't suggest a single external drive is a sure way to never loose your data. We learned that the hard way when our computer hard-drive failed the same month as our external hard-drive did).

From now on, I'll read library check-outs and eBooks. Library check-outs because 98% of all books I read, I'll never re-read and because the deadline gives me the motivation to finish the book... if it's actually worth finishing. And eBooks that were printed over 100 years ago are Free with a Kindle account (classics are my favorite!) and my local library also provides eBook check-outs. The last thing I may still consider are going to those bookstores that allow you to buy a book, then come back and exchange it for another when you're done. A lot of self-help books and a few other types, I've noticed, are really difficult to read within a library's allotted check-out time.

DVDs, VHS and Music CDs

On a related topic, how many of you readers have an extensive DVD/VHS collection and/or music collection that's taking up a significant amount of space? Is it frustrating to you? Have you found that they are difficult to sell for a decent profit? Especially because you know you paid full-price for them and they're still in great condition?

I have a bit of this problem too. My husband and I rip all of our music and DVDs to our computer (which is networked to our TV via an Apple TV device), and just end up having to box up our media and store them just to prove that we legally own them... if the question ever even comes up. Neither of us really want to store something we will likely never use again... so we've resisted buying more videos and gone with Netflix, Hulu, and Redbox. Like books, we rarely watch a movie more than 1-3 times. If we plan to or will likely watch a movie 4+ times, at that point, it is generally worth purchasing rather than spending the money to rent it that many times. This equation was formulated off of what Blockbuster would generally charge to rent a movie out in 2009.

If you have an extensive media library, you might consider Crossies.com for digitization services, off-site storage services, and ease of selling videos for a higher profit. Crossies is still a very new company, however, and these things may take a lot of time to be processed until they're a little more on their feet. If you know of another company that offers these services and have impressed you, leave a comment, because the rest of us would like to know about it!


P.S.

I decided to google 'digital books' after writing this post... and realized that I should clarify, that I don't plan to buy an eBook reader for a couple of years, nor buy eBooks. There are still a lot of formatting and compatibility issues going on with eBooks and various eReaders, and I don't want to get stuck with loosing all my purchased books because The Barnes & Noble Nook format is no longer supported... and other such problems. Instead, I will use the local library and bookstore exchange programs until such a time as eBooks are more reliable to purchase, own, and afford in some cases. I also have a shelf of books I plan to skim or read before selling, etc. Until this shelf is mostly or totally empty, I'm going to avoid buying, book exchanging or otherwise acquiring any more books to read.

See related links for further information.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/219335/the_pitfalls_of_ebook_buying_what_to_look_out_for_before_you_purchase.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

Origami Earrings

I found some amazing origami earrings on KSL.com classifieds. I don't know how to make them (yet) but I'm sure they could be figured out. Or help the lady out and buy the ones she's made!

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=21030930&cat=74&lpid=&search=jewelry
$5 in West Jordan, UT   84084
Lorena @ 801-867-8865

Gardening in Utah

Dave and I have been gardening in this garden in Utah for a couple of years now. The land belongs to Dave's parents. They have an irrigation ditch that runs along the street (the far side on this first picture), then water hookups at the end of each row on the right. These pipes are pvc that have had little holes punched into them, so that the water sprays down evenly into each row. This system is on two timers that runs for 20 minutes everyday/every other day. One timer controls one half of the rows and the other the second half. This can also be accomplished with a drip-line system, which is available at home depot and sprinkler stores. If you use a drip line, you will need it to drip water for 2-4 hours every night.

The pipes are suspended in air with small bricks, so that the holes in the PVC don't get clogged. It's important when setting up these pipes in the spring, to flush dirt out the end before putting the caps on. You might also notice that the rows are LOWER than the walkways. That's for 2 reasons. One, so we don't flood the walkways and entire garden where we're not even growing anything useful. It just makes the weeds stronger. And two, Utah is dry, and we need to make sure we put the valuable water right where the plants are. Plants can take a surprising amount of water, so filling up the entire row to the brink is actually recommended.  For some reason, it's popular for people to make their rows raised, but in Utah, this only leads to water run-off due to the clay soil. The plants really struggle when this is going on. 

In gardens where it's been used for several years, it's important that after you plant, you fertilize every two weeks, or whatever your fertilizer instructions tell you. After about 6-8 weeks, fertilizing will become less effective. Without fertilizer, everything will be small, short plants, however, you should still get a decent amount of produce on them. We put left-over potting soil in the dirt where our cherry tomatoes are, so they didn't need any extra fertilizer. They are now over 6 feet tall! 

When we first got the rows ready, we had a several step process. First, we tilled down the weeds and raked them out. Second, we made our depressed rows as deep as we could... about 5 inches... with our rake. Third, we used a long wooden beam and a level to make sure they were flat. This is done so that when our water was put in the row, it would fill up and down the whole row without leaving a dry spot... or leaking out. Next we positioned our pipes with our bricks. We planted our seeds on both sides of the row... and for squash that was zigzag about every foot/12 inches. 

We don't follow seed instructions very seriously. Often they say 4-6 in a mound, 4 feet apart; I usually do 1-3 every foot. Sometimes that means you'll end up having a gap, but it also means you won't have to thin your plants out. Next we sprinkler our fertilizer down the row (ours are little white-ish pellets), turn on the water, clean out the pipes, cap them, and let the rows fill up with water. The first couple weeks the dirt will take much more water than later weeks, fyi.

This year we made the mistake of tilling one saturday, then planting the next; this gave the weed seeds a week head start on the garden food, and stunted the veggies growth until they had managed to get big enough we could safely weed around them. (You can't weed them when they're too small because 1. you'll run the risk of pulling out the fragile veggie and 2. it's really hard to recognize what's veggie and what's weed.)

The weeks after that, it's just a matter of staying on top of the weeds and fertilizing rows. We liked to till the paths to keep the weeds down, then use a small rake to get the little weed starts out. If you set your watering to 'late in the night', your dirt should be just moist enough that it's fairly easy to pull the weeds out, but not too muddy that you can't get anything done. Also, watering at night is a great way to save yourself on the water bill. Watering during the day leads to a lot of the water 1. being used to just 'cool down' the dirt/plants from the hot sun, rather than going deep into the soil for the roots to grow long. And 2. regular sprinklers usually have a significant amount of water that just evaporates or floats downwind. So save yourself on utilities and water when it's dark out. 

As the summer gets real hot, Dave and I woke up earlier on Saturdays to go weed. We can do about one row each per 1.5 hours, and we work faster when it's cool weather. Some veggies take longer to weed than others, fyi. Squash is really quick, but carrots are super tricky. A couple of times we've gone twice a week when the weeds were getting ahead of us. We try to do 2 rows a week. (We have 8 rows that are each about 30 feet long.) When you're weeding, it's also very helpful to take out the rocks. In carrot and onion rows, underground rocks can be devastating to your harvest. An onion or carrot will not move the rocks out of the way, but simply grow around it, or just stop growing all together. On top of that, onion rows need to be prepared with extra deep depressions because as the onion bulbs grow, you need to rake more dirt on top of them. Shallow rows means your water will escape half way through the season. 

Lastly, make sure you know WHEN to harvest your food! Last year, we waited too long to harvest onions, and the bulbs had shrunk for the oncoming winter. If you pick your veggies regularly, they will grow more veggies. If you leave them to rot on the vine, you're plant will stop producing. So whether or not you'll be able to get around to using all that food, you Must pick it. And pick it WITH the stem... or your plant might not realize the produce is gone, and again, will stop producing. The stem on the veggie also helps the veggie stay good longer. Use scissors or a blade to pick produce. 

Today we harvested our first zucchini, several cayenne peppers, a couple of bell peppers, several banana peppers, chard, lettuce, a couple onions for this week's meals, and thinned part of the carrots... which gave us some baby carrots. Our cherry tomatoes came in last week, and we've picked those every 2-3 days.