Another day, a new garden

Long time, no post. Sorry about that. Guess I should start with updates.

The the first attempt at container gardening failed. The cabbage loopers won the broccoli, the kale, and the pepper. But we've started over, with seeds as I mentioned before. So far it's just radishes and spinach, plus some daisies, but it's something. The worst thing about working outside right now is all the mosquitoes. I don't know where they're coming from, since we haven't had rain in over a week, and it wasn't a long rain. I think they might have been breeding in the containers of the garden- they'd have access to the water at the bottom via the pipe you use to fill the bottom or the drain hole on the side. If so, we've got the drain hole covered now, and I'm going to use a rubber band and plastic wrap to take care of the pipe.

The other night I made a second attempt at cooking dried beans. I put 2 cups of kidney beans into the crock pot and set it  low to cook overnight. About 5 hours into cooking, the steam made the lid slide and jiggle and woke up the mister. He woke me up and I was all "It's just the rain." Apparently, the sound of the top jiggling on the ceramic led me to dream about rain hitting a tin roof. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have sounds invade their dreams. Anyway, I used most of the beans in a mix with ground beef for tacos last night (tip- baby spinach leaves instead of iceberg lettuce=better tacos, imho), and plan to make a bit more to finish off the rest of the beans in a chili Saturday. Tonight, though, I've decided to roast a whole (free-range) chicken, along with carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. I should probably get started with that pretty soon. I generally don't use a recipe for this, just a generalized version from the recipes I've read. Chicken gets covered (including the cavity) with butter, pepper, and kosher salt. Fill the cavity with garlic. Throw in the oven. I cut up the vegetables and toss them in a bowl with olive oil, parsley, paprika, a little chili powder, and black pepper. If you want something more precise, here's a recipe from Martha "Potatoes that Taste Better than the Chicken". Jaime Oliver also has a good roast chicken recipe.

On a personal note, I've joined the local roller derby team. I had my first practice earlier this week and my legs are finally not so sore. I also got my first bruises, from learning controlled falls. I probably drop my knee a little too hard. Although the team lets the fresh meat borrow gear for the first month, I went ahead and bought my own pads and helmet (both are from Triple Eight) last night. I'm just learning how to do crossovers, so I figured I should just buy the gear now so I can get used to it instead of switching out in a few weeks. I still need to get skates, but I want to try out a few different types first. I've got another endurance training session this week; I'll let you know how my protective gear works out.

Update for today

I'm planning on making a cantaloupe granita soon, from this recipe. It occurred to me, last time I was eating cantaloupe, that it's got a great texture for a sorbet. But then I found the granita recipe. I'll probably end up trying both, since it's so hot here and I've got the time.
Along the lines of new recipes, tonight I made Spaghettini with lemon zest & chives (except I used linguine) and paired it with sautéed portabella mushrooms and Swiss chard in a balsamic sauce. I thought there was too much butter in the pasta, but other than that it was good.
I won't be getting any broccoli from the garden from my first plantings. We got invaded by cabbage looper caterpillars.

We're still trying to keep them going, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. It's still pretty early in the season (given our region), so I think we'll be able to try again.  From seeds though. I should go ahead set up to sprout some seeds.

Good news. For now, at least.

I just learned this on twitter (thanks to a retweet by @sciam).  Stem cell research funding ban suspended  This is hugely important!  Under the ban (that was just suspended), funds were pulled from researchers using any embryonic stem cells, including the original embryonic stem cell lines that were given the "okay" under Bush.  Many scientists, particularly younger scientist working towards tenure, had to scramble after the injunction was served.  Although NIH did not take back any funding, grants were completely taken out of the review process.  No funding=no jobs.  While a new professor may be safe for awhile (safe being relative, they still need to worry about getting published), the grad students and lab techs that depend on NIH funding not only for their research but also their paychecks were going to be out of luck.  Sure, grad students can apply for loans, but is that really the best option?  Rather than allow the morals of the few affect the direction of science, we should consider the greater good.  Advancing our scientific knowledge base is, and always has been, incredibly important.  And it's not as if there are no regulations in science.  That's just not true.  Universities have an Internal Review Board (at least, for human research; there's a different board for animal research) that research proposals must go through before you can even start your research, in order to make sure the research will proceed as ethically as possible.

I think it's clear by this post that I support stem cell research, even from embryonic cells.  But- embryonic stem cells have their problems, aside from the ethical debate.  The first (and clearest, in my opinion) issue with embryonic stem cells is the fact that they come from a source outside of the receiving patient.  Although I assume most people understand the ramifications of that, I'll say it anyway: any transplant from a separate donor requires some form of immune suppression in the receiver.  And, of course, immune suppression can lead to a host of other problems.  This issue can be overcome, but not easily.  Mechanisms of Disease: Nuclear Transplantation, Embryonic Stem Cells, and the Potential for Cell Therapy

Another problem with embryonic stem cells is the formation of tumors.  Tumourigenesis, 2010 discusses tumors that develop from embryonic stem cells AND a way to prevent them.

Hopefully those links will work for you (I'm able to get them via my University library login).  If not, let me know & I'll see what I can do.

Frontiering

Today's efforts at living both more sustainably and self-sufficiently came in the form of banana bread (to save the too mushy bananas from the garbage), cheddar biscuits (recipe from the Barefoot Contessa), and slow-cooked chili. All of which are pretty tasty, though my biscuits were not as fluffy as I think they should have been (due to my over-kneading, not the recipe).  Now that dinner is done, and as soon as I'm done with this post, I'll be heading out to water the container garden and turn the compost. Then I'll be making dried banana chips. A pioneer lady's work is never done.

Welcome!

Hello from my laptop. Hopefully you'll find this blog useful/informative/entertaining/whatever as I move forward in this endeavor. My goal, though self-centered as it may sound, is to contribute something to my environment (globally), and I plan to do my best.  Let's see how it goes!