Do People Still Use The Farmer's Almanac?

[jpegghost]

So. Getting a HOME home is rapidly becoming a non-option. Due to the housing crash, a lot of rental homes that are owned by independent, mom and pop owners are getting outright bought by realtors and flipped for jacked up prices to rent. Everything in our price range was bad (as in, tiles falling off the houses. Dead geckos all over the floor. FOR 1700 A MONTH.)

That's why I've been quiet on that front. House hunting has all but stopped, and we just begrudgingly accepted apartment living to stack cash. With our budget we were lucky enough to get approved for a very nice apartment by a local park, so I'm looking forward to that. We are visiting today to look at things and measure things, then go to IKEA to get some odds and ends. Maybe I'll even take pictures of this new apartment?!

Now that I can't have a big fantastical garden, I'm thinking of other things to do. Like, small scale. Checking the Farmer's Almanac, it looks like I just missed the Fall planting dates for just about everything except kale. Maybe I will grow some kale until December/January comes, then I can grow everything else. NOTHING BUT KALE TO EAT FOR DAYS.

I still have the ~Homemaker's Chat~ saved from the old USDA files. Maybe I'll ... shit idk pickle some of that kale?! WHAT DO PEOPLE DO WITH KALE????

Comments

[annofowlshire]

Kale can be used like any other green, really. I made lamb and kale dolmas a while back that were a lot of faff, but so, so good.

Sorry to hear the house hunt went bust. The markets are all quite funny right now. On the bright side, instead of all that gardening you can put your energy into interior design and sewing which I hear you are also quite fond of ^_^

[jpegghost]

Oh good! I'm trying to figure out how to best preserve it when it no doubt overflows and I can't possibly keep making kale dishes.

Yes! I'm very excited. Good thing I have more than one hobby lol. I'm very excited to have some nice shelves of vintage knicknacks and things up :)

[annofowlshire]

Also, given the rockiness of the rental market, I would not want to put a lot of energy and love into creating a garden (if they even allowed it).

[alee_grrl]

I'm not a huge fan of kale myself, but it can be used and cooked like any other green. I like it with lots of garlic. :D You can also roast it in the oven to make Kale chips though I've never tried this myself.

Sorry to hear that the house hunting has gone so poorly. Hopefully the apartment will be a good fit for the interim. <,3

[dark_phoenix54]

What do people do with kale? Personally, I feed it to the chickens... what does the book say about lettuce, arugula, mache? Greens like that?

Shame about the vultures swooping down on all the housing.. every time there is a depression/recession this happens. The rich get richer...

[amejisuto]

I know nothing about kale, at least about cooking it or eating it. So good luck with that, maybe google pickling kale or something. Alton Brown once said you can pickle any vegetable.

I'm sorry the house hunting went boom. That sucks.

I don't know much about the Farmer's Almanac, but I know loads of people who use the Witch's Almanac. It's got planting and grown times as well. So I'd say there are lots of people using the Famer's Almanac. Maybe you could go to your local Famer's Market, ask them about the kale.

[jpegghost]

I love Alton Brown and trust him with my life. So. I may try to pickle.

What's the Witch's Almanac? I've never heard of that!

[amejisuto]

There are four different ones running around that I know of.

Llewellyn's 2021 Sabbats Almanac: Samhain 2020 to Mabon 2021 This one has information on holidays and things to do for them. I think I'm gonna buy this one instead of the other one this year, I haven't read this kind yet.

The Witches' Almanac, which is based on the Farmer's Almanac with planting times according to the moon and other pagan type information. Haven't read this one either, but I've heard good things about it.

Then there is Llewellyn's Magical Almanac, which I have several copies off. It has information on the elements, mediation, charms, spells, that sort of thing.

Then there's this one. You would like it I think. Llewellyn's 2021 Herbal Almanac: A Practical Guide to Growing, Cooking & Crafting. It's got all sorts of information on gardening, cooking and the like.

Amazon probably has other sorts of information too, other types of almanacs. You should look and see what you can find that fits you.

[8hyenas]

Oh no! I'm sorry you're disappointed.

I downloaded Spiritfarer today for the switch and was like. Oh no. A small resource management game where you assist spirits thru the afterlife. Thought of you.

Kale recipes. (I love kale)

stirfry it with onions, add beans, and garlic cayenne smoked paprika. Add sweet potato (10 stars)? Add cheese? To me it doesn't really taste of anything but has a chewier texture when cooked than spinach managed.

I don't have any more recipes because I like this one so much. Also you can freeze kale, like just stick in a ziploc, then you will never be overwhelmed and yet have plenty of kale.

[jpegghost]

So happy that you can now play as me in the Nintendo Switch. Try not to ruin me.

I like kale because i cant stand the soupiness of spinach when cooked. Raw spinach good. But once steam or heat hits it, it's a shriveled wet lil mess. I don't need that energy in my life.

You can freeze it?! I'll never need to buy this shit at that rate then, considering how much kale produces...

[8hyenas]

Yeah you’ll read that you should blanch(?) it first but just. Stick it in the freezer. Test first though because the cooked texture is a bit different than cooking fresh. (Look at that. Ten second reply time. I’ve decided it’s just because we’re in the same time zone)

[switterbeet]

Kale chips were a game changer for me. Just toss it in some oil, add salt (garlic salt to be fancy) and throw it in the oven on broil for 5-10 min (checking every 5 min). It will crisp up into delicious crispy, saltiness.

I didn't like it at all before but I can eat an entire head of kale this way now. After having had the chips a few times, I'm now more open to the flavour in other forms.

[jpegghost]

Kale chips! I tried to make them before and they always had lil wet patches -- maybe it's the broiler that changed it. I never used that for chips.