Miscellany
Jul. 11th, 2005 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urocyonOddly enough, this is the second afternoon in a row I've felt an overwhelming urge to go and bask in the sun like a lizard, as good as it felt shining on my shoulders. I could just feel the Vitamin D synthesizing. (People who knew me in VA are probably snorting and falling over, about now.) It is still nice to be able to go out in sunlight for more than 10 minutes at a time without turning crispy. The climate seems to suit my default melanin level, at least. :)
Today I noticed the first eensy green tomato. The plants have been tantalising with scads of blooms but no fruit, so far! The first couple of crookneck yellow squash should be ready to eat in a few days, and I think the Costata Romanesco zucchini plant has a couple of tiny fruit. There are still about two dozen tiny nubbins of cucumbers, so that I'm beginning to wonder if the plants have decided to be perverse and tempt us with tiny, not-yet-edible cucumbers. There is even a volunteer dill plant just about at the right stage for making pickles, with the nice yellow head. Maybe they tend to do this, though--I haven't grown cucumbers on my own before, and know I'm not so patient! We also now have six green October beans of edible size stashed in a baggie in the fridge--more growing, thank goodness--so I think it's about time for more stir-fry.
Had I ever considered being a farmer, it's probably not the best option, given my level of patience. :/
Tonight we're having a yummy-smelling pork dish with red wine, olives, tomato, and fresh rosemary and sage. (Yay for jars of pitted Kalamatas! It's so much easier when you need almost a cup of them.) Also mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cream cheese, and garlic bread with some of the seedy wholemeal rolls I made yesterday, besides salad. (Ditto for the bread machine dough cycle.) I think I may take my chances reseeding the Bright Lights chard, since I let the first batch dry out while it was germinating; bags of spinach are ridiculously priced, especially if you go organic to avoid all the usual icky pesticides. I was actually slightly surprised to see that spinach was on the top-ten list of high pesticide vegetables, according to USDA figures, and I doubt it has fewer pests here.
I've been feeling a lot better since I haven't been stuffing myself so full of carbohydrates. I don't think I tolerate wheat well, in particular, which may not be too surprising, considering half my ancestors didn't even clap eyes on the stuff until less than 400 years ago. Not drinking sugary iced tea (the "house wine of the South", and a major addiction here) all day has probably helped quite a bit, too. (I'm having to compromise a bit there, with a lesser quantity of tea not quite as well-sweetened with sucralose, but even a bit of artificial sweetener is probably better than pouring in two litres--with half a cup of sugar--a day.) I think it's helped even out my blood sugar, which was part of the point. I realised that I was already having hypoglycemic attacks--took a little long to figure it out, with "Hmm, I didn't eat before I left and now I'm having panic attacks on the train again" being the most obvious clue. (Followed by several incidents of, "I think I'll eat some fruit instead of taking a tablet," which worked amazingly well.) With any luck, I can stave things off and avoid becoming full-blown diabetic like most of my mother's family. Basing your diet on pasta and rice when you're already prone to problems with glucose metabolism might not always be the best approach. :/ At the risk of sounding like one of the tediously food-obsessed, I really have noticed a difference in general energy level and anxiety symptoms over the past few weeks.
Today I noticed the first eensy green tomato. The plants have been tantalising with scads of blooms but no fruit, so far! The first couple of crookneck yellow squash should be ready to eat in a few days, and I think the Costata Romanesco zucchini plant has a couple of tiny fruit. There are still about two dozen tiny nubbins of cucumbers, so that I'm beginning to wonder if the plants have decided to be perverse and tempt us with tiny, not-yet-edible cucumbers. There is even a volunteer dill plant just about at the right stage for making pickles, with the nice yellow head. Maybe they tend to do this, though--I haven't grown cucumbers on my own before, and know I'm not so patient! We also now have six green October beans of edible size stashed in a baggie in the fridge--more growing, thank goodness--so I think it's about time for more stir-fry.
Had I ever considered being a farmer, it's probably not the best option, given my level of patience. :/
Tonight we're having a yummy-smelling pork dish with red wine, olives, tomato, and fresh rosemary and sage. (Yay for jars of pitted Kalamatas! It's so much easier when you need almost a cup of them.) Also mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cream cheese, and garlic bread with some of the seedy wholemeal rolls I made yesterday, besides salad. (Ditto for the bread machine dough cycle.) I think I may take my chances reseeding the Bright Lights chard, since I let the first batch dry out while it was germinating; bags of spinach are ridiculously priced, especially if you go organic to avoid all the usual icky pesticides. I was actually slightly surprised to see that spinach was on the top-ten list of high pesticide vegetables, according to USDA figures, and I doubt it has fewer pests here.
I've been feeling a lot better since I haven't been stuffing myself so full of carbohydrates. I don't think I tolerate wheat well, in particular, which may not be too surprising, considering half my ancestors didn't even clap eyes on the stuff until less than 400 years ago. Not drinking sugary iced tea (the "house wine of the South", and a major addiction here) all day has probably helped quite a bit, too. (I'm having to compromise a bit there, with a lesser quantity of tea not quite as well-sweetened with sucralose, but even a bit of artificial sweetener is probably better than pouring in two litres--with half a cup of sugar--a day.) I think it's helped even out my blood sugar, which was part of the point. I realised that I was already having hypoglycemic attacks--took a little long to figure it out, with "Hmm, I didn't eat before I left and now I'm having panic attacks on the train again" being the most obvious clue. (Followed by several incidents of, "I think I'll eat some fruit instead of taking a tablet," which worked amazingly well.) With any luck, I can stave things off and avoid becoming full-blown diabetic like most of my mother's family. Basing your diet on pasta and rice when you're already prone to problems with glucose metabolism might not always be the best approach. :/ At the risk of sounding like one of the tediously food-obsessed, I really have noticed a difference in general energy level and anxiety symptoms over the past few weeks.