Enjoy your fresh vegetables in the cold winter: Microgreens

You can enjoy fresh vegetables in the winter by first growing and harvesting a lot of seeds, and then use them to grow microgreens/sprouts indoor in winter. Of course, you can grow your microgreens outdoor in spring, summer, and fall, depending on the germination temperature of your seeds. But you need to put your seeds under some shade cloth in summer cause most seeds will be killed by the scourging sun. 

 There are two ways to grow your own microgreens:

1. Put your seeds in a Mason jar. Rinse your seeds. Then soak them in water for 12 hours to 24 hours. Rinse your seeds and drain all the water in the jar 2 to 4 times a day depending on what kind of seeds you are using. Put your mason jar in a cool and dark place, say your kitchen cabinet. Mung beans, for example, should be soaked for 24 hours a day and rinsed twice a day. Soy beans can be soaked for 12 hours or less. Then they should be rinsed at least 3 to 4 times a day or the beans will rot.  The 

   

   Mung bean sprouts are ready in 5 days
   

   
   
2. Many seeds should not be sprouted in Mason jars, for example, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, amaranth seeds, chia seeds, etc. For these seeds, you need a growing tray and a growing medium. Water your growing medium so that it is thoroughly moist, but not soggy. Cover the surface of the growing medium thoroughly with seeds. Your target is to have the surface eventually fully covered by the cotyledons of the seeds. Depending on the germination temperature of your seeds, you can grow your microgreens inside your house or in an unheated garage.

   

   Sprouted seeds under an LED grow light

   
   

How to Pickle False Dandelion (Cat's Ear)

 

One of the most noxious (according to some ignorant people) weeds in the Pacific Northwest is Cat's ear, also known as False Dandelion. Similar to Dandelion, it belongs to the sunflower, daisy and lettuce family, known as the Asteraceae family. I believe all (but I am not an expert in eating wild vegetables) members of the asteraceae family are edible. Correct me if I am wrong.

Cat's ear is very nutritious, probably more so than lettuce because it has a deeper tap root system than lettuce and it is a perennial, instead of annual, vegetable. It tastes much milder (less bitter) than dandelions. Its texture is not as tender as dandelion, so I normally wouldn't use it for salad. You can saute it, but I prefer to pickle it. After pickling it for more than a week, it will become a bit softer and a little sour because of the acetic acid created by some yeast or bacteria. Acetic acid is a short-chain fatty acid that is beneficial not only to your digestive system, but also to your health. Acetic acid is also a nutrient readily absorbed in your small intestine.

Pickling cat's ear is extremely easy. Get an empty jar. Remove the flowers and flower stems from your cat's ear. (You may also use the flower to create some flower tea!)  Dump the leaves into the empty jar. Add at least one tablespoon of salt to it. Shake well so that each leave is in contact with some salt. Close the lid. Put the jar into the refrigerator and wait for at least 1 week because you want it to turn sour.

You can use the pickled cat's ear for cooking fava beans, mung bean sprout, meat or mushrooms, etc. Before you chop pickled leaves into tiny pieces, you should wash it thoroughly to remove any excessive salt, depending on your taste.

Beside pickling cat's ear, you can also use exactly the same method to pickle daikon leaves, radish leaves, turnip leaves, ... As a matter of fact, to be anything less tender than lettuce or spinach can be pickled. If you want to be a bit sophisticated, you can add some of your favorite spice, such as dill, black pepper, mustard seeds, etc, into your pickling jar.

Happy pickling!

Fresh Roses for Rose Tea

I have two types of fresh roses for making rose tea. They all smell delicious. I am selling them for $1 for a gallon zip loc bag if you bring your own bag. It will be $0.2 more if you want me to provide with a zip loc bag. Or I can give you a Winco bag which is free. I will pick them for you when you come.


Rose tea is easily to make. Just boil it or put it into the microwave for 3 minutes by adding sufficient water to it depending on your taste. Then add honey or just sugar to it. It will taste and smell delicious. Rose tea has diuretic effects and they are loaded with vitamin C, pectin, malic and citric acids, ... They have medicinal uses including treating chest and abdominal pains, menstrual bleeding and digestive issues.

Mammoth sunflowers starters: six-pack for $1.2. Buy two at $2. They grow up to 8 feet tall.

Rutabaga, Daikon, Radish belong to the Brassica Family: The Entire Plant is Edible

A rutabaga volunteer that I harvested in my field

Rutabaga, daikon, and radish belong to the brassica Family. The are the annual relatives of the biennial brassicas, such as collard green, Russian kale, and cabbage.

They are very rich in not only vitamins C and tons of minerals, such as potassium and magnesium. That's only when you consume the root. Most people do not realize that the entire plant of rutabaga, or daikon, or radish is edible. The leaves (greens), stem (heart), and flowers are actually more nutritious in other vitamins, such as vitamin E and K.

I will cut and saute the stem and root using some ginger powder and soy sauce or salt. The leaves are tougher. So, I will ferment them in a glass jar using some salt. As I have mentioned in another post, fermented vegetables may actually not be as nutritious as fresh vegetables, but they have a lot of beneficial effects to your digestive system!

Minimal Energy, No Heavy Machinery, Only Hand Tools and a Lawnmower

        

Natural Farming is sometimes called Zero-cost Farming in some developing countries. Mini Natural Farm tries to use only hand tools, not only as a means to minimize cost, but also as a means to minimize energy consumption. Some people is still in some delusional states by not admitting the fact that our fossil fuel reserve is close to its ending stage. Some scientists have already warned us that cruel oil reserve might not last more than a hundred years, meaning that it can be used only for at more five to ten human generations. Not only that, towards the end of oil production era, the cost of fossil fuel will start to increase exponentially, making most poor people, mainly farmers, unable to afford using it as a source of energy input.

Meat (Even Lean Meat) and Dairy Products are Major Causes of Obesity in the U.S.

Ignoring tiny countries with population smaller than 10 million people (88 countries in total), the U.S. is the #2 most obese country in the world. The worst country is Egypt. [1] Amongst all Aermcians, 47.8% of Blacks, 42.5% Latinos, 32.6% of Whites, and only 10.8% of Asians are obese. [2] I don't believe it is race that matters. Instead, I believe it is the diet they receive.

Asians don't consume at lot of meat or diary, and hence they normally don't have too much animal saturated fat in their diet. In fact, most Asians are lactose intolerant, just like myself, and don't consume too much milk. A major problem with milk is that it is a liquid that contains tons of proteins and fats. Drinking milk won't give you fullness, but gives you too much high energy nutrients. Milk and dairy products have become a major part of human diet, only until recently. Thanks to mainstream medical doctors and nutritionists.

Meat is obviously another culprit. Meat contains not only tons of proteins, but also saturated fat. Some people wrongly believe that proteins (from lean meat) will not lead to obesity. Again, thanks to mainstream medical doctors and nutritionists. Some people believe that eating lean meat will make you lean. This belief is naive and WRONG!

Adults need proteins only for maintenance and production of hormones, enzymes, and immune defense materials. The proteins that are eaten but not used will eventually go through a process called deamination so that they can be safely excreted through our urinary system in the form of urea.

All proteins consist of amino acids. Most amino acids contain more carbon atoms than nitrogen atoms. For instance, tyrosine contains 9 carbon atoms and only 1 nitrogen atom. A urea molecule contains only 1 carbon atom and two nitrogen atoms. If you eat proteins that contain tyrosine, you end up accumulating carbon atoms (in the form of carbohydrates and fat). This is simple accounting.

Eating proteins does not automatically allow you to build muscle (using both carbon and nitrogen atoms) or provide you with energy (by the burning of carbon atoms to exhale as carbon dioxide), unless you do a lot of exercise. An adult who eats a lot of proteins without doing a lot of exercise will end up accumulating carbon and hence fat because humans don't store too much carbohydrates, except for a small amount of glycogen in the liver. Most unused carbohydrates (after the deamination of unused proteins) will be transformed and stored as fat.

References:
1. http://stateofobesity.org/disparities/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Body_Mass_Index_(BMI)