A long-time reader here at Tigers & Strawberries, upon reading my participatory post for Dave of Very Good Taste’s list of one hundred comestibles that every omnivore should try at least once, entitled The Omnivore’s Hundred, said that someone should make a list of one hundred foods that vegetarians should eat at least once.

I thought Alexis had a great idea, so here is my version: The Vegetarian’s Hundred. Included in this list are both vegan dishes and vegetarian dishes which include the use of dairy products and eggs. I chose to not go strictly vegan in my list because while I have been eating more and more vegetarian meals this past few years, I am by no means a vegan, so I just don’t feel qualified to really choose the 100 vegan dishes that everyone needs to try.

Why am I doing this?

Well, mostly for fun, but also to see where the idea goes. If you want to play along, here’s how you do it: copy the list, including my instructions, and bold any items you have eaten and strike out any you would never eat, and then post it to your blog. If you want, you can leave a comment here, linking to your results, or you can link back to this post so I can try and keep tabs on what folks have eaten and not eaten. Finally, if you think something else should be on the list–feel free to add that to your post, and add any comments you like to your own posting of the list. I am just as curious to see what people have to say about food as whether or not they have eaten them.

Before I start, I want to let you know how I chose the foods, which are in no particular order of importance, they are just in the order in which I thought of them. Basically, these are the foods that I think that these are the vegetarian foods that -everyone- should try, not just vegetarians, because they are amazingly good. Each of these foods puts the lie to the still-prevalent idea that vegetarian and especially vegan food, is either boring, hard to make or just plain bad. These are flavors that I think are not only amazingly good, but they are also ones that I think are pretty accessible to everyone.

You will notice a preponderance of non-Western dishes. (But there are still a lot of European and American classics represented, have no fear.) There is a reason for that–around the world, there are many cultures where vegetarian dishes are important parts of the diets of large numbers of people. Any time you have that many people eating a food, you can be pretty certain that it is going to taste good, because frankly, it has to be. This isn’t always the case of course, but staple foods tend to be tasty ones. You will also note that I have a bias towards freshly made items, because I believe that fresh is better. (Unless we are talking about fermented foods–then, fermented is better!)

I think that lists like this very definitely show the biases of the list maker. I am certain that many things about my personality, cooking style and food biases can be inferred from this list.

As for a vegan list–I will leave that project in the capable hands of one of the many vegan food bloggers out there in the blogosphere.

The Vegetarian Hundred

1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked
2. Tabouleh
3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam)
4. Fresh figs
5. Fresh pomegranate
6. Indian dal of any sort
7. Imam bayildi
8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu
9. Freshly made hummus
10. Tahini
11. Kimchi
12. Miso
13. Falafel
14. Potato and pea filled samosas
15. Homemade yogurt
16. Muhammara
17. Brie en croute
18. Spanikopita
19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes
20. Insalata caprese
21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards)
22. Freshly made salsa
23. Freshly made guacamole
24. Creme brulee
25. Fava beans
26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles
27. Fattoush
28. New potatoes
29. Coleslaw
30. Ratatouille
31. Baba ganoush
32. Winter squash
33. Roasted beets
34. Baked sweet potatoes
35. Plantains
36. Chocolate truffles
37. Garlic mashed potatoes
38. Fresh water chestnuts
39. Steel cut oats
40. Quinoa
41. Grilled portabello mushrooms
42. Chipotle en adobo
43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal
44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas
45. Frittata
46. Basil pesto
47. Roasted garlic
48. Raita of any type
49. Mango lassi
50. Jasmine rice (white or brown)
51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry
52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie
53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette
54. Quince in any form
55. Escarole, endive or arugula
56. Sprouts other than mung bean
57. Naturally brewed soy sauce
58. Dried shiitake mushrooms
59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…)
60. Fresh peach ice cream
61. Chevre
62. Medjool dates
63. Kheer
64. Flourless chocolate cake
65. Grilled corn on the cob
66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili
67. Tempeh
68. Seitan or wheat gluten
69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese
70. Sweet potato fries
71. Homemade au gratin potatoes
72. Cream of asparagus soup
73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip
74. Mushroom risotto
75. Fermented black beans
76. Garlic scapes
77. Fresh new baby peas
78. Kalamata olives
79. Preserved lemons
80. Fried green tomatoes
81. Chinese scallion pancakes
82. Cheese souffle
83. Fried apples
84. Homemade frijoles refritos
85. Pasta fagiole
86. Macadamia nuts in any form
87. Paw paw in any form
88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind
89. Paneer cheese
90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!)
91. Fresh pasta in any form
92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps
93. Green papaya salad
94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes
95. Pickled ginger
96. Methi greens
97. Aloo paratha
98. Kedgeree (the original Indian version without the smoked fish, not the British version with fish)
99. Okra
100. Roasted brussels sprouts

There it is–my list of 100 vegetarian foods that everyone–not just vegetarians–should eat at least once. rest assured that I have eaten all of these at least once, and the truth is, I like nearly all of these foods a great deal. There are a couple of exceptions, and they are related to each other. While I love blue-veined cheeses, I am sensitive to blue-green molds, which is probably related to my penicillin allergy. So, I -can- eat the cheeses, but I generally get very ill after I do so, so I try to avoid them. In fact, just about any cheese with bloom or mold on it I tend to avoid, or in the case of brie and similar cheese, I cut the rind away.

Similarly, I do not much care for tempeh–it is inoculated with a mold in order to produce it, and because of that, I tend to leave it alone. The flavor is okay, but my stomach gets queasy just smelling it, so I leave it be.

Everything else on this list is okay by me. I addition to putting together a fun game to play, I have also maybe given readers new ideas in vegetarian foods to try sometime.

So, in honor of Labor Day which supposedly celebrates the Labor Movement in the US, but usually is celebrated by a last bit of summer fun before all the work of autumn commences, I decided to play along.

In addition to following Andrew’s instructions, I figured it would be more interesting if I not only boldfaced the items I had consumed, but made note of where I first did so, and perhaps, boldfaced and changed the color of items which I cook and eat on a regular basis. (If I cook the dish, it will be green and bold.) Not only that, but at the end of the post, I am going to add my own list of dishes, foods and drinks I think that everyone should taste at least once.

Here are Andrew’s instructions, if any of my food blogging buddies want to play along:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Steak tartare Zak introduced me to this classic. I now only make it myself from beef tenderloin from a local producer I trust.
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. PB&J sandwich I guess that this would be unusual for a foodie anywhere else but the US.
14. Aloo gobi I make this all the time.
15. Hot dog from a street cart From New York, no less.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle And white truffle, while we are at it. I ate the former in culinary school, and the latter in risotto at Biba.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes Elderberry wine, from Shade Winery here in Athens County.
19. Steamed pork buns I cannot count how many times I have eaten and made these.
20. Pistachio ice cream Pistachio gelato is even better.
21. Heirloom tomatoes I grow them, so of course, I eat them. I also make salsa, salads, sauces and all sorts of other stuff from them.
22. Fresh wild berries I grew up eating wild blackberries and continue the tradition to this day.
23. Foie gras Seared foie gras over a rare bison tenderloin at Handke’s in Columbus about five years ago. Amazingly tasty.
24. Rice and beans Every week, in a myriad of forms, I cook and/or eat beans and rice.
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper Yep. Been there, done that.
27. Dulce de leche Oh, my, yes. Every time I visit the in-laws in Miami, I must eat dulce de leche at least once.
28. Oysters I’ve had them, but don’t like them. They taste fine, but the texture–ick. It gets me every time.
29. Baklava We have it at work. ‘Nuff said.
30. Bagna cauda We made this in culinary school, and I nearly made myself sick on it. Other kids got sick on sweets, I gorged on this.
31. Wasabi peas A favorite snack.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl I love the chowder, hate the bowl. Soggy bread. Ugh.
33. Salted lassi A fine and delicious drink.
34. Sauerkraut On the farm, we made huge crocks of this every year. This fall, the tradition continues.
35. Root beer float If there was no root beer in it, I’d like it.
36. Cognacwith a fat cigar–Love the cognac, though I can no longer drink. But the cigar–euww, no. Allergic to tobacco.
37. Clotted cream tea One of the best culinary traditions in Britain.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo I like it best with crab, crayfish, shrimp and duck.
40. Oxtail I love it in lentil soup.
41. Curried goat I make it Pakistani, not Jamaican style.
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk I like it in all forms, but especially cheese.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more I wish I could still drink, dammit.
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala I make this all the time for work. We sell out every time, too.
48. Eel Not bad, but not a favorite.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut Oh, yeah.
50. Sea urchin Even though the texture is squiggly, when it is good, it tastes so good, I don’t care.
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi Tasty and pretty stuff.
53. Abalone
54. Paneer I cook this all the time at home and at work, and have made it from scratch. Great.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal To my sorrow, I have eaten this. However, recently, I have found my stomach rejects McDonald’s food violently.
56. Spaetzle Pretty good stuff.
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV Yeah, that was good stuff. Alas, I can no longer imbibe.
59. Poutine No, but I want to!
60. Carob chips I don’t like them, but I have eaten them. Give me chocolate, dammit, not that fake-assed “healthy” shit.
61. S’mores I was a Girl Scout, for God’s sake. I couldn’t have avoided s’mores if I wanted to.
62. Sweetbreads Oh, yes. Very tasty.
63. Kaolin In the form of kaopectate, though I suspect that is too much information and not what Andrew was talking about.
64. Currywurst No, but I want to. Must go to Berlin….
65. Durian No, but I want to. Anything described by a friend as “its like eating raspberries in a latrine” has to be experienced.
66. Frogs’ legs I like them salt-and-pepper fried Chinese style.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake It is fried dough. What is not to love?
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain I have in laws in Miami who introduced me to Cuban food. I love the plantain.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette No, but I have cleaned them. It is a long story, fit for a post on its own.
71. Gazpacho I’ve made several versions of this every summer for years.
72. Caviar and blini In culinary school. I wasn’t quite certain what all the fuss was about. It was sorta salty and that is all. I like salmon roe better.
73. Louche absinthe Absinthe rules. It loosens up my vocal chords and makes singing like breathing. Beautiful stuff.
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie Cherry was my favorite as a kid.
78. Snail Garlic butter makes everything good.
79. Lapsang souchong This is my second favorite tea, next to pu er.
80. Bellini I used to make these all the time when I was a bartender. They are right tasty, but I like mojitos better. And did I mention I cannot drink anymore? And that it sucks?
81. Tom yum I like tom kha gai better, though.
82. Eggs Benedict Rich, but amazingly good.
83. Pocky Love at first crunch.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef Good, but not all that. No, really.
86. Hare Lagomorphs are lovely.
87. Goulash My Grandma made this every Thanksgiving along with about thirty other dishes. No, I am not kidding. We aren’t Hungarian, either.
88. Flowers I love flowers. Roses are a favorite, and I will incorporate them into whatever I can.
89. Horse I have not ever had the opportunity, but I would eat it.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam I grew up in Appalachia. What do you think?
92. Soft shell crab Crab is one of the reasons I miss living in Maryland. I love me some crab.
93. Rose harissa Is rose harisssa different than regular harissa? Anyway, I cook with and eat regular harissa every week at work.
94. Catfish Fried Japanese style, catfish is divine. Just plain fried hillbilly style is pretty good, too.
95. Mole poblano I had this first in Miami at a wonderful regional Mexican restaurant. So delicious.
96. Bagel and lox My husband is one of the few Jews who doesn’t like lox, so this shiksa eats his portion. I have to fight with him over the bagels, though.
97. Lobster Thermidor Rich enough to strike you dead, but delicious.
98. Polenta Who can resist polenta?
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee I like Kenyan better, but this is nothing to turn your nose up at.
100. Snake I haven’t gotten around to it is all.

I suspect that my Omnivore’s Hundred would be different. Okay, I know it would be.

Here is a taste of some of the foods/dishes I would put in my own version:

Imam bayildi (Look for a recipe in tomorrow’s post)
Muhammara
She-crab soup
Scallion pancakes
Ma po tofu
Shajahani biryani
Kashmiri dhingri chole
King Crab Rolls (From Sushi King in Columbia, Maryland)
really good sparkling mead or metheglyn (drink some for me, okay?)
Puttanesca

It isn’t just how the Cook’s Illustrated stable of writers and recipe “testers” destroy Asian recipes that annoys me–I cannot abide the way that their recipes are all trumpeted as “the best,” because, frankly, they are not exceptional in any way. They are just bland and often dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. And, I really hate the way in which they do taste tests and equipment ratings, where low price trumps quality every time. Essentially, what I think is that the staff of Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen has set themselves up as authorities on food and cooking without actually having much in the way of credentials to back up their claims.

And that is enough for me to have little patience with their overbearing, arrogant “we are always right” writing style, and to actively dislike their publications and television shows.

Unfortunately, that active dislike has, overnight, morphed into utter loathing, because of the actions of one of their public relations minions in the case of a blogger who used a recipe from Cook’s Country as inspiration for a potato salad and then blogged about it.

She was contacted by this misinformed public relations person by email, and was told in a very unprofessional manner that she was violating Cook’s Country’s copyright on that recipe and she was told that she must remove it from her blog.

That was not all–not only was she in violation of their copyright (which she was not–more on that in a moment), if she wanted to use a Cook’s Country recipe on her blog, she had to write to this PR person to ask permission, and then, once granted, she was not allowed to modify the recipe in any way.

Why?

Because the recipe has been rigorously tested and as it is published, it is perfected, and does not need to be modified.

That was what really torqued my gizzard right there. I mean, it was bad enough that the PR flunky had no idea what the laws on copyright covering recipes are in the first place (or if she did know, she was engaging in harassment by emailing this blogger out of the blue in order to misquote copyright law), but to have the gall to say that the publishers of Cook’s Country do not allow their recipes to be modified because they are already perfect is just beyond overbearing. That kind of arrogance and ignorance is something I do not expect to find among those of us who live in the reality based community.

The deal about copyright as it applies to recipes is this–and I know this because I have done some pretty extensive research on the subject so I could write about it at The Paper Palate and here on Tigers & Strawberries-according to US copyright law, you cannot ever copyright a list of ingredients. The only part of a recipe that is protected by copyright is the method, and then only if it is written in a unique and literary fashion. There are only so many ways to express the following sentence, “preheat oven to 350 degrees,” for example, so that phrase or sentence cannot be copyrighted.

If, however, you were to follow up that phrase with something along the lines of, “Then, dust off your grandmother’s cast iron frying pan–your grandmother did pass down a cast iron frying pan to you, didn’t she–well, if she didn’t any cast iron frying pan will do, and grease it up well with bacon drippings…” that series or phrases would fall under copyright.

In other words, if your recipe is written in a unique voice, with a recognizable style, it falls under copyright. If it is “just the facts ma’am,” then it doesn’t fall under copyright. All prose leading up to a recipe, describing the process of creating the recipe, does fall under copyright, as it is most certainly a literary expression.

Most food bloggers deal with the issue of using recipes from other sources by citing the source, and then changing either the ingredients, or the wording of the method enough to make it uniquely their own. However, even if they heavily modify the recipe, most food bloggers cite the source, because it is considered to be ethical to do so.

And most folks, both published cookbook authors and other bloggers, don’t seem to mind.

When I review cookbooks here, I always cook at least a handful of recipes from the book after I review the book and present them here, with pictures and commentaries. I have never had a cookbook author complain about this–quite the contrary, several authors have not only gone out of their way to thank me for presenting reviews for their books on my blog, but have often linked to this blog on their own sites, or have thanked me in print in subsequent editions of their cookbooks.

That is because these authors understand the power of word-of-mouth, or word-of-blog advertising. They understand that I am giving them free publicity by featuring their books and recipes in my blog and they understand what blogger and researcher Leena Trivedi-Grenier discovered in the course of her US Food Blog Survey–that people who read about a magazine or cookbook on a blog and see successful recipes presented from them tend to go out and BUY those publications. Duh.

Apparently, the publishers of Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen don’t grok that. They are so worried that they might lose money because someone presented one of their recipes for free, that they will risk the ire of a large number of potential readers by being utterly obnoxious to a blogger by telling her incorrectly that not only is she in violation of their copyright, but she isn’t allowed to change the recipe in the first place.

This is so hypocritical of these guys, since the woman who decided to adapt Sichuan Green Beans in their February 2007 tried to use dill pickles as a substitute for Sichuan preserved vegetables, because, I don’t know, a pickle is a pickle. Right? (Um, no. Dill pickles are made in brine from cucumbers, and Sichuan preserved vegetable is made from a type of mustard plant and is salted and rubbed with chilies and is allowed to ferment.) I mean–they change recipes all the time, including perfectly good traditional Asian ones, often in heinous ways, but they are so godlike and perfect that they can do that, while we mere mortals dare not? Puleez! They have a lot of nerve.

That is the last straw for me. I haven’t even looked at one of their publications in over a year, but now I never will again. Nor will I ever suggest any of their publications to any or my readers, friends or family. Nor will I ever purchase one of their books as a gift for new cooks, nor will I ever watch their television show.

I will say that I am tempted to take one of their lame-assed Asian recipes, and present it on my blog, deliberately changing what I need to in order to make it edible, then email their PR department, not to ask permission, but to inform them that I had done so on the chance that they would like to send me an obnoxious and ignorant email like the one sent to the blogger at Alosha’s Kitchen. If they did that, it would give me the excuse to open up a can of ugly legal whupass in a barrage of verbiage that is just this side of Lewis Black. (Here is a clue–stupid people merely annoy me, but condescending and supercilious stupid people will make me lose my cool. Most of the time, I can keep myself civil, but not always. In the case of these Culinary Inquisitors, there is no way I could maintain my usual poised and gracious online communication style.)

I probably won’t though, for several reasons. One, I would want to illustrate the post with my middle finger displayed prominently over the results of the recipe, and that is really, really juvenile. (I think I have been watching and reading a little too much Anthony Bourdain recently.) Two, I have other stuff to do, like present my own recipes, which are often original and which I don’t care if people change up when they cook them, because, dammit, that is what cooks do–they put their own individual fillip on their food, and I will be damned if I stop anyone from engaging in culinary creativity. And I have a restaurant to help run and a baby to raise and a girl getting ready for college, on top of it all.

And three, because, well, I just don’t like being that angry, and a post like that would necessitate a state of focused rage in order to present it with the proper satiric style. And while it would be fun to write the post as a complete send-up of the usual way they write their articles, with all of their bombast and bluster intact, I don’t think I have the energy to sit down and do that right now. I can either go to the gym and get back into physical shape or I can sharpen my wits on these addled morons, but I can’t do both. And right now, being more physically in shape is more important.

So there we have it–the final straw in the saga of the publishers of Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen and my relationship with their magazines. It is over, done, finished.

Oh, well, except for this one thing–I am finally going to say something I have thought for years, but not said in a public forum–I cannot stand Christopher Kimball, his arrogant attitude which I believe has polluted every one of his publications, his faux-folksy, sexist-assed, uptight Yankee editorials, and his god-damned dweeb haircut and bow tie. He’s a self-important git who sucks the joy and life out of cooking every time he picks up his pen.

There.

I said it.

And the devil in me feels just a little bit better for it.

And yeah, I -have- been watching a little too much Lewis Black and Anthony Bourdain these days.

Maybe I should take up Zen meditation again.

It might help.

Americans need to go back to the land.

I don’t mean this in a 1960’s, leaving the city for a commune in the country, complete with goat milk, wheat grass and sprouted lentil loaves, kind of way.

I think we all need to get back to the land wherever we are.

We need to touch whatever bit of earth we have at our disposal, whether that means a planter on the deck, a grassy front yard, or an empty lot at the end of the block. We need to do more than touch that earth–we need to till it, plant seeds, tend them and watch them grow into food for ourselves, our families and our neighbors.

America used to be a nation of farmers, and we need to remember that and return to our roots.

Why?

Because of rising food prices, and looming threats of food shortages.

Because of lack of availability of fresh vegetables and fruits among the urban poor.

Because of soaring obesity rates, and lowered nutrition among the country’s poor.

Because eating locally is good for us and the environment, and our local economy.

And because we need to remember who we are, as a nation.

Gandhi once said, “To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves,” and he is right. As Americans have turned away from the land, as we have allowed farms to be turned into strip malls and condominiums, as we have turned away from self-reliance and embraced consumerism as a lifestyle, we have forgotten the soul of our nation. We have forgotten what once made us strong, and that was a deep connection to the earth, to our homes, to our neighbors.

We need to rebuild that connection, and in doing so, we will be better able to weather the coming economic recession, high food prices and possible food shortages which loom over our future lives.

And the thing is–gardening and growing at least some of our vegetables and fruits–can be accomplished anywhere. You don’t have to have forty acres and a mule, or even one acre and a rototiller. A small urban yard will do, or a series of containers on a rooftop or balcony or a vacant lot.

Urban agriculture is finally coming back into its own in the US, after last being seen as a real movement during WWII with the “Victory Garden” campaign when rooftops and backyards were planted in cities and larger gardens were dug in the country by people from all walks of life.

The New York Times features an article on the growing trend of urban farming in the US where individuals not only grow food for their families on vacant lots, but also grow enough vegetables to sell to their neighbors. Not only does this bring in extra cash for people in poor neighborhoods, it also brings much appreciated fresh food to people who have little choice in where to shop.

The Times reports that co-ops have been formed, CSA;s have gone urban and restaurants have taken to buying produce grown within their own cities.

Of course, none of this is new–there have always been urban farmers. What is new is the idea that urban farming in the US could help to substantially feed citizens while also boosting local income and microeconomic systems. (Cities in the UK and other countries are also embracing urban agriculture as well, but I am primarily talking about the US for now.)

For proof that city-based agricultural ventures, from backyard gardens to community gardens to full-fledged urban market farms, can produce a significant amount of food in modern times, we need to look beyond the US, however. We need to examine the current urban agricultural system of Cuba.

Cuba’s successful experiment in urban agriculture started as a means to feed Cuba without relying on food imports after trade embargoes caused food shortages. Currently, urban farms occupy around 86,000 acres, and in the past few years, these farms have produced 3.4 million tons of food annually. Urban farms grow 90 percent of the fresh vegetables for the city of Havana alone.

Considering that these government-led and supported urban agriculture programs only started a few decades ago, their success is astonishing, and to me, enticing.

Just think of what Americans could do with our abundance of land, in comparison to the smaller acreage available to Cuba.

Why don’t we do it then? Why don’t we all start planting our own “Victory Gardens” again, and take the time to learn how to grow our own food, and take back a measure of self-reliance once more? Why don’t we claim our own victories–against poverty, against processed foods, against corporate control, against our own complacency–and relearn what we have forgotten: how to dig the earth and tend the soil.

Let’s join other Americans and do it, in big ways and small ways.

Let’s remember ourselves.

Author’s Note: Our backyard is finally being terraced this year, and the first things we will plant in it will be asparagus crowns, strawberries and a bunch of annual vegetables. The ornamentals–the flowers and shrubs, and hopefully fruit trees–will wait for next year. The food comes first.

The bad news is that SpamKarma2, the spam filter that keeps the porn, ads and other bullshit spam comments off my blog has decided to somehow blacklist ME, so I have not been able to comment on my own blog in about a week or so. This is frustrating. It may be that someone hacked my account and added my IP address to the blacklist on spam karma, but Zak can’t really figure out what happened.

So, here is the deal. I’ll keep T&S up and running while he works on it, but if you post a comment and you want me to answer it–send it to me in email as well. Because for right now, I cannot really contribute to conversations via the comments threads.

And, while I am at it, here is a question for the readers–what kinds of posts would you like to see on T&S in the future? Work has taken a lot of my time, and Kat and the rest of the family, of course, takes up a lot of time, so I am running out of ideas as to what to write about. So, if anyone has any suggestions, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Thanks for everything, and have a nice Sunday!