The Daily Walkabout Collection #35
Thrifty 150-word stories, about plants and food, published at The Daily Cuppa from August 6th thru August 19th, 2022.
I don’t need to go to the grocery store very often because I grow a good deal of my food. Most of what I don’t grow I purchase in bulk. Years of thrifty living are really paying off during these times of shortages and supply chain issues.
As I look at the prices in the store I worry about young people. Prices have doubled on many items. I purchase coconut oil. Last year I paid $5.99 for the one I buy. The same item is now $12.99 — ouch. Sometimes I get eggs from a farm I help out at. When I don’t, the cost was $1.69 a dozen last year. Yesterday — $5.99. How do families deal with these prices?
This made me appreciate our Daily Cuppa Walkabout even more. The more we share with each other about our culture, plants, and food traditions the better off we will be. And we’ll have more knowledge to help out those in need.
If you need any information let us know in the comments. Our writers may be able to guide you.
Your Daily Walkabout Guides
Thank you to all our guides:
- Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms)
- James Beaufait
- Kris Bedenian
- JM Heatherly
- Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles
- Julie Gaeta
- PseuPending (Seu)
And thank you to all the other wonderful writers whose stories have been chosen to be featured in our collection.
Saturday:
Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms) leads us into the world of Australian Bush Tucker with bites — tasty bits about native plants and their cultural traditions.
Little blue sapphires and a plant with the scent of curry and bush honey send an invitation to bask in Australian dreams — or just catch up on Jane’s bush Tucker stories. If you remember the Pepperberry piece check out the recipe.
You’ll have to beat the dinosaurs to the forest floor to sample this one!
The subtropical rainforest in Eastern Australia hosts a plant that makes delicious bush curry.
A simple way to enjoy Australia’s Native Pepperberries.
Sunday:
James Beaufait presents a lush Hawaiian feast of traditions, food growing, delicious herbal treats, and sumptuous recipes as he brings us to the islands.
After sharing part three of Hawaii's changing visitor policies James gave us the heads-up on an amazing solar cooker he uses — with recipes. I need one! Think of the energy one would save!
Currently, I burn sticks from trees, bushes, and woody herbs in a mini grill to simmer my tea water, and once a week I cook whatever I’m going to eat for the week. Saves turning on the stove. We all just gotta get one of these solar cookers.
Monday:
Kris Bedenian celebrates Northern hemisphere home cooking as she blends her skills in traditional food preparation techniques with modern healthy adaptations.
Green eggs and ham — no! That’s a way to cook eggs with no eggshells and a spinach recipe that everyone will eat. Kris can inspire anyone to start cooking at home.
Popeye Would Have Never Knew What Hit Him With This Spinach
Tuesday:
JM Heatherly shares his love of herbs and herbal lore as he indexes herbs and their uses to lead the younger generation into the magical world of plants. Now including Herb Happy Hour.
If you’re wanting to begin growing a garden or just some herbs, Jon shares about two plants that are easy to grow but loaded with benefits — and they are beauties.
Hero of Lore Seals Wounds with Yarrow
Add Tang to Your Dish with Chives
Wednesday:
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles joins us from India to share her vast knowledge of culture, foods, and Ayuverdic traditions used by her family and friends.
August is a month of celebration in India so our dear Vidya is busy with festivals. Here are two of her past stories so you won’t miss the blessings of Vidya’s kitchen.
Vepilai Katti: A Traditional Recipe
Thursday:
Julie Gaeta combines her expertise as a Health Coach and traditional Mexican cuisine chef with a healthy twist to share recipes for smoothies, teas, and much more.
Julie shares some of the secrets of being prepared to cook super nutritious meals for her family no matter how busy she is. If you’re a cilantro lover, add that to your pantry.
Confession time: Julie and I cracked up laughing over the cilantro piece — I’d rather eat dirt! Are you a cilantro lover or hater?
Pantry Staples on a Budget Part Two
Friday:
PseuPending (Seu) brings a rich blend of cultural traditions from Macau and Hong Kong. Her stories about food are a blend of recipe, tradition, art, and nuanced flavors.
Seu creates beauty with her images and words bringing tradition and a succulent taste treat to every story. Read her offerings more than once to get the full experience.
4 Reasons This Remarkable Table Scrap is Worth Your Attention
Crystalline Plant: The Natural Cleanser for Your Jaded Palate
Our Fellow Travelers
In The Garden
Baby Bunny in the Hot August Garden
One of these things is not like the other…
Why are the leaves on my cucumber plant turning yellow?
Why are my cucumbers bitter, and can I do anything about it?
From the Caribbean
Eat an Adirondack Salad in Your Adirondack Chair
From the South
Curious about fried green tomatoes? Try a BLT.
Try a Southern shortcut for making delicious cheese biscuits.
Do you say “Yuck!” or “Yum!” when you think of eating wet peanuts?
Our wacky jelly palm tree has fruit that tastes like a piña colada.
A Little This and That
A Food I’ve Not Tried Yet is a Popular Berlin Street Food
CARMEN F MICSA, MA in English, podcaster
Heart-shaped pancakes, anyone?
Featured Long-Form Article
Mulan wrote an elegant yet simple traditional Vietnamese dish with a bit of whimsy.
I blanched the bean sprouts and mint leaves while the soup was still hot, added a few drops of lemon to the soup, and it was ready to eat. Mulan
Publication Spotlight
Amanda Laughtland’s The DIY Diaries is a publication for stories about craft projects and other do-it-yourself gems. However, noticing the skyrocketing prices of food she expanded topics to include simple recipes that can be prepared at home.
This would be a better than a terrific place to submit simple recipes and cooking tips to help out those new to cooking at home. Even though many of the recipes are still on the costly side, we always save when cooking at home.
Here’s Amanda’s call for submissions:
Final Thoughts
Prices of food have really exploded and I worry about young people and families. This is a good time to learn to be thrifty and grow some of your own food. I hope these times of shortages and supply chain issues will be over soon but it’s not looking good.
The Daily Cuppa Walkabout is one way we can help each other by sharing about our culture, plants, and food traditions. We all have knowledge that can help out those in need.
Thank you for spending time with us and reading our stories. If you need any information let us know in the comments. Our writers may be able to guide you.
Join The Adventure
We’d love to have you join us.
Do you have stories from your family or cultural traditions? Do you grow food or forage? Do you have a special vegetable you like to grow?
My bias is that home cooking is better for our health than eating packaged food, so whatever food system you follow, we rejoice in stories about what you’re cooking.
What inspires you to grow your food, forage, and cook?
Come along with us on our walkabout.
Submit your recipes, herb, gardening, and plant lore for our gathering of all stories tagged ‘walkabout.’ Link your long-form stories tagged ‘walkabout’ for our collection.
Disclaimer covering all our Walkabout stories
The information presented in the articles in our Walkabout series is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Each writer writes from their own experience and/or research and each writer is responsible for appropriate sourcing as per Medium guidelines.
All content is the individual writer’s opinion and is shared out of their kindness in good faith for informational use only.
Nutrient-dense whole food from plants — from grapefruit, asparagus, spinach, turmeric to blueberries — can be a problem if you’re eating processed foods and taking prescription medications. It may take your body a while to get used to any diet changes. Always consult with your physician or a qualified health care provider before making any lifestyle or dietary changes.