Google Q of the Day: How long can beans soak before they grow killer mold?

Unfortunately, no answer on point. However, I found a pleasant secondary source entitled, "Edible Bean Disease and Disorder Identification."

Google Q of the Day: How many cups are in a quart?

Yes, once I saw the answer was four cups, I said to myself, Duh.

So finally I am making the infamous vegetable bean soup in a crock pot. If you were following my posts, you would realize my beans have been soaking for two days. Is that bad? I just got so busy last night...

But I'm back. Sort of. I now see my idea to make vegetable bean soup in a crock pot was impulsive and poorly-planned. However, my aversion to waste unused food is greater than my general disinterest to assemble this soup. I mean, how much longer can these beans soak without growing some sort of killer mold?

My First CSA Package

Not sure if you could tell from my previous post, but I am beginning to garden. So far, I love it. Yesterday I spent the whole day working on my flower bed, now a mixture of cacti, succulents and perennials. I moved the asiatic lilies indoor with hopes of salvaging what are left of the lilies after the squirrels have feasted on the bulbs. Squirrels are not as cute as they seem, especially when they eat your flowers and leave a mess for you to see. They just don't give a fuck.

To me, gardening is trial and error. I have no time or interest to read or learn about gardening. I am one of those people who prefer not to read instructions. I can indeed read and comprehend instructions, however, and I am also quite good at following them. But I'd rather not. It feels too time-consuming and repressive.

Due to my general disinterest in instructions, rules and some laws, I decided to wait for my father Yip Yee to visit and provide a vital tutorial before I start my salad and produce garden. I cannot wait. In the meantime, I am participating with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for my local, seasonal and organic fruit/vegetable needs.

The produce pictured above is from South Central Farmers' Cooperative for $15 a box! It is a great deal and I love supporting the now famous South Central Farmers. Yet I felt very, very overwhelmed. I do not cook and, to be honest, I couldn't even identify some of the vegetables, at least in its raw form... Blu-Tooth volunteered to assist me and calm my anxieties. Together we determined that the package contained beets, carrots, green onion, spinach, cilantro, kale, broccoli, collard greens, three types of lettuce, and one additional leafy green vegetable we could not accurately identify. I added the spinach and green onion in my udon for dinner and it was lovely. The produce really looks and tastes fresh. Additionally, I have begun to prepare a vegetable and bean soup for the crock pot. Official assembly will commence tomorrow evening after the beans are soaked overnight. I refuse to let any of this produce go to waste!

The only negative aspect was that the package contained no fruit. Because of this, I've decided to also try CSA California for my next patronage. I will keep you posted on any and all new developments. Isn't this like so cool?

Google Q of the Day: What is eating my asiatic lilies?

Apparently EVERYTHING eats lilies -- squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, groundhogs, mice, moles, slugs -- the list of malicious masticators is virtually endless!

Hong Kong commented that it's probably not a deer.

I am dismayed. What will happen when I set up my salad garden!