Grow Your Own Garden, Tuesday, Period 6

[sailor_meshi]

"Now that the seedlings have sprouted their first set of true leaves, it's time to start thinnin' 'em out. The first little leaves that emerge after a seedling sprouts are the cotyledon, or the seed leave. These often don't look anything at all like smaller versions of the plant's mature leaves. The second set of leaves are the true leaves, and are a little more recognizable, and when you see 'em growin' in, it's time to think about thinnin'. Thinnin' plants just means checkin' over your beds an' removin' any plants growin' too close to the others, which will give the rest a chance to grow better and stronger. Overcrowded plants often grow leggy, which means they basically grow too tall and thin in their search for more water or nutrients, and show signs of stress. Plants that spend too long all stressed out will never produce as well as plants that grew up with plenty of room to grow. This is especially true for root crops. They're extra sensitive to havin' anythin' too close to them, especially other roots."

Mood, little plants. Who doesn't become stressed when they're too closely surrounded by others?

"When you're lookin' for which plants to trim, go for the ones that look skinnier and spindly if you can, and try to keep the healthier and stronger-lookin' ones. If they all look the same, go for the one that frees up the most space for the rest; it's all about doin' your best to give the rest of 'em a fightin' chance. To thin most plants, cut the target seedling across the stem as close to the earth as you can with a pair of sharp scissors or a knife if you're comfortable with that. Don't try to pull the seedlings up completely, as movin' the root systems can damage the underdeveloped roots of other neighborin' seedlings. The exception to that room is when you're thinnin' root veggies, like carrots, radishes, and potatoes, when you do have to remove the whole plant. For that, you grip the stem firmly as close to soil level as possible, while holdin' down the soil firmly with your other hand. Gently pull the plant directly up, while trying not to disturb the soil and any neighborin' plants. And then, once all your plants seem healthy and have room to grow, you're done.

"Now, thinnin' may seem like a terrible waste of good plants, but if you're growing for the kitchen in many cases you can use the thinned seedlings productively. Many edible plants produce shoots with an intense flavor that packs the mature taste into a few tiny leaves. So if you're thinnin' pea shoots, for example, use the snipped seedlings in a salad for a burst of sweet, grassy flavor. The same goes for many herbs, salad leaves, brassica shoots, and lots. If you can eat the mature leaves, then you can eat the thinned shoots too. But take care over tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, and other members of the nightshade family - their leaves and stems often contain. traces of toxins, even at the seedling stage, and so don't be tempted into an experimental nibble. Some other plants can be replanted somewhere else where they have more room to grow, too. Maybe even turn themselves around and become the healthiest plan you've got. Lastly, for all non-edible seedlings, remove the thinnin's to your compost rather than leaving them to rot in place, as some of the more vigorous species can re-root if left on the soil surface."

And that lecture over with, he shooed them off to their garden plots with scissors and knives to begin thinning. "Don't forget to check if they need more water!" he called after them. "It's still been really got, so I'd be surprised if they didn't!"

Nightmare Party Planning from the Mid-Century; Tuesday, Third Period [07/30].

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Naturally," Summer said, to get their class going this week, "a summertime class held by me about parties is going to focus a lot on the food served at these parties, and, while I did intent to touch on other aspects, I definitely keep going back to things to serve at said parties. After all, if the company can't carry a gathering, then the food has to be the star. And, you know, I got thinking about little weenies..."

She paused, of course, blinking innocently at them for a good moment before lifting up a package of cocktail hotdogs with a brilliant grin.

"...and all the interesting things you can do to them. Any good party host should be able to know how to handle a weenie of any size, really, and while everyone's bound to be impressed by a great, big dog, it isn't always about size, but rather, how you use it."

Look, every single one of you in this class knew exactly what you were signing up for. Summer made no apologies.

"For example," she said, wondering if anyone was feeling relief, actually, for her reaching for a cloche for a change, "garnish on a Spaghetti and Currywurst Cake that you're sure to dazzle people with! No doubt they'd be impressed by how well you managed to maintain that cake-like shape!"

And don't worry, folks, there were still plenty more cloches to come!

"We can even bring these little guys into drinks as a garnish for you Bloody Mary! Definitely a conversation started, but, I'll admit, the cocktail weenies in these are more of a bonus, not the main event. For that, you could go with the classic of a jello mold or you can dress up your hot dogs in all sorts of fancy ways! Which one's your favorite? I'm partial to the one that looks like it would have modern Christians up in arms over the devil symbology. And, last but not least, we have a hot dog pie, because, like we learned last class, you can't go wrong with a pie."

Or could you?

"Naturally," Summer said sunnily, "these are just a few examples, a good jumping off point for engaging in your own inspiration for wowing your guests with your cute little weenies. Let's see what else you guys can come up with, too!"

More Earth Tourism, Tuesday

[unusual_sith]

Lana looked them all over as they arrived, then passed out sunscreen. "Put this on before we leave, please. Also I have extra sunglasses, should you not have your own. And folding chairs, unless you don't mind getting wet or have your own means of preventing that."

She waited until they were done; if anybody chose not to, they'd be getting a very disapproving look. Then she led them through the portal.

And into the sky, to all appearances. They were surrounded by bright sunlight and blue sky.

"Today we're experiencing Salar de Uyuni. We're over 3,600 kilometers above sea level. There's less atmosphere between us and the sun here, so keep that sunscreen on and reapply it if you feel any doubt as to its level of protection. And be careful how hard you exert yourself. We're not nearly as high as Everest here, but it's high enough to be a potential issue."

She gestured around them. "This is a salt flat over ten thousand square kilometers large, and over that space its variation in elevation is under one meter. It's used to calibrate measuring equipment on satellites because of its consistency and reflectivity.

"I may have cheated with the portal a bit to get us here after it's rained. And since I was doing that, I went with just before sunset, so we should have time to see some fairly spectacular colour."

Then she was just going to let you all experience it. She might meditate. There were chairs if you didn't want to sit in the water, though it's only a thin layer.

The Wonderful World of Pizza, Tuesday Second Period

[carbsliftthespirit]

Once Raiden's students had gathered at Portalocity this week, he ushered them through said portal onto the streets of Berkeley, California. "All right," he said with an enthusiastic clap. "As pizza continued its journey across the United States, it inevitably reached the west coast, and California-style pizza was born. No one can really agree on the origins of California-style pizza, as it was more or less simultaneously invented by three different restaurants: Ed LeDou's Prego in San Francisco, Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills, and Alice Waters' groundbreaking farm-to-table Chez Panisse--" Raiden held out his hands in a 'ta-da' sort of gesture toward the restaurant they were standing in front of "--right here in the funky college town of Berkeley. Prego doesn't exist any more and Spago only does dinner--and doesn't currently serve pizza. Chez Panisse doesn't serve pizza in the main restaurant, either, but they do have a few on their cafe menu, so that's where we'll be dining today.

"Now, California-style pizza is distinguished by its thin, crispy crust and creative use of ingredients you didn't used to find on pizzas, like goat cheese and chicken. It really helped people to realize the sky is the limit, toppings-wise, and that's why we salute it. You can find California-style pizza all over the country these days, most notably at the chain California Pizza Kitchen, but for now, let's head into the Chez Panisse cafe and have some lunch--uh, don't...don't look at the prices. I'm covering this. And after that you can explore the town of Berkeley!"

Practical Philosophy, Tuesday

[endsthegame]

Today, one would find Ender on the lawn with his legs beneath him, his implacable calm restored from where it had wobbled over the weekend.

"One day, sometime in the early 17th century, the French philosopher called René Descartes set himself to a nigh impossible task," he began. "He realized that over the years he had believed many things he had come to feel were false, and wondered how many more he'd come to dispute. And so he decided to be proactive about it. 'I needed — just once in my life — to demolish everything completely and start again from the foundations', he would later write. He feared that if he kept waiting for the right moment, he'd be too old to do it properly."

He reached for a bottle of water, unscrewing the cap. "Once he settled with the thought, he realized he didn't need to fundamentally disprove each of his opinions to do so. It would be a lot of work, and all he really needed was to somehow undo the foundation of each. ' So all I need, for the purpose of rejecting all my opinions, is to find in each of them at least some reason for doubt', he concluded. And so he began to dig down, further and further, finding reason to doubt the very fundamentals of his beliefs, and in the end, realized there was only one thing he could not disprove to some extent - that he existed, for as long as he thought about anything at all, he had to exist."

Ender's mouth curved. "Or as it's been phrased in the public imagination, 'I think, therefor I am'. But Descartes' experiment provides more food for thought than merely that. He challenges us to think about what undergirds our beliefs, to accept that they might not be correct. Humanity, at least, has a habit of questioning everything, except for their most intrinsic, most elementary convictions."

He took a sip. "Now I'm hardly foolish enough to believe we can dig down and upend yours in a single class," he said. "First of all, I would like you to think - and discuss - what you feel is one unshakable idea you have about the world and the self. Secondly, I would like to ask you to spend this week trying, if not entirely, at least a fraction of what Descartes did: to find a reason to doubt this idea. And we'll speak of it next week."