I would love to try making kimchi at some point, weirdly enough. I have a good friend who has made it before and has a pot I could use for it.

Also planning to work on slowly having more food garden plants, instead of just succulents, haha.

Soup never lasts as long as I think it will!

Well, if you find a good recipe, let me know! I might try it. Same goes for sauerkraut. I love sour food. :) I have big plans for my garden next spring. I proved this year that I could keep basil and strawberries alive, although that's easy in a humid climate. ;)

I have discovered that as I get older, I love soup more and more. I was counting last night and I think I make likes 8 types of soup now!

I will! I'd like to pickle more things, in general, because pickled foods are chef's kiss. Which, I saw a pickle soup recipe going around recently and want to give it a whirl, too.

I got some heirloom seeds for biquinho peppers, a short golden carrot, a broccoli variant, and a purple greens. :) I need to replant basil this year too.

I want to get into pickling, too! I'd like to do different variations of cucumbers, like garlic and spicy etc. I'd also like to get into creating flavor infused olive oils. I've had a lot of success with homemade salad dressings.

Nice! I'm hoping to do basil, tomatoes, mint, rosemary, and thyme at least. Well, and the strawberries just grow on their own, so there's that. :D

SAAAAAAME! Also I'd like to try some infused vinegars? Not pickled per se, but herbs?

That's fantastic! I have containers on the front porch for now, but hopefully can get a raised bed made next year or the year after. The ground has old lead and isn't quite safe for food in the yard.

You are definitely my sister from another mother lol. Maybe infuse the vinegars with fruit? That could be really good.

I hadn't even considered lead in the soil as a threat! How do you find something like that out?

I think you're right! That does sound like a good idea, especially with citrus fruits!

So, the biggest risk factors, are "Your soil is most likely to be contaminated with lead if you live next to a very busy, high traffic road that has existed for more than 40 years. Lead in exhaust from cars when leaded gasoline was still in use will have contaminated the soil.

Your soil is also more likely to be contaminated if you live in an older home (50+ years) that is painted. Lead paint may have chipped off your home and landed in the soil directly next to the house." from the Soil Society of America.

Our house is old and in a pretty old neighborhood, and there's detritus under the soil through the yard. If you have a normal yard, you're probably not going to need to worry about it.

https://www.soils.org/about-soils/contaminants/lead This is the exact page with the info.