stirring the poop soup

A week has passed since Stephanie's consultation and treatment for my worm slime problem, so this morning I opened the compost tub to see how things are looking. No escapees this time, and no standing liquid, but it's still kind of stinky. Not putrid and gut-churning like before, but unpleasant enough I brought the whole operation outside on the deck for the sake of fresh air.

I stirred in some more shredded paper and broke up some of the bigger clumps. That the tub contains sticky clumps rather than gooey sludge is a good sign. I noticed the worms are hanging out mostly in the bottom of the tub now, which is another good sign. 

I can't bring myself to do this with bare hands. Yet.

Then I posed for a goofy picture and buried a handful of frozen-then-thawed cucumber peels and espresso pucks in the middle before putting the lid back on and setting it back downstairs. 

That my husband doesn't blink an eye when I ask him to take a picture of me holding a pile of shredded paper and worm shit is a testament to the strength of our marriage. 

I'm not sure how long to leave them now. Maybe another week? I'll have to consult my worm expert.

Meanwhile, because I don't have enough weird ways to spend my time, I thought I'd try experimenting with avocado pits last week. I know a man from Mexico who told me earlier in the summer that the pit is the best part of the avocado. We were talking about gardens and food and how much we both love cooked onions and guacamole on refried beans with tortillas. He said he grates the pit and cooks it in water, strains the pit bits out and drinks it. "It'll give you so much energy!" he insisted.

So I looked it up on the great world wide web and found several websites extolling the health benefits of avocado pits, though none made any claims as to the flavor. Some people put them in smoothies, some make tea. I grated two pits, toasted them on the stove (the shavings turn a beautiful rust color) and cooked them in a quart of water. After an hour or so, I strained out the liquid and drank a little of it.

Avocado pit juice is hard to describe. It's a mild flavor that changes from the moment you sip to the moment you swallow. It's not bitter or unpleasant or sweet or particularly bad...but it's not particularly good, either. It tastes like something that should be put in a fancy bar of soap.

And you know what? That's the other thing The Internet told me about avocado pit juice: it's very good for your hair and can be used in homemade shampoo. So that's how I've been using mine. I keep it in the fridge, and when I come home from a run, I pour some pit juice in a little jar and take it to the shower to mix with a little shampoo. It's messy and runny but I think my hair does feel softer and cleaner than it usually does.