Just 1/8Billion
LightNews LightNews
banner
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Just 1/8Billion
@vhemt4all.bsky.social
740 followers 1.2K following 4.2K posts
Trying not to make the world worse.

I’m a vegan animal living in Maine who loves reading, libraries, audiobooks, science, plants, permaculture, fostering, growing mushrooms and water kefir, worm farming and all things compassionate.
Posts Replies Media Videos
vhemt4all.bsky.social
My best, floofiest #koji yet!

Now I just need to start making a batch every week if I want fresh (tempting!) or make a lot in advance (easier to do just when I’m not busy) and dry for later use.

Fresh #amazake brewing now. #ShioKoji tomorrow. It goes fast!

#healthy
#delicious
#fermentation
Close-up view of floofy, fresh, fragrant koji mycelium on rice. Spreading apart the fresh koji —yes, on my koji bandana. I didn’t have any other cloth that would fit. It turns out bandanas are perfect! This was my first batch made in a salad container. It works great because your rice is kept in the strainer but not sitting in water. You keep the humidity up by placing a wet cloth inside the container but not touching the rice. Just using our camping cooler (because it’s the only cooler we have) with a heated cat bed inside. That’s it. You don’t need anything fancy.
December 1, 2025 at 9:49 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
There can never be too many cat beds when there’s a fire on!

Even when there’s more than enough to choose from.. that’s simply not enough.

#cats
#adopt
All six of our cats, who normally do not cuddle and mostly prefer their own space, come together (sort of) when there’s a fire. Luckily our stove is in the open so we can *almost surround it with many more beds than there are cats. And yet.. we hear the fussier ones expressing their displeasure at these inadequate offerings. You can see our warm stove surrounded by cozy blankets, kitty tents, boxes with various sized floofy beds inside and even a thick rug.
November 29, 2025 at 8:36 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
I’ve never enjoyed American food. It’s mostly over fried, over sugared, over processed and lacking in depth. I have to say, using #koji this year on stuffing and stuffed #seitan is a total game-changer! I also let sprouts and potatoes marinate in #shio koji several days before the day. BOOM! #vegan
Good things come to those who wait! I made the stuffing a week in advance but it was easy and worthwhile. Dice and let veg, cranberry, any nuts marinate in amaze 1-2 days. Then make your stuffing, ensuring it’s not overly moist. You will not believe the fragrance! It’s incredible! See next pic for info on seitan. You also want to prep your seitan dough when you prep your stuffing. This time, however, you’ll be adding shio koji to the dough and letting it work its magic for 1-2 or even more days. Then gently roll out the seitan as shown and cover with stuffing. This part is flexible. Use a lot, a little, whatever. Then I baked halfway so that I can finish baking on the day we wanted to eat it— several days from now. That’s because of what you’ll see in the next photo! Easy how-to video here: https://youtu.be/5hcjeBzQwSI After allowing partly cooked stuffed seitan cool completely I smothered in amazake and wrapped snugly in this plastic bag. I left on the counter a whole day before popping in the fridge for 4 days. On the day you want to serve you’ll open this bag and rinse the entire thing under the faucet. Don’t be stingy. The water will wash off the amazake (you’re only doing this because the amazake will cook too quickly. Otherwise you can leave on and eat it, of course!) Then I laid it inside foil and rubbed on ZeroAcre olive oil, then coconut sugar and tons of spices by hand. Really rub it in. Cook covered a while but then uncover and cook at the end to brown it a bit. OH MY YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE FLAVOR. Honestly, this is the first ‘thanksgiving’ food I ever truly enjoyed. Don’t forget to see my post about the amazake pie!
November 29, 2025 at 8:17 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Koji is even more awesome than you think! Not just bc it makes your food taste bonkers delicious either.

Trouble digesting? #IBS? #EPI?

I‘ve been using #shioKoji & #amazaki on nearly everything I’ve eaten for the past 2weeks and.. I cannot even explain the difference in how I feel. Just wonderful.
This is what I mean when I say ‘screw authenticity’! I made a berry + amazaki + Irish moss pie. Starting recipe here: https://kojihouse.co/blogs/recipes/blueberry-amazake-pie?srsltid=AfmBOoo56WBJp5inUvx5FzSeefV2P8dAmpge1hdv9DpN3IU9akOx9i7_ I also made the MOST delicious and fragrant stuffing by marinating the ingredients in amazaki for 24+ hours before baking. Koji contains the digestive enzymes many of us have trouble making. Plus, it makes everything delicious! Trust me. Read more.
November 27, 2025 at 5:12 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Ahhhhhh! Score!

What an incredible deal, seriously. You can get everything from cornmeal to vanilla to seaweeds and everything in between.

If you shop in bulk, you’ll love: essentialorganicingredients.com (not sponsored, just wanted to share)

#vegan
#healthy
#delicious
I just received my order of bulk foodstuffs including these incredibly beautiful bags of vanilla beans, Irish moss and dulse!
November 19, 2025 at 9:12 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Vegan 30+ yrs so have no idea what tiramisu even is.. but so what? Screw authenticity, I say! This is tasty but it’ll be better w/ blended dates instead of sugar, vanilla+ and cocoa in the layers. Nom nom. Love the layers — next time I think I’ll make it fruity.

Link in alt.

#vegan
#compassion
A slice of freshly made tiramisu, its soft layers covered in cocoa. https://fullofplants.com/vegan-pumpkin-tiramisu/
November 14, 2025 at 2:10 AM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Forgot to label these jars. oops! With a little patience and just letting the mycelium do what it does best I am pretty sure I’m about to enjoy a large batch of oyster mushrooms. Hooray!

#mushrooms
#growmorefood
You see the top of a quart jar, floofy with white mycelium with bits of coffee grounds peeking out where it hasn’t been totally covered yet. If you look closely you can see areas where what looks likes coarse blue hills are forming. Those are blue mushroom pins— basically wee baby blue oyster mushroom fruits.
November 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
While waiting for my sumac (Rhus typhina) plants to grow I purchased some sumac (Rhus coriaria) from a market in Augusta.

It’s not as tasty or citrusy as typhina imo but it’s still good! Hopefully next year my plants will have a larger harvest for me.

#growmorefood
Package says “sumac” but doesn’t specify which. The bag contains a beautifully dark reddish coarse powder. It tastes similar to the species we grow but is kind of darker(?) in flavor than our brighter(?) sumac.
November 13, 2025 at 3:10 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
We try to sprout (almost) everything we eat at home if it came with seeds, especially if we love it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

It’s always free!

Unsure if the seeds are viable? Try anyway! Why not?

#growmorefood
#gardening
Fuyu permission seed sprouting. Old cardamom seeds? Yes, please! I wasn’t sure if they were raw or even still viable. So I took a few seeds out of several pods as I made some spice mixes last week. They’re already sprouting! This is the ‘win some’ part.
November 10, 2025 at 4:19 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
First flurries of the year, jazz softly playing, hot coffee and absolutely gorgeous white pines. We love #maine!

#vhemt
#sink
November 9, 2025 at 4:24 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Is furniture ever large enough for one human + one cat? I am skeptical.

But still, who doesn’t love a crowded breakfast with cats anyway?

#adopt
#rescue
Our least independent cat cannot let you have five minutes of freedom. My lap was minding its own business and BOOM, Bippy sneaks in and passes out, as usual. Over the last hour she has sunk more and more into what looks like blissful sleep as she stretches her legs up and up and into my coffee mug.
November 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Bc the internet is mostly ads and wasted time.. sometimes it’s not just faster but way better to splurge on some used cookbooks!

AbeBooks and ThriftBooks are both great. Never had a bad experience.

Incidentally, it’s always worth it to toast and grind your own spices. Take the time! Always wow!
A pile of toasted spices. They’re cooling before being ground in my blender. You see such deliciousness as mustard, fenugreek, chilis, urad, moong and other stuff I can’t remember off hand. Usually while cooking I randomly throw in spices that I feel like but thought I’d try a few recipes to make the dishes I miss most (since moving to the middle of nowhere in a state that doesn’t know what spice actually is.) Picture of the books I snagged on AbeBooks for super cheap! Both are sooooo helpful!
November 6, 2025 at 11:52 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Soybean + split pea makes an awesome tempeh! Experiment— even your worst tempeh will be good.

Plus, it’s the easiest mushroom to grow at home. It’s a great gateway mushroom! You’ve been warned.

#tempeh
#vegan
I sliced the block of experimental tempeh in half. You can see mycelium growing throughout the block of pea and soy. Delicious! Crazy easy and cheap too.
November 6, 2025 at 10:11 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
This is why we leave the electric blanket on in the morning and why the blankets are always in a bit of a heap. ❤️

#cats
#animals
A cozy calico cat named Bippy stayed in bed after we woke, as usual. She’s nestled between a floofy white duvet and a fuzzy electric blanket. One leg is stretched out while everything else appears tucked into the soft warmth of the blanket pile. She may not get up until late afternoon! Goals, eh?
November 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Just bc I keep terrible records doesn’t mean my mushroom spawn will wait on my slow ass.

Pioppino were fruiting inside the jar because I took too long to move to a larger container. Oopsie. Guess these will be surprise jar #mushrooms. That’s ok too!

#growmorefood
Mason jar with lid removed shows a floofy white layer of mycelium + straw surrounding cute little brown-tipped off-white pioppino mushroom pins.
November 2, 2025 at 6:04 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Just as with #successionPlanting I now need to figure out how long it takes for my #mushrooms to fruit to create a continuous delicious crop.

Tip: I found these used food-grade buckets for $1 each and bought 20 bc I didn’t have any change at the time. I thought it would be too many. It’s not!
You see a white 5-gallon bucket with strange life forms sprouting from the sides. There are three 1/2” holes on opposite sides of the bucket for these blue oyster mushrooms to be able to fruit. You might also notice that the lid apparently wasn’t closed completely so they’re even sprouting from the crack under the lid! Mushrooms are sneaky. Close up view of one of the awesomely gnarly blue oyster mushroom heads. They’ll be ready to harvest in just a few days.
November 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Carefully check the little pots for roots (or be smarter and use clear cups) before clipping and moving your brand new plant! Easy!

So, the next time you think a plant seems expensive just ask yourself (or google) how easy or hard it will be to propagate. Turn one plant into many for free!

#garden
I’ve watered and gently lifted out the soil of one of the plant tip pots. It’s easy (and best practice) to check that your plant is actually rooting before you cut it off from the mother plant. Success! You can see many new roots starting. All of the pots have at least a few roots starting, some many more than others. I’ll still wait another week because I won’t have time to transplant until then anyway. This was all much easier than I anticipated.
October 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Update. It totally works! And is so soft!

Perimenopause has curled my hair and this #quince water made floofy, soft curls overnight! It’s not crunchy like some sprays I’ve tried. Wow, just wow. Love this. I made a watered down soaked seeds + smidge lemongrass oil version and wow! 100% Recommend.
After a long sweaty day of walking around my wavy curls are still soft and strong!
October 4, 2025 at 3:42 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
You know when a conservative says they “love Star Trek!” and you wonder what TF they’re talking about bc Star Trek is the antithesis of the GOP?

We’re rewatching DS9 and have noticed something: everything Cardassians say about the empire is almost verbatim what republicans say about GOP’s ‘Murica!
Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine is standing across from Gul Dukat.
October 2, 2025 at 9:02 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
I can’t believe my tomatillo and tomato are still growing since I brought them indoors weeks ago.

The only con of cold climates imo is that some of the best foods —peppers, tomatillos— don’t like it. Sigh. I want to create tomatillos and peppers that thrive in my short growing seasons! 🤞 #landrace
Tomatillo plant brought indoors is still growing! The visible tomatillos continue to expand in their little jackets and new fruits are starting now too! (I am pollinating by gently smooshing flowers of diff plants together.) Though I don’t care about tomatoes my partner likes them so I’m attempting to bring this year’s plants indoors to overwinter. It’s too cold for them outside but apparently it’s not too cold indoors yet.
October 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
UPDATE! Completing pre-winter decking repairs today and what do I spy when I lift a plank?

I think it’s them! The adult looked hairless and I saw baby feet. I snapped a quick pic and covered the family w/ the new wood so as not to disturb.

We definitely need a wildlife camera. ❤️
Dirty old decking. You see me removing a rotting piece to replace with a new one. Under the plank I saw hair that made me think chipmunks had made a nest under there. I’ve seen many sneakily come out from under there. Nope! The hair started moving and I realized it wasn’t a nest at all. Then I saw many baby feet and an adorable adult’s nose. I was SUPPOSED to pressure wash this area before staining. Now what the hell am I to do?
September 30, 2025 at 5:56 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
It’s hard to express just how much my bramble looks like a silly, large spider wearing shoes right now. I swear, every time I walk by I have a little giggle.

#permaculture
#growmorefood
Black raspberry bush is huge and I want to spread it to other areas. How? Instead of letting it walk I popped the top of 8 crazy-long stems into large Forager yogurt cups! In a few weeks I’ll cut off the new plants and move them. Easy peasy. I can already see roots forming on the tips! Our weather hasn’t even been warm and I wasn’t sure this would work in autumn but.. hooray! It has! Theres no such thing as too many berry bushes imo.
September 29, 2025 at 11:40 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
A free public orchard run by volunteers? Hell yes, #maine! ❤️

I found fruitful quince and cornelian cherry, also marshmallow, gorgeous brambles and more. Persimmon, spicebush, amelanchier and some others not fruiting yet... I’ll be back!

Everyplace needs a free orchard.

#permaculture
#garden
#love
I’m holding a lovely Cydonia oblongata quince- that’s I’ve been wanting for so long! The tree was bursting with them. https://mountjoyorchard.wixsite.com/mtjoy Tall, interesting Althaea officinalis marshmallow! I collected some seed and will start them this fall. Very interesting plant! The boiled roots, perhaps unsurprisingly, are made into a sweet candy but did you know the boil water can be used like egg whites!? https://mountjoyorchard.wixsite.com/mtjoy There were several overflowing Cornelian cherry bushes! So pretty! I’ve been wanting these seeds for quite some time. https://mountjoyorchard.wixsite.com/mtjoy No berries right now, sadly, but these brambles are massive! https://mountjoyorchard.wixsite.com/mtjoy
September 27, 2025 at 3:52 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Found some delicious (Actinidia arguta) kiwi berries at Whole Foods! Now I have a gazillion seeds to start!

Bonus, also picked up ripe (Diospyros kaki) fuyu persimmon. They’re coldish-tolerant and I plan to give it a go in a pot. Why not?

Love shopping for my garden at the grocery.

#permaculture
Holding two small and incredibly delicious kiwi berries. They’re the size of very fat, large grapes! Smaller fruits and veg tend to be more delicious imo. Regular grocery store large kiwi —and most other foods grown to be larger rather than tastier— aren’t just messy but also bland in comparison to these awesome nibs. Just pop them in your mouth! Holy wow! I honestly can’t wait to have these berries on our weekly weekend sourdough waffles. Nom!
September 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
vhemt4all.bsky.social
Impatient mushroom.

#growmorefood
#mushrooms
I’m holding a jar of coffee grounds that are being eaten by blue oyster mushroom spawn. Clearly it WANTS OUT OF HERE. The mushroom is sneaking out from the closed lid of this mason jar.
September 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM