Adam Parfrey 1957-2018

...f of the publishing team (with Jodi Wille), who put out our first book The Urban Homestead. At his memorial on Sunday he was remembered as someone who stood up for the principle of free speech, as a trickster, as the “last wild man of American letters,” and as a kind and caring husband, uncle and brother. I want to say just how much we enjoyed working with Adam and Jodi. One of the first events we attended, after our book came out, was a huge publ...

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Random Covid Thoughts

...world, the DSA-LA has a Zoom meeting this Saturday I’m noticing that this “urban homestead” lifestyle thing sure is handy right now. Wish I had some citrus growing but I’m grateful for the eggs and avocados. Lastly, I used a sprayer to paint Kelly’s shed interior yesterday. I didn’t pull up the hood on my painting jumpsuit all the way. When I came into the house and looked in the mirror I had gone prematurely gray. Counting my blessings that this...

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Brunch at the End of the End of History

Our first book The Urban Homestead went to print just as the financial crisis of 2008 hit and its success I attribute, in part, to the well known fact that in times of economic stress people turn to subjects such as growing food, canning, mending, and preparedness. Enthusiasm for these subjects surged after the stock market crash of 1929 and the oil crisis of the 1970s. Catastrophic financial trauma usually results in a rightward turn: fascism in...

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Erik on HuffPost Live Tonight

...activities and sustainable living are back. Say Hello to Victory Gardens 2.0!” You can watch here. Guests include: Barbara Finnin Executive Director of City Slicker Farms Erik Knutzen Author of “The Urban Homestead” and Founder of Root Simple Rob Ludlow Owner of BackYardChickens.com The show will be archived and I’ll post a link when it appears on the HuffPost website....

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Make Your Own Damn Cheese

...led whey. You place the curds in a piece of cloth, and suspend it over a bowl in the refrigerator. The next day the cheese is ready to form in a mold and serve. The verdict on Homegrown Revolution‘s cheesemaking experiments–though urban cheesemaking is somewhat costly due to the high price of raw milk, it’s very satisfying to know that we can make our own cheese and patronize dairies that have more ethical standards. Or maybe it’s time to get our...

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