Revolutionary Rusks

November 5, 2006

...ion (and amazing photo!) from photographer, velolutionary, and Culver-Town homesteader Elon Schoenholz: Rusks are sturdy biscuits of Dutch South African origin, slightly sweetened and heartily nonperishable. Like biscotti, they’re double-baked, dry and crunchy; unlike the chocolate-dipped and plastic-wrapped crap on the counter at Starbucks, however, homemade rusks are practical, nourishing and inexpensive. The version we prefer, with chopped almo...

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Roundup

Mr. Homegrown

November 9, 2006

Thoughtstylings

1 Comment

...weapon against weeds, it has become a prevalent ingredient in most of our food crops. Three recent studies show that Roundup, which is used by farmers and home gardeners, is not the safe product we have been led to trust. A group of scientists led by biochemist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini from the University of Caen in France found that human placental cells are very sensitive to Roundup at concentrations lower than those currently used in agr...

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Broadleaf Plantain

Mr. Homegrown

November 16, 2006

Food, Foraging

5 Comments

...tain (Plantago major) seeds that we collected on our bike camping and wild food excursion with Christopher Nyerges. As Nyerges noted, this is one of those plants that Martha Stewart hates, and that makes the purveyors of toxic herbicides and lawn care products rich. You can’t eat your lawn folks. You can, however, eat broadleaf plantain. The young leaves are edible raw, but the more mature leaves must be cooked. The seeds can also be eaten either...

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Bucket Flushing

Mr. Homegrown

December 5, 2006

Water Conservation

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...ot be reused. For now we’ll lump the kitchen sink in with the toilet since food scraps, particularly for meat eaters can quickly turn your greywater into rancid blackwater. Greywater systems range from the simple to the complex and we’ll start with the cheap and easy — bucket flushing. Simply keep a bucket next to the shower and collect the water that you run before the shower gets hot. Since you haven’t even stepped into the shower this water is...

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Nasturtium “Capers”

Mr. Homegrown

July 19, 2006

Food, Foraging

1 Comment

...ur frère et soeur at Terre Vivante, editors of a great book called Keeping Food Fresh, we now have a use for all those Nasturtium seeds. Pick the seeds while they are still green and put them in a jar with a decent white wine vinegar and some dill or other herb. We keep our jar in the refrigerator and wait a few weeks before using them. I actually prefer these substitute capers to the real thing. Some things to note: we grow Nasturtium as an annua...

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