The Brooklyn Bee

...g Island, and advice from a beekeeping supplier. Howe said that the key to urban beekeeping is maintaining good relations with the neighbors since bees have a tendency to swarm on occasion and people are always shocked to see a basketball sized cluster of bees hanging out on a local light post. He deals with these sticky situations through careful neighborhood diplomacy and, of course, free honey. Howe argues that his honey is more organic than co...

Read…

Is Lead Poisoning a Risk in Urban Gardens?

...issue. But if the results of a University of Washington study on lead and urban agriculture are to be believed, we might not need to be as concerned. The researchers note that most vegetables don’t take up lead and that improving soil with compost greatly reduces the bioavailability of lead. You can read a summary of the results of this research paper here. Thanks to Joanne Poyourow of Environmental Change Makers for tipping me off to this resear...

Read…

Lila Downs Video Showing Tortilla Making in Oaxaca

...ngeles Bread Bakers sent me a link to this music video that shows tortilla making in Oaxaca. The song is “Palomo Del Comalito” (Dove of the Comalito) by Lila Downs. Note the huge corn tortillas, proof of the regional diversity of Mexican cuisine (and one of the many details I got wrong in my tortilla press post–thanks for the corrections Gloria). Lyrics in English after the jump. The beautiful people of this land Grind corn A miracle of their hand...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: #FlyingLess, VHS Making a Comeback and Alanis Morissette Impressions

...witter.com/a5B7J0aHX1 — Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) March 19, 2018 VHS is making a comeback https://t.co/cankAKwcRR — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 20, 2018 The auto industry has already established primacy over our cities. Now they want primacy over our bodies too? Enough. Tech solutions with dubious ethical implications don’t give us the future I want to live in. https://t.co/WbypKPrr0F — Eric Bruins (@ejfbruins) March 22, 2018 Love Dan Pears...

Read…

New Project: Making Bitters

...I’ll share the recipes I develop as I follow this path. In the meanwhile, making your own bitters is really easy. You may be able to throw a few experiments together just using things you find in your spice cabinet. Since these are flavoring, not medicine, you don’t have to be as careful with the quantities and timing as you must be when tincturing herbs for medicine. Yet at the same time, it’s a great introduction to that essential herbalist’s c...

Read…