026 Riding a Bike in Los Angeles with Colin Bogart

...bout how to ride a bike in the city, commuting by bike and the politics of making our communities more bike friendly. Colin shares his experience of growing up in the suburbs and how he got back into riding a bike. During the discussion (fueled by a bottle of wine, I’ll note) we discuss: Aids Lifecycle Bike Summer Riding to work Is riding a bike in the city safe? Riding slow Keeping cool when you’re being honked at Lane positioning Avoiding the do...

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Get Baking and Share the Loaves

...oll, answering questions and sharing his knowledge. Baker’s love for bread making is infectious. Catch that infection and you’ll go down a very deep and geeky vortex of hydration ratios and cold proofing sessions. At a panel discussion on Monday, moderated by KCRW’s Evan Kleiman, Baker announced that he’s working on an Einkorn baguette, the bread geek equivalent of proposing a new route up K2 sans oxygen. At both events he dropped a lot of advice...

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Diyas: oil lamps from India

...rop shaped pinch pots, go for 5 for a dollar. That’s a lot of fun for a dollar, and a good way to light up a party with a hundred warm little lights–if you can keep your guests from catching themselves on fire! (For more info, see my post at the first link above for all the deets on making and using a vegetable oil lamp.) Also, it occurs to me that it would be a great lesson for kids to make a pinch pot out of clay dug from the ground, and then ma...

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Behind the Scenes at Root Simple is a World of Big Pumpkins, Pomegranate Catapults and Man Crates

...ocation for this annual event. “The available space and the City’s help in making the event happen really creates the perfect environment for the Pomegranate Festival,” Debi Bray, president and CEO of the Madera Chamber of Commerce says. Returning to this year’s lineup is a display for various aircraft as well as skydivers from Madera Parachute Center. New to this year’s festival will be a children’s stage featuring local dance, karate and other t...

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Seed, nut and fruit energy bars

...are should hold you over ’til your next meal. DIY Larabars I first started making these when I wanted a DIY version of a Larabar. If you’ve ever had a Larabar and looked at the ingredients list, you’ve seen that the ingredients are dried fruit and nuts, period. Which is great–I don’t like soy and added sugar and wheat filler material in my snacks–but Larabars are pricey for something so simple and replicable at home. Admittedly, dried fruit and nu...

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