Return of the Caftan?

December 2, 2014

...king workshop and grinding your own flour. In Facebook, someone posted the picture above of Yves Saint Laurent rocking a caftan and “mandals”. The caftan is from the Middle East and is still part of the the day to day and clerical garb of Abrahamic cultures. It’s a garment that makes a lot of sense in a hot, dry Mediterranean or desert climate. It functions as a kind of natural air conditioning. With each step you get a breeze, a real bonus for a...

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A ceramic oil lamp

Mrs. Homegrown

March 4, 2015

Domesticus

15 Comments

...serve as a wick. The wick is long enough that it extends into the main body of the lamp. All ancient lamps are low-slung like this. The fuel seems to draw better when the wick is almost horizontal. The lamp is smaller than you might think from the picture–it fits in the palm of my hand. Due to its size, and the fact that the walls are thick because I’m still pretty clumsy at the clay work, the reservoir only holds about 2 tablespoons of oil. Nonet...

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045 Whole Grain Baking

Mr. Homegrown

April 29, 2015

Bread, Food, Podcasts

9 Comments

...s Angeles Bread Bakers put on featuring the very talented Dave Miller. The picture is of the bread Dave baked in the workshop. Clockwise from upper left: einkorn, sonora wheat, charcoal wheat and spelt/rye. Miller was featured prominently in Michael Pollan’s book Cooked. During the show we mention: Dave Miller (see this detailed profile by Farine) Josey Baker Mark Stambler Nan Kohler of Grist & Toll Lodge Combo Cooker Though it’s made with yeast a...

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Mulch, mulch, mulch!

Mrs. Homegrown

May 14, 2015

Back to the Garden, Garden Design, Gardening, Permaculture, Soil

11 Comments

...ddition, she ran drip lines beneath the mulch to bring some water into the picture. (That is necessary here, as we get so little rain–it wouldn’t be necessary everywhere.) She let that stew for a couple of months, and then checked back in. As if by magic, the soil beneath the mulch had come to life. The water and the insulation called to the worms. They came from…somewhere. (The ways of worms are mysterious!) And they went to work opening up the l...

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Peat Moss is Gardening Crack

Mr. Homegrown

August 13, 2015

Gardening

14 Comments

...12.full.pdf+html cpl.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/pub__9468201.pdf http://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/horticultural-peat.pdf http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/Environmental/Media_Nutrition/COIR%20potential.htm When I put this article in Facebook, Renate sent a picture of what peat harvesting looks like in Nartum, Germany near where she grew up: Leave it to us humans to make a desert in Germany! We’ve experimented wit...

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