How To Make Hoshigaki (Dried Persimmons)

...eks of massaging, fructose in the fruit will begin to come to the surface, making it look like the persimmons have been dipped in powdered sugar. They are done when they have a chewy texture. In Japan, persimmons are dried by hanging them from the eaves of houses. A friend of mine who tried that had every single one consumed by squirrels in just one day. So indoors is the way to go. Hauben’s class was really great–we went home with a crate of frui...

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How To Make a Sourdough Starter

...sts–if there’s a topic for a video you’d like to see just leave a comment. Making a sourdough starter is as simple as mixing flour and water. There’s no need for all the crazy things I’ve heard suggested: adding potatoes, grapes, yogurt and certainly not commercial yeast. And the yeast that makes sourdough happen is on the flour itself in far greater quantities than in the air. After following the simple steps I demonstrate in this video you’ll en...

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Welcome to the new Root Simple!

...r the “Video” tab as well as on our YouTube Channel. We’re also working on making the videos “video podcasts”, so you can sign up to download them automatically. On the subject of podcasts, we have long promised podcasts but have decided to focus on video production for now. Keep an eye on the “Upcoming Events” in the right-side menu bar. More info will be found under the Events tab at the top. A hint for searching: The search box at the top of ou...

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Chicken Nipple Waterering Systems

...ge). American Preppers Network blogger Stephanie Dayle has instuctions for making a bucket and pipe system here. You can purchase the nipples on Amazon. And the bucket and pipe system pictured above is being sold on Amazon here (I have not tested it). Ideally all the parts should be food grade as I’m not a fan of PVC. Of course the zinc in the galvanized waterer is probably not so great either, so it’s probably another case of not letting perfecti...

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Prickly Pear Fruit Chips

...r fruit has a leather-like consistency, enjoy. You swallow the hard seeds, making prickly pear fruit somewhat an acquired taste for some. Chumacero also mentioned that the young pads, “nopalitos” in Spanish, can also be dried for later use. A note to the permaculturalists out there. It’s worth emphasizing that the prickly pear cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, in my personal experience, is the single most productive plant in our small lot. It’s also t...

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