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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Koreatown Market Tour with Hae Jung Cho

...at the Korean market are organic or what kind of pepper flakes to buy for making kimchi? Join me for a guided tour of supermarkets and specialty food shops in Koreatown. The tour is geared toward people who want to cook and eat Korean food at home, especially those who want to make kimchi. Cost: $25. (Bring extra cash for snacks etc.) Head over here to sign up. This class would have prevented the head scratching trip Kelly and I took down the Kor...

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German Rye Bread Recipe

...a thought about, say, accuracy. Sometimes those folks are us. When it came time to teach a German rye bread class for the Los Angeles Bread Bakers, I took another look at the recipe on this blog and sent it to fellow LABBer Dana Morgan for testing and revision. Thanks to Dana I have now revised and re-posted that recipe here. If you’re into sourdough, this is an easy loaf to bake. There’s not much in the way of shaping and you don’t even have to s...

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