Why it’s Better to Pressure Can Tomatoes

October 30, 2014

Food, Food Preservation, Gardening, Tomatoes

...cipes. All of these factors are why the recommended hot water bath canning time for raw packed tomatoes is 85 minutes. I’ve hot water bath canned tomatoes and got great results (especially with San Marzano tomatoes). But 85 minutes is a long time. You can cut the processing down considerably and get better results by pressure canning tomatoes. Here’s a raw pack recipe that includes both hot water and pressure canning instructions. Note that you st...

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Hollywood always gets gardens wrong (I’m talking to you, Maze Runner)

Mrs. Homegrown

September 25, 2014

Thoughtstylings

19 Comments

...my friends. Cloth ivy. The sort used to festoon wedding tables, or is sometimes found creeping dustily along the molding in B&Bs. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to offer a pack of hungry teenage boys a bowl of cooked ivy, much less fake ivy. Now, of course, the intended audience, teenage girls, are NOT looking at the ivy as the hot boy leads discuss their survival problems in the garden. They are, in fact, at this moment, laughing ri...

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CritterCam Reveals Yet More Rats and a Plea to Not Use Poison

Mr. Homegrown

September 5, 2014

Animals

6 Comments

...he weekend. It reveals two rats peeking out from under the shed. It may be time to consider locking up the chicken feed at night. That and a little cleanup behind and around the shed are the only things I feel the need to do. A rant on rat poison Thankfully, the general public can no longer buy d-CON rat poison in California. Unfortunately, professionals still have access to even more toxic chemicals. These poisons have been linked to the recent i...

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Can our landscapes model a vibrant future? Not according to the LA DWP.

Mrs. Homegrown

July 7, 2014

Garden Design, Gardening, Lawns, Water and Power

18 Comments

.... I believe it used to have a typical sickly lawn in front of it, but last time I was in the neighborhood I saw it had been rejiggered to be a low water use landscape. And that’s good…really…a great idea, guys. But… The new landscape is mostly artificial turf, with a few swathes of D.G. and a strip of purple gravel mulch running along the foundation, and that gravel is studded with strangely trampled looking agave-ish plants, and a couple of rando...

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Josey Baker Bread: One Bread Book to Rule Them All

Mr. Homegrown

May 14, 2014

Bread, Food, Reviews

18 Comments

...ll. Don’t act like you do’t know what I’m talking about! When was the last time you had a scone and didn’t say, “I don’t know, this is just a little dry for me.” Or maybe you haven’t even had a scone in a long time, because the last one you ate was so crappy. . . Are they healthy? No, they are not. But what the hell, exercise feels good, so eat as many as you want and then go ride your bike, baker. My successful attempt at the Dark Mountain Rye re...

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