How to Search for Science-Based Gardening Advice

February 24, 2014

...alogs in your area. And I should mention the librarian. She spent a lot of time with me and said she’d be happy to help me with any research I needed to do. Hopefully our culture will not get swept away by Google and forget the importance of librarians in helping us navigate our confusing world. Thanks to libraries,we have access to tools beyond Google. Hot Topics To that end, I’m thinking of making the trek to UCLA this year to look into a number...

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My Brand New Homebrew Soda Carbonator

Mrs. Homegrown

February 18, 2014

Domesticus, Food

19 Comments

...husband award this Valentine’s Day. He surprised me with my very own soda making machine. This is not a SodaStream–it’s better. It’s an industrial strength CO2 tank topped with sturdy dials and valves and whatnot, all sourced from the local homebrew shop. He’s going to do a how-to post soon (tomorrow maybe?) on how to put together the parts, and how to use it. So hold on for those details! Right now, I’m just going to gush. I’ve been wanting some...

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A viewing suggestion from the media arm of Root Simple

Mrs. Homegrown

February 11, 2014

Domesticus, Food, Gardening, Preparedness, Resources, Thoughtstylings

34 Comments

...outside world, to the electric light burning beside me. Bless the BBC for making Tudor Monastery Farm (a title which I believe would not fly on American television). This is a quiet series showing three historians/archeologists at play in the Weald & Downland Open Air History Museum, trying out some of the skills they’d need to be tenant farmers to the local monastery. It has some of the structure of a reality show, but it seems that no one reall...

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Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2014

Bread, Food

23 Comments

...hniques to my home kitchen and I hope to share what I discover. In the meantime, here’s what I learned: Miller summarized bread baking as a yin and yang balance between elasticity and extensibility. Our job as bakers, Miller suggests, is to understand what gives bread its form and to shape and bake dough at the best possible moment. Much of the weekend was spent analyzing what can go wrong and how to fix it–the causes of over-proofing, under-proof...

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Recipe for the World’s Best Whole Wheat Pancake

Mr. Homegrown

January 8, 2014

Bread, Fermentation, Food

22 Comments

...s the secret: Use heirloom grains. Mill your own flour. Ferment for a long time with a sourdough starter. The heirloom grain I used is Sonora wheat, probably the oldest wheat in the Americas. It’s a soft, winter wheat traditionally used for tortillas. Recipe (based on Nancy Silverton’s pancakes) 210 grams starter 2 tablespoons maple syrup 3 tablespoons safflower or corn oil 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking po...

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