Small garden tips and a book giveaway
My very favorite Bay Area gardening book is Golden Gate Gardening, a work of genius written by Pam Peirce. I love the book so much that when I speak to serious SF Bay Area gardeners and find that they don’t own it I’m shocked. I reference it anytime I plant something new and frequently before harvesting a new crop. If you’re growing veggies here in our climate, I consider it a must-have, which is why I’m going to give one away this month.
A Fermentation Primer
Gorgeous hand-made fermenting crock
Fermentation is an age-old practice that may date back to as many as 12,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period.
That said, it’s a practice that holds as much value today as it did thousands of years ago. Not only is fermentation a time-honored way to preserve the harvest or create a mind-altering beverage, it’s also a healthful and natural way to boost the nutritional value of the food.
How to make sauerkraut
Fermentation line-up
Fermenting cabbage into a cultural delicacy such as sauerkraut or kimchi is an age-old practice that is still appreciated today; indeed is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. The good folks at Cultured in Berkeley plus the popularity of a class we’re teaching at Workshop in SF on April 28 can attest to this new-found love of sour things. How could we help but be inspired to write this post on how to make delicious fermented kraut and kimchi? Read more…
The glories and the trials of farm-fresh eggs
A delicious farm-fresh egg
It’s indisputable that free-range and farm-fresh are the best type of egg you will ever eat. With their steep, rich yolks, orange as a midwestern sunrise and their thick whites that don’t run across the pan, they astonish the newly indoctrinated. The variety of colors heritage breeds lay can take your breath away before you’ve even cracked the thing open.
If the appearance isn’t enough to convince you of the superiority of a backyard egg, fresh eggs also boast a flavor like no other -rich and almost sweet at the same time with none of the heavy, slightly off flavor of your run-of-the-mill grocery store egg.
How to peel a farm-fresh egg
Farm-fresh eggs
Have you ever tried to peel a super-fresh egg straight from the backyard or farm and found yourself hovering over a piled of shredded egg pieces wondering what went wrong?
Yeah, me too. I suspect all us backyard chicken-tenders have. Lucky you, I’m about to blow your mind with a little-known trick for peeling the freshest egg you can find.
Cheesemaking – what to do with all that whey?
Look at all that delicious whey!
You’ve conquered your demons and made cheese- good for you!! (If you haven’t yet made cheese, join one of our classes in SF or check out our home cheesemaking kits – you won’t regret it). Now you find yourself with a pound of delicious homemade cheese and three quarts of whey! What to do with all that protein-rich goodness?
First, some things to know about whey: Whey is milk with the fats and solids pulled out (the solids are now in your cheese). It’s primarily water but also contains lactose (milk sugar) which is water soluble and ends up draining off with the whey – for the lactose-intolerant, beware.
Our backyard homestead infant death trap
Lush garden or infant death trap?
When you don’t yet have a child, you don’t really realize how toddler unfriendly your home is. It takes a pint-size visitor or two to open your eyes enough to see that your backyard homestead could be an infant death trap.
I used to be of the rather selfish mind that it was the parent’s responsibility to keep their child safe and out of trouble when they visited my house. Now that I’m three months away from having a child of my own all the preconceived notions are melting away. Read more…
Guidelines for Gift Swap/Seed Exchange at our Underground Homesteading Party
We’re hosting another Gift Swap event during our Underground Homesteading Party and we couldn’t be more excited! We’re also adding an heirloom seed exchange component this year so bring the heirloom seeds you’ve saved to trade with other enthusiasts! We’ve had a lot of questions regarding how the swap will work so we thought we’d include some guidelines.
Read more…
Fishing for Answers on Nutrition
Cured Sardines
It seems the more we learn about nutrition and food the more we wonder what we should really be eating in an ideal world. The answers don’t come easily. For every study that indicates a benefit to a food, it seems there’s an equally good reason not to consume that item. In fact my best friend’s husband just produced the first episode of a podcast series on nutrition which touches on the challenges involved in choosing a meal in light of all the conflicting information available. Read more…
Holiday Gift Trade at our Underground Holiday Party
We’re hosting our first Gift Trade event during our Underground Holiday Party and we couldn’t be more excited! We’ve had a lot of questions regarding how the holiday gift trade will work and since it’s our first go at it, we thought we’d include some guidelines. Read more…
