Maybe I didn’t plan very well when I enthusiastically committed to doing another Eat From The Larder Challenge this April. We already had a scheduled a family vacation. Non-negotiable. We already had a scheduled dinner-date with friends. Non-negotiable. We were completely out of butter. Clearly, running out of butter is a dire failure of larder maintenance….
Lawn To Garden In A Single Weekend: 6 Easy Steps
Just because gardening is an exercise in patience doesn’t mean gardeners are patient. If you want to join the grow-it-yourself club, and you don’t want to wait, you can turn your unproductive, resource intensive lawn into a ready-to-thrive vegetable garden this weekend. It’ll take some work, but probably less than you think. It’ll take money…
Every Natural Living Blog Post You’ve Ever Read
87 ways to remineralize your teeth. Oil pulling! Toxins! Oil Pulling For Toxins! Is sitting the new smoking? Herbal remedies for sitting THEY don’t want you to know about. Scientists discover the shocking reason why the Masai never get frostbite. The 92 items to NEVER eat at a salad bar if you want to correct…
The Jubilee Cocktail
Let’s say you need a really celebratory cocktail. Perhaps it’s time to toast a new baby, a promotion, or your first harvest of the year. It’s a special day and it deserves a special drink. That’s where the Jubilee Cocktail comes in. It’s a lighter, champagne-flute cousin to the French 75 with a very pleasing balance between grapefruit,…
Sunprint Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs in 5 Easy Steps
You know those things you see on Pinterest that look awesome when someone else does them, but you’re pretty sure they’re going to be a total disaster when you try them? These Sunprint-style eggs dyed with red cabbage were firmly in that “Likely Pinterest Fail” category for me. “This can’t possibly work,” I thought. But, my son was…
Monsanto Promotes RoundUp Cocktails: "Safe Enough To Drink"
In an attempt to revive slumping RoundUp sales, Monsanto today announced it would begin serving RoundUp based mixed drinks in the high-end cafeteria of the company’s St, Louis, MO based corporate headquarters. Monsanto’s bold announcement comes on the heels of Monsanto supporter and scientist Dr. Patrick Moore insisting Monsanto’s broad spectrum herbicide RoundUp was safe…
The Curious Case of The Missing Duck
My neighbor leaned over the fence at me. “Where’s your brown duck? I haven’t seen her in the last few days.” “Uh…she’s around,” I said. “Are you sure? I haven’t seen her lately and I’ve really looked.” “Well, I locked her up last night and let her out this morning, so, she’s somewhere.” But then…
Kale Florets with Garlic, Chili and Lemon
In case you missed my earlier description, kale florets are the delicious edible flower bud of a mature, overwintered kale plant. You might think of them as bonus no-work broccoli raab. Or perhaps as “the only thing that’s harvestable in the whole damn garden right now.” However you mentally characterize these tender little brassica buds,…
When and How to Harvest Kale Florets
Ok, here’s the deal. Kale, collards, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, turnip, kohlrabi – all these amazing, diverse plants have been bred from the same wild cabbage ancestor. Kohlrabi was bred to make a juicy, swollen stem, and you’ll notice it tastes like broccoli stem because, well, botanically, it pretty much is. Brussels sprouts look like teeny…
Tart Cherry Mint Mojito
Can we talk for a minute about the amazingness of tart cherries? They make the best jam, the best pie, and the best mojito variation I’ve ever sipped. Now I know what you are thinking. “It’s months from fresh cherry season!” Too true, but thanks to the modern miracle of the deep freeze, frozen tart…
Can You Make Liquid Castile Soap from Bar Soap?
When I was recipe testing for the book I ended up making nine or ten batches of cold process bar soap. That is a lot of soap for a family of four. Normally, I use Dr. Bronner’s liquid Castile soap in many of my personal and home care products, but faced with a glut of all natural, homemade bar soap, I thought perhaps…
4 Work Problems of Creative People and How To Solve Them
It’s official! I’m a “Creative” and I’m not meant for traditional 9-to-5 work. Pop internet psychology confirmed it, and I see no reason to argue. Like an eerily accurate horoscope, this article nailed many of my own work habits, need for flexibility and motivation in my work. But the article didn’t go far enough. It’s all…