Saturday Linkages: Really Old Beer, Interior Design Tips From the Mafia, Trash in LA, Halloumi Kabobs and More

May 12, 2012

Williams-Sonoma’s $60 “predator proofing” kit. Yes, that’s hardware cloth and nails. Via Northwest Edible Life.

Beer From 1840s Shipwreck May Be Recreated By Scientists. http://huff.to/JFfiAl

Huge, dumb booze producer Diageo orders industry association to give them the prize that had been awarded to competitor:http://boingboing.net/2012/05/10/huge-dumb-scottish-bar-chain.html

Italian mafia interior tastes exposed – in pictures http://gu.com/p/37d2t/tw

Behind the scenes of a city: Trash in L.A.: http://boingboing.net/2012/05/08/behind-the-scenes-of-a-city-t.html

Train horn attached to bicycle: http://boingboing.net/2012/05/08/train-horn-attached-to-bicycle.html

Vegetarian Recipe: Halloumi Kabobs – Good Food http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2012/05/vegetarian-recipe-halloumi-kabobs/

A Bamboo Mat Shed With Palm Thatch Roof: http://altbuildblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/bamboo-mat-shed-with-palm-thatch-roof.html

Don’t Buy These 5 Williams-Sonoma Agrarian Products http://www.nwedible.com/2012/04/dont-buy-these-5-william-sonoma-agrarian-products.html

Common Appliances, Uncommon Uses http://www.chow.com/food-news/54485/common-appliances-uncommon-uses/

Follow the Root Simple twitter feed for more linkages.

Reseeding Vegetables for the Warm Season

Mr. Homegrown

May 11, 2012

Gardening

13 Comments

So what edible/useful plants pop up in lead contaminated soil along a hot, dry alternately sun-baked and deep-shaded south side of a house in Southern California? After dumping a load of compost along our side yard, mother nature is doing her own food forestry experiment. This month the following things popped up out of that load of compost:

stinging nettle
cardoon
tomatoes
nasturtium
fennel
sunflowers

Elsewhere in the yard, New Zealand spinach has popped up on its own. I doubt the stinging nettle or nasturtium will hang on for long (it’s out of season for those plants here). But I’m willing to bet that the tomatoes, New Zealand spinach, fennel and cardoon will take. Because of the lead, the only thing I would eat of that bunch are the tomatoes (fruit usually does not take up heavy metals). Still, I think bio-activity in the soil in the form of microorganisms and plants will, over a very long period, help remediate that contamination.

More and more, I’m drawn to vegetables that easily re-seed themselves and grow without any fuss. And knowing when to plant things can be tricky, so watching nature’s own timing can provide important clues. I’ve taken to moving some of these self-seeded plants to our raised beds. And I’ve pledged to take better notes (this blog post, for instance) to keep a record of what comes up on its own and when.

So tell us where you are and what’s sprouting on it’s own this spring in your garden?

Using Kosher Salt for Making Pickles

Mr. Homegrown

May 10, 2012

Food, Food Preservation

20 Comments

Naive me, I purchased a box of Morton’s kosher salt for a pickling project. I thought that kosher salt lacks the anti-caking agents that cause cloudy and sediment filled jars of pickles. No blue ribbon for me at the county fair:

Morton salt has anti-caking agents. But I can follow them on Facebook (why I would want to do that would be the topic of another post). Diamond Salt, on the other hand does not have anti-caking agents:

So, when pickling, be careful selecting your kosher salt–some contain anti-caking agents, others do not.

Another precaution when using kosher salt in food preservation projects comes from the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension’s guide to Homemade Pickles and Relishes (pdf):

Kosher pure flaked salt requires special care if used for pickling. Flaked salt weighs less per volume than canning and pickling salt, so you need about 50 percent more—11⁄2 cups of flaked salt equals about 1 cup of canning and pickling salt. If you use kosher salt for fermented pickles, you must weigh out the proper amount.Weigh out 73⁄4 ounces (220 grams) of flaked salt, and you will have the equivalent of 1 cup of canning and pickling salt.

This same publication also notes how easy it is to find pickling salt and how hard it is to find kosher salt. It’s just the opposite here in Los Angeles.

So what kind of salt do you use for pickling and fermenting? What’s the easiest to find where you live?

See the University of Wisconsin’s other tested food preservation recipes here.

Erik Speaking at Maker Faire

Mr. Homegrown

May 8, 2012

Events

5 Comments

I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be speaking at the Bay Area Maker Faire on Saturday May 19 at 6:30 pm on the Maker Square Stage (located in the Homegrown Village). The talk I’m giving will be about the appropriate tech projects we’ve been up to around the Root Simple compound–our new chicken run, greywater, solar cooking and Mediterranean edible gardening. I’d love to hang out, after the talk, with any of you who plan on attending. For more information about Maker Faire go to http://makerfaire.com/.

Loquat Leather Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

May 7, 2012

Food, Food Preservation, Recipes

15 Comments

Our neighborhood is full of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) trees. For years I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use them. Loquats, a warm climate relative of the apple tree, produce tons of fruit all at once that do not keep well fresh. Thus the need to preserve the fruit. Unfortunately, they are also a chore to process–small large seeds and skins that are difficult to peel. They also vary widely in quality, since many in the neighborhood are probably seeds planted by birds and squirrels rather than grafted specimens.

But at last, I’ve found a use for them that’s relatively low-labor and yields a tasty result: loquat leather. Here’s the recipe I came up with:

2 cups loquats (no need to peel)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon triple sec

Remove seeds. Place loquats in a blender with the lemon juice, agave syrup and triple sec. Dehydrate at 135º until, as the Colorado Extension Service puts it, “translucent and slightly tacky to the touch, but easily peeled from the pan.”

Tips: Chef Ernie Miller suggested using a blender is rather than a food processor for this recipe. Also, try to spread the puree thicker towards the edges of the dehydrator sheet and you’ll get a more uniform result. Finally, the triple sec is optional, but some sort of flavor addition gives your fruit leather a more “adult” taste.

Fellow Master Food Preserver trainee Emily Ho is working on a loquat soda syrup and has also made some loquat jelly.