Eating the Void: On Making a Raw Café Gratitude Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

September 15, 2021

Food

I have a small collection of odd cookbooks that have, for the most part, gone unused which is probably a good thing. One that’s collected dust for years is I Am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Café Gratitude. Friends who have been to this oh-so-California restaurant say that’s it’s good while simultaneously a parody of itself. As the intro to the cookbook notes, The Café Gratitude menu gives you the opportunity to start practicing saying somet...

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Making Mistakes and an Update

Mr. Homegrown

April 12, 2019

Podcasts, Thoughtstylings

7 Comments

A big thanks to Erik Volkman who let me know that I had accidentally re-released episode 127 of the podcast (an interview with Fr. Mark Kowalewski on apocalyptic thinking) instead of episode 128 (an interview with James Heard and Ashton Hamm of UXO Architects). I’ve fixed the problem but due to the kludgy way that podcasts propagate your podcast app may still play the audio from episode 127 instead of the interview with the architects. You can he...

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I Spent a Year Making a Bed

Mr. Homegrown

April 18, 2024

Design

8 Comments

How’s that for a click bait title? But I really did spend almost a year on this with most of that time eaten up teaching myself how to do marquetry and inlay work. As I mentioned before, my first attempts didn’t go well and I spent a lot of time searching for advice on how to do this particular style of Art Nouveau work that almost nobody does anymore. Sanding and finishing metal and wood right next to each other also proved difficult and I’m not...

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The Root Simple Workshop

Mr. Homegrown

June 22, 2016

Design

5 Comments

...bright orange/white/black color scheme. Our friend Lee Conger noticed the labeling on these cabinets that point to our overly eclectic interests: It’s like our heads need to be KonMaried! And fencing purists will note that the label should be “epee parts” not “swords.” Our three bikes and cycling accoutrements are kept locked to a pole. Always lock your bikes, kids, even when they are in the garage! The one last touch I want to add to the worksho...

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Cast Iron Cookware Class at Winnetka Farms

Mr. Homegrown

July 8, 2013

Events

3 Comments

...this timeless kitchen tool. Cleaning and Maintenance Very importantly the cleaning and maintenance of your cast iron cookware. While there are many theories regarding cleaning and maintaining cast Iron, I’ll discuss and demonstrate the system I adhere to after many years of experience. Restoring cast iron Either you found an old rusty pan in a thrift shop or after years of use your skillet needs more then a cleaning, you’ll learn how and what to...

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