Prickly Pear Fruit Chips

...dehydrator, either electric or solar, is a great investment if you’ve got food to put up. When the prickly pear fruit has a leather-like consistency, enjoy. You swallow the hard seeds, making prickly pear fruit somewhat an acquired taste for some. Chumacero also mentioned that the young pads, “nopalitos” in Spanish, can also be dried for later use. A note to the permaculturalists out there. It’s worth emphasizing that the prickly pear cactus, Opu...

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Book Review: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

...e world loved you back?” Then they lit up with ideas and possibilities. “Everything would change!” they cried. I agree with Dr. Kimmerer. The world does love us back. It cannot speak, but it shows its love through selfless acts of giving, like a mother. Plants shower us with abundance. They give us food, medicine, textiles building materials, and less material gifts like beauty and solace. They even give us oxygen: their love for us fills our lung...

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De-Cluttering for DIYers, Homesteaders, Artists, Preppers, etc.

...hout power or water.) Your family will be more comfortable eating familiar foods like tuna, peanut butter, soup, grains and beans and home-canned goods during an emergency than they would eating weird emergency rations. You won’t have to worry about expiry dates, because you’ll using these pantry basics constantly and replacing them as you go. Don’t forget to stock up for your pets, too. Make your emergency preparedness first-aid kit your everyday...

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039 Climate Change and Be-cycling With Peter Kalmus

...guring out your carbon footprint. Avoiding flying. The carbon footprint of food. Becoming a vegetarian. Dumpster diving. Growing food. RIPE Altadena. You can find out more about Peter through his be-cycling website. You can also download an excerpt of his book-in-progress (pdf) and see slides from one of his talks (pdf). If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]....

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How to make hot sauce

...r, and whether you strain it or leave it chunky. We used fresh red peppers labeled Anaheim peppers (kind of like a red New Mexico chile), which are mild, and also some dried California peppers, which are also mild, but a little smokey. These peppers make your tongue tingle–they don’t burn. Our sauce is more like a mild salsa–enjoyable on everything, by everyone. Later this summer if I get my hands on some good hot chiles, I’ll make a hot batch. Re...

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