Loquat season is here!

April 28, 2014

...rarely see a tree which looks as if it’s being harvested, or if it is, the harvesting does not make a dent in the bounty. After all, how many fresh loquats can you gobble down in a day? All of which is to say I feel no guilt about snagging loquats off of accessible trees as I walk around.* On-the-hoof snacking is one of the pleasures of walking at this time of year! Ripe loquats tend to be a little larger and fatter than the unripe ones, and the c...

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Pakistan Mulberry Fever

Mr. Homegrown

May 26, 2014

Fruit Trees, Gardening

14 Comments

...aste is so amazing that if I had the room I’d say it’s worth the hassle of harvesting. Note from Mrs. Homegrown: I wanted to add that the odd things about these mulberries is that they have a green stem which runs all the way through the center of the fruit, so when you eat them your sort of scrape the fruit (drupes?) off the stem with your teeth, then discard it. Not that this is a problem–they’re delicious! I guess the stem is necessary to suppo...

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Sourdough Bread Class at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano

Mr. Homegrown

June 16, 2014

Bread, Events, Food

2 Comments

...ients. Other benefits of baking at home include using less energy (used in harvesting, processing, and shipping store-bought bread), using less plastic packaging, and spending less money. Become a baker and join us for a weekend of heart-healthy, bread baking workshops: Saturday, June 21, 1-3 to make Sourdough and/or Sunday, June 22, 1-3p to make Sourdough rye! Topics discussed will include: How to make your own sourdough starter (also known as a...

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Sourdough Rye Bread Class at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano

Mr. Homegrown

June 16, 2014

Bread, Events, Food

6 Comments

...o bake in your oven. You can’t buy this kind of bread so you better learn how to bake it yourself! By baking bread at home, you’re in charge of what goes into every loaf and can choose to incorporate local and organic ingredients. Other benefits of baking at home include using less energy (used in harvesting, processing, and shipping store-bought bread), using less plastic packaging, and spending less money. Become a baker and join us for the rye...

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Olive Curing Update

Mr. Homegrown

May 4, 2020

Fruit Trees, Gardening

5 Comments

...he olives looked like at the beginning of the curing process. The verdict: harvesting and curing olives is a lot of work but well worth the effort. It took six months of curing to leach out the bitter phenolic compounds in the fruit. Some things I learned in the process: Here in Southern California, where we have a plague of olive fruit flies, you need to set a McPhail trap baited with torula yeast lures and change out the bait once a month. I set...

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