Monday Linkages: The Blob, Urine Soaked Acorns

Oops. Forgot to post our usual Saturday link dump. Here it is: Design Blob – An Unusual Micro-Home Encased in Storage http://humble-homes.com/blob-unusual-micro-home-encased-storage/ The Labyrinth Project, the beginning http://jeffreygardens.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-labyrinth-project-beginning.html … Homesteading weirdness 1859: A native delicacy – acorns pickled in human urine http://shar.es/Kkb0q How Japanese honeybees switch to ‘hot defensive...

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Weekend Linkages: Fall Fig Leaf

...Homemade Harissa Sauce Fascine Mattresses: Basketry Gone Wild A timeline of Food (via Recomendo newsletter) Saturday afternoon Ikea trip simulator Just in case you need a centaur costume Art, Hoax, and Provocation The quiet, monochromatic urban landscapes of Russian painter Vladimir Shinkarev In dystopia news . . . Against artsploitation That strange 1990s swing revival thing An interactive world music map (via Recomendo newsletter)...

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New Project: Making Bitters

...I’ll share the recipes I develop as I follow this path. In the meanwhile, making your own bitters is really easy. You may be able to throw a few experiments together just using things you find in your spice cabinet. Since these are flavoring, not medicine, you don’t have to be as careful with the quantities and timing as you must be when tincturing herbs for medicine. Yet at the same time, it’s a great introduction to that essential herbalist’s c...

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Lila Downs Video Showing Tortilla Making in Oaxaca

...ngeles Bread Bakers sent me a link to this music video that shows tortilla making in Oaxaca. The song is “Palomo Del Comalito” (Dove of the Comalito) by Lila Downs. Note the huge corn tortillas, proof of the regional diversity of Mexican cuisine (and one of the many details I got wrong in my tortilla press post–thanks for the corrections Gloria). Lyrics in English after the jump. The beautiful people of this land Grind corn A miracle of their hand...

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Checking in on Kelly’s projects

...his very ambitious project has gone on hold until the crisis arises again. Making a mattress is intimidating, just because of the sheer cost and scale of the materials needed, and as far as I can tell, there’s no one out there to help you do it. If I ever do make a mattress, it will be like summiting the Everest of homesteading. On the other hand, if I ever learn how, I think I could make a mint teaching other desperate people how to do it themsel...

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