A ceramic oil lamp

March 4, 2015

...Regular readers will know that I’m a little obsessed with lamps that burn cooking oil instead of kerosene. I like them so much, I made a little seashell oil lamp the very first project in our book Making It. As a child of the electric age it continuously amazes me that I can make light so easily with cooking oil. Also, in reproducing these lights, I feel a connection to history. I’ve no doubt that my ancestors gathered around fish oil lamps in th...

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Our Rocket Stove

Mr. Homegrown

November 21, 2007

Preparedness, Rocket Stove

92 Comments

...The rocket stove was developed for use in poor nations where wood used for cooking has led to the vast, wholesale, deforestation of large swaths of the earth’s surface. Rocket stoves can be built out of metal or masonry and consist of a L shaped tube, at the bottom of which you place your wood. The chimney effect creates a highly efficient, largely smoke-free burn. There’s no need to cut down a tree to cook your dinner–all you need is a few small...

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Citified Parched Corn

Mrs. Homegrown

March 18, 2013

Food, Food Preservation, How-to, Recipes

8 Comments

...ping, high-energy trail food. It can also be ground into flour and used in cooking. I have vague elementary school memories of claims that a warrior* could walk a whole day nourished on just a handful of parched corn. (They did not mention that the warrior might be cranky at the end of the day–which I suspected might be the case. I’ve heard similar claims about Roman soldiers marching on handfuls of barley. Poor guys. But now that I’ve tried parch...

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One Secret for Delicious Soup–A Parmesan Cheese Rind

Mrs. Homegrown

February 27, 2013

Food, How-to

7 Comments

...s. All you do is add them to soup or bean dishes. Add them at the start of cooking, because they need a good long while to soften up and release their flavor goodness. They don’t make the dish taste cheesy, but rather add that elusive umami (rich, savory) character to the dish. I think it would be redundant to use the rind if you are already using meat or bacon fat or the like in your soup, but for vegetable-based dishes, it really adds a nice tou...

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Notes on Mark Bittman’s “Behind the Scenes of What We Eat”

Mrs. Homegrown

November 20, 2012

Events, Reviews, Thoughtstylings

3 Comments

...lready doing– just like us. You’re trying to support local farmers. You’re cooking from scratch and eating whole foods. You’re trying to source ethically raised dairy products and meats. You’re growing some of your own food. All of this is important. Michael Pollan’s advice–Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants— is pretty much the same as Bittman’s recommendations. (I wonder if Pollan and Bittman hang out? Maybe Bittman crashed on Pollan’s sofa du...

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