Leisure The Basis of Culture

March 6, 2015

...and rediscovered in hard work. Fr. Mark Kowalewski, who tipped me off to Pieper’s book, describes this state of leisure as “profoundly counter-cultural.” And yet I hear Gmail calling me. Time to update my Facebook profile and get out some tweets. How do you deal with life’s distractions? How do you carve out some time for true leisure?...

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Josey Baker on Bread: Whole, Wild, Wet, Slow and Bold

Mr. Homegrown

November 23, 2015

Bread, Fermentation, Food

4 Comments

...both Baker and Miller push that wetness to very high hydration levels: sometimes in the neighborhood of 120% hydration if you’re keeping score. (N.B. Hydration level refers to the ratio of water to flour by weight: 100 grams of flour mixed with 100 grams of water = 100% hydration) A big advantage of wet dough is that you don’t need to knead it. The gluten strands align on their own in the wet dough matrix. You still have to do some stretching and...

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The Difference Between Mulch and Compost

Mr. Homegrown

March 31, 2015

Gardening

2 Comments

...nning gag in the comic book Groo the Wanderer. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “mulch” called “compost” I’d be a wealthy blogger. Let’s set the record straight. The Oxford English Dictionary defines mulch as, Partly rotted plant material, etc.; (Hort.) loose material consisting of straw, decaying leaves, shredded cuttings and bark, etc., spread on soil or around or over a plant to provide insulation, protect from desiccation, and deter...

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Grief is the pathway to action

Mrs. Homegrown

April 9, 2015

Back to the Garden, Thoughtstylings

28 Comments

...y just to feel the cool, wet air on my skin one last time, yet at the same time feeling angry and frustrated and sad. And as I sat there, I thought of conversations I’ve had with people who’ve confessed that they are grieving for what is being lost all around us, or they are grieving for a world their children will never know. Often they feel alone, as if no one else cares, or is much bothered at all. I don’t think we like to acknowledge this grie...

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Day to day, our decisions count

Mrs. Homegrown

April 30, 2015

Back to the Garden

6 Comments

...at all, especially if you chat with her every week. If you can’t find the time to shop at farmers’ markets, you might want to try a CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s like a subscription club you join, and, typically, you get a box of local produce a week which you pick up at some central point, or perhaps is delivered to your door. Some CSAs go beyond veggies and fruits to provide m...

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