Party in the Bathroom!!!!!

June 5, 2014

...and fiendish, she is in heart failure) and she’s on lots of diuretics, so water is good for her. I am her tub slave. Phoebe says, “Hmm, the rate of flow lacks that certain je ne sais quoi, Fix it. Now.” So, turning on the tub is my first duty whenever I enter the bathroom. If I don’t do it, she’ll stare daggers at me until I obey. Next the boys rush in, probably having heard the water running. They each have their own objectives. Trout likes to j...

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An Easy and Healthy 100% Whole Rye Bread Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

June 24, 2014

Bread, Food

32 Comments

...1/3 cups dark rye/pumpernickel flour 1 teaspoon salt 150 grams/2/3 cup hot water 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional) Directions 1. In a large bowl mix the 200 grams cold water with the sourdough starter. Add 150 grams of flour. Allow this mixture to ferment overnight. 2. In the morning add the rest of the ingredients. 3. Spoon into a well oiled and floured standard loaf pan. Smooth the top of the dough with a wet spatula. Flour the top of the loaf...

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The Miraculous Lavender

Mrs. Homegrown

July 25, 2014

Gardening, Herbs

14 Comments

...we’ve had no precipitation for months now. I don’t water it. I don’t send water down the stairs. The soil off the stairs is dry, because that slope is planted with natives, which are getting no irrigation. There’s no plumbing beneath the staircase, either. Yet the lavender keeps getting bigger. I’m going to have to pull it soon, before it ruins our stairs. But I don’t want to, because it’s so determined to live. And this goes to show that when a...

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Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2014

Bread, Food

23 Comments

...ade, the wheat breads had a similar method: Starter was added to flour and water to build up a levain. This was allowed to ferment for three hours. Miller likes a long autolyse. Flour and water for the final dough were mixed and allowed to sit for at least a half hour before adding salt. This period gets the enzymes working. The final dough is mixed in a mixer for 5 minutes at the first speed and 5 minutes at the second speed (if you don’t have a...

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Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands

Mr. Homegrown

June 5, 2007

rainwater harvesting

...l observation and some work with a shovel. He suggests that harvesting rainwater begins with considering the flow of water from the highest point (which for most people will be the roof) to the lowest point in your yard and then simply figuring out simple ways to get that water to percolate into the ground to nourish your plants. We’re especially fond of his method of hijacking street gutter runoff and directing it with a small improvised check da...

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