How’s the Sugar Free Experiment Going for Erik?

...as how nutrition interacts with human customs, rituals and beliefs. That said, processed sugar is definitely bad. I have no doubt about that. And I don’t think I need to tell the readers of this blog that processed foods as a whole are what are making us unhealthy. But as I discovered in my own life, it’s difficult to avoid sugar. It’s in everything the big food companies make. Making time to cook from scratch and eating a diverse variety of food...

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When it’s time to remove a tree

...as I walk by. So how do you know the difference? Well, here’s the subtle part. I’ve finally figured out that it’s not a matter of right and wrong so much as it’s about how. Nature destroys. Death is part of life. Plants come and go in the wild and they can come and go in your yard. But when they go, they should go for good reason, and you should be clear about that reason in your head. Some decisions are easier than others. Plants which are strug...

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Worth Doing From Scratch: Corn Tortillas

...f that’s easy and economical. Now you should be suspicious of any tortilla making advice dispensed by a gabacho. Let’s just say it’s easy and the results are way better than those dry tortillas you buy at the store. Some things I’ve learned: I have a cast iron tortilla press that works great but my Mexicano friends in the know suggested a wooden press. Making masa from scratch is a huge amount of work and I’ve done just fine with supermarket masa...

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Chicks, Mayonnaise and Personal Responsibility

...at your farmers’ market. But in the meantime, Eat Wild is good place to start. Also, we’ve posted this egg producers chart from The Cornucopia Institute before–it grades egg producers on how well they keep their hens. I don’t believe the practice of killing the male chicks is a factor in their grading, but at least you can support farmers who let their hens hunt and peck out in the sun–or find out how your regular brand scores! Organic Egg Scorec...

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023 Cleaning, Spam Poetry and Shoemaking

...ed Magazine’s article on the laborers who moderate social media comments. Earth Skills Shoe making classes offered by laughingcrowe.com Sewing classes at Sew L.A. We’ll add a link for Randy’s website when he finishes it–in the meantime, if you’re within striking distance of Santa Barbara and are interested in shoe making lessons, go ahead and shoot us an email at rootsimple at gmail dot com and we’ll hook you up with Randy. If you want to leave a...

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