New Project: Making Bitters

December 16, 2013

...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

Mr. Homegrown

April 10, 2014

Food

4 Comments

...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

Mrs. Homegrown

September 12, 2014

Miscellaneous

15 Comments

...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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Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

Mrs. Homegrown

May 20, 2019

Cleaning, Domesticus, Miscellaneous, Tidying up

11 Comments

...ions on whether it is is safe to use, and how. A compromise: One easy alternative would be to use Sal Suds, a simple detergent, plus a laundry booster for a little extra oomph. Use 1 tablespoon of Sal Suds in a front loader, and 2 Tablespoons in a top loader. To that you may add about a 1/4 cup washing soda for cleaning power, or oxygen bleach for brightening, or baking soda for deodorizing. All of these substances are A rated. An unusual alternat...

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White Sage and Bees and our other sage friends

Mrs. Homegrown

May 14, 2013

Gardening, Herbal Medicine, Herbs, Native Plants

25 Comments

...It has dark green leaves, which is less common than greyish foliage in the native sages. It brings reliable dark green foliage into the garden, and the foliage is powerfully fragrant. If you want to mellow out or soothe sore muscles, you could try throwing a a branch of this in the bath. Our other native sage, Cleveland sage, Salvia clevelandi, lives a harsh existence out in the front of our house, occupying a formerly barren strip of sun baked cl...

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