Tools for Conquering Internet Addiction

...as Carr observed in his prescient 2008 article in the Atlantic, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” I’ve noticed that my attention span seems to be shrinking and that I’m less able to sit down and read books without the temptation to jump on the Internet and look stuff up. I’ve also noticed that I’m having a harder time initiating and completing the sort of gardening, cooking, food preservation and general DIY projects that provide fodder for this blog...

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We Grew a Cocktail Avocado!

This morning Kelly alerted me to the latest avocado news making its way around the internet tubes. Apparently a chain of grocery stores in Great Britain, worried about the lack of knife skills in our young folks (ugh), is marketing a seedless “cocktail” avocado. What is a cocktail avocado? Some deep Googling revealed that they aren’t some new variety, just un- or under pollinated Fuerte avocado. Since we have a Fuerte tree in our backyard, I deci...

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How to make hot sauce

...In theory I’m big on all sorts of DIY, especially in the kitchen, because making staples at home can really help save packaging, money and food–and condiments, like mustard, mayo and hot sauce, are easy to make. However, it’s also really easy to fall to temptation and just buy a bottle of something at the store. So here’s a confession: we’ve fallen into sin around here, and haven’t made our own hot sauce in a good while. We dodge the homemade whe...

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Cob Oven Workshop with Ben Loescher

...unity Garden at Holy Nativity: 6700 W. 83rd Street Register at: www.change-making.com/cob-oven-workshop/ Ben Loescher is a licensed architect, principal of Loescher Meachem Architects, and founder of AdobeIsNotSoftware, an organization which was founded in 2009 to inform, enable and advance adobe construction in California, and educate the public in the building and conservation of adobe structures. This will be a hands-on, get-dirty workshop. Ple...

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044 Daniel Kent: Cabin Dweller’s Textbook

...carbonation system How to make your own clear cocktail ice The Old Fashion Making your own bitters Herbs of Mexico Institute of Domestic Technology classes Wool and how to wash it Roasting your own coffee with a Whirley Pop Sourcing green coffee at Sweet Maria’s and Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders Cowboy coffee Sharpening tools If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]...

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