How to be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman

August 30, 2016

...ever see that described? Yet somehow, I feel better for understanding the making and maintenance process of these things. Now the ruff seems less like the inexplicable product of an alien civilization. Just think, someone (many someones) made that ruff and all those baubles and do-dads by hand Did you know folks could change the color of their ruffs in and out by treating them different colored starches? Or that there were colored ruffs at all? (...

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Solar Oven Triumph: Fluffy Egg Strata

Mrs. Homegrown

July 5, 2016

Recipes, Solar, Solar Oven Summer

10 Comments

...how long any dish should spend in the oven. Imagine if back when you were making your first batch of cookies, your mom’s old Betty Crocker told you they would be done anywhere between one and four hours. Or perhaps the recipe would not even include a time or temperature recommendation, but just said the cookies would be done when they were done. Can you imagine your tears? Welcome to solar cooking. Recipes are guidelines or even hints rather than...

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Instant Soup Stock=Happy Flavor Bomb

Mrs. Homegrown

May 13, 2016

Food

12 Comments

...ause I want to. Back in 2013 I linked to this post by our friend Pascal on making instant soup stock with foraged greens: Wild Food Soup Stock. It’s great! But foraged greens have a short season here, and lately I’ve been using a more domestic recipe from the great blog Food in Jars: Homemade Vegetable Soup Concentrate. Check them out. You’ll see the ways in which they are similar. Basically you’re just taking all the tasty, aromatic parts of soup...

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Root Simple Reader Survey Results

Mr. Homegrown

May 10, 2016

Thoughtstylings

6 Comments

...a paradoxical problem with a DIY blog. If we’re gardening or in the garage making something we’re not writing and vice versa. It’s been difficult to find the right balance. Looks like you’re all good with where we are. When we first began this blog ten years ago the standard advice was along the lines of, “people are distracted so make your posts short.” Lately, the common wisdom is that blog posts should be long and footnoted. We decided to split...

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How to Make Your Own DIY Instant Oatmeal

Mrs. Homegrown

March 24, 2016

Food, How-to, Recipes

6 Comments

...e serving bags. To use, just scoop out what you need into a bowl and pour boiling water over the top until it’s as moist as you want it to be (It’s a good idea to give your storage container a shake or stir before using to make sure stuff hasn’t settled out). Let the oats sit for a minute or so to soften up before you tuck in. Add a little more water if it stiffens up too much. I’m sure you could microwave this, I just don’t know how. I like to pu...

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