Seat Weaving for Fun and Profit

July 26, 2019

Design

...ble with a nice set of inexpensive, second-hand chairs. Seat weaving ain’t rocket science and it’s a whole lot more useful than sending idiots to mars. Traditionally, this type of woven seat was made with cordage harvested from water plants. Beginning in the early 20th century, in the U.S., most rush seats were made from a rush substitute called fiber rush which is made out of spun paper, the same paper used for grocery bags. This is what I used s...

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Make an Aluminum Can Lamp

Mr. Homegrown

December 26, 2006

Preparedness

8 Comments

...even cut. Precision isn’t necessary for this project (unlike the Pepsi can stove) so you can also do this step with a pair of scissors. 4. Punch out a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom of the can for the wick. 5. Cut a 1/2 inch by 3 inch piece of cotton from an old shirt for the wick. 6. Cut out a 2 inch by 1 1/2 inch piece of aluminum and use it to wrap up the wick tightly. 7. Fill the can with the window with lamp oil. Insert the aluminum wrapped wick...

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2014: The Year in Review

Mr. Homegrown

December 29, 2014

Thoughtstylings

5 Comments

...h, for me, was a conversation I had with the inventor of the non-electric, stove top DeltaToast. Finding an alternative to the modern toaster is one of those seemingly absurd and quixotic issues, until you actually disassemble an electric toaster and look at it. Then your whole paradigm shifts. Who would have guessed that my most significant “road to Damascus” moment in 2014 would involve toast? One significant thing that I didn’t blog about was t...

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Worth Doing From Scratch: Corn Tortillas

Mr. Homegrown

June 3, 2014

Bread, Food

12 Comments

...dients by weight I’ve figured out that for enough tortillas for four people you need to mix 250 grams of flour with 300 grams of water. Cook as many tortillas at once as you can. I can do three at a time on our stove. Cooking one at a time takes forever. Keep a bag of masa harina around and you’ll be ready for any tortilla emergency. In just a few minutes you’ll have healthy, tasty tacos and save money....

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Choosing the Perfect Tortilla Press

Mr. Homegrown

April 9, 2014

Food

17 Comments

...bag inserted into the tortilla press. The last step is to heat them on the stove for one minute on each side. Making your own masa from scratch is much harder (I tried it once for tamales and found that it’s a job best outsourced). But you can bet I’ve bought my last supermarket corn tortilla. From now on they’ll be made in our own cast iron press. Update: One of the members of the LA Bread Bakers, Gloria, put her vote in for the traditional wood...

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