Nance Klemn is in Los Angeles and She’s Teaching Classes!

...ce Klemn’s upcoming classes. Not to be missed! February 19: An Herbal Mead Making Salon. More info here. February 21: Herbal Tinctures with Wild Plants The workshop will be from 1 – 4 p.m. and will be held at Bailey Canyon in Sierra Madre, a lovely, lush, narrow canyon that extends way up into the San Gabriel Mountains. We will take a walk in the lower canyon, visiting and collecting some of the early spring growth (and possibly roots), then gathe...

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De-Cluttering for DIYers, Homesteaders, Artists, Preppers, etc.

...ous endeavors. You can be practical, creative and yet streamlined I tell myself this. It’s hard to break the habits of a lifetime. And honestly, I’m in this boat with you, so I don’t have all the answers. All I have are working ideas, as follows: #1 Project driven accumulation, with deadlines. This is a simple behavior adjustment, but one which will be difficult for many of us. No more picking something up out off the street or at the thrift store...

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Bread Camp at the Greystone Mansion

...h-baked loaves, whole grain breads, pretzels, parchment crackers, tortilla-making and pizza dough 101. What’s more, many of our recipes will be baked in MOMO a wood-fired mobile bread oven! Don’t worry, home oven baking instructions will be included in your class handouts along with places to source the best flour, grain, equipment and tips. Highlights include: Assembling your own take-home wild yeast starter Grinding fresh flour on the spot from...

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Shakerato (Why don’t you come to your senses?)

...fee mixed in a cocktail shaker. Making one is much easier than hauling yourself down to that dreaded temple of middlebrowedness whose green siren logo will lead us all to financial ruin and sugar-induced comas. No, you don’t need another Frappuccino. Making a shakerato is simple. Brew some strong coffee (espresso is best, but I don’t have an espresso maker). Let the coffee cool down (this is important–add the ice too soon, and the coffee gets dilu...

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Hoshigaki Season!

...art more. Here’s what they look like when completed. If you’ve never tried making hoshigaki, a kind of transcendent dried fruit product that’s very expensive to buy, I can report that it’s one of the more worthwhile DIY projects on this blog and we’ve got directions here. EaterLA has a post on different methods and the history of the practice. Our original post on the subject resulted in one of the more surreal episodes over the years running this...

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