Primitive Grain Storage Technique

November 4, 2013

Appropriate Technology, Food Preservation, How-to, Preparedness

...the sides of the pit sucks the moisture out of the soil at the edges, and uses it to attempt to germinate. The germination process sucks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, effectively clearing the chamber of oxygen. At that point, as Neil puts it, “Time stops.” Nothing can grow, nothing changes. The grain cache keeps for at least a year, perhaps two years, and provided a very handy safety backup for hard working iron age farmers. And some ver...

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Can Whole Wheat Solve the Wheat Allergy Problem?

Mr. Homegrown

November 21, 2013

Bread, Food

15 Comments

...e were made with whole wheat flour. While he does use some white sugar, he uses it very sparingly. Like most bakers he’s in a difficult position in our anti-gluten era. While acknowledging gluten sensitivities, Ponsford believes the problem is more complex and that the solution may be in looking at older forms of wheat as well as the way wheat is milled and baked. The “whole wheat” breads one finds at the supermarket are made with flour that has h...

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Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2014

Bread, Food

23 Comments

...the weekend was spent analyzing what can go wrong and how to fix it–the causes of over-proofing, under-proofing, bad color etc. If you’re scaling ingredients, noting the temperature and controlling variables as best you can, it’s a matter of deduction to correct mistakes. It’s been my experience that after practicing with a particular bread recipe over and over again I can tell by appearance when a loaf is going to succeed or fail. The ideal brea...

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The Elf and Ethics

Mr. Homegrown

April 22, 2014

Bikes, Transportation

9 Comments

...ents exist for and against this type of transportation. On the one hand it uses far fewer resources than an automobile. But one could also argue, as does the owner of a bike shop in this video, that we’d all be better off with a far simpler and less expensive bicycle. I can see both sides of the argument. Perhaps younger folks should take to bicycles and older people or those with disabilities or heavy cargo could use something like an Elf. Plus t...

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What’s the Best Solar Food Dryer?

Mr. Homegrown

June 10, 2014

Food, Food Preservation, Solar, Water and Power

15 Comments

...works great. You do need to remember to bring in the food at night to prevent rehydration and spoilage (for some reason I often flake out and forget to bring in the food). For awhile I had an electric Excalibur Dehydrator on loan and it’s a lot more convenient. But, of course, it uses electricity and makes a lot of noise. Since I built my Appalachian Dryer Scanlin has decided that it’s not necessary to use insulation. This makes the project even s...

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