Preparing For El Niño Storms

January 5, 2016

...pletely clogged with loose asphalt roofing material. Channeled some of the water from our gutters to the backyard garden. Since our house is on the hill I have to send the rest of the water down to the street, unfortunately. Made sure to have working flashlights with fully charged batteries. Our electricity has gotten increasingly unreliable over recent years. Charged the 2 meter ham radio (it’s also a scanner). Got a supply of dry goods that can...

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How to Make Your Own DIY Instant Oatmeal

Mrs. Homegrown

March 24, 2016

Food, How-to, Recipes

6 Comments

...ng 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 put a nic...

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Waxed Cloth Food Wrap (Made in a solar oven for bonus self-righteousness points)

Mrs. Homegrown

June 2, 2016

Domesticus, Food, How-to, Solar Oven Summer

8 Comments

...wax cloth will dry out more quickly than it would in plastic, and it’s not watertight, so it’s not good for drippy/juicy things. Also, it’s not recommended for wrapping meat, because it can’t be cleaned with hot water. But it works very well for wrapping things like cheese and sandwiches, cookies, nuts, carrot sticks, etc. In my testing so far I’ve settled on using my cloths as snack carriers, using them to wrap up trail mix or carrots or chunks o...

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Solar Oven Triumph: Fluffy Egg Strata

Mrs. Homegrown

July 5, 2016

Recipes, Solar, Solar Oven Summer

10 Comments

...bread. Let it soak in. The bread might float a bit before it takes enough water aboard to sink. You should have pretty good coverage of the bread. A little poking above the eggs is fine. The bread needs time to soak so it really breaks down. The magical thing about strata is that the bread and egg and cheese meld into one, creating a magical new substance if given a chance. So give it an hour at least– or better, make it the night before you cook...

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Quick Tip: DIY Decaf Tea

Mrs. Homegrown

August 5, 2014

Domesticus, Food, How-to

16 Comments

...tea as you normally would, but start counting as soon as you pour the hot water. After at least 30 seconds but no more than 1 minute you pour off all of what has brewed so far. And yes, that’s all the good stuff. It’s sad, but being all headachey and jittery is sad too, so I do it. Then you top off the tea leaves with fresh hot water and start the brew again. This one you drink. Commercially decaf tea is lower in caffeine than this homebrew–just...

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