Quick Tip: DIY Decaf Tea

August 5, 2014

...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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An Ancient Quince Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

September 26, 2014

Food, Food Preservation, Fruit Trees, Gardening

16 Comments

...website, but to summarize you simply cook quince in equal parts honey and water until it turns red. The addition of a small amount of cracked pepper cuts the sweetness ever so slightly. You can then process the jars in a hot water bath. The end result is quince slices preserved in honey. It turned out great and, without having to worry about the jell point, reduced the anxiety level associated with preserving my entire harvest at once. Do you hav...

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Saturday Linkages: Mobile Pods, Soil Erosion and Getting Doored by a Porta-Potty

Mr. Homegrown

June 14, 2014

Saturday Linkages

2 Comments

...IMEHealth Maybe there’s hope? Report Offers a Way For California to Become Water-Sustainable http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/commentary/report-offers-a-way-for-california-to-become-water-sustainable.html … Man on bike strikes porta-potty door; two hurt: http://bit.ly/1pisQdq Could a medicine used to treat gout also save our citrus? http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/could-a-medicine-used-to-treat-gout-also-save-...

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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

...de each day. In one test, the Appalachian dryer removed 32 oz. (0.95 L) of water during ta day, while the Brace direct dryer removed only 20 oz/ (0.59 L), and the Poisson dryer only 15 oz. (0.44 L). The Appalachian dryer was able to remove as much as 3.73 lb. (1.69 kg) of water in a single sunny day from tomatoes drying inside. Scanlin also notes that direct dryers degrade the quality of the food and possibly nutritional value due to direct UV exp...

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Cooking Bread in a Dutch Oven and Alternative Steaming Techniques

Mr. Homegrown

February 12, 2013

Bread, Food

14 Comments

...ve side. There are other steaming methods. I used to throw a shot glass of water in the oven–it just doesn’t work as well and, I’ve been told, can damage some ovens. I’ve also tried preheating a roasting pan and then pouring water in it, but it doesn’t work as well as the Dutch oven. And I was really surprised to read about an elaborate steaming technique that involves a length of chain in a roasting pan described in the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook. T...

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