“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” ― Desiderius Erasmus I have wanted to write a post with book recommendations on the topics of simplicity and food—I cannot separate the two—since I began writing my blog. I haven’t read all the books that […]
self reliance
Fermenting Versus Canning
Updated 06/11/17 fermentation noun fer·men·ta·tion \ˌfər-mən-ˈtā-shən, –ˌmen-\ “[The] process by which microbes consume sugars and produce acid, alcohol and gases.” — from The Good Gut “The transformative action of microorganisms.” — from The Art of Fermentation Often when I discuss fermentation, people say to me “Cool! I’ve always wanted to try canning.” Before I started fermenting […]
How to Brew a Fermented Bloody Mary
Although this fermented Bloody Mary contains live cultures, I wouldn’t recommend guzzling these as part of a health regime. They certainly taste delicious though! Fermented Tomatoes In place of V8 or tomato juice, I use fermented tomatoes for this Bloody Mary. Fermented tomatoes don’t have that sauerkraut flavor that many other fermented vegetables do. They […]
How to Make Ginger Beer
I am not advocating anything illegal here. I merely want to point out that unless authorities ban ginger, sugar and water, anyone under the age of 21 or living in a dry state such as Tennessee can make alcoholic ginger beer pretty easily. Ginger beer tastes like grown up ginger-ale with a spicy kick that burns the […]
SCOBY Do’s and Don’ts: Your Top Kombucha Questions Answered
In 2014, I discovered that I absolutely love teaching fermentation (who knew?). My kombucha students have lots of questions during and after class so I thought I better write up an FAQ page. I’ll add more to this as more questions arise. If you have one that I haven’t addressed here, please ask away in […]
Compost for the Lazy: Throw It on the Ground
Compost can save the world! It sucks carbon dioxide out of the air and not only that, a half-inch layer of this black gold can still increase yields six years after its application. I had been composting in our community bins for nearly 10 years—and for several years before that at my house—but decided to start a rogue […]
My Transition to Full On Hippie Is Complete: Solar-Baked Kale Chips
Updated 06/19/17 I loved my Easy-Bake Oven as a little girl. Every fall when the Sears Christmas Wish Book arrived, I pored over the pages featuring the small boxes of cake mixes and circled the flavors I hoped to find under the tree. Today I shudder to think of the ingredients those little packets contained. But as […]
In My Local News: Waste Not, Want Not
My local papers, the Palo Alto Weekly and the Mountain View Voice, featured a story about my zero-waste kitchen this past weekend in print and online. I didn’t realize I would be on the cover of the weekend section of the Voice. What a nice surprise! If you would like to read the article, click […]
Thumb Your Nose at Big Soda: Naturally Carbonated Lemonade
Click here to jump to the recipe This past Monday, summer arrived here in Silicon Valley. I could hear kids splashing in the pool outside. The ice cream truck, which, oddly, plays “Little Brown Jug,” resumed trolling the neighborhood. And with school about to end, parents went into panic mode. But something else tipped me off that summer […]