In light of lead paint and toxic chemicals showing up in plastic and wood toys made in China, what alternatives can parents use for toys? Is anyone aware of handmade toy manufacturers here in the States? What about making toys at home, such as cloth dolls? My grandmother used to make me the best dolls, [...]
Archive for August, 2007
Traditional toymaking
Posted in Artisanship, DIY on August 30, 2007 | 5 Comments »
Raw almonds no longer raw
Posted in Issues, Peasant Farming on August 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
If you are concerned about such things, note that California (one of the world’s largest almond producers) is enforcing a mandatory pasteurization for all almonds as of September 1st. This will subject raw almonds to the unappetizing process of either gassing with propylene oxide, or treatment by blanching or oil roasting. If you want to [...]
Artifice by more natural means
Posted in Peasant Food At Home, Peasanthood Reflections on August 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Nigella Lawson confessed in her cookbook Feast to a penchant for “creating artifice by more natural means.” By this she referred to such projects as baking graham crackers, cheap and available in every grocery store, by hand at home.
I have the same impulses. Have you ever had homemade wheat crackers, for instance? Delicious. A Martha Stewart [...]
Pannkakor (Swedish pancakes)
Posted in Peasant Food At Home on August 25, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Mix in order, gently:
1 cup flour, 1 tsp salt- whisk together
2 cups milk- add gradually, stirring
2 lightly beaten eggs
2-3 tbsp melted butter
Mix only til combined; do not beat. Heat a little butter in a small frying pan over medium heat and pour in enough batter to coat the bottom thinly. Swirl around to spread. Fry [...]
Bring back the milkman!
Posted in Peasant Drink on August 21, 2007 | 4 Comments »
Daily or weekly deliveries of fresh dairy and eggs are disappearing from the world, although I’ve read that a few are still left in the UK.
I grew up on raw milk. In school I wouldn’t touch the watery, paper-flavored liquid they served us in the little cartons. I finally started drinking commercial milk in college.
Economics [...]
May Our Suburbs be Glorified
Posted in Wit & Wisdom, suburban exiles on August 20, 2007 | 2 Comments »
“I still hold…that the suburbs ought to be either glorified by romance and religion or else destroyed by fire from heaven, or even by firebrands from the earth.”
- G.K. Chesterton, The Coloured Land
What follows Chesterton’s “or” is, I’m sure, a dark fantasy many of us can admit to entertaining in the bleaker moments of our [...]
Lawns are overrated
Posted in Container & Small-plot Gardening, Peasanthood Reflections on August 15, 2007 | 6 Comments »
I like the visual that came with this blog template, first and most of all because it didn’t require me to learn any html or other wizardry to set up. However I also think it neatly represents those of us who are living in the confining uniformity of suburbia while trying to peer beneath it [...]
A better deodorant
Posted in Personal Care on August 13, 2007 | 4 Comments »
One of the philosophies I’m pursuing in trying to create a simpler, cleaner, more natural home is to reduce the number of single-use products I buy. By this I mean products which have one specific use and no other. The idea behind this is one of thrift as well as environmental impact. Behind every product [...]
Old bread
Posted in Peasant Food Out & About, Peasanthood Reflections on August 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After moving to the Bay Area a couple years ago, I of course was curious to taste the sourdough bread, which you can get here in most grocery stores. A small “boule”- for some reason Californians often use this French term for a round, squat loaf- is perfect for a dinner for two and toast [...]
Attracting wildlife to your pots
Posted in Container & Small-plot Gardening, Critters on August 9, 2007 | 4 Comments »
I’m not going to get a lot of critters coming up on my first-floor balcony, but I do get fly-by visitors. The zinnia and fuschia pot has been a good combination for butterflies and hummingbirds. Bees go wild over my big lavender plant. I really enjoy coming home from work and seeing a honeybee clinging [...]
