Harvest Day at Farm Alley

Farm Alley is overflowing with fruits.

We did some harvesting to help out in preserving the tastes of Summer and Fall.

If you live in the Bay Area, and you have kids, this is the destination.

Farm Alley!

The Apple, The Whole Apple, and Nothing But The Apple.

...So help me tree.

   See apple sauce.
An Autumn journey.
   Thank you tree.

Going Native.

Paleotechnics is the Institute of Obsolescence July VIP.

Tamara Wilder is the kind of specialist we honor and recognize!

Please visit her site. She offers a full array of educational opportunities for schools and private parties.

Paleotechnics!

Tamara wearing tanned deerskin dress.

Wild foods collection.

Stringmaking.

SEEDS of CHANCE

In honor of the Label GMOs campaign that is hot and heavy in California right now,

and the decades of attack on our food supply by a company who's name won't be mentioned (M.......o),

and what is becoming the largest experiment on humankind and Earth,

I propose a Quiz to all my loyal followers.

Test your seed IQ. Answers will be posted later.

All seeds shown here are NON-GMO and collected by me from plants grown year after year with seeds saved from the previous years.

The IOO is committed to the simplifying of life. Genetic engineering is just too complicated and will not have a good ending as it separates us from the very Earth that has provided all we need for thousands of years. The IOO supports selective breeding and co-creation with nature.

Feeling Cultured?

I feel like making yogurt...
mostly because we have so many Nancy's containers building up around the house.
We reuse them for many things, but have still hit our tipping point.

Plain Yogurt is simple and healthy, and even some lactose intolerant people can eat it since the process involves the yogurt cultures consuming the lactose in the milk.

Most historical accounts attribute yogurt to the Neolithic peoples of Central Asia around 6000 B.C.. Read more.


If you learn best by reading, check out this site with yogurt making instructions. The technique is slightly different from the video which uses a single pot boiling method.


If you are more visual, check out this video.

I will report back on my experiments. I am sensing homemade fro-yo this Summer...

The Descendants...

Sourdough offspring!

Before.

After.

My personal before/after may not be so wonderful. Wish me luck.

To try this recipe, which is much easier than the Extra Tangy, go here.

The Art of Sourdough. Day 2.

Extra Tangy Continued:

Day 2: Good Morning Dough!

After 5 hours out and 14 hours in fridge.

Step 1: Add remaining ingredients. Flour, salt and sugar. Knead.

Just after kneading.

Step 2: Let it sit for the first rising. Then divide and let rise again.

After 2.5 hours of rising. You can see it doubled!
It will now sit for another 2-4 hours for the second rising.

After 2 hours.

After 2.5 hours. Slits made and ready for oven.

Step 3: Bake it. Hurray!

425 F for 35 minutes.

To try this, go to King Arthur Flour.

The Art of Sourdough. Day 1.

Order Up: Extra Tangy Please...

Step 1: Feed the starter in preparation for Day 1. Add flour and water and let it sit out overnight.

Day 1: Measure 1 cup of "fed" starter to 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water and 3 cups flour. Stir vigorously. Let sit out 4 hours then into the fridge overnight. Refrigeration of the dough causes more acetic acid to form yielding a more tangy taste.

This is the dough just after stirring.