Free Japanese smock apron pattern
A free pattern for a simple Japanese-style smock.
a Small and Delicious Life
Common Sense for the New Times
a Small and Delicious Life
Common Sense for the New Times
Category Small and Delicious Life
Clarifying vegetable fermentation
In this article I will identify and clarify as much of this as I can:
•Different goals of fermenting
•Why use an airlock
•Other gear suggestions
•You can use any salt
•Tap water is probably fine
•Botulism is unheard of
Introduction to Sauerkraut
This is a quick introduction to fermented foods, and to fermentation with Fido jars.
Introducing the Cardbanneton
A pattern for a DIY banneton for bâtard loaves.
A quick belt knife
A nice belt knife I whipped up in an evening from a very affordable Mora Knife blade.
Pickle Soup
A delicious way to use homemade fermented dill pickles that are past their prime.
A strong and affordable backyard greenhouse
In the rainy fall weather of the Canadian Pacific southwest, plants like tomatoes and cucumbers can easily develop blights and mildews before the fruit is ripe. If you wander the back alleys of the once-Italian neighbourhood of Vancouver’s Commercial Drive,…
A simple DIY bottle washer
A simple DIY bottle washer for rinsing your homebrew cider or beer bottles. No need to screw it on to your faucet, it slides on.
Tips for making (firm) yogourt.
A collection of trivia, some links, and some science concerning how to make firm yogourt.
The Life and Death of Bun-bun.
The death of a newborn rabbit kit, Bun-bun, occasions a lot of thought.
At the end of the world, there is plenty to do.
“Well, should we just give up then?” If only I had a dollar for every time I have heard this, always from well-meaning people.⊕Well, if I had a dollar for each time, I would be drinking Laphroaig right now, with…
How to make Sauerkraut or pickled vegetables the easiest and cheapest way possible (crocks are for holding umbrellas)
Making ‘kraut is incredibly easy to do, and you will be richly rewarded for your few minutes of work. If you have never made sauerkraut before, feel free to skip down to the instructions. This super easy method requires almost no…
Skill, joy, and shaving.
I wrote this about five years ago, but had no place to publish it. After the topic of his most recent post veered to razors, John Michael Greer suggested I post it. Joy is a thread that runs through our Small and…
Is our localism too artisanal?
I recently reviewed Jean-Martin Fortier’s book The Market Gardener (summary: Excellent. Buy it) and was reminded of a philosophical and yet very practical farming question I asked him over beer. “Since the economy is contracting, and for many reasons we believe…
Review: The Market Gardener. Summary: Excellent.
The first piece of swag to come out of writing this blog hit my mailbox this spring, when I was asked to review Jean-Martin Fortier’s book The Market Gardener. Sadly, they did not also send me a broadfork. Carmen and I…