As the temperatures are slowly rising here, I got into gardening on the weekend and gave my little backyard some much-needed attention. Unfortunately, one part of that attention was dedicated to farewelling most of our herbs. They just hadn’t managed to keep going due to our dry (yet warm) winter. Now, I know that not […]
Food preservation – overview
Food preservation is not the sexiest topic but something to keep in mind when you’re working with whole foods and fresh produce. For example, I get a veggie box once a week but I can’t cook it all up in one go. Knowing my options for food preservation are awesome in this case. I regularly […]
Sharing books
In my last job, I used to travel quite a bit. This travelling was always on public transport, mainly trains. A frequent announcement on these trains reminded passengers not to litter. I wholeheartedly agree with that, with one exception: reading material. I quite enjoyed finding a newspaper or a book to read while travelling. If […]
Sealing food
If there is one food preservation method I’m not very familiar with, it’s food sealing. Reading about it made me want to try it even less. Food sealing, however, needs to be mentioned because there is a good chance you will have come across it in the form of a vegetable covered in oil. Let […]
Making homemade skin care: melting
I have found melting oils and butters together the easiest way to a skin care product. There are other methods such as cold blending but they require more power. Below I’m describing the basic (double boiler) technique. Tools The tools needed to make your own skin care product are relatively simple. You will need […]
Virtual water and the cost of production
In this blog, I’m talking a lot about making stuff from scratch or reusing what I already have. One of the reasons for this is that in the past I learned and talked a lot about virtual water. Virtual water is the water embedded in everything we consume, from food to clothing and even our […]
Cellaring and storing food
Storing food correctly can greatly increase their life span. I remember growing up that we always had a cellar. At the time I didn’t pay much attention to it and now I wish I would have one. Potatoes, for example, could last up to a year in our cellar. Now, I only have the ‘modern’ […]
On open windows and air exchange
Growing up we had a rule in our house: we had to open our windows at least once a day for at least five minutes, summer and winter, regardless of the outside temperature. This rule stuck with me and I’m starting to understand why when I look at my bathroom walls. Mould and mildew is […]
Pickling food
When I hear ‘pickled food’, my mind usually turns to pickled cucumbers. Pickled cucumbers are easily the most well-known kind of pickled food. But, little did I know that you can pickle all kinds of food. And pickling is actually one of the oldest forms of food preservation. So today, a little run-down of what […]
Urban farms and the story of our veggie box
We are trying to grow a few of our own vegetables in our little backyard. Last season we had tomatoes, chillies, and (almost) zucchini. We enjoy our attempts at growing our own food although we’re not very good at it. The aim though is to show our kids where our food comes from. Our little […]