A small group of herbology and primitive engineering students from The Human Path and the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine will be joining the non-profit organization Missions of Grace to travel to remote communities in Nicaragua in November 2012. In Nicaragua, in partnership with local communities, we will be participating in health care clinics along… Continue reading Zombies invade Nicaragua fundraiser event
In my previous post, I described how to render fat to make lard. In this post, I will show you how turn that lard into homemade lye soap (cold process) that’s better than anything you’ll ever buy in the store. Before I begin, I should note that this post has lots of information. Don’t let… Continue reading Making Homemade Piggie Soap
Rendering fat is much easier than you might expect. All you need is a good stock pot, some heat-proof utensils and bowls, and… some fat to render. It’s a great way to use “waste” products and turn them into either tasty stirfry or, better yet, homemade soap. To get the fat, you can take the… Continue reading Rendering fat for cooking and soapmaking
One important aspect of “survival” and self-sufficiency is being able to cook tasty food that is both inexpensive and simple to prepare. Recently I was going through a bit of ‘food fatigue’ where my usual dinner fare just wasn’t exciting me, and I found myself wanting to pick up BBQ or something on the way… Continue reading Mmmm… the world’s best meatballs!
Usually, yogurt making is fool-proof. This week I made nine pints of yogurt using my food dehydrator, since the outdoor daytime temperatures aren’t anywhere near 100°, which is necessary for porchgurt. I have an Excalibur 4 tray dehydrator like the one in the image here. I take out the trays and there’s just enough space… Continue reading Grainy indoor yogurt
A million uses for pig fat. Well, maybe there aren’t so many. But it was an interesting discussion as part of The Human Path’s recent day-long class on processing large game taught by wildlife biologist Greg Pleasant. In the class, we learned how to humanely kill, bleed out, quarter, butcher, and render an entire wild… Continue reading From hoof to sausage: processing a wild hog from start to finish
Here in Central Texas, it seemed to everyone as if summer would never end. A record number of days over 100° and no rain was tough going for people, gardens, and wildlife. Many lakes are dry, and their previously-submerged treasures – buildings, artifacts and even cemeteries – are now exposed. The Pedernales River is nothing… Continue reading Winter approacheth…
I did it. As of this week, I have no detergents in my regular cleaning lineup. Instead, I am using a combination of natural soaps and other products. Laundry detergent: Dr. Bronner’s Citrus Castile Liquid Soap, borax and washing soda. Shampoo: Kiss My Face Olive Oil Bar Soap (I was using “shampoo bars” but discovered… Continue reading Detergent-free household
When a food dehydrator comes into your life, what do you do? You make jerky! An Excalibur food dehydrator became part of my kitchen gear, thanks to my friend Russ. While I like jerky, I don’t eat it often because most of the time, the stuff you buy at a store is either cheap, unpalatable… Continue reading Making Homemade Beef Jerky
Thanks to the Urban Farming Guys there’s a great video on how to do this… In my quest to save money and use safer products around my home, I decided to try making my own laundry detergent. The HOW: My ingredients: Washing Soda: $3.69 at Breed & Co. Borax: about $7 at Wheatsville Co-Op, but… Continue reading Make your own laundry soap
Surviving the Modern World 