domestic life

So all this talk about cooking, just ordinary cooking, has gotten me thinking about go-to recipes, the ones you rely on and can do without really thinking. For Michael Ruhlman it’s a roast chicken. Which I’ve got to second. I use Marcella Hazan’s “recipe” which is nothing more than a roast chicken with a...
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I’ve read several articles in the last few days that have me all het up about the food thing. There seems to be a new and annoying meme out there, that eating real food will make one a “slave” to one’s kitchen. That somehow, “cooking from scratch” is so difficult and so time-consuming that...
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what to do with LivingSmall. While the practical posts on cooking, gardening and chickens will, by no means be going away, the focus will be shifting a little bit. There’s been a lot of discussion chez LivingSmall about the recession/depression, and how it’s not going away. Every morning,...
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Here’s an interesting article about buying meat in bulk, including practical tips for those of you who might be interested but don’t know where to start. The Seminal » Food Sunday: I’ll take half a cow and ten chickens please. We’re lucky here in Montana — not only is it pretty easy to find a rancher...
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It’s now the beginning of December and I’m starting to think about Christmas boxes. For most people on my list, I recycle books I’ve read this year, and send homemade edible goodies — we’re all grownups, and we all have too much stuff, and my ideal Christmas is one where there isn’t much Stuff...
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Check out my new piece at Ethicurean.com. Pets vs. Livestock: Cracking Open the Myths about Backyard Chickens. “Last spring I decided that this was the year I was going to finally get some chickens. On a snowy Saturday in March I brought home six tiny cheepers that I bought at my local ranch store in...
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Well that was lovely — Monday was my official “last day” at Cisco (the severance was odd — 2 months as an employee but not working, then a big parting gift payment that is coming in the mail). Anyhow, so there it was, my official last day and I got pinged on Facebook in...
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The chickens spent the first night in their coop last night — we still need to build the fence, but the Carpenter came by and put the door on, and built a ramp for them — I think we’re putting the fence in tonight — they are very funny — they like exploring...
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Things have been a little crazy — work is work, life is good and I’m sort of just enjoying living it without the self-consciousness of blogging. But there are a few things I’ve been meaning to link to – First off — my friend Craig Arnold, who I went to grad school with at Utah,...
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They’re not really hairy, but I couldn’t resist the title. Sorry about the dearth of blogging — I’ve been off falling in love this spring, and well, as much as I adore you all my blog readers, the other guy is kind of distracting, in the best way possible. However, in the meantime, my...
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