A few days ago I came across this Huffington Post article entitled "Why are Young, Educated Americans Going Back to the Farm?" (found via ColdAntlerFarm). My great-grandmother witnessed the beginning of the transition from farm to city, so it's interesting to witness some reversal only a few generations later. I especially resonated with Kelly Coffman's quote:

"When you have [a liberal arts] education, you get to a point where you realize wait, I need to have a more basic fundamental education about being human. Food, water, shelter...these things are important."

Returning to the basics is a quest I began several years ago--in fact, it's one of the main reasons I went Wwoofing, and it's why I enjoy making as many necessities as I can, starting as close to "from scratch" as I can. The kitchen is one area I've mentioned before, what with my bread, granola, etc; clothing is another. In a way, even refurbishing secondhand furniture is my way of understanding the items I live with at their most basic level, for nothing has taught me more about the materials and construction of an upholstered chair than doing it myself (and one of these days, I'll actually finish it!*). I haven't bought shampoo or conditioner in years, opting instead to use a baking soda rinse to clean my hair and an apple-cider vinegar rinse to condition it. And on that note, I also make my own foundation, although that is not a necessity. I am even nearly finished gathering the supplies I need to make my own shoes (Andrew Wrigley has a great series on making semi-brogues here).

These little acts are nothing groundbreaking--well, my shoe-making aspirations raise some eyebrows--and they may not hold much significance to anyone but myself. I still use quite a few things I don't understand--like my computer, the Internet, electricity, my car, not to mention the "scratch" ingredients like baking soda, cotton fabric, zinc oxide. There are a few drawbacks to this sort of "fundamental education," too. Time is the major factor, and money can be another. Although I end up saving quite a bit, some of these projects require an initial investment in supplies, and that is an investment I may not be able to make at the time. That is why I am thankful for responsibly formulated products like Desert Essence's deodorant or Trader Joe's multipurpose cleaner. And these little acts don't arise out of any sort of activism--I consider them more thoughtful and cheap than "green." But they do mark my determination to understand more about the things I depend upon, more about the processes city-life tends to occlude in favor of the products.

*this is the major drawback to getting back to the basics: the time it takes to complete these projects

P.S. Agrarian and Neo-Agrarian thinkers articulate the reasons behind this return to the fundamentals beautifully. I recommend I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition and The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry.

So I bake my own bread, which means I've tried many, many recipes for whole grain loaves. I am always looking for the holy grail of recipes.

Now, I am not writing to say I've discovered it; I'll keep looking and experimenting. But my search did lead me to this great website, The Fresh Loaf. It is a community of "amateur artisan bakers and bread enthusiasts" that hosts tutorials, forums, and of course, recipes. I just tried the aromatic and delicious Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread (sans raisins, since I didn't have those on hand and using active dry yeast in place of the instant). It didn't rise as much as some other recipes I've tried, but I think that was in my technique today rather than in the recipe. It is worth practicing to get this bread perfected.

Some of the other recipes I'm eager to try include Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Pretzels, Bagels, and Pain Aux Raisins and Cream Cheese Snails (these most assuredly).

I love to wear aprons in the kitchen--not only are they useful for protecting my clothes from puffs of flour and splashes of tomato sauce, but also they help to set baking and cooking apart from my other household activities. Culinary pursuits require full-front aprons. Thus, when I set about sewing one, I drafted a full apron that slips over the head and ties in the back.

My inspiration for the design came from vintage patterns, particularly ones from the 1950s with scalloped hems. In order to accentuate the tulip hem and bodice edges, I bound them with black and white gingham, while I used French seams (my favorite and possibly overused finishing technique) to increase the apron's durability. Afterall, I hope this will see me through many a baking marathon!

You can also see this project in my BurdaStyle entry, Vintage-Inspired Apron.

Would you like to know what a day off looks like in baked goods?

• 2 loaves of whole wheat bread
• 3 loaves of pumpkin bread
• 2 dozen molasses cookies
• 2 dozen miniature blueberry bagels
• 2 dozen blueberry-lemon muffins

Part of the impetus behind this freezer-filling array was the impending expiration of nearly a dozen eggs. I bought them before Christmas break and, what with traveling and all, hadn't gotten a chance to use them all up yet.

I'm looking forward to trying one of my bagels with the blueberry jam I made in December--it seems I've been on a blueberry binge lately.

Sunday's my day for baking, and this week I've made some rather delicious spinach and cheese calzones. It was simple but time-consuming, but then that's what I like about Sunday's slower pace. I made up a recipe for light whole wheat bread dough from one of my favorite bread cookbooks, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Hertzberg and Francois) and then mixed a few things together for the filling:

~a couple handfuls of that wonderful convenience, frozen chopped spinach

~about 8 ounces of ricotta cheese (the rest of the container is going in next week's lasagna)

~one egg

~some onion (I keep chopped red onion in the freezer)

~2 cloves of garlic

I sauteed the onion and garlic before adding them to the spinach-ricotta-egg mixture, and then I stretched out roll-sized handfuls of dough into circles (more or less), filled them with about 1/2 cup filling, and then folded the edges together and crimped them with a fork. I brushed each with an egg wash before baking them for about half an hour at 450 degrees. They smell so good.

The rest of the bread dough is in the freezer--I hope that's okay! I'll probably use it to make pizza at some time or another, so it's not imperative that it rise anymore.

The only other thing I made today is a concentrate for chai. I used this recipe (minus the additional sugar) and quite like it.

North Carolina (at least my part of it) is covered in snow--6-8 inches, I'd say, which is just enough to keep the neighborhood chicos busy running around and pelting each other with frozen missiles. Outside my window are interlaced lines of happy footprints.

Although my roommate is scoffing at the two-day shut down of businesses (she lived last in Rhode Island), there is good reason: the roads are pretty bad, even the main ones. But it's the little connecting roads and parking lots that are especially tricky. I just had to cross my fingers and hope my car could get up enough traction to bump over the mounds of snow surrounding my poor car this morning. It did and I only arrived at church 15 minutes late to join the faithful few who managed to drive in, too (faithful? or optimistic? or daft? Probably the latter).

But now I'm back at home, waiting for my bread to finish its second rise and gearing up to throw my granola ingredients together so that I can bake both simultaneously. My pot is soaking after the macaroni and cheese, and my week's dinner is tucked away in the fridge. I've just finished a hot cup of cocoa from a mix I make regularly, along with two chocolate chip cookies I baked last week. It feels good to know what goes into the food I eat, and it feels good to save money by making things from scratch. But the biggest reason I make these things for myself is to stay connected, really; to keep mindful of the process, perhaps, and not just the product. I suppose it's like the difference between killing a chicken and buying frozen chicken breasts. You'll eat meat either way but one comes with an awareness of the life and death of the chicken and the other does not. You couldn't tell what sort of creature the chicken was just by looking in the Tyson's bag. It's disconnected from the real chicken.

These are the things I think about while puttering around the kitchen.

Welcome to

my little place

in Carrboro.

here's a close up of one my favorite spots in the whole apartment--complete with my ever-present clear glass canisters and mixing bowls and things I love to use.

I still have much to do before I'm finished dressing up these various niches, but I couldn't wait to share what I've done thus far. I think I was made to set up house.

Later on this month (when I have internet at the Little Place), I plan to give you a proper tour, replete with details and chatty household tips. Stop on by in about a month!

If I were overwhelmed with money to spend on the house, I would put in a bid for this lovely set of cane table and chairs--


--painted white (my answer to everything), wouldn't they look stunning in a nook in the living room or kitchen or even the bedroom? And no, I am not buying furniture off of ebay; scrolling through is simply how I appease my craigslist addiction.

I love that Denmark resident Tracy Lorna Nors used floorboards to make her coffee-table top. (you can find more pictures of her lovely home via decor8blog here. Isn't this lovely?



If I were to make a coffee table, I would cover the apron with four-by-four inch pressed tin tiles painted in an antique white, perhaps in a single row design like this



or this



But that will all come later. Right now I'm just looking for an inexpensive wooden coffee table with decent proportions. I will keep scanning craigslist or my lovely local thrift stores for that.

I'll also need some sort of desk, but as I don't really like sitting at one (start to get antsy), I've decided to look for a rolling cart instead, something that will hold my printer at the bottom, my various accessories like cd-drive, cords, keyboard in a drawer, and my laptop on the top. When I am done with it, I can just roll it away, out of sight. Now, carts are expensive so I'm toying with the idea of finding an end table with two shelves or a shelf and a drawer (even better) and putting casters on it. It seems like that would suit my needs well. Something along the lines of this, your typical second-hand end table, only with wheels (and painted white, of course)--

a few more needs

My household furnishings are coming together as I get ready for the big move at the end of July. I absolutely cannot wait to put it all together--and put it all together in the appropriate amount of space. My own bedroom here looks like a warehouse, and I've also got pieces scattered throughout my parents' house and in the garage. But I've got the big pieces (sofa, side chairs, dining table, hutch, side table, wall unit, dresser, bed) and really only lack a few more dining chairs and a coffee table. I am so grateful for craigslist.

The kitchen, however, is quite understocked. I wrote out a list of what I'll need and phew! it's overwhelming. But I like finding that sort of thing and so will keep combing the thrift stores. Shall I write it out? Here goes...

*French press (Ikea 12-cup)
*teapot
*tea kettle (K)
*1 airbake cookie sheet
*2 half-sheet pans (K)
*dutch oven (P)
*casserole dishes--square + rectangle, preferably with lids
*4 sets flatware + extra spoons (K?)
*large mixing bowl
*medium mixing bowl
*reusable food containers (jars with lids, flat stacking)
*bucket with lid
*cutting boards--large + small

*measuring cups
*measuring spoons
*bamboo spoons
*ladle
*spatulas
*can opener

*2 square potholders (get batting Friday June 5th at Hancock's)
*dishtowels
*napkins (cloth)
*hand mixer
*food processor (K)
*vacuum
*mop
*mop bucket
*broom
*dustpan (?)
*fly swatter

*soap dispenser for kitchen and bath
*microwave?