Links and Articles to Share

Some things that caught my attention this week...

• We recently switched our dish soap and laundry detergent based on the Environmental Working Groups "Guide to Healthy Cleaning" report. Here they explain how they graded all those products.

• Mark Bittman in the NY Times... yes, pesticides are very very bad for us... especially children. 

•  Which got me thinking about how I need to upgrade the filters in our Big Berkey to the black ones which do a better job of removing pesticides than the originals.     

•  I just bought some organic instant coffee to make these Pfeffernuesse (although obviously not with Crisco... time to render some more lard). 

• Before next summer I want to figure out a way to (easily) save grey water for the garden. Maybe the shower bucket is a good start. (although I'd want to run a sump-pump and hose through the window so I don't have to haul the bucket outside constantly. I know my limits.)

•  I used to make truffles every year, usually with Chambord ganache. These salted caramel truffles look amazing. Now if I could only successfully temper chocolate... (and find time - seed starting and cleaning the chicken house definitely take priority).