Want some tips from a professional caterer and chef on how to make better meals at home and throw awesome parties? Listen to our 50th podcast episode with author and chef Jennie Cook of Jennie Cooks Catering. During the show we discuss: Secrets to vegan cooking Tips for healthy home cooking Roasting vegetables Making your […]
Our guest this week is organic beekeeper and gardener Patrick Pynes. I met Patrick through a comment he left on a blog post I did about Africanized bees. We talk about this subject as well as top bar hives and what it means to keep bees, as Patrick puts it, “beecentrically.” Patrick’s website is Honeybee […]
On this week’s podcast we discuss our new low flow toilet and the concept of humanure. During the show we mention: Toto Eco Promenade The toilet passage of David Foster Wallace’s essay A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again The Humanure Handbook Brad Lancaster’s humanure system The Water-Wise Home by Laura Allen If you […]
Our guest this week is my East Coast doppelganger, Eric Rochow of Gardenfork.tv (who also interviewed me on GardenFork Radio episode 377). Eric covers all kinds of DIY topics: everything from gardening, to beekeeping to slow cooking to, well, just about anything you can think of. He also produces an excellent podcast. During our interview […]
In this special Catcast, we talk to Dr. Tracy McFarland, who was our guest on Episode 36, about caring for older cats. During the podcast we discuss: Signs you need to take the cat to the vet Dental disease Oxifresh oral hygene The dietary needs of older cats Dry or wet food? Obesity Arthritis Kidney disease […]
In episode 45, Kelly and Erik discuss whole grain baking, specifically a workshop the Los Angeles Bread Bakers put on featuring the very talented Dave Miller. The picture is of the bread Dave baked in the workshop. Clockwise from upper left: einkorn, sonora wheat, charcoal wheat and spelt/rye. Miller was featured prominently in Michael Pollan’s […]
Our guest this week is Daniel Kent, creator of the Cabin Textbook Dweller’s Textbook and Dean of Beverages at the Institute of Domestic Technology. In our first outdoor podcast (recorded in the mountains near a creek) Kelly, Daniel and I discuss: Daniel’s carbonated shower Gin and Tonic theory Carbonated Coffee Kelly and Erik’s carbonation system […]
Yvonne Savio is the Master Gardener Coordinator for UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County. In this episode of the podcast we pick her brain about: Why you should grow your own food. Favorite vegetables. How to harvest vegetables. How to prepare a vegetable garden. Making compost. The problems with municipal compost. Raised beds vs. […]
Our guest this week is Kreigh Hampel, recycling coordinator for the city of Burbank, a city of over 104,000 people within Los Angeles County. The title of this podcast, “The Tailpipe of Consumption” is from Kreigh’s own words. I think, after listening to the show, you’ll appreciate why Kreigh, who has to deal with the […]
Kelly and Erik discuss some of the unusual sounds heard around the Root Simple compound: chickens, cats, bees and, yes, Kaiser Permanente’s music on hold. If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to rootsimple@gmail.com. You can subscribe to our podcast in the […]
Our guest on the podcast is the one and only Kirk Anderson, a natural, no-treatment beekeeper and our mentor. Kirk tells a lot of funny stories and shares his wisdom on how to keep bees in a big city. During the podcast we discuss: Mean bees Africanized bees Treating bees Buying package bees vs. collecting […]
Our guest this week is Peter Kalmus who is, among many things, a physicist, a climate scientist, a gardener, a beekeeper, a cyclist and the father of two boys. In our conversation he discusses his “Be-Cycling” response to climate change. Through a series of lifestyle changes he has reduced his personal CO2 emissions from 20 […]
On this week’s episode of the Root Simple podcast we talk with Nance Klehm about The Ground Rules. Nance’s project gathers waste from restaurants and institutions in Chicago, composts that waste and then uses the resulting compost along with mushrooms and plants to bioremediate damaged urban soils. Nance describes The Ground Rules as “re-imagining waste […]
When our electric toaster broke, I did a post about my attempt to fix it and my search for non-electric alternatives. This led to my conversation on this week’s episode of the Root Simple Podcast with Ed Dulles, inventor of the DeltaToast, a stove-top alternative to the conventional electric toaster. We discuss Ed’s transition from […]
Our guest this week is veterinarian Dr. Tracy McFarland DMV, founder of the Cat Doctor and Friends–a cat-only veterinary practice in Santa Clarita, CA. Dr. Tracy is our veterinarian, even though Santa Clarita is a bit of a haul from Los Angeles. We commute to see her, because she’s that good. And we are thrilled […]
On the Valentines day episode of the Root Simple podcast, Tara Kolla, owner of Silver Lake Farms discusses why you should care where your flowers come from. Tara grows and sells flowers right in the heart of Los Angeles. You can find her flowers at the Hollywood Farmers Market and at a pop-up that will take […]
On episode 34 Kelly and Erik discuss their experience decluttering the house using the methods of Marie Kondo. During the discussion we mention: Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors Center on Everyday Lives of Families Tokyo: A Certain Style (a book that shows cluttered Japanese apartments) The Life-Changing Magic […]
Joanne Poyourow of Environmental Change-Makers tells the story of her part in trying to ban GMO seeds in Los Angeles. During the show Joanne mentions: David King of the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA) Seed Freedom LA for more info about GMOs or for info on how to make your city or county GMO-free. […]
In episode 32 of the Root Simple Podcast I talk with Nan Kohler, owner and miller at Grist & Toll, a mill in Pasadena, California–and the first mill to operate in the L.A. area in the last one hundred years. We discuss varieties of wheat, the health benefits of whole grains, how to work with […]
On the last podcast of the year, we review our 2014 New Year’s resolutions (Erik’s and Kelly’s)–what worked and what didn’t. Then we look at the goals we’d like to achieve in 2015. Lastly, we head out into the backyard to see the secret project Erik has been working on while Kelly was away for […]
With Kelly off visiting family, I’ve put together a short and simple podcast this week. I read my blog post, Let’s Talk About the Holidays and the reader comments. I conclude with, of course, some Bulgarian Christmas bagpipe music. Links: A reader mentions two blog posts about parenting during the holidays: When Mommy and Daddy […]
On the holiday edition of the Root Simple Podcast, Kelly and I discuss non-electric toasters, Kelly takes a pledge and we conclude with a conversation about compostable Christmas decor. During the podcast we mention: Maker Manifesto (we meant the Maker’s Bill of Rights). Designer Thomas Thwaites’ toaster project DeltaToast An Italian non-electric toaster called the […]
Our guest this week on the Root Simple Podcast is Shannon Hayes. Shannon is the author of many books including Radical Homemakers, Long Way on a Little and The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook. She has a new book of essays called Homespun Mom Comes Unraveled, a smart, funny, moving account of the challenges and joys of […]
My guest on episode 27 of the Root Simple Podcast is Michael Wittman, CEO of Blue Sky Biochar. We discuss: What is biochar? How is it made? Can you make it at home? Biochar and heavy metals How it improves soil texture History of biochar Biochar and pH How to use biochar Using biochar in […]
In episode 26 Kelly and I interview Colin Bogart, Programs Director at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, about how to ride a bike in the city, commuting by bike and the politics of making our communities more bike friendly. Colin shares his experience of growing up in the suburbs and how he got back into […]
Of the 25 podcasts we’ve produced, this may have been the most difficult to put together. I don’t think most people know how contentious beekeeping practices are. There’s a sharp divide between natural/non-interventionist approaches and conventional beekeeping. I’m on the natural side, but I hope I was fair in my description of the California Beekeeper’s […]
Kelly and I return this week to discuss a recent talk I gave to a bunch of Master Gardeners about water harvesting and encouraging wildness in our gardens. On the second part of the podcast Kelly discusses the process of learning how to sew. During the first part of the podcast Erik mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoJ0OHWl3b8 Jacques […]
In episode 23 of the Root Simple Podcast, Kelly and Erik give an update on their housecleaning habits, read some spam poetry and discuss Randy Fritz’s shoemaking workshop. Some links we mention: Wired Magazine’s article on the laborers who moderate social media comments. Earth Skills Shoe making classes offered by laughingcrowe.com Sewing classes at Sew […]
Mark Stambler was baking bread at home and selling it at local shops, until a knock at his door one day from the health department. Rather than get angry he got the law changed and the story of how this happened is the subject of this week’s Root Simple Podcast. During the podcast Mark mentions: […]
A conversation about the ultimate slow food, quince, with Barbara Ghazarian, author of Simply Quince and Simply Armenian. If you have room, you should definitely make room for a quince tree. If not, you should work with this amazing fruit. During the podcast Barbara discusses how to prep and cook quince. We also talk about […]
