RECIPE: Beth’s Crazy Mesquite Cake

After attending Peggy Sorensen’s recent talk on mesquite, I tried making flour using a coffee grinder, and wanted to try it in a recipe.  So I adapted a crazy cake recipe (it’s also called wacky cake or depression cake, since the recipe originated during the depression when eggs, milk and butter were hard to come by).  I needed to make it gluten free, and since mesquite flour is so sweet, decided to try to omit the sugar (it worked!).

The Future of Food ~ Native Bees

The Future of Food – Native Bees by Guest Blogger: Dave Hunter of Crown Bees: We know there are huge differences in how pollen is carried by the European honey bee and our native bees. Relatively unknown, people are surprised to learn that hole-nesting native bees like our mason and leafcutter bees are actually much better pollinators than honey bees.
Research shows that mason bees can significantly increase the yield of…

457: Dave Hunter on Native Bees

Developing a relationship between primary pollinators and growers. — In This Podcast: Realizing that his apple trees were barely producing compared to his neighbors, Dave Hunter found the answer was mason bees.  His hobby increased his harvest, and eventually his new passion developed into…

What 1.5 Years in Asia Taught Me About Food

By Guest Blogger Tayler Jenkins : I really like food. Eating food, cooking food, harvesting food, thinking about food. Truly, I can never really get food (and food systems) off my mind.

My activism started at a young age. From encouraging neighbors to vote on animal welfare propositions in 8th grade, to co-leading the organization Real Food ASU in college, to working for Urban Farm U, to gardening and…

456: Raven Venturelli on Permaculture for the Small Farm

Bringing a whole system approach of design and nature to the farm. — In This Podcast:Taking a permaculture course as a young adult gave Raven Venturelli the confidence and inspiration to start her own farm. However, finding land in California to develop her nature-based farming concepts was difficult…