Off The Grid And Loving It

We have Italian friends who made their own fresh pasta and came over to show us how we could make our own pasta in our own home.  We now make if often and as we have a lot of fresh eggs have been making a lot to dry and store for later so we have a good standby for a fast delicious meal. The Recipe: One and a half cups of flour (sifted finely) Make a well in the middle and add two large eggs (free range if possible) My friend uses his hands but I used a fork to gradually add the flour to the eggs and (if required only) add a small amount of water as my friend says maybe "the depth of 2 fingers in a glass!" I only needed to use a very small amount. Knead the dough until it is smooth and cover and let it rest for at least half an hour, but an hour is better. Clear a table or bench so you have lots of room and firmly attach your pasta cutter.  Make sure you have a lot of clear space as I discovered when I covered everything in sight with flour and pasta including the c...

I had run out of hair gel and couldn't find any in the local store that would be OK and I didn't like the hefty price.  What to do without wasting a whole day driving up to the nearest shopping center with a decent selection.  After trawling the net in search of something I could use that I had in the cupboard I came across quite a few ideas - some of them complicated and some using obscure things that I didn't have to hand when I spotted this simple and easy to do hair gel that was fast to do and came out great. all you need is agar agar  ( a sea vegetable, available at Asian stores, ethnic stores,  or buy online - you can get powder or flakes or strips and they all work well - add water and  yep, that's it !  I added some rose geranium essential oil then a few drops of orange blossom so I would impress the chickens as well and today I have a really cool hairdo with lots of body, all for the cost of about two minutes effort and an impatient wait f...