Kathy Vargo

Mt favorite Chile powder recipe by Alton Brown
3 Ancho Chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
3 Cascabel Chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
3 Arbol Chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
2 T garlic powder
2 T whole cumin seeds
1 T dried oregano
1 top. Smoked paprika

Place all the Chiles and cumin in a cast from skillet over med-high heat.  Cook 4-5 min moving constantly. Cool these Chiles, place in a blender along with garlic powder, oregano and paprika. Process into a fine powder, let it settle before opening.  Store in an airtight container.
To substitute other Chile peppers is fine. I'd read up on the characterristics of the peppers called for and adjust accordingly.  This is not hot spicewise, but good aromatics for basic chili/tacos.  Add hot pepper as you prefer separately.

I am in the end process of planning my kitchen rebuild and thought I would incorporate either a rocket mass heater or just a masonry wood stove.  This was great information at the right time.

It's about 24 by 28 ft and will be as air tight of a shell as I can make it.  If I'd like to heat it quickly on a winter day and have it radiate heat for 24 hours, how much mass do I need to heat with a single burn?

I plan on incorporating thermal mass in the main room itself and additional passive solar and soil thermal battery on the south side for the shoulder months.  So I'll need about 3 months in deep winter for the RMH assistance.

The main heating area will be about 28 by 14 ft, 8 to 9 ft high.  How do you adjust the quick heating portion of the bell to the long heating mass of the rocket stove?

We do get down to -20's F on some nights.  While the USDA says we're zone 5 now I can't count on more than 4 in my particular location.

Any help with those 2 questions would be helpful.

I had the worst luck with carrots when I moved here.  Poor small deformed things.  My success has been planting the longest carrot types possible in my rather dense soil.  The carrots never get as long as advertised, but over the years the length has gotten longer and longer. I plant very shallowly and cover with a fine dusting of peat moss or fine compost, otherwise they only germinate near the chunky stuff in a rougher covering.  They like to be cool to germinate and they like it moist.  I'd try it with the lettuce and spinach.  I put a radish seed in every 4-6 inches in the row of carrots just to remind myself where the carrot row is so I don't get impatient.  Radish comes up a week or so before the carrots.  If its too cool it'll just take longer.  I can't seem to get them to germinate in the summer either, too hot?  I mulch them after weeding and thinning (ruthless thinning).  Keep them watered if you get dry and hot like we do in July and August.  The only things that take longer to germinate are parsley and parnips.  Don't give up until its been at least 4 weeks.

I suggest adding a bit of Worcester shire sauce or muso for the unami.  It's a lot more work, but my first thought is brown the onions in a hot over then finish drying on a lower heat. Second thought was, needs more salt.  Soy sauce might do both, but not enough unami.

Maybe adding to your pledge like  $25 to $50 or based on the cost of reprinting First deck.  Since I have no idea what the print costs are or how many you'd have to print to be feasible or how many you think we would be able to get rid of in the Kickstarter, so "it depends" is always the answer.

Lets use the $50 pledge increase, and  you can print just 100 and think the Kickstarter would use those up, then the cost of would need to be less than you would collect with extra pledge money.  In this case you'd get $5,000, so printing needs to cost less to be worth your while.  Lots of assumptions in that example.

Glad to have helped.  I know I would like to have purchased the first set of playing cards, but I'm a relatively new Permie, so... Have you given any thought to printing up a small batch of the first set and offering it along with one of the nw set for a possible stretch goal or an additional way to market them?  Please, please please!

Her is an example of an old HW heating arrangement.  The electric hot water heater is located behind the wood stove where it baths in a very warm environment 8 mos of the year.  The pipes run up and along the ceiling where they stay warm, at least for everything in the kichen and laundry.  

The granite stone house sold the property.  It needed a lot of work.  Built facing south, length runs east to west.

Yes please put it on digital printable format for sale.  The time for homegrown fat has returned!