Chaya Foedus

There's a FREE webinar with Sally Fallon Morell on Monday, April 10th to discuss Nourishing Fats!  Sally Fallon Morell is the President of the Weston A. Price Foundation, an advocate for legalizing raw milk, one of the founders of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, and the author of several books including "Nourishing Traditions."  

You can sign up here!   https://app.webinarjam.net/register/27097/e651e7db27

The biggest thing you have to watch for is the ability for the vacuum sealer to handle a small bit of moisture; it's how they all break, and why the recommendation is for a CHAMBER sealer.  I have 1 of the Vacupack Deluxe in stock right now and would be happy to ship it out for a discounted rate than you see on my website, if you're interested.  It's Italian-made (most are out of China now, since Jarden bought out a bunch of the brand names you find in stores).  Call our store at 406-334-0185 if you are interested or email me at customer@pantryparatus.com.  

http://pantryparatus.com/product/vacupack-deluxe/

Amit, that's what I'm wondering...the company told me that double-walled are very rare in their part of the country (Vermont) but I'm curious how common they might be.  The lantern can also have an optional solar charger, but then it just isn't as cool...

I've read through some posts about using thermoelectric generators for "the big stuff..." but it seems that it isn't necessarily cost effective or efficient in the end.  Still, it is something I think will continue to improve over time.

In our small store, we've been playing with a new-fangled contraption that we really love & so we've started selling it; but it only charges the "small stuff."  It's a thermoelectric generator in the form of a lantern that sits on your woodstove.  It's a lantern, a stove fan, and can power things like your phone, laptop, etc.

I shipped one out to someone who wasn't able to get it to work without the solar charger because, as it turns out, she has a double-walled stove.  I spoke to the company and found out that it's far more common on European designed stoves--not terribly common with American ones.  

So here's question #1: for those who have woodstoves, do you KNOW if you have a double-walled one or not, did you research it before purchase, & if so, why did you go with what you've got?

And, question #2:  Who on here has personal experience with thermoelectric generators? Mine is limited to the Stove Lite Pro (the lantern we sell).  My experience so far (apart from someone having a double-walled stove), has been fantastic in use & product quality.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Okay--for the life of me I can't figure out how to hyperlink so just in case someone wanted to see what I'm talking about, it's here:  http://pantryparatus.com/product/stove-lite-pro/

Thanks; such a simple answer I'm fairly embarrassed I didn't think of it myself...but I guess I know nothing about landfill conditions.  In Europe, trash is separated prodigiously and composted or processed accordingly.  In Northern Montana, our landfill was just a series of piles, and the Birds of Prey helped speed the process along.  I hadn't really thought of it as being fully anaerobic in that context but I can see how that must be the norm in other places.

I've been researching food waste lately, and I didn't understand something.  I knew you all would.

I read in a New York Times article that, among the many problems we already know about food waste, food waste in landfills is creating methane gases.  Of course, one MAJOR solution would be to compost this.  But here's my question, revealing just how little I know about science: why would food waste in a landfill create methane gases, and composting not?  What's the connection (or lack of connection) there?

Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-becoming-serious-economic-and-environmental-issue-report-says.html?_r=0

They ARE great machines, but they shipped the manufacturing of the motor over to China in 1995.  Pre-1995 models do great with home-milled flour, post-1995 models will eventually burn out if you push your luck.  I don't own one, I just field a few calls from disappointed people wanting to upgrade to a mixer designed for home-milled flour.  

You are choosing to add natural versions to your home cooking anyway, so I don't mind doing it a bit intentionally when making something like homemade sausage, etc.  Traditional spices for meat dishes were chosen for those very reasons so if you are forgoing them, then you are forgoing flavor.   I use the celery seed or celery salt from Pantry Paratus just for that reason (and yes, that's a shameless plug)...but our sausage wouldn't be the same without SOMETHING.  If you're eating so much homemade sausage as to run the risks presented by Nitrites from the celery seed, then you are going to die from the sausage first.  
Here's the link to the celery seed which is *currently* 30% off anyway:  http://pantryparatus.com/product/whole-celery-seeds-1-lb-foil-bag/

I felt like I was looking into a mirror reading this. My list of failures or washouts with Pantry Paratus marketing is long. If it weren't for longtime friendships (with people like Paul, for instance), there are times when I would have thrown in the proverbial kitchen towel on the whole thing. I totally agree that there is something in the brains of the most successful entrepreneurs that doesn't just go bake cookies with the newfound windfall, but somehow duplicates it successfully. It eludes me, too. I'd rather be baking the cookies. I tend to "give away the store" (wow, am I bad with cliches today) because I love people as a general rule and err on the side of customer service. I say that I "err" because sometimes it was the customer's mistake, sometimes a mail carrier, etc...but the cost of making things right doesn't leave any financial margin for me much of the time.

Just when I thought I couldn't keep limping along (when I spoke to you last), I signed on to teach a webinar that brought us back to a fairly healthy place and, more importantly, rejuvenated my passion. You know, that was the one thing I didn't really hear you factor in. You love what you do. And some of those techniques you mentioned that were not in the financial plus column give you the greatest joy--especially those things that led to your deepest relationships.

Since we last spoke, I've taken a course called "Best Year Ever" and learned a few painful things about myself. One is that in order to move forward with a new year you have to close the old one out, really doing that deeper work of self-reflection that you've done in this post. Good on you. The second is that for me, it isn't a lack of time but of time-management. I spend all of my time putting out fires instead of working more proactively. I've forced myself to go to bed early so that I can start my day at the ungodly hour of 5:30am. It's amazing how much more productive I've been since doing that. It's a great time for me to have quiet time and then to catch up on correspondence...especially not living in EST, which is tough on business.

You know how you say you struggle with financial goal setting? Me too. I have set some financial goals this year but think I might have done it all wrong. I mean, I set the numbers as the goals (as so did you, I gather), but the HOW TO GET THERE---ah, there's the rub. I'm afraid that it isn't as tangible of a goal since the roadmap is still so unclear. I mean, a goal like "I will do pilates twice a week" is one I can meet because the path is within the goal.

I look forward to checking in and seeing how you progress! I'll let you know how I fare, as well. Until then, let's live our passion with determination--and a plan!

If Emerson was right about weeds just being plants without their purpose discovered, then I need help discovering.
I've read that this bumper-crop of Japanese knotweed could be eaten (always my first choice with volunteer plants), but it's very high in oleac (sp?) acid--the stuff that makes the leaves of rhubarb poisonous. I don't see any verified medicinal uses, the poultry won't touch it... All of the online info says the evil "R" word (R**** Up).

What animals eat it? What works to kill it? HELP!

--Chaya

http://www.pantryparatus.com