Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the qualities of ash firewood, its advantages and disadvantages, and why it's a popular choice for many people who rely on wood-burning stoves or fireplaces to keep warm during the cold months.
Ash (genus Fraxinus) is a hardwood species found in various parts of the world, known for its excellent burning characteristics. It has become a favored choice among firewood enthusiasts for several reasons.
In conclusion, ash is generally considered excellent firewood for its easy-to-split nature, high heat output, and clean-burning properties. However, its availability may vary due to factors like the emerald ash borer infestation in some areas. If you have access to ash firewood, it's a solid choice for heating your home efficiently and cleanly. Remember to ensure it's properly seasoned, as this will optimize its burning qualities and overall performance. As with any firewood, using ash responsibly and in accordance with local regulations is essential for both safety and environmental reasons.
]]>Maximizing sales and attracting customers is crucial to maintaining a thriving business. Among the various products offered, firewood is an essential commodity that campers rely on for warmth and cooking during their outdoor adventures.
According to one campground representative from Kampgrounds of America (KOA), firewood is either the #1 or #2 best selling item in all of it's camp stores along with ice.
In this article, I will explore 6 effective strategies to increase firewood sales in your camp store, ensuring a steady revenue stream while meeting the needs of your camping clientele.
Price plays a significant role in customer decision-making. Research local competitors and set your firewood prices competitively. Consider offering bundle deals or discounts for bulk purchases to incentivize campers to buy more firewood from your store. Ensure that the pricing is visible and clearly communicated to customers, emphasizing the value they will receive.
Quality firewood is a crucial factor for campers. Display your firewood prominently in your store, creating an attractive and organized display. Ensure that the firewood is dry, kiln-dried, and cut into appropriate lengths. Educate your customers about the benefits of using kiln-dried firewood, such as easier ignition, longer burning time, and reduced smoke. Offering different wood types, such as oak, hickory, or maple, can also appeal to customers with specific preferences.
Convenience is key to capturing customer attention and increasing sales. Make sure your camp store is easily accessible and prominently located within your camping facility. Display signage throughout the campground highlighting the availability of firewood at your store. Providing delivery or pre-order options can further enhance convenience for campers, especially for those who want to secure firewood before arriving at the campsite.
Hunter's pro tip:
Try a point-of-purchase (POP) display with a firewood bundle. The increase in sales you can expect from placing a display on the checkout counter, can vary widely depending on several factors, including the type of products, the store's customer base, the effectiveness of the display design, and how well the products fit with customer impulses and needs at the moment of purchase. However, POP displays are generally recognized for their effectiveness in boosting product visibility and encouraging impulse buys, leading to an increase in sales.
Some reports and studies have found that well-executed POP displays can lead to significant sales increases for the products featured, with some products seeing sales increases of anywhere from 20% to more than 200%. The effectiveness of a checkout counter display in particular can be attributed to the fact that all customers must pass by this area, providing a captive audience for the products displayed. This makes it an ideal spot for items that are often bought on impulse, such as snacks, beverages, magazines, or small gadgets.
Delivering exceptional customer service is vital for fostering loyalty and attracting repeat customers. Train your staff to be knowledgeable about firewood, including how to properly stack and store it to maintain its quality. Encourage staff members to engage with customers, offering advice on the ideal amount of firewood needed for specific camping activities. By demonstrating expertise and providing personalized recommendations, you can build trust and increase the likelihood of repeat sales.
Utilize various marketing channels to promote your firewood offerings. Leverage social media platforms to share enticing visuals and informative content about the benefits of your firewood. Engage with your camping community by posting tips, recipes, and testimonials related to campfire cooking and warmth. Collaborate with local outdoor enthusiasts, influencers, or camping organizations to extend your reach and tap into new customer bases. Consider running promotions or hosting events, such as firewood cooking demonstrations or bonfires, to create buzz and attract visitors to your camp store.
In 2011, Patagonia launched the "Don't Buy This Jacket" ad campaign, prominently featured in The New York Times on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. The advertisement featured one of their best-selling jackets with a bold caption urging consumers not to buy the jacket or any other new items unless they truly needed them.
This counterintuitive approach by Patagonia was a risk, but it paid off in a significant way. Instead of deterring customers, the campaign resonated deeply with them, leading to a surge in sales. Patagonia saw its revenue grow about 30% to $543 million in the following year after the campaign launched, as reported by various sources. The company's commitment to sustainability, transparent supply chains, and encouraging consumers to buy less but of higher quality created a strong brand loyalty among its customers.
Incorporate sustainable practices into your firewood sales strategy. Source firewood responsibly, ensuring it comes from renewable and environmentally friendly sources. Communicate your commitment to sustainability to customers, emphasizing that purchasing firewood from your store contributes to responsible camping practices. This approach appeals to eco-conscious campers and can help differentiate your camp store from competitors.
By implementing these strategies, you can enhance the visibility and desirability of firewood in your camp store, ultimately increasing sales and customer satisfaction. Offering competitive pricing, showcasing quality products, providing convenience, prioritizing customer experience, embracing marketing and promotion, and emphasizing sustainability will position your camp store as a go-to destination for campers seeking reliable firewood for their outdoor adventures. Remember, a well-stocked and customer-oriented firewood section can significantly contribute to the success of your camp store.
]]>In the heart of every adventurer lies a yearning for those cozy evenings spent by the fireplace, savoring the mesmerizing dance of crackling flames. To elevate your hearth experiences to new heights, look no further than kiln-dried firewood. This divine fuel source brings forth a plethora of advantages that enhance not only the warmth but also the ambiance of your fireside moments. Join us as we delve into the irresistible benefits of embracing kiln-dried firewood for your hearth.
Unleashing Efficiency and Consistency: A fireplace that fails to ignite promptly can dampen the spirits of even the most passionate fire enthusiasts. Kiln-dried firewood, with its exceptional energy content, reigns supreme in efficiency and consistency. Through a meticulous process, the firewood is subjected to controlled heat and airflow within specially designed kilns. This results in an impressively low moisture content of approximately 10-20%, enabling kiln-dried firewood to ignite swiftly and unleash a roaring blaze. With an intensified heat output, you'll revel in a longer, more delightful burn that keeps your home cozy while saving you precious time and money.
Embracing a Cleaner Hearth Experience: A crackling fire fills the air with charm, but no one wants a room clouded with acrid smoke. Kiln-dried firewood caters to your aesthetic sensibilities while being mindful of the environment. Its reduced moisture content significantly diminishes smoke production during combustion. As a result, the air quality in and around your home remains unblemished by harmful gases and particulate matter. Breathe easy, for the allure of a kiln-dried firewood fire lies not only in its radiant glow but also in its minimal emissions, making it a compelling choice.
Preserving Chimney Integrity: The majesty of a roaring fire is only surpassed by the tranquility of knowing that your chimney is safe from lurking hazards. Kiln-dried firewood, with its remarkable moisture reduction, mitigates the risk of creosote buildup. This menacing black residue, a byproduct of wood combustion, can lead to chimney fires if left unchecked. By selecting kiln-dried firewood, you are choosing a fire experience that keeps both your hearth and home secure. Enjoy the warmth of your fire with peace of mind, knowing that your chimney's health and longevity remain intact.
Seamlessness in Storage and Handling: Beyond its inherent excellence, kiln-dried firewood extends its allure to the realm of convenience. Its diminished moisture content renders it lightweight and less unwieldy compared to unseasoned wood. Transporting, stacking, and storing kiln-dried firewood becomes a breeze, befitting the discerning homeowner's needs. Furthermore, the reduced risk of mold or insect infestation ensures a pristine, ready-to-use fuel source for your fires. Bid farewell to the headaches of cumbersome firewood logistics, and embrace the effortless elegance of kiln-dried firewood in your hearth delivered by LLAMAWOOD.
When it comes to igniting the perfect fire, kiln-dried firewood emerges as the undeniable hero. From its unrivaled efficiency and consistency to its contribution to a cleaner environment, as well as its chimney-preserving qualities and effortless storage, kiln-dried firewood encapsulates the essence of elevated hearth experiences. Embrace this captivating choice and unlock the full potential of your fireplace, revel.
]]>Oh man, the best "wood to burn" question. Okay, here we go.
So first of all, the best wood to burn depends on your desired goal or outcome. Are you just enjoying a fire on a rainy day while watching Netflix? Are you trying to heat your home with a wood-burning stove? Are you smoking the best Texas-style brisket you’ll ever eat? Are you cuddling up by a campfire in a sleeping bag? There are many variables to consider and there is no way I can capture all scenarios… so for simplicity's sake, I am just going to assume that we are talking about the best wood to burn in your indoor fireplace or outdoor firepit. Sound good? Cool. Let’s go.
Before we declare a winner, let’s clarify a few terms I will use in this article. Now, this is my most comprehensive breakdown of firewood ever so we will cover a lot of terms here but it will all be worth it in the end, I promise.
🌳There are two types of trees that are commonly used to create firewood: conifers (also known as softwoods) and deciduous (also known as hardwood) trees. A conifer is a type of plant that bears woody cones. Deciduous trees are trees that shed their leaves in the fall when the leaves are fully mature/fully grown. I have listed common conifer and deciduous trees below for your reference.
🥵 The quality of firewood is measured by its heating value using units like the British thermal units (BTUs) per cord or in kilowatt-hours per kilogram. Hardwoods weigh more and give off more heat than softwoods of the same volume but pound-for-pound a softwood could have the same heating value as a hardwood.
💦 There are broadly two ways to describe the amount of water in your firewood: green (or wet) wood and dry. Within dry, there are two sub-categories of dry wood we will discuss: air-dried (also known as “seasoning”) and kiln-dried, which is a form of heat treatment. I will refer to air-drying as “seasoning” and air-dried wood as “seasoned wood” because they are the more common terms. If you aren’t familiar with the term seasoned wood, it basically means that the wood was left outside (often uncovered) for up to two years so it has seen a bunch of “seasons”. Kiln-drying is a form of heat treating but not all heat treating is kiln-drying. So for simplicity, we are going to talk about kiln-dried wood which is just firewood that has been put in a big oven called a kiln.
🪵There are two types of firewood in any fire: logs and kindling. I will touch on both here. Although they are both firewood, generally speaking logs are bigger than kindling (or at least they should be). And by bigger, I mean that logs are taller, wider, and longer than kindling.
🪓 Finally, I am going to be referring to firewood that is manufactured or produced by cutting up tree trunks into 16-24” segments and then split with a log splitter or axe. This can be done manually in your own backyard or totally automated with a firewood processor that has a log in-feed, clamp, operator joystick, hydraulic circular saw, and laser-measured cuts.
Okay, let’s get started…. (Pun intended)
The first type of firewood I want to talk about is kindling. I suggest using something like fatwood which is pinewood that is impregnated (a fancy way of saying saturated) with resin. This stuff gets fires going indoors and outdoors but should be used in moderation indoors because it is a softwood so it does give off some soot. This is a product you will need to buy. If you don’t want to buy fatwood, then I would suggest cracking your own kindling from one of the less dense hardwoods (like poplar). There is a great tool out there, which I have made a few videos about, called The Kindling Cracker that you can get on Amazon or you can just use an axe or hatchet to crack down your own kindling.
The next type of firewood, and arguably the most important type, I want to talk about is logs. Since we have already clarified a lot of terms above I will jump right into the good stuff.
🍁 Tree Type: I recommend using hardwoods for logs. You can vary the density of the hardwoods depending on your needs. Are you trying to get the fire going? Then you can start with lighter woods like poplar. Are you trying to have a long, steady burn? Then you can throw on dense logs with great heating values like oak and hickory. In case you were thinking, but wait I love burning softwoods! I will say this. There is one advantage to softwoods in that they light fast and burn well (which is why softwoods make great kindling!). There are two major disadvantages to softwoods for me that are just non-starters. The first is that softwoods put off a lot of creosote (or soot) which is bad for the environment and your chimney. The second is that softwoods, like pine, will send up little white ash snowflakes that will rain down on you while you sit around your fire pit. They don’t burn you (or at least I haven’t been burned by one) but who wants to get rained on by ashes while sitting around a fire?
💦 Moisture Level: I recommend using very dry logs. For a fire to burn effectively and cleanly the logs need to be dry. That means that there is less than 25% water and ideally less than 20%. Dry logs burn hotter, cleaner, and “greener” than wet wood. If the fire doesn’t have to waste energy evaporating excess moisture then you get a complete combustion which means a cleaner burn. I recommend buying kiln-dried wood (which happens to be the only firewood that we sell right now) because it basically guarantees that the log moisture content will fall between 10 and 20%. There is nothing wrong with seasoned wood, it is just much harder to quality control the seasoning process because it is inherently ambiguous. With kiln-dried wood, there is a state-regulated heat treatment process that produces consistently dry wood every time. The added benefit of heat treated wood is that the heating process kills pests so you’re not bringing any nasty critters into your home or you local eco-system.
If you are burning seasoned wood, you can figure out if your firewood is dry and ready to burn (before trying to light it) using a few visual checks and tools. In order to tell if your wood is seasoned properly it will have radial cracks, it will be gray in color, the bark will chip off easily, it will splinter easily, and it will have a delicate woody aroma. You can also just probe it with a $30 moisture meter that you can get off Amazon and you will know pretty quickly.
🪓 Size: I recommend using logs that are roughly 3” in diameter and 16” inches in length. The best way to get this type of log consistently is to buy wood that has been produced using a fully automated firewood processor. This length pretty much guarantees that the logs will fit in your fireplace and fire pit. Of course, there are exceptions, but I would be willing to bet that 99% of modern fireplaces and wood-burning stoves will work great with logs of this size. I’ve burned logs of this size in smokeless fire pits, my big green egg, wood fire insert fireplaces, stone masonry fireplaces, and even homemade pizza ovens. We’ve had 1,000s of customers use logs of this size in their home fireplaces and fire pits, restaurant wood-fired grills, Texas-offset smokers, box smokers, and pizza ovens. This size is also perfect because it will keep your fire going slowly if you are just adding logs sparingly or you can throw 4 or 5 on at a time and your fire won’t get smothered (granted you allow for space and air between logs).
If I had to pick just one favorite it would be super dry oak measuring in around 15% moisture and 3” in width, 3” in height, and 16” in length. Firewood logs like this are likely kiln-dried and produced on an automated firewood processor (just like the wood we sell).
If I could pick multiple favorites, I would recommend a mix of oak, maple, chestnut, gum, and poplar. These are common hardwoods in the mid-Atlantic but your local mix of hardwoods might vary. A mix of hardwood is great because it offers logs with different densities and heating values depending on your needs.
I hope this was helpful and I hope you learned a little bit more about firewood than you knew before you started. Keep burning that wood!
Keep the fire alive,
Hunter
Conifers (also known as softwoods: A conifer is a type of plant that bears woody cones.
Deciduous trees (also known as hardwoods): are trees that shed their leaves once a year, usually during the season of autumn, when their leaves are mature, or fully grown
Guide to Conifers: 11 Types of Conifers Seen Across the US
32 Types of Deciduous Trees: List of Deciduous Trees With Pictures
]]>When I was younger my dad would actually turn on the A/C on an Alabama fall afternoon if the weather wasn't cooperating with his "anytime the temperature goes below 60F you can have a fire” rule of thumb just to have a fire going while watching the Crimson Tide play. This never made sense to me until I became a homeowner with a fireplace of my own. Now I can proudly say that I have done the exact same thing and that I too would have a fire going at all times if I could.
I have probably gotten at least 100 lessons in building fires from my dad. First, he would crumble up newspaper and put those balls of paper between his shiny, brass andirons. The paper or “tinder” is the foundation of the bottoms-up fire. Then he would put 4 to 5 sticks of fatwood or “kindling,” a naturally impregnated pine wood starter, on top of the newspaper. He would then carefully place 3 specifically chosen logs horizontally across the andirons. Then he would put 2 more diagonally at a 45-degree angle on top of those base logs and then repeat the process until the logs were 5 layers tall, or about 9 to 10 logs in total.
Once the logs were set, he would twist up a few more sheets of newspaper to create a torch looking thing, he would light the top of the paper, and then hold it up inside the fireplace to heat up the air in the chimney so that the fire would "draw" better. Finally, he would light the tinder and kindling with the torch and replace the safety screen. I would just stand there and watch in awe as the flames engulfed the fatwood and then the logs and shoot up into the chimney. It is my favorite part of the whole fire experience. Mostly because there's just a lot of action - lots of flames, lots of sparks and crackles, and because I could yell out "Dad! You built a rage'r!" in my southern accent.
I later learned that Dad's approach was a mix of the "log cabin" and "sandwich" techniques and that my results would vary significantly from his based on the environment. For example, this structure doesn't work very well when trying to build a campfire for various reasons. This structure may be too crowded for small fireboxes or for cylindrical, smokeless fire pits. So I have tested a bunch of different methods to try to find the one method that will work 99% of the time which I now call the "LLAMAWOOD" method - basically the "sandwich" method with LLAMAWOOD. This method requires no container (i.e. fire box, fire pit, or oven), hearth, or andirons. Here is the LLAMAWOOD way:
A couple of additional notes:
Have you ever wondered what you could learn if you threw yourself into a foreign country for a few months and became totally immersed in the culture? That's what my wife, Katie, and I wondered back in 2016, so we hit the road to travel slowly through Argentina for seven weeks all while keeping our full-time jobs.
This trip literally changed our life. It is the origin story of LLAMAWOOD. It taught us how to travel. It taught us how to live. On that trip, we promised to never stop taking sabbaticals and we have held true to that promise (Azores, Portugal 2019 & upcoming Amsterdam 2022) all while having 2 kids, moving, changing jobs, and starting companies. Through our travels, we learned resilience, gained new perspectives, and were inspired by unfamiliar traditions in pursuit of continual learning. I tell you all this because I want you to do it too! There's a good chance that you need the break and that it will change your life too. I don't buy into the work-from-anywhere culture that COVID has created - you've got to completely unplug.
This is why I am starting a travel series called The Trek. The first series is a step-by-step breakdown of how we did this Argentina sabbatical while also providing actional (repeatable) steps for how you can too (and before you say it, yes you can).
I'll share stories (so it isn't just boring how-to articles) like how I studied Spanish in a group classroom in Buenos Aires, learned how to make homemade lamb-stuffed ravioli from a chef in Patagonia, rode horses in the Andes, participated in the yerba mate ritual with new friends, and took a 33-hour bus ride to a 5-star hotel where I hit a bull's eye in archery from about 50 feet away.
Here is a rough outline of the how-we-did-it articles I am planning to tackle. I would love to modify these based on your feedback so keep it coming throughout the process.
How we...
The timing is never right. If you've thought about doing something like this, just do it, and course-correct along the way. Look for Trek articles at the bottom of our upcoming newsletters (so as not to impose). Nothing else really changes about the newsletter - we will still share all sorts of useful, cool stuff about fire (of course) and just living the good life in general.
Hasta luego,
Cazador
]]>Limited references create a limited life. If you want to expand your life, you must expand your references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn’t be a part of your life if you didn’t consciously seek them out. Remember, rarely does a good idea interrupt you; you must actively seek it. Empowering ideas and experiences must be pursued. - Tony Robbins, Awaken The Giant Within
"I've got a crazy idea."
"Okay. What is it?"
"Let's spend 6 months in Argentina [dramatic pause for effect] living on a farm. Look - we can live cheaply, become fluent in Spanish, and explore the sites when we're not working the farm."
"6 months? Really?"
"Yeah! Can you image learning Spanish in 6 months? And coming back fluent? Wouldn't that be way more exciting and a way better use of time than whatever else we would accomplish doing the same thing every day here at home?
"Okay. Let's do it!"
"Wait. Really? Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Sure. Why not? Let's do it. 6 months in Argentina."
And just like that, Katie and I decided where we were going on our sabbatical (for what would turn out to be 2 months vs. 6) - Argentina. Not to mention that we might have leave our jobs after almost 12 years of combined time with our current employers. It was Saturday morning and we had just woken up. A few minutes later we were out of bed looking at flights, calendars, hotels, cities, mountains, and wondering how the hell we were going to tell our families. But for now, none of that stuff mattered (we will get to all of that in a later post).
I felt more alive than I had in years. I wasn't sure how we were going to do it or what it would become (we will get to those too) but it felt so damn good to make a "huge" decision, just like that.
A few months later we were handing our house keys to our short-term, summer renters and boarding a flight from Miami to Buenos Aires with two backpacks and without much of a plan.
The stars will never align, and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way. - Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week
On this path, it is only the first step that counts. - St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, Catholic saint, Curé d'Ars
This may sound like a cop-out but it really doesn't matter where you choose to go. The world is HUGE and people live all over it. There are amazing people and cool stuff to explore everywhere. So just go somewhere.
Some helpful questions to ask yourself:
Where have I always wanted to go? Egypt? South America? Japan? Australia?
What have I always wanted to do? Learn Spanish? Ride an elephant? Eat street food in Thailand? Play golf in Scotland?
What have I always wanted to see? The Great Pyramids? Iguazu Falls? The Amazon River?
The length of your trip and your financial situation can certainly be drivers in your decision but they aren't the only things that are important. South America is much cheaper than America so the daily cost of living while traveling was much lower than our typical DC life. They also speak Spanish in Argentina which is a language I wanted to learn.
If you think about it too much you will just get overwhelmed and never do it. Katie and I like to say "Have the abundance" when we visit museums which really just means you don't have to see every exhibit in the museum. Hopefully, this isn't the only time we will be doing something like this. There are always other places you could have gone. None of those other places or things to see will matter when you are lifting off from the runway on the way to where ever it is that you choose. Decide you are going to do it. Pick a rough start and end date - with a minimum trip length of at least 3 weeks - that is a few months in the future. And put it on your calendar. Because the next step is going to be asking your boss/employer for time off and it is a hell of a lot easier to do that when you have already made the date/time commitment. All of your flights and accommodations don't need to be booked yet, you just need the rough length and dates of your trip.
Tip: If you are having trouble making a decision, take a look at Google Flights Explore and pick the location with the cheapest flights for your dates. That's how we picked the Azores, Portugal in 2019.
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Here is 1 vlog post, 1 product recommendation, and 1 product review for the week...
Vlog Post
How To Build A Fire (In A Smokeless Fire Pit)
LLAMAWOOD's first how-to video blog post is live! I created this post because I was getting a lot of questions from y'all about building fires. I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment on the video or just reply to this email.
https://youtu.be/5LUUdUYFKA4
]]>Diversions
Life Hack 101: How to Start a Fire According to Sydney’s Firedoor Chef Lennox Hastie
Broadstreet
Turns out, the "log cabin" construction - no matter where you are building a fire - is one of the most dependable log constructions we’ve ever used. It's so simple yet so versatile.
Netflix
To get a taste for this series just watch the Official Trailer and you will be hooked. I absolutely devoured this short 4-episode masterpiece, especially the Lennox Hastie episode and his insane, 200+ day, dry-aged steaks.
Make Your Own (Almost) Pappy Van Winkle
Garden & Gun
Wish you had a glass of Pappy to sip around your fire pit? Try making you own and it you can't tell the difference, why does it matter? Plus, is Pappy really worth it? You tell me... If you like faking rare bourbon, check out the Sour Grapes documentary.
Product Updates
So Many Zip Codes. So Many Cities.
We are growing super fast and expanding our reach using a highly-vetted supplier network. We currently deliver to most of VA, all of DC, and Southern MD. We are serving over 1,000 zip codes!
Our loyalty program rewards you every time you order firewood. You'll get 5 points for every $1 spent and 100 points = $1 credit. Plus, you get a personal referral link you can share with friends and you both get a $20 credit when they order.
Book Recommendation
Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way
Amazon
You will read this cookbook many times, cover-to-cover. Francis Mallmann is a James Beard Award Winning chef who "reinvents the art of cooking over fire." LLAMAWOOD started because of a trip to Patagonia, The Land of Fire, so it is only fitting that my first book recommendation comes from its most famous chef who teaches how to cook using seven different wood-fired techniques. These recipes are easily adaptable to the kitchen if you don't have a fire handy but here's to hoping we can help change that. His chimichurri recipe is worth it alone. Oh, and his ingredient list for cooking an entire cow is hilarious.
Until next time,
Hunter
LLAMAWOOD. It really burns.
]]>According to Scandinavian folklore, yes, it can. Could this be the original Myers-Briggs Indicator Test? It might just be more accurate.
In his book, Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way Hardcover – Illustrated, October 6, 2015, Lars Mytting shows how a man's character can be exposed just by looking at his (or your) wood pile. The last one, in particular, is our favorite.
Here's what you can tell about a partner, or yourself, just from a woodpile:
Photography: Nikki To
In his book Finding Fire, he walks us through the steps to build a fire in detail but we also found a nice summary online. Try it out this weekend and let us know what you think. And if you do, we hope you enjoy.
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When you get that craving for wood-fired pizza and you are stuck at home in quarantine, it is not easy to replicate that beautifully blistered crust and slightly smoky, melty, cheesy goodness you get in the restaurant. Unless, of course, you have a custom-built wood-fired pizza oven in your kitchen or yard. Those can get expensive and easily put a $10k+ dent in your savings. That's a lot of "dough" for something you may only use a few times a year.
That’s why we jumped at the chance to build a high-performance wood-fired oven at home. The simple construction and fun instructions from Chef Steps made it super easy for us to keep our pizza-obsessed family, neighbors, and friends in check during quarantine while dining out was off limits. Follow these steps and you will be pumping out restaurant-quality pies in no time. We can already hear the neighbors asking you to sneak a few to them under the fence.
We modified the construction a bit because we had a hard time sourcing the 16" x 24" pavers from our local Home Depot. We ended up using 24" x 24" pavers from Home Depot and 47 standard clay bricks from a local brick and stone supplier, Riverside Brick & Supply Co.. If you aren't in the Richmond, VA area, you can just search Google for your nearest brick supplier and something will pop up.
Continued reading...
Do you think making your own pizza dough is too hard? Well, we are here to help change your mind by sharing an almost fool-proof recipe from Modernist Cuisine (Hint: we use AP flour and 10% more water per the recipe vs. adding the wheat gluten)
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