16 September, 2008: It was my birthday today. I took the day off (sort of). Clem and Brooke baked me a cake, we picked some apples, Teasel came over to help pit a bucket of small plums and make preserves. It was a beautiful day. And I can’t express how satisfying it is to face this birthday at a time… Read More
16 September, 2008: Obviously the Clover Food Lab is going to be tight and professional. I’ve got too many great people helping for it not to turn out finished, and that is what we are aiming to achieve. That doesn’t keep me from admiring simple DIY solutions for things. Check out this cool train someone made at an apple orchard.… Read More
16 September, 2008: The systems (generator, LP gas, water) need access hatches. We’ve been looking at luggage doors, but I saw these on an emergency vehicle today and think they look promising. The manufacturer of these vehicles is Wolf Coach. Has me thinking we should look at suppliers of work trucks and other emergency vehicles for these parts. Funny, my… Read More
30 July, 2009: Continuing in our Clover tradition we had another round of free cupcakes today. This time to celebrate Jeremiah’s birthday. This time around: our first ever vegan cupcake. And my ugly frosting jobs are becoming something of a trademark. But oh do they taste good. These were a chocolate cake based on a recipe my grandmother used to… Read More
15 September, 2008: I just parked the truck in Salem, where the body work will be done. Phil Crosscup is managing this phase, and work is starting today! Read More
13 September, 2008: For obvious reasons I have not mentioned this here, but the truck arrived without any keys to any of the locks. This means my truck has been sitting unsecured on the road for the past few weeks. Luckily there’s nothing of value in the truck, but it’s still had me a bit uncomfortable at night. After receiving… Read More
13 September, 2008: The Utilimaster supply is great. On their website in addition to very helpful service manuals, they have a PDF of virtually every part of the truck. I replaced a bunch of rubber that was rotten and fixed the piston that holds the hood open so that it wont keep falling on my head. Read More
11 September, 2008: I’ve hinted at this before, when covering grease conversions, but I’m faced with two conflicting goals: I’d love to do as many energy-smart things as I can on the truck I’ve got to keep the costs very low Today I spent some time on the electrical design. The low emission route would be to use the sun… Read More
10 February, 2012: We load our trucks every morning. My first day in 2008, I met Ayr at 5am at Nuestra in JP to train on opening the truck. We rolled a green cage packed with prepped food to the loading dock, loaded individual food items by hand, and drove off. The second phase was this crazy picture. We would… Read More
11 September, 2008: Greg Vaughn of Vaughn Plumbing helped me install the gas system. I think he did a great job, and once I track down the right regulator, we’re ready to pop a fryer, and possibly another appliance in there. Read More
10 September, 2008: Awning (click link for movie) John and Jinhee have been working overtime to realize our ambitions for the truck in very short timeframe we’re working against. John and I met up yesterday and after having doubts about our ability to pull off the transforming awning design, I’m really excited about the latest take. Read More
10 September, 2008: A friend turned me on to Henny Penny fryers. They make normal fryers, but specialize in “pressure fryers.” These were developed primarily for fried chicken, and supposedly they do wonders for that. But they have other qualities that caught my interest: 30% lower fuel consumption 10-20% less grease on food More moisture and flavor retained in the… Read More
10 September, 2008: You’ve found yourself stuck in the trap: you’ve got some sort of little project, and you find you’re spending more time driving back and forth to Home Depot than working. Well, I’m sure some of you have a level of experience and planning that allows you to get it right the first time, I don’t. So I… Read More
3 December, 2008: It’s not that we want it to be secret, but we haven’t been saying anything about organic. We want feedback on the food right now. We’re not looking to impress people with anything but taste right now. So here it is, you’ve been eating organic: Milk Eggs Sour cream Tahini Chickpeas Hummus Tomatoes Jams Oatmeal Sugar Granola… Read More
8 September, 2008: I’ve been talking to John and Jinhee (Single Speed Design) about awning designs. I’ve long loved the way simple tents look (see above), and we’re looking at these as possible references. Tetsuya Ohara, who leads up technical fabric and materials at Patagonia is kindly offering us advice. Tetsuya used to work for a sail maker, which is another source… Read More