Confession: I’m now writing my blog about simple, handmade, sustainable domestic arts from my brand new, super-shiny MacBook Pro, in all its MacBook Pro glory, including the celebrated “precision aluminum unibody enclosure.” I labor under the fantasy that The Tangled Nest suddenly looks brighter and more beautiful to everyone, not just me. I love this computer.
Still, ironies and ambivalences hover. I spent half an hour this morning shopping on the MacBook’s “advanced glossy digital display” for a hand-cranked grain mill. I expected to find such things on earth-motherish-foodie-bread-nerd websites, but as often as not I end up on some so-far-right-it’s-left-stockpile-now-for-the-apocalypse website, where the tab for the grain mill page is right next to the tab for the “guns/ammo” page.
Sometimes I feel like two different people in one body. Tom says, “That’s why I married you, honey–you’re a floor wax and a dessert topping.”
This is my dream grain mill–the gorgeous, solid cast-iron Diamant Mill from Poland.
Isn’t it lovely? It costs more than my new MacBook Pro. I will probably be settling for the Family Grain Mill. Everything Kitchens in Missouri has an unbeatable price (and no guns), and the FGM has an optional electric base. So when I’m tired from typing on the computer, I won’t have to hand-crank the mill!
Congrats on the new computer (always fun!) and I would LOVE a grainmill like that, too. It’s always been one of my dreams to make bread from my own flour… Good luck!
Also, I’ve heard you can grind flour in a vitamix blender—-I’ve wondered if this might be a good option for me…! 😉
Thanks Amber. Keep me posted if you experiment with grinding wheat! Everyone I’ve spoken with who tried grinding with a blender says they do get flour, but too course for everyday baking. But the vitamix is a serious machine!
I’ve used a Vita-Mix for making cornmeal from homegrown corn, and found it quite satisfactory. But I don’t think it could produce the kind of powder-fine flour people are used to.
Thanks for the great humor — and the timely SNL reference!
Check out Lehman’s – they’ve got lots of options at lost of different price points:
http://www.lehmans.com/cgi-bin/lehmans/dyna/dynaVxdzYV?page_number=1
Great web site!
I’m happy with my Country Living grain mill. It’s significantly cheaper than the Diamant, while still built like a tank. I contacted the company in Stanwood and was able to get a slightly blemished one for a reduced price. (At least, they say it’s blemished. Looks fine to me.)
If you wind up going that way, the handle extender thingamabob they sell is a must-have. That little extra bit of leverage makes all the difference.
I haven’t used it for bread flour yet — I’d probably want to try bolting the flour for that to remove some of the bran. But it makes super flour for pasta.
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Really funny…..I’m amazed by viewing your dream grain mill but the interesting point in it is that it’ll cost more than Mac Book Pro.
I’ve come across one good grain mill which I must share with all the visitors to this site.
http://www.grainflaker.com
This is am using from last 4 months & quite happy with this one.
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