Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

Master dough recipe. My latest happy thing is that I can make naan with the master recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. I’d never read through the entire book. But after the temperature dropped, I dusted off the book and decided to make a batch of yeast dough to use forContinue reading “Cast Iron Skillet Naan”

My sister-in-law headed to India this afternoon on a mission trip to work in an orphanage and an eye clinic over the next couple weeks. In support of her endeavor…and because we also happen to love South Asian food…we served up some Goan black-eyed peas (recipe from the Indian Slow Cooker) and my cousin’s recipeContinue reading “An Indian-Inspired Family Meal”

My future farmkids think they’ve seen enough of working farms, so they’re not often impressed with the living-history farms in our area. But my guess is they’ll get excited about the new Honey House at nearby Kline Creek Farm in DuPage County. I know I’m excited to see it. The building, which was dedicated Saturday,Continue reading “Bees Take Center Stage at Living-History Farm”

A coworker sent this Gizmodo story to me today as a sign of the coming apocalypse: “We’re Running Out of Chocolate.” According to the story, consumers are eating more chocolate than ever and production isn’t increasing with demand. At the heart of the problem is paying a fair wage to the farmer. To make mattersContinue reading “Poorly Paid Cocoa Farmers Aren't Keeping Up with Growing Demand”

Garlic for planting this fall. Ugh. I’m in week two of a virus. I’ll admit, I’m not a very good patient…maybe because I have no patience. I don’t like sitting in bed. And the minute I start feeling better, I’m tempted to do things like clean or work. But the worst part this time aroundContinue reading “Missing The Farm”

The first time I made the simple yellow lentils from my Indian Slow Cooker book, I didn’t find the process so simple. That’s probably because I used the wrong type of lentil. This time I used a moong dal, that broke down within the five-hour time period as expected. I’m hearing some good feedback onContinue reading “Success with Simple Yellow Lentils”

Sookie keeps watch over Gypsy and Molly in July, 2009. Bad news from SoCal. My sister informed me that her prized layer Gypsy was killed on Halloween night by a local predator. She woke Monday to find the coop open and bloodied…feathers and chicken guts everywhere. Creepy. This is her second chicken death this year.Continue reading “RIP Gypsy”

Cannot let another minute go by without passing along this Crain’s Chicago Business story about how farming is the new “sexy profession.” Ah, a rock star story about farming. I’d missed those. My last rock star post was in June. Crain’s goes all out, leading with sensational headline, “Farmers are a hot commodity; outdoorsy andContinue reading “Farming Is the New 'Sexy Profession'”

Well maybe not that extreme. But I’m checking my kids’ candy more closely this year, not just for unsafe treats, but unfortunately also to screen for religiosity. This was the first year that my son has had enough interest in trick-or-treating to want to venture beyond our own block, where thanks to block parties andContinue reading “Starting to Think that X-raying Candy Bags Is Still a Good Idea”

I heard myself say that to my son this weekend, at the end of a losing season, and I meant it. He and his teammates are an inspiration. I’ve never experienced a group of kids who cared so much, tried so hard and just never gave up. They remind me that it’s much more funContinue reading “Winning Isn't Everything. It's How You Play the Game”