Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

A report yesterday from Time magazine talks about the biannual international Terra Madre, where some 5,000 farmers, activists, chefs and foodies gathered for networking, education and, as Time put it, “cheerleading.” I’ve followed Carlo Petrini’s official Slow Food movement with curiosity over the years and been fascinated and encouraged by its growing influence and shiftContinue reading “Slow Food Movement: Get Ready for More Politics and Less Food Porn”

The nation’s unemployment rate is at 9% and jobs are scarce. But one area where jobs are plenty and wages are actually going up is agriculture. Yet, I keep seeing stories about how farmers can’t seem to fill their labor needs with legal U.S. workers. NPR has this story today “Farm Work: Americans Steer ClearContinue reading “Apple Picking too Hard for U.S. Workers?”

When I first saw this photo, a memory flashed through my mind. I was in New Mexico, had just arrived from California to spend the summer with my dad. I had long, fine brown hair that my parents would pull into braids to keep under control. These braids didn’t last the summer. I don’t rememberContinue reading “No Bad Hair Days for this Mountain Tomboy”

Guy Fieri I turned on the Food Network this afternoon while I scarfed down my lunch. And in about 20 minutes – catching the tail end of Guy’s Big Bite and the beginning of Paula Deen’s Sweet Sensations – I had a plan for supper and for a meal one other night this week. FieriContinue reading “Quick, Look Up the Ingredients List! We're Having What Guy Fieri Just Made”

At some point, after my orange-colored banana pancakes were all made and ready for decorating, I realized I’d left out a key ingredient: sugar. They cooked up beautifully without two tablespoons of the sweet stuff. And clearly, no extra sugar was needed after the kids finished them with candy corn, whipped cream and M&Ms. I’mContinue reading “Sugar Substitute for Pancakes this Morning”

Besides making paneer from scratch, the most intimidating parts of Anupy Singla’s recently published book, “The Indian Slow Cooker,” is the chapter on meats. That’s because most of these recipes don’t involve simply dumping ingredients in a particular order into a crock pot. Instead, there’s a fair amount of prep time included. But the result,Continue reading “Latest in the Crock Pot: Chicken Vindaloo ala 'The Indian Slow Cooker'”

Look how at ease my great great grandparents look here making applebutter. Making applebutter. Wells County, Ind. When my Dad shared this photo, he noted that the photo was taken in Wells County, Ind. The pic is of my grandmother’s grandparents. “These families had been in America for generations but unlikely that they spoke English,”Continue reading “Chillin, Making Applebutter”

I blame credit her My Little Pony Spring Tea Party book for encouraging my Future Farmgirl to hold tea parties, with me (real tea) and with one of her best buds (hot chocolate w/a liberal helping of mini marshmallows). I’ve actually had a lot of fun with these little gatherings: setting the trays and trustingContinue reading “Here's a Tea Party Movement I Can Get Behind”

Check out Get Fresh Detroit, a new start-up founded by two University of Michigan students who are trying to get fresh veggies to corner stores and liquor stores in urban communities where many local residents grocery shop. In this video, Noam Kimelman talks about deciding whether to “chase money your whole life or chase somethingContinue reading “Get Fresh Detroit Is Serving Up Fresh Produce to Urban Dwellers”

After all our work this summer tending to the Irving garden, I was disappointed I had to miss the stone soup that a local mom/chef whipped up to serve the children today. Even though I couldn’t be there in person, I was delighted to see this post over at Tales of the Elsmo Four, whereContinue reading “Harvest Soup After the Bell”