Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

We’re splitting our Sandhill Organics CSA share with another family this season, so I don’t get to enjoy this week’s box of goodies. Actually, I still have some veggies from last week’s share…which is why we’re sharing the share…less waste. But our friends should have some good eats in the next few days. Here’s what’sContinue reading “In the Box This Week: Cabbage, Cukes, Carrots & More”

We answered the call this morning to help with some Irving schoolyard garden maintenance today. Our mission was to harvest the box of radishes. But when we got to the school, it was clear that the lettuce was more than ready to be picked. And to the delight of our future farmkids, a good numberContinue reading “Did We Eat More Than We Bagged?”

We’re a little sad right now, having said goodbye to my son’s Godparents and their children. It’s the first time all four kids have had a chance to play together since the littlest one joined the picture a couple years ago. We celebrated our time together with lots of good food, including greens — thanksContinue reading “What's That Smell?”

Happily, on holidays, I do not count calories. Because of that, it was easy for me to justify loading my plate with a full stack of banana pancakes. I usually make pancakes for the kids and will have one or two. But today, I had an extra incentive to eat: red currant syrup I madeContinue reading “Banana Pancakes w/ Red Currant Syrup”

We have guests staying with us from the Beltway this weekend, so I’m excited to be able to share our weekly CSA share with them as we fire up the grill. Looks like I’ll have more red currants to figure out what to do with. My plan is to bake the ones I got aContinue reading “Cucumbers, Peas & Beets in the CSA Box This Week”

Several years ago when Sim and I lived in South Carolina, we’d go out of our way to check out larger-than-life roadside signs like “Trust Jesus” or my personal favorite, “Turn to Jesus or Burn in Hell.” Subtle eh? This in-your-face evangelism was foreign to me, even having grown up in the Bible Belt andContinue reading “Ideological Billboards Abound in S.C./N.C.”

No vacation would be complete unless it involved some sort of agri-tour. So for our trip to South Carolina this week, I was delighted that I wasn’t even the one who had to suggest it. My brother-in-law wanted to go to the Charleston Tea Plantation, which bills itself as America’s only tea garden. I’m thinkingContinue reading “Tea Party in South Carolina”

Yesterday morning, I got up at sunrise, found a few tidal pools along Folly Beach, S.C., and saw three crabs and a couple sea anemone. When Sim got up this morning with my niece Lisa, I was still pretty sleepy, so I took a pass. Big mistake. Sim and Lisa came back with news thatContinue reading “Sea Turtle Surprise at Sunrise”

We picked up our first box of veggies from the Sandhill Organics CSA drop off. It’s a nice variety. Unfortunately, we won’t have much chance to enjoy it since we’ll be traveling. I tried to barter the bounty for pet sitting, but there was no interest. To avoid wasting the lot, I hope to doContinue reading “1st Summer Share Is In The Fridge, But Will It Go to Waste?”

Oak Park’s new Mid-Week Market starts this week and I have mixed feelings about it. I’m all for more programs and events that draw attention to locally-produced food and help forge relationships with farmers. I’d been led to believe that this Mid-Week Market would be another farmers market, featuring local agriculture and home-grown businesses withContinue reading “Mid-Week Market – Less Market, More 'Street Festival' – Starts This Week”