Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

More today from the Virtual Farmgirl Test Kitchen: Garlic roasted pumpkin seeds. The iFarmer claims these are the best pumpkin seeds he’s ever had. I’m not sure about that. But I do think I finally got a good Kosher salt, garlic and butter ratio. Plus, these are crispy. I’ve learned if I don’t dry themContinue reading “Throw Out the Seeds? That's Crazy Talk”

More inspiration from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle led me to pull one of my large basil plants before the bugs took over. I pulled off all the good leaves and was left with a bucketful. Later in the day, I found a basic pesto recipe from In Italy Online. I didn’t have all the Animal, VegetableContinue reading “Presto…Pesto!”

The pumpkin soup in its own shell has been in the oven for a little more than an hour now. Here’s the step-by-step, starting with making the container: Fully carved terrine: Filled with warmed milk, stock, salt, roasted garlic and sage: After about an hour in the oven. Check out how much darker the shellContinue reading “Perfecting My Pumpkin Soup”

A wagon or a cart would have been helpful this morning at the Oak Park Farmers Market, especially since I went knowing I needed a pumpkin. Even a 6-pounder along with a big bunch of bushy carrots, a 1/2 gallon of fresh pressed cider, a bag of onions, more zukes for side dishes this weekContinue reading “Don't Forget the Cart”

I’ll be spending my day at the library tomorrow for a retreat. If I have a chance, I’m going to see if I can find this relatively new book: “The Cultivated Landscape: An Exploration of Art & Agriculture.” There’s a non-spoiler review of the book in The Ontarion. The authors, according to the book’s ownContinue reading “Farming & Art”

I’m finally to the end of Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” Here’s my recommendation to those who haven’t read it yet: Don’t read while hungry. I think I gained five pounds salivating over the recipes and food descriptions in the book. One that I plan to try this weekend seems pretty easy and ambitious atContinue reading “Caution: Reading On An Empty Stomach Can Cause Weight Gain”

Good news today for a Santa Cruz-area organic farming family. Jacobs Farm Del Cabo won a million dollar jury verdict because pesticides sprayed nearby ruined a year’s worth of organic sage, rosemary and dill. The pesticides were meant for a nearby Brussels sprouts crop. But the aerial application apparently evaporated, then blew over to theContinue reading “Organic Farm Wins $1M Verdict for Pesticide Contamination”

We went to the Morton Arboretum on Saturday for a picnic and to celebrate fall. But it turns out, we didn’t have to go anywhere except for a walk/bike ride around the block to see some major tree diversity. Pictured are the results of our fall “stained glass” project on Sunday while the iFarmer workedContinue reading “Fall Craft Project: Celebrating Leaf Diversity”

Looking for a way to get your kids some agri-education, but are more than a stone’s throw from a real farm? Check out 4-H Virtual Farm. It’s Vermont centric, but pretty general in content. It’s a fully interactive site, complete with audio, video and computer-generated, cartoon graphics. I’m partial to the aquaculture pages.

Seems somewhat unbelievable, but today was my first visit to the Morton Arboretum. Unbelievable because it’s a fantastic, family-friendly gardens and it’s only about 10 miles from my house. I can’t believe we haven’t been there before. We’ll certainly be back when the weather’s as good as it was today. Indeed, we picked a perfectContinue reading “Scaring Up Fall at the Morton Arboretum”