Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

This has been one busy year. We’ve had so much going on with work, school, soccer, Girl Scouts, on and on, that we’ve barely had a chance to even go for a walk. So today, when I woke up and realized we had zero plans and there was promise of sun and 60s, we didContinue reading “Daytripping to Starved Rock”

Golden Grilled Cheese I admit that I was drawn to this recipe from BS’ In the Kitchen because the photo of her grilled red beets and arugla looked so pretty. (Food photography is killing my waistline.) As for the flavor, I was a bit doubtful. Not anymore. The creaminess of the goat cheese, slight bitternessContinue reading “Golden Beets, Red Lettuce & Goat Cheese Grilled to Perfection”

Vegetable of the Week: Winter Squash A few months ago a fan of the Oak Park Farmers Market began an experiment to try to draw attention to some of the lesser-known, high nutrient produce available during a particular season. So far the Vegetable of the Week project has featured peppers, carrots and squash. With eachContinue reading “Fall Recipe: Butternut Squash & Apple Bake”

Way out west, across the country along the coast is the garlic capital of the world: Gilroy. I’ve never been to their annual garlic festival, but we had a bit of a garlic fest this past weekend on our trip to The Farm, where we celebrated September birthdays – a 9 – a 21 –Continue reading “Gilroy of the Midwest?”

On Monday, still a bit bleary from only a couple sips of coffee, I refreshed my Facebook stream. Immediately, a post on Charleston’s tourism page caught my eye. The photo of a giant loggerhead turtle making its way back to sea looked familiar. Turns out it was the photo my husband took one early morningContinue reading “Remembering Savannah”

Corn maze at Richardson Farm At the tail end of our Girl Scout leader meeting this week, I learned that Richardson Farm’s giant corn maze was cut this year in honor of the Girl Scouts turning 100. I’ve still not been to the maze with the kids, but I’m thinking we’ll have to make theContinue reading “On Our To Do List: Visit Giant Girl Scout Corn Maze”

Ever since I’ve been volunteering at the Oak Park Farmers Market, I’ve fielded questions from time to time from folks wanting to know where the farmers at the market are from. Now, thanks to a new assistant Farmers Market manager, we can show and tell. The manager created this interactive map of the three-state areaContinue reading “Mapping Out the Oak Park Farmers' Market Vendors”

Good news for our friends and family in Columbus, Ind. Chef Daniel Orr announced today that he’s planning to open up a restaurant there, his hometown. He’s already been farming in the area and using what he produces at his popular restaurant Farm in Bloomington. The new place, Farmbrew, will open sometime in the nextContinue reading “Farm-Friendly Farmbrew to Open in Columbus”

So I got the strangest call last evening. It was from a friendly voice, but the questions were, well, odd. The conversation went something like this: Her: “Hey, do you still have that giant zucchini you found in the garden?” Me: “Um. Yes.” Her: “So what are you planning to do with the zucchini?” Me:Continue reading “Why My Zucchini Was Commandeered”

They’ll fight over it, but will they eat it? I was clearing away vegetation and weeds from a hard-to-reach spot in the Irving Garden, when I came across this giant zuke. The kids couldn’t believe zucchini could even get this big (wait until they see State Fair veggies), so they quickly dug out the rulerContinue reading “Garden Surprise: 13.5 Inches Long, 3.5 Inches Wide & Weighing in at 3 Pounds”