Category Archives: Uncategorized

UPDATED: Michelle Obama challenged some of the most famous chefs in the world to cook a meal to impress. The secret ingredient in this Iron Chef America battle? The White House vegetable garden that Mrs. Obama planted and uses to further her food and nutrition education goals as First Lady. I’m loving the secret ingredientContinue reading “Local, Sustainable Farming Takes Center Stage On Food Network's Super Chef Battle”

At the tail end of 2009, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced an impressive list of Environmental Heroes. There are 22 who earned praise from the governor. A couple include community gardening in their projects. But here are two with decidedly agricultural bents:1. Garry Griffith “is the director of dining at Augustana College and has spearheadedContinue reading “Local Farm Advocates Make Illinois List of '09 Environmental Heroes”

Besides my usual resolutions — lose more weight, exercise more, eat better, blah, blah blah — I have a pretty ambitious list for 2010. So here goes it. In 2010, I pledge to: Eat In Season. This has long been a priority of mine, but I’ve lacked the resolve to fully take the plunge. It’sContinue reading “I Resolve To…”

It’s been ages since I’ve been to Brown County State Park and today was my first visit to the park’s lodge. We’re here because the lodge added a water park. It’s pretty basic, but a great escape from the 15-degree weather. The fun for me — besides the water slide, lazy river and hot tubContinue reading “105-Year-Old Cartoon Character's Sayings Ring True Today”

While we were at Rural King Supply yesterday we picked up a new magazine — Urban Farm — from the editors of Hobby Farms magazine. It was the last issue on the rack. And while I can’t exactly tell how often it will be published, I’m pretty impressed with the premier issue. It’s filled toContinue reading “Reading Recommendation: Urban Farm”

The iFarmer and I spent some time this afternoon running a few last-minute New Year’s Eve errands. While we were out, we had a chance to finally check out the Rural King Supply retail store in Columbus, Ind. It’s a great place for farmers/farmgirls looking for, among many other things, canning supplies galore. On ourContinue reading “Getting Into the New Year Spirit With Local Wine & Splurge Food”

This is technically not a gift for me, but I’m going to blog about it anyway because I’m excited about this new Hoosier-based business. Tonight, the iFarmer unwrapped a lovely bottle of Indiana Vodka, which I’m delighted to learn is the product of an artisan distiller looking to produce spirits in small batches, using “oldContinue reading “Artisan Vodka. Who Knew?”

A friend told me once that his mother didn’t consider herself on vacation so long as she was still cooking. In that spirit, we ate out tonight at Francesca’s Fiore in Forest Park. It was my first time there, but it was exactly what I wanted and a reminder of why my family loved goodContinue reading “A Year in Food: VFG '09 Favorites”

A commenter on my post yesterday about community supported agriculture programs raised an issue I hadn’t considered. Would farmers ever skimp on CSA shares in order to have a good selection at farmers markets? J. Noelle from 24 Boxes noted that she had an opportunity to compare CSAs side-by-side last year. She noticed some weeksContinue reading “Is It a Conflict of Interest For Famers to Sell CSA Shares & Sell at Farmers Markets?”

I’ve been working on my New Year’s resolutions. One of them will be to limit my skillful use of procrastination, so it’s an encouraging sign that I’m working on resolutions a full six days early. One of the things I plan not to procrastinate about this year is choosing a CSA. I may go withContinue reading “Don't Wait: CSA Shares Already Selling Out”