Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the New York Times over the weekend there was this story, “Farm Living (Subsidized by Job Elsewhere).” If you know a farmer, you likely know someone with a dual income. There’s the job that pays benefits for the family and has a steady income, then there’s the lifestyle that accompanies farming. Very few farmersContinue reading “Off-The-Clock Farming on the Rise”

The weather reached a balmy 50 degrees today. And even though the ground is still frozen, it’s not too early to start thinking about spring planting. So what’s new on the agenda at The Farm? Fruit trees. It’s been something I’ve been hoping for, so I was excited that Hoosier Outsider asked me for someContinue reading “Sunny Orchard Dreaming on a Late Wintery Day”

I just read a fairly disturbing op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, even though it’s barely labeled as such online. The column, “Gourmet activists: Food for thought,” is an apparent rebuttal of the fairly impressive grass-roots effort to get President Obama to name a White House Farmer, plant an organic garden on the White House lawnContinue reading “Are Foodies Promoting a 'Dangerous Strategy?'”

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to curl up with my Bon Appetit. In fact, I missed all of last month. But I’m diving right in to March. It’s a great issue…I may even attempt the caramel banana bread pudding, New Orleans style. But potentially my favorite part is this new sustainability-focusedContinue reading “Faking it Until Spring”

I had a meeting tonight at Marion Street Cheese. It’s been way too long since I’ve been there, so of course I had to go on a tasting binge. And because I put the cheese server through so much trouble, it wouldn’t have been polite to leave without buying something. My choice was Prairie FruitsContinue reading “New Local Favorite: Moonglo”

The pix of my friend’s historic barn-turned-modern Wichita home, plus this month’s Mother Earth News and the feature “Inspiring Handmade Homes” had me thinking a lot about the traditional and nontraditional roofs I’ve had over my head. When I was a kid, I thought it was cool to live in tents or in tent communitiesContinue reading “My Inspiring Handmade Homes”

The fascination over who will be the Obamas’ pick for White House chef or personal barber or the lucky dog picked to keep Sasha and Malia company can be cynically cast aside as an outgrowth of our culture’s celebrity obsession. I mean, who really cares? Well, the choices for these minor roles in the livesContinue reading “Why Do We Need a White House Farmer?”

I’m about a day late, but the winning pie (of 19 who voted in the VFG poll) is pumpkin. I promised myself I’d make the winning pie. Future farmgirl will be pleased sicne pumpkin is her favorite. But the all the pie talk got the iFarmer in the mood for an old-fashioned Hoosier Sugar CreamContinue reading “Pumpkin Pie is the People's Favorite and Will be Served on Game Day”

I was so excited this week to see a Tweet late yesterday from my friend Ron. It was shorty, even for a Tweet: My house was a barn. This farmgirl could not resist following that link. Here’s the photo from Flickr: The historic photo is of Ron’s street in Wichita, Kansas. In the photo isContinue reading “Were You Raised in a Barn? This Family Can Say, "Yes!"”

The iFarmer has a new job, so we’ve been making an adjustment in our routine. I did some advance planning so that our meals wouldn’t suffer, which made me wonder why I haven’t been doing menu planning all along. The first thing I did was dust off a crock pot cookbook that Urban Dweller giftedContinue reading “Holy Mole, This Was an Easy Recipe”