Category Archives: Uncategorized

I had just read the “You Can’t Run Away From Harvest Day” chapter in Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” when I read a weekend piece in the Chicago Tribune about a writer who decided to personally witness the slaughter of every meet she eats. It’s an intriguing mission. I’m not sure I feel compelled toContinue reading “Do You Care About What You Eat?”

So cool to learn that Wake Forest’s Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a chicken ordinance that allows up to 10 hens, no roosters, within the town limits. There was one dissenter, who feared, among other things, that chickens would run wild through neighborhoods. Good gracious. The horror. Thanks to Backyard Chickens for WakeContinue reading “Celebrating Backyard Chicken Laws and Chickens in General”

I spent so much of today hearing about “persistent cookies” in analytics training that I decided I needed to have the real thing tonight. So the kids and I suited up in our aprons and whipped up a half batch. Obviously as the pix show, all did not go well. Because I inadvertently melted insteadContinue reading “Real Cookies for the Virtual FarmFamily”

One of my favorite things about visiting The Farm is tagging along with Photo Farmgirl to collect the weekly CSA share at Victory Acres. This was a particularly bountiful visit. We were able to get a hefty load of tomatoes, including some hearty heirlooms that I intend to savor all week. And I picked upContinue reading “A Bountiful Visit”

I tried this recipe tonight from the Epicurious archives. I didn’t have nuts and I couldn’t find my light brown sugar (no need to send out a search party, it’s since been located). So this version of Brown-Sugar Glazed Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallows is sans almonds and with dark brown sugar substituted in. The darkContinue reading “Latenight Farmgirl Snack”

We got home three hours ago and I’ve just finished bailing out my laundry room, which was ankle deep and about ready to crest into the more important (read, messier) part of our basement. When I heard about Hurricane Ike barreling toward Galveston Bay, I had no idea we could get as much rain (minusContinue reading “Bailing Out”

I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I’m starting to get paranoid that Mother Nature simply doesn’t want me to raise my children as campers. This appears to be our third planned camping trip in a row that will be rained out. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll get enough of a break in the HurricaneContinue reading “Another Rainout? Time for Plan B”

I was skeptical about whether our crock pot ribs would be overcooked. Turns out, they were probably a bit overdone. But they were fantastic. The sauce that the iFarmer customized was particularly plate-licking good. I had no time to go to the farmers market, so we sided the meal with a bib lettuce salad, greenContinue reading “Ribs Update”

We just finished trying a new slow cooker recipe for Honey Chipotle Ribs. We bought the rack of baby backs for a guest, but never ended up using it. As we ran out the clock on the time to grill them, we opted for the slow cooker. I’m taking this as a first real sign,Continue reading “Supper's in the Pot, Veggies Still on the Farm”

Because my SoCal sister is thinking seriously about getting some backyard chickens and because I live vicariously through others (hence the name VFG), I’ve been catching up on my Urban Chicken reading. This post “Our noisy urban chickens get busted” is one every prospective backyard chicken owner should read. Not only do backyard chicken ownersContinue reading “Introducing Your Noisy Hens to the Joneses”