tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32108099186888351402011-10-16T17:41:10.756-04:00Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.comBlogger921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-28321451145076904592011-10-16T17:00:00.003-04:002011-10-16T17:41:10.780-04:00

So last year, I signed up for my bank's Christmas club. The money just hit my main account this week, and I'm beginning to plan things out in earnest. And when I was grocery shopping at a certain superstore (I know, I know - I told you I'm no purist!) I saw these canning kits that were really inexpensive and I said to myself, I said, "why not? I've been dancing around this for years!" and then I

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-49024941971051427092010-06-03T20:14:00.002-04:002010-06-03T20:21:41.231-04:00

We all already know that I'm a persnickity eater just by virtue of the fact that I'm a locavore, yes? Now don't get me wrong, I have a love affair with fake cheese in all its forms - including spray and powdered - so I'm not a total food snob. But I have a few hypocritical pet peeves that I doubt anyone could ever talk me out of.One is artificial sweeteners. There has never been a time, in my

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-12677007047015160852010-06-02T18:10:00.000-04:002010-06-02T18:11:55.211-04:00

So life has settled down into something very different from this time last year. At that point I had been living in Schenectady , with just a small front area to garden in, and a yard that was large, but covered in the neighbor’s dog poop. Now Matt and I live in a small-town duplex with a big yard. When we were over to sign the lease we saw that the landlords/next-door neighbors had a garden out

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-40783244206174242582010-06-01T13:05:00.002-04:002010-06-01T14:13:15.743-04:00

So I've had an ice cream maker for going on two years now, and never used it. I'm not generally one to keep appliances and kitchen gadgets around, but I had dreams of making ice cream with my kids and just couldn't part with it, even though I'd never once used it.Even becoming a locavore didn't change that, because Battenkill Creamery started making ice cream last year. Between that and the

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-22126069371145569312010-06-01T10:48:00.003-04:002010-06-01T12:44:54.914-04:00

So, bored one afternoon, some googling led me to Slow Food Saratoga Region. There, I made an interesting discovery: Fifty South, a restaurant I'd passed many times on my way to and from the farmer's market, was a locavore eatery. I emailed Matt immediately and we set a date to try it out.We were not disappointed. At the entry we were recognized as new customers and put ourselves on the email list

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-3756616238431545782009-12-22T11:55:00.002-05:002009-12-22T12:23:56.854-05:00

There hasn't been much to blog about around these parts for a good long time. After a while, eating local just becomes part of the landscape of things. (Although once in a while, something reminds you that the way you eat isn't the norm. Like picking up eggs in a convenience store - where items are typically priced higher than a grocery store - and being floored by how cheap they are.)And then

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-44119840708351355092009-09-04T13:03:00.005-04:002009-09-04T13:26:12.410-04:00

Well, one area of local eating has become a real adventure this year - tomatoes.Like many people, I eat a lot of tomato-based foods throughout the year. Spaghetti sauce and chili are my two biggest menu items in that respect. And just try finding canned tomato products locally! Even the locally-manufactured sauce is made from California tomatoes, and none of them have quite the taste I'm looking

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-88092035277598788842009-08-28T10:37:00.003-04:002009-08-28T10:38:07.076-04:00

Here's a strange little article found by Matt about heat-treating berries. Apparently, it prevents that rapid spoiling that's the hallmark of truly ripe strawberries and raspberries. Who knew?

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-33479832068804198912009-08-27T18:41:00.005-04:002009-08-27T19:22:49.672-04:00

For Matt and I, a week that we've skipped the farmer's market is a week that we feel vaguely off-kilter. It's really become a major part of the pattern of our lives, and the location of the bulk of our food shopping.It's been a crazy time since our move, though, and we've slipped into a more sort of "normal" life, buying a lot of food and produce at the regular grocery store (and WalMart!) and

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-51191029333871951062009-08-25T11:17:00.009-04:002009-08-26T19:24:39.861-04:00

So even at this late date, I'm seeing zucchini out the ears at every farmstand. This is one of the big ones that people struggle to use up because it seems that if zucchini grow at all, they grow in great big piles of plant matter. They can be frozen (great instructions on general freezing of vegetables here), but for some reason this isn't commonly done. Perhaps people are so tired of them by

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-36000355992409969322009-08-13T09:33:00.005-04:002009-08-16T10:01:15.716-04:00

So it's time to start talking about ways to use up the stuff that's overflowing at the farmer's markets right now. First step, blueberries, for two reasons: that's what GeeWhizMcGee specifically mentioned and she's the only one that commented (for shame!), and that's what J and Fawn have taking over in their kitchens right now due to J's small blueberry farm out back.Now, as already mentioned, my

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-43976060003845717442009-08-12T19:09:00.002-04:002009-08-12T19:25:41.325-04:00

So for my birthday, Matt's daughter and ex-wife were kind enough to pick me up a copy of Simply in Season at the farmer's market. I'm not often very excited by birthday presents - I'm afraid I'm terribly finicky and difficult to shop for - but this was a very good gift.Among the recipes in it - which so far I haven't had a moment to try, but it's bound to come up eventually - was what they called

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-46769884013458903652009-08-12T14:08:00.004-04:002009-08-12T14:26:18.408-04:00

Surprisingly, much of the information I'd expected to pull together related to Honest Weight's Eat Local Challenge turned out to be a bit of a bust. They have disappointingly little on their own website, the Times Union blog is interesting but has the dates for the challenge stated incorrectly in the linked post, and they've listed the national website wrong on the co-op's own Eat Local Challenge

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-20098786557291884442009-08-12T10:13:00.003-04:002009-08-12T14:25:41.006-04:00

All right now. We are entirely moved into our new place and have it almost set up to our specifications! Now I should be able to blog more regularly, and good thing, too! There's so much to talk about:- It's really time to follow up on my "How Do You Use It Up?" thought. I didn't get the response I'd hoped for, so I'm going to break it down item by item with my own ideas. Jump in anytime!- The

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-34873429482352977952009-07-27T13:00:00.002-04:002009-07-27T13:03:29.688-04:00

A big "problem" that locavores, farmers, gardeners, and lovers of fresh food face every year about this time is: how can you possibly use all this stuff that's ripe right now?I thought this was a great post to bring out reader participation. Everyone has a favorite way to use up corn, tomatoes, green peppers, blueberries. Later, I'll make a new post with everyone's suggestions, sorted out by food

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-63323693008022089242009-07-27T12:57:00.003-04:002009-07-27T13:00:25.537-04:00

Another item that we had an overabundance of was corn. Matt had bought some at the farm stand with the peaches; then his ex-mother-in-law passed him some more. Finally, I got some at the farmer’s market for Fawn’s sleepover, and we hadn’t used all of it.I think a lot of people just eat corn on the cob when it comes to fresh corn, and use frozen the rest of the time. I grew up on a farm though,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-76756991059194631092009-07-27T12:24:00.003-04:002009-07-27T12:48:20.118-04:00

So, apart from being a pie-making fool at Fawn’s, I’ve been a cobbler-making one, too. I’ve tried a few different recipes, but the latest is probably the one I’ll stick with. It’s absurdly easy, tasty, and is delicious even if you make it with completely whole wheat flour.The first time, I made it with blueberries, but one day Matt came home with a bunch of New York peaches, I think perhaps

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-44981303477100670642009-07-24T16:44:00.003-04:002009-07-24T16:51:51.431-04:00

So I heard on Tuesday that Matt and I can sign a lease on a duplex next Thursday! There aren’t enough words to explain what a relief this is to me. I know what school district my daughter will be going to in the fall. I know how much space I have, how it’s laid out, and how much my rent will be. I know I have landlords who struck me as really nice and fairly dedicated to the property – it’s been

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-65432270012735656992009-07-15T18:29:00.001-04:002009-07-15T18:30:40.650-04:00

So, the cauliflower thing so did not turn out well. Not at all. So I'll just skip posting what I did here, since no one would care to repeat it I'm sure!

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-12134416082335158532009-07-15T17:06:00.006-04:002009-07-15T17:33:45.454-04:00

That's dinner tonight; yum.Now that Matt's got an oven that works, we may as well use it; and I'll go back to my usual practice of filling it up (or at least cooking several items at once) to conserve energy.Tonight I'm roasting a chicken from Brookside with a bunch of Bowman rosemary, a sprig of Kilpatrick basil, and a big fistful of Kilpatrick garlic scapes in the cavity. I just sprinkled salt,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-3395688890545713552009-07-14T22:01:00.002-04:002009-07-14T22:15:01.532-04:00

I really need to learn to like raw blueberries. I can't explain why, but I just don't; and they're coming in in such large numbers now at J's that I really wish I liked them that way. Because now, I've started baking them into everything. Everything that is full of fat and sugar and other things that are no good for you.I'd already made a peach buckle, a black-cap buckle, and two blueberry pies.

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-54579834395472614862009-07-12T17:48:00.003-04:002009-07-14T22:21:28.793-04:00

So, we came home with an overabundance of produce this weekend. Maybe not overabundance - there's a good chance we'll actually use it all - but it certainly feels like it at the beginning of the week.On Saturday, corn was the obvious choice, since it goes starchy so quickly. But the broccoli has started to come out now, too, and that means something other than spinach for a frittata, for the

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-53593084109187681372009-07-11T16:00:00.002-04:002009-07-11T16:10:17.024-04:00

Matt had himself a new stove delivered this afternoon while he was out at a carnival with our girls. As you might remember from our ricotta adventure, his oven had a heating element broken. Seems as how it'd cost "more than the old stove is worth" to replace the heating element, so a whole new one was purchased. Isn't that just the way these days? I hope the old one gets recycled.Anyway, I'm not

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-33718914386652447062009-07-11T10:33:00.003-04:002009-07-11T10:58:33.964-04:00

So much new stuff at the farmer's market today, we didn't even know where to turn. Broccoli is out, new potatoes and carrots, corn. Alongside the still-fairly-new cherries, blueberries, summer squash, cucumbers, and so forth, it's hard to know where to begin.We definitely got some broccoli, which we can throw in a tasty tasty frittata, and some corn. It's chowder for dinner tonight. The

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-54157711102579979722009-07-11T10:14:00.002-04:002009-07-11T10:30:18.049-04:00

When I heated up some prefab stir fry at Fawn's (F's actual name) the other night, I made extra rice and vegetables to stretch it out. We ended up with just enough leftover rice to make my favorite rice pudding from allrecipes.com. I like it because you make it on a stove top, so it comes out more like the kheer rice pudding you get at the Indian buffets.I use allrecipes a lot, by the way, and

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-71572579875613744682009-07-06T20:40:00.002-04:002009-07-06T21:13:22.530-04:00

It's nice to put the move behind me for a little while and get back to the things I like doing, like cooking. F is a working mom and sure likes not having to cook when she comes home. (Note: she likes cooking. She doesn't like having to cook when she's already overtired.)Tonight we had macaroni and cheese (not at all local), peas from my Kilpatrick share, cauliflower that I bought at the market

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-90717858860989877782009-07-02T15:22:00.003-04:002009-07-02T15:55:55.837-04:00

Oh, my, what a fool I can be sometimes.It's funny, because I'm having quite a few local food adventures - mulberry pancakes and mulberry/peach buckle, nasturtiums and day lilies, and now the black-caps are out - but not enough clear-headed time to write. Well, it'll come eventually.Anyway, I am all moved in at F's house. It's pretty wild over here. J has three children across the street, 8, 5,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-57491782704059504722009-06-24T21:20:00.002-04:002009-06-24T21:36:39.834-04:00

Soon, my pretties, soon I will have time to blog again - and things to blog about. This Saturday I'm moving to F's house, after which I'll (hopefully - got to check with his landlord) be joining Matt at his abode.On Monday, Matt had the day off, during which I rented a storage unit, but we also went foraging at J's. Got about a pound of asparagus, but the wild strawberries are basically gone, and

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-15380221562521917872009-06-21T15:20:00.003-04:002009-06-21T18:57:27.679-04:00

So among the many things I've had going on this week, there was a weekend at Indian Lake that we'd planned months ago, back when I had no idea I'd be moving at this time. Come to think of it, back before I realized it was Father's Day this weekend - the 21st honestly seemed like too late a date, so I didn't check with the calendar.Anyway, Indian Lake is a pretty sizable body of water up in the

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-20100695875396835932009-06-14T13:00:00.003-04:002009-06-14T13:25:49.799-04:00

That's what it was in our house yesterday. My kids had a bath before we left the house (Emma had a dance at school the night before and everyone was all sweaty, yuck); then we went to the farmer's market with Matt and his daughter, where the kids ate so many strawberries that their faces and hands were covered in red juice. In the case of Matt's daughter, her legs, too - she was our most

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-16429104708778947122009-06-13T11:29:00.002-04:002009-06-13T11:46:30.846-04:00

So as aforementioned, I'm in the middle of getting ready to move on top of my usual full-time school semester right now. It's been a tad hectic, getting the old place cleaned up and cleared out of six years' worth of accumulated stuff. I'm doing well, though; just got the attic to finish going through, and I've got to find a home for some furniture yet.It seems likely that I'll be living up at

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-78616533578301778592009-06-03T20:18:00.002-04:002009-06-03T20:24:14.128-04:00

I just ordered myself a Starter Special over at New England Cheesemaking. So. Exciting.Soon I'll be making my own mozzarella and ricotta.

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-74861320388279053462009-06-01T19:35:00.004-04:002009-06-01T19:50:45.460-04:00

Still hard at work in school and getting ready to move; sorry for the sparse posts. But over the weekend, I had the chance to make a delicious top round London Broil I'd bought from the Lewis Waite Farm; I'm officially hooked on their meat.I asked the person manning the table this Saturday why he thought their meat doesn't taste gamey, like grass-finished beef sometimes does. (I confessed that I

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-30943618273035971472009-05-28T21:42:00.002-04:002009-05-28T21:52:57.009-04:00

Hey, you may continue to experience sparse posting for a while into the future... Those who know me in person or from other sites will know that I'm in the middle of a divorce right now. I'm preparing to move next month, while juggling a full-time school schedule and, of course, my two children.So until things are settled in at the new place, I may not be on nearly as frequently as I'd like. I'm

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-50214514049182768032009-05-28T20:28:00.002-04:002009-05-28T21:42:19.419-04:00

For Memorial Day weekend, Matt and I took off for Northampton, Mass. Those who know me from elsewhere or read my Moroccan Mint Tea blog know my love of Northampton. I stumbled across the place by accident last summer on a trip with my mom and kids, and have been in love with it ever since. Matt agreed to make a trip with me, and has friends to visit there besides.This wasn't at all like meeting

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-73957401368784094212009-05-21T20:39:00.003-04:002009-05-21T21:23:27.633-04:00

So the other night, I was over at my brother's and sister-in-law's, dropping off some tomato plants (Sweet 100's - a breed of cherry tomatoes we used to grow on the farm back in the day, NOM NOM NOM) and homemade yogurt, and mooching some of her homemade strawberry jam to give F with her yogurt. My sister-in-law started regaling me with tales of her childhood, eating mass quantities of wild,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-58875251792374995542009-05-19T16:33:00.005-04:002009-05-20T09:20:49.473-04:00

So I had this almost-entirely-uneaten roast chicken leftover. Whoops. Sometimes I find that I get a little over-enthusiastic at the buying end of things, given how little my family eats at the dining end of things. Today I set it in a pot to make some stock (this week, with a piece of green garlic - apparently just immature regular garlic - a carrot, a hunk of yellow onion, a fistful of fresh

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-20432896174130078002009-05-19T11:16:00.003-04:002009-05-19T11:19:48.679-04:00

That last blog moved me to google a little bit and see what else I could find on Michael Pollan, and I turned up this essay that he wrote in 2007, before he published In Defense of Food. It's twelve pages long, but it covers the gist of much of his book, including some of the guidelines he discusses for eating. In fact, some of it is repeated in the book verbatim.It's a long essay, but absolutely

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-51220091257598548372009-05-19T10:09:00.002-04:002009-05-19T10:22:53.754-04:00

I get a newsletter today from Care2.com, an interesting little site I found while learning about homemade beauty treatments. I started off on that little tangent when Emma was a toddler, because a friend and coworker sent around an informational email about microdermabrasion that included the little gem that one of the crystals used in the process is bicarbonate of soda: baking soda. I started

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-7201553933257228652009-05-16T16:25:00.006-04:002009-05-18T16:00:18.086-04:00

I remember, a dog's age ago, when I worked at Albany Medical Center; my manager there used to say that all the time. The fact is, the reason that old cliché rings true is that many hands generally make work more of a party, and therefore not really work at all. Well Hell, why do you think people used to throw sewing bees and corn shucking parties? That stuff can be deadly dull by itself.Well in

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-83028582208716935302009-05-15T13:25:00.002-04:002009-05-15T13:31:09.648-04:00

It turns out that my brother has a tiller. He tried to tell me as much here on the blog, but it's not accepting his comments. (Here's hoping it will now!) It's electrical in nature, which is a bit odd, but it's small enough to fit in the car, which is extremely helpful.So we'll be expanding our gardening at my friend's house quite a bit this weekend. We've been operating purely with hand tools,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-33599434025716040572009-05-15T13:11:00.002-04:002009-05-15T13:21:27.094-04:00

Those three rules are the overarching theme of Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food. You know, the one I can't seem to get into the re-read of. When I do, it'll be great fodder for blog posts, being full of interesting guidelines and ideas for healthy eating at its end (such as the emphasis on eating more leaves to balance against your consumption of grains - but I get ahead of myself).Today

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-8415687038582692582009-05-10T21:05:00.004-04:002009-05-11T19:18:04.136-04:00

When I use dry beans, I prefer to avoid the canned variety. For one thing, they're full of sodium. For another, they're squishier, and they weigh a lot more. This means they make my grocery bags heavier, and they cost more to ship around.And now, I've been lucky enough to find dry beans that are, if not local, at least from this state.The co-op has started carrying certain types of beans from a

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-3907156135139831282009-05-08T14:17:00.002-04:002009-05-08T14:29:05.028-04:00

I'll be celebrating tomorrow with a tea party/lunch with my kids and mom. We'll be having PBJ tea sandwiches (regular PBJs with the crusts cut off and made into pretty shapes), green salad with violets, and the potato salad I made before, minus the pink-and-purple this time (it didn't show well through the dressing, anyway).After hanging with the kids, mom and I will be heading out for the new

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-10730327454750424492009-05-07T22:09:00.001-04:002009-05-07T22:10:54.084-04:00

They were great! You can't really smell the orange, but you can definitely taste it, and they were delish. The recipe made a dozen, and they're already gone.

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-67263154963169879642009-05-07T11:36:00.003-04:002009-05-07T11:51:30.664-04:00

Anyone who's ever run a really frugal kitchen knows that one of the best ways to save is with a bubbling stock pot. Saving up leftover vegetables, chicken carcasses, and so forth are second nature, because you can get another meal or two out of what most people think of as table scraps to be thrown out or composted.For me, the chicken is pretty much where the stock pot begins and ends. Beef in my

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-56217658989040497812009-05-06T18:35:00.002-04:002009-05-06T18:55:48.637-04:00

As mentioned, I had a mess of overripe bananas in my house. Along with that, I had some grated orange and lemon zest left over from the Pizza Dolce. I've kind of gotten to the point that, on the rare occasion when something citrusy crosses my doorstep, I won't let it pass without grating the zest off for culinary uses. This means that I'll have to find new places to use it culinarily, though.So

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-51176552145759762392009-05-06T16:25:00.002-04:002009-05-06T16:36:29.911-04:00

I have so much time now with the semester out, I'm not sure what to do with it at times. So I went out and weeded during my son's nap. There really wasn't much to pull, but I did it anyway. I needed something to do while on the phone, and it was too nice out to stay inside.The lettuce and spinach sprouts are developing real leaves now, although I don't think the carrots are showing yet. (I'm not

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-6108047123957327032009-05-05T21:31:00.002-04:002009-05-05T21:55:39.294-04:00

Tonight's dinner was what it's all about. We had a salad of greens from Kilpatrick, with garlic mustard and violets, which Emma loved.We also had a couple of chicken breasts, which I cut in to chunks and sautéed with the last of the local mushrooms (about six big ones). I added a few finely-chopped leaves of sage and rosemary, and a good sprinkling of dried thyme. Salt and pepper, of course, and

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-25195818635050853282009-05-05T14:46:00.002-04:002009-05-05T14:46:46.454-04:00

Go outside.Water your garden.Within half an hour, rain will start to fall.*facepalm*

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-5978412918248098372009-05-05T13:59:00.002-04:002009-05-05T14:08:00.061-04:00

I just spent ten minutes on the phone with my boyfriend. (Hereinafter referred to simply as "Matt." Because that's his name.) No, that's not the nutty part. I spent ten minutes on the phone with him, mumbling because I was sitting at the dining room table next to my napping son's room, making myself incomprehensible in the little Bluetooth doohicky, trimming dandelion seeds off tiny bits of fluff

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-7376813126486031472009-05-04T19:03:00.003-04:002009-05-05T11:44:01.894-04:00

It's funny, as you get going on a project like this, the changes you notice taking place. I've gotten into a lot of self-improvement projects in the past, but this one is different: it wasn't really undertaken deliberately; it was a change in mindset, happening from the inside out. I'm only changing because I feel like it, and the ethical plusses are just a bonus.One of the things that I'm

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-52703153281720820952009-05-04T10:04:00.002-04:002009-05-04T10:21:18.401-04:00

Last year at Christmas I got several jars of preserves from my brother and sister-in-law as gifts. My son likes the spiced pear one, but my favorite - long-gone now - was the homemade strawberry jam. Turns out she'd gotten a little over-enthusiastic when she went berry picking that summer and needed something to do with the danged things. Even someone who loves strawberries as much as she does

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-10347686654425166292009-05-03T20:26:00.002-04:002009-05-03T21:08:12.264-04:00

So the Saratoga farmer's market keeps operating all winter, which is great; and when the weather gets warm enough, they move it outside for the summer.That happened this past weekend, and along with being outside, it's considerably expanded; lots more vendors. And I'll tell you the truth - I didn't like it. Of course that's probably because we had all three of our children with us.Outside means

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-39777663119752737822009-05-03T19:38:00.002-04:002009-05-03T20:25:12.886-04:00

So, as noted before, this summer I bought a CSA share at Kilpatrick Family Farm. Yesterday was the first time I got to pick up. I'm splitting a full share with my boyfriend; I wasn't sure I'd consistently eat enough to use up the whole share, but the best savings are at that level.Each week you get six or seven different vegetables; this week every share came with carrots and five other items. We

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-89986536816668517642009-04-30T17:45:00.004-04:002009-04-30T17:58:01.430-04:00

Last summer I made a trip to Northampton, Mass and had a fantastic dinner at a place call Amanouz Café. Along with being very inexpensive and serving me just about the best salmon ever, they introduced me to something they called "Moroccan Mint Tea."I don't like many herbal teas, but mint is one I can tolerate, and it turns out the in fact, this was black tea with a sprig or two of fresh mint in

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-40227944632461887402009-04-28T11:38:00.006-04:002009-04-30T17:58:39.730-04:00

Well, Saturday we made our usual trip to the farmer's market in Saratoga. Paid for my CSA share, which I'll start picking up next weekend (just when the market moves outdoors for the summer). Along with the usual milk from Battenkill (plus some heavy cream to whip and put over SO-not-local strawberries and Belgian waffles Sunday morning), I got another chicken from Brookside, spinach and leeks

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-65075545165828872782009-04-27T19:25:00.003-04:002009-04-27T20:35:28.286-04:00

Call it another good thing about eating local - you tend to have to come up with new ways to eat stuff. When you're making yourself eat more or less in season rather than from habit, you generally get a lot of a few ingredients for several weeks in a row. You don't want to miss the opportunity to eat them, but there are only so many times you can eat the same thing one way.Take parsnips. The only

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-7899542761321941432009-04-27T18:42:00.002-04:002009-04-27T18:58:32.606-04:00

At the Bowman Orchards table, they carry a few coolers of meat from the Locust Grove Smokehouse. Italian sausage was $3.00 a pound, and even the chickens you can get at the market right now are $3.75 a pound, so I bought a package of six links (at about 1.2 pounds, the two links I cooked tonight were nearly half a pound).Today was pretty darned hot, and I really didn't want to heat up the kitchen

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-71809714435751483612009-04-27T09:31:00.002-04:002009-04-27T11:30:44.024-04:00

I came back from my weekend out and I can't say I ran straight to my mini-greenhouse to see what had happened - I do have children to check in with first - but it was one of the first things I did, certainly. (I did water the front garden before coming up so as to avoid a riot of small children wanting to be outside playing in the mud.)The nasturtiums outside were still alive, more or less. Which

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-26066030157355586922009-04-27T09:11:00.002-04:002009-04-27T09:31:04.032-04:00

It's time I finally put up the recipe with alterations for the Saag Aloo I made the other day. As I mentioned, I had to make substitutions in places based on what was in my cabinet; what came out was delicious and, to my palate at least, tasted pretty authentic.I made a half-batch since I was the only one eating; it could still feed two people, though. The potato was the last Corolla from Sheldon

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-87672206318462948202009-04-26T21:53:00.004-04:002009-04-26T22:01:12.684-04:00

I have been too busy doing stuff this weekend to spend much time writing about it; you'll probably find that happening on most weekends, so I'll apologize in advance. Tonight I have history homework, but tomorrow will find me here with lots of posts to make.Some highlights of the weekend:the ubiquitous trip to the farmer's marketa rare trip to the food co-opthe beginning work on the garden in my

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-2816621564070624542009-04-24T14:28:00.003-04:002009-04-24T14:34:24.743-04:00

Here's hoping they live.Can't post much today; too busy getting ready for the weekend. But to go with my tandoori last night, I made some sort of spinach-and-potato deal called Saag Aloo. It was fantastic! Although I did have to make some changes to the recipe to reflect what I actually have in my spice cabinet (i.e., ground cardamom rather than pods), and of course the onion was taken out and

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-15005372359267063452009-04-23T14:06:00.002-04:002009-04-23T14:11:59.663-04:00

I took a peek at the package of the St. Valery carrot seeds I'd bought to see whether or not it was too early to plant - only to read "plant 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost, or whenever the soil is workable." Whoops! (See how often I say that?)So I got my little patooty out front and planting right away. I've only got one patch in, and there's another spot I want to plant on the other side,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-13577101294342769102009-04-23T10:03:00.002-04:002009-04-23T10:23:31.716-04:00

So I realized that, if I made tandoori before next week, I'd have too many leftovers haunting my fridge while I'm out this weekend. Typically, I just eat what's around - sometimes a bowl of cereal - on Thursday nights, since my children go over to their grandmother's with their father. But I thought, this time, I'll cook a full dinner, just for me. I still have lunch today and tomorrow to make a

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-30949953291425196102009-04-23T09:28:00.002-04:002009-04-23T09:34:09.124-04:00

Well, the parsley has finally decided to show its face a bit, although there are still more than half that haven't popped up. The basil is just starting to grow new leaves, and the chamomile had to be trimmed down a bit with scissors; the seeds were so tiny that I literally couldn't see what I was doing during planting. The Greek oregano hasn't shown yet, but it's not supposed to've done.The

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-33166255395502358492009-04-22T16:20:00.003-04:002009-04-22T16:28:21.032-04:00

I'm working on my potato soup right now. I took the recipe I linked to earlier and cut it in half; potato soup is okay, but there's only so much of it I'm willing to eat.I microwaved my potatoes beforehand to shorten cooking time, too. A minutes and a half, flip, a minute and a half.Potato Soup with Ramps3 slices bacon2 cups chopped ramps (including green - about a dozen)2 cups diced potatoes3

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-86126036409000753602009-04-22T15:46:00.001-04:002009-04-22T15:48:31.627-04:00

I came home on the walk from Emma's school today and I saw a bunch of green leaves shooting up where the mint used to be last year.Guess I didn't kill it, after all. Even after ripping it up by its roots - I thought - last week.

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-52694490090581477452009-04-22T13:05:00.003-04:002009-04-22T13:45:31.333-04:00

My goodness! I managed to skip a whole day there somehow. Well, I'll have to make up for it now.Yesterday I was planning on more yogurt-making, but it seems I'd left my thermometer behind from making ricotta at my boyfriend's. Sigh.Nonetheless, I still had a nice local dinner up my sleeve: a chicken from Brookside Farm in Argyle, New York. They raise beef, veal, chicken, and turkey. Their turkeys

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-14210637402920281292009-04-20T19:32:00.003-04:002009-04-20T19:59:20.042-04:00

The beauty of the frittata is its versatility. Once you've figured out the proportions of egg, cheese, and milk you like, the rest is simple; you can switch out cheeses, veggies, and meats at will, depending on what you have in your cabinets.I, of course, have an overabundance of ramps at the moment. I also have some left over ham (CAFO meat, sadly - but I did get a local chicken for a project

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-70333592561791035302009-04-20T19:19:00.002-04:002009-04-20T19:25:38.460-04:00

So, step two. We’d made our ricotta Saturday afternoon, but Saturday night I had a party to attend, so the pie had to wait.It was tricky squeezing in the pie-making on Sunday. My boyfriend’s daughter was having her eighth birthday party that afternoon – but if I didn’t bake it Sunday he wouldn’t even get to try it. So, Sunday morning, we dove right into it.Actually, technically, he dove right

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-33373448616795310712009-04-20T10:51:00.003-04:002009-04-20T11:16:10.426-04:00

I spend a lot of posts here talking about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I love reading books and often tear through them at an absurdly rapid pace, but once in a while there's a book that's so good, you go back and read it again more slowly to savor it.This is one of those books. It's full of a lot of valuable information, to be sure, but what really makes it interesting is the personal stories

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-25172277895486044712009-04-19T10:07:00.005-04:002009-04-19T12:54:57.181-04:00

One of the things that stuck with me long-term from reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was the chapter on cheesemaking. It had never occured to me that a person could make their own cheese! Since everyone I know buys theirs in the store, I suppose I took it for granted that it must be complicated or expensive or difficult, and never gave it a thought.So you can imagine that I was pretty surprised

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-30013026738005935822009-04-18T18:36:00.002-04:002009-04-18T18:49:33.892-04:00

So I went to the farmer's market like every Saturday, and as I walked up to the Sheldon Farms table intending to pick up some potatoes for the week, I saw that they had these funny bundles of baby leek looking things. In fact, I thought they were actually just young leeks. But I decided to ask about them just the same, rather than run on assumptions, and it turns out they were bundles of ramps.As

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-22786741956213324072009-04-16T21:27:00.003-04:002009-04-16T21:35:24.384-04:00

Well, as mentioned in a previous blog, I found a little bit of garlic mustard when I was weeding yesterday. Since I don’t have any lettuce either in my fridge or my garden yet, I decided to cook it in some bean soup and see what I thought about it. I’ve never actually eaten it before except for the occasional leaf on the trail; I only learned about it last year on a wildflower walk with

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-38796879629382613442009-04-16T09:54:00.002-04:002009-04-16T09:58:08.297-04:00

OK. Well, bigger seeds do mean bigger, harder-to-kill seedlings.They also mean they outgrow the little greenhouse long before any of the other things you plant. Then they press their little leaves against the plastic top, which for some reason (Heat? Moisture?) begin to wilt.So they're out of the wee greenhouse now. And I won't be trying THAT again.But, last night Emma and I went out and planted

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-15780690309339196122009-04-15T20:03:00.002-04:002009-04-15T20:26:46.523-04:00

For those of you who would like to get your hands on some raw milk, but don't know where, visit A Campaign for Real Milk to find farms near you.I had thought that there were regulations against selling raw milk, but apparently that's not the case - it's just complicated here in New York. Nationwide, raw milk is legal for human consumption in only 28 states, and for animal consumption in 33. In

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-3435577263195480422009-04-15T14:06:00.002-04:002009-04-15T14:08:28.244-04:00

So I’m weeding my garden, scanning for edibles when voila! I find a couple of small garlic mustards.This time of year their leaves are rounder and less pointy than later, and there are no flowers yet. But they’re good eatin’. And while normally you have to be careful not to over-harvest when foraging, garlic mustard is an invasive species, so the more you pull, the better. They taste a bit oniony

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-4513159708304361742009-04-15T12:06:00.004-04:002009-04-15T19:54:12.305-04:00

So, today I decided to try my hand at making yogurt. Emma's home from school this whole week, and without a car we're often rather lean on things to do. Seemed like a good time to try it.Most people probably have all the required equipment right in their kitchens. You need a candy thermometer, pots of varying sizes, measuring spoons, a wire whisk, and lidded containers of glass or porcelain. I

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-31560460333539525292009-04-14T15:41:00.003-04:002009-04-14T15:43:05.302-04:00

I had a bunch of adventures planned out for today to keep Emma entertained and to give me things to blog about. Instead, my sink drain fell apart in my hands just when the sink was full of dirty dishwater.Awesome.So no yogurt-making or gardening took place today as I'd been hoping. Cross your fingers for tomorrow!

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-57338923027028682222009-04-13T19:46:00.002-04:002009-04-13T21:46:56.393-04:00

I’m finding, fairly often, my new locavore habit butting heads with another, older philosophy I’ve long held: frugality.Frugality is not just being cheap. It’s pinching pennies, to be sure, but it’s also learning to live better on less. Living on less leaves more to give, or calls for less income and thus offers you more freedom. Frugality gave me the ability to open my own business, the chance

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-25916495505680197642009-04-13T10:34:00.002-04:002009-04-13T10:36:51.707-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, the Easter Eats blog was delayed by the fact that I was writing a paper. By a funny coincidence, this module’s paper for my Globalization class was on the topic of local manufacturing and local food, and whether or not these markets could ever be, in my professor’s word, “reconstituted.” In doing the research for that assignment, I came across a number of interesting

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-78707748138758104442009-04-13T10:00:00.002-04:002009-04-13T10:07:31.468-04:00

So, Easter brunch went very well. The frittata came out very… vegetable-y. It was good, but there’s another recipe I use where the proportion of milk and cheese to egg is different, and it comes out lighter, which I prefer… I may try sticking closer to that in future. That recipe calls for five eggs to one cup each of cheese and milk, while this one calls for three eggs and a half cup each. But,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-50945303691293548422009-04-12T16:47:00.002-04:002009-04-12T16:50:34.311-04:00

**squeal!**I'll be on writing up an Easter blog a bit later - possibly not even until tomorrow. Busy writing a paper at the moment, but I had to comment on my flowers comin' up.I might just give in to the temptation to go back to the Seed Savers site and order some lettuces after all. There are just too many interesting-looking things there, and I'm told by my father (a farmer, back in the day)

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-398547733160721242009-04-11T20:03:00.002-04:002009-04-11T20:07:20.216-04:00

Some of them looked fuzzy and I couldn't see why - but eventually I realized that they'd been dropped on the surface of the soil instead of covered over. I gently covered the fuzzy bits with dirt, and hopefully they'll still grow all right. These are the hazards of having your kindergartener help you out - but it's a small price to pay, really.Still no sign of parsley or nasturtiums (the package

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-40151590073881333972009-04-11T19:44:00.003-04:002009-04-11T20:03:32.547-04:00

So this year for Easter I’m trying something new. Right now I’m in the middle of a divorce, and the kids will be going with their dad for Easter dinner; so I’m hosting an Easter brunch in the morning with my family. Everyone’s bringing something, and I’ll fill in the gaps in between.I managed to get almost everything I needed right there at the farmer’s market. Fingerling potatoes for home fries

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-64774397971750378032009-04-10T09:03:00.001-04:002009-04-10T09:03:33.927-04:00

Oh no!!!**rotates greenhouse**

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-21178544543319233772009-04-09T12:34:00.000-04:002009-04-09T12:35:49.512-04:00

Oh, I wish I had a camera. They're the first things to come up and the weensiest little things you ever saw.

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-88999022729960909132009-04-09T12:16:00.000-04:002009-04-09T12:24:17.916-04:00

In order to inspire more blog topics (and to reconnect with the reasons for my interest with local eating in the first place), I’ve been re-reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Today in my re-read, I was reminded of one of the many reasons I’m interested in being a locavore: biodiversity.When you eat locally, you tend to frequent the farmer’s markets, which are populated by

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-53065853538095828512009-04-08T12:59:00.001-04:002009-04-13T10:06:53.929-04:00

You could trace my interest in the local food movement to many sources; dozens of different experiences have contributed to my viewpoint now. But one of the earliest influences was my mother.I frequently complain about my mother, as many daughters do, but one thing she did and did right was this: feed us. When other kids were getting Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops, we were told to read the

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-7599960354576936752009-04-07T12:12:00.000-04:002009-04-07T12:13:30.578-04:00

The garden is the savior of the locavore’s budget. Let’s face it, in most respects eating locally is more expensive. I bought strawberries last week for $1.99 in a package size similar to the ones I bought last summer for $5.50 at a farmer’s market. For foods that are expensive, it makes sense to grow them yourself if you can. That goes for foods that don’t seem worth their cost, too; for me,

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3210809918688835140.post-52580457604391578472009-04-06T20:23:00.000-04:002009-04-06T20:29:09.402-04:00

So my gardening thing all began with a Christmas present. Someone gave my daughter – or me, I’m not sure which – a potted plant as a gift. A philodendron cutting, to be precise. Emma was four that year and her interest took off. It happened that I’d been taking her out with a field guide to learn wild plants all summer long, so the gift fit in pretty neatly with out interests. Emma couldn’t write

Lilybeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15273020445834270054noreply@blogger.com1