Inspired by Jennifer Murtoff’s excellent post on Egg Labels, and having read a bit about some of the recent rules issued by the USDA regarding meat nutrition labeling issued by the USDA, I thought I’d dig a bit into Meat Labeling, and look into some local choices for meat producers and retailers.
Though we’re all better off reducing meat consumption and getting more of our calories from plant-based sources, it helps to make informed decisions. The USDA sets out some relevant definitions, but what do they really mean? Continue reading 'Meat Labeling and Local Resources'»
Good Food for All, a blog dedicated to local food and agriculture resources in the Chicago region, posts a weekly digest of relevant information for the Chicago region at ChicagoREgen.com.
Good Food for All is a blog of Fresh Taste, a collaboration of funders dedicated to encouraging diverse local agriculture and access to food that is healthy, green, fair and affordable in the Chicago region. To subscribe and to learn more, click here.
By: Fresh Taste
We’ve updated our Farmer’s Markets Page with the 2011 schedule! Check it out and support your local Farmer’s Market! Are we missing your favorite one? Let us know by contacting us!
Guest post by: Kerri McClimen
Throughout the centuries, blueberries have inspired songs, poems, pie-eating contests, and odes to the healing power of antioxidants. But on a recent morning, they inspired a single word: Yuck!
I should have known blueberries bought in Chicago in March would not inspire the kind of reaction I was hoping for—and certainly not the kind of response Chicago Public Schools hoped for when it sent out a memo urging kids to eat breakfasts filled with blueberries and eggs to boost brain power during ISAT (testing week).
We can’t blame Trader Joe’s: Even their terrific suppliers are thousands of miles away. Do you have any idea how far those blueberries traveled? Do you know what kinds of chemicals are sometimes put on the berries to make them last and look good? (even if they still taste bad?).
I was always taught there are only a few ways to get local fruit in Chicago during winter—such as know your farmers and get frozen berries from Mick Klug or Seedling. Or find apples from Hillside or Ellis Farm or local growers such as them. Or channel your grandmother and rely on preserves and juices savored from summer planting.
But then I met Robin Schirmer. (http://www.thelocalbeet.com/author/robininwinter/). Continue reading 'Don't Wait for the Blueberries – Shop at the Farmers Market All Year Long'»
Logan Square Kitchen will hold its third Community Soup Night on Tuesday, April 12 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. It will be fun night for anyone interested in food – from gardening at any scale, to small scale food businesses, to having a relationship with farmers, to just eating good food!
Logan Square Kitchen, owned by Logan Square residents Zina and Nick Murray, is a commercial kitchen and event space that is committed to sustainability (http://www.logansquarekitchen.com/sustainability) at every turn. Budding small-scale food entrepreneurs can rent time in the kitchen to craft their wares that might end up on your table. The event space is available for rental, and as well has been the site of many fundraisers, meetings and community events the bring people together and increase awareness of what is happening around the neighborhood.
Suggested Donation: $1-$10 for vegan soup and bread
Logan Square Kitchen
2333 N Milwaukee
773-342-2333
logansquarekitchen.com
By: Vanessa Smith
Among the many gems at this spring’s Family Farmed Expo, I attended a session titled “Is Vertical Farming the Future of Agriculture?” Moderated by Arash Amini from 312 Aquaponics , the panel included John Edel from the Plant, Ken Dunn from the Resource Center , and Erika Allen from Growing Power. It was a pleasure to hear these Midwestern urban agriculture veterans talk about their work and the what it means to be a “vertical farmer.”
Erika Allen defined “vertical farming” as maximizing the space that you grow food in, no matter how little space you have available. Her example of the most basic vertical farming technique was to grow food in pots in multiple levels in front of a window, to best use the available sunlight. This example nicely confirmed that growing food can begin simply and Continue reading 'The Vertical Loop'»
It’s 60 degrees and sunny as I write this. Rays of sunlight are dancing across my desk. After enduring our brutal Chicago winter, I should be dancing too. But I’m not.
I wanted to share pictures of my garden with you. My earnest chives and parsley have poked their brilliant green heads above the soggy leaves and cold soil. Yesterday, I knelt down and broke off a tiny chive—my first taste of spring. But it was bitter.
I wanted to give you an update on our seedlings. The pepper plants are thriving under their fluorescent lights. The celeriac, eggplant, and tomato seedlings are already standing two inches tall. There is something magical about the day when the plants stop looking alike and begin expressing their unique characteristics—like the tiny fern leaves on the tomato plant. But the magic is lost on me.
I wanted to share my recipe for Ricotta Tart with Butternut Squash. It’s particularly satisfying to cook with local ingredients in March. But even a pretty tart can’t chase my doldrums away.
Most of all, I wanted to share a triumphant story about our bees. I could hardly wait to tell you that they survived the winter too. I was thrilled to share the post-snowmaggedon video we took, as the bees came rushing from the hive on a warm day in February. But my story is anything but triumphant. Continue reading 'The Heartbreak of an Urban Beekeeper'»
Good Food for All, a blog dedicated to local food and agriculture resources in the Chicago region, posts a weekly digest of relevant information for the Chicago region at ChicagoREgen.com.
Good Food for All is a blog of Fresh Taste, a collaboration of funders dedicated to encouraging diverse local agriculture and access to food that is healthy, green, fair and affordable in the Chicago region. To subscribe and to learn more, click here.
Logan Square Kitchen will hold its second Community Soup Night on March 8 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. It will be fun night for anyone interested in food – from gardening at any scale, to small scale food businesses, to having a relationship with farmers, to just eating good food!
Logan Square Kitchen, owned by Logan Square residents Zina and Nick Murray, is a commercial kitchen and event space that is committed to sustainability at every turn. Budding small scale food entrepreneurs can rent time in the kitchen to craft their wares that might end up on your table. The event space is available for rental, and as well has been the site of many fundraisers, meetings and community events the bring people together and increase awareness of what is happening around the neighborhood. Continue reading 'Community Soup Night at Logan Square Kitchen'»
In this recent Treehugger post, blogger Colleen Vanderlinden is asking, “Can You Trademark Urban Homesteading (TM)?”
That is exactly what The Dervaes family of Pasadena has done. Now, to correctly and legally use the term, it should read URBAN HOMESTEAD™ and URBAN HOMESTEADING™ as developed by the DERVAES INSTITUTE™.
Click HERE for the full article.
Comments (1) 
![Share/Bookmark](<a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save"><img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/></a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script>){kind=small}
Themocracy