What's Your Favorite "Green" Destination?

I love contests and lists...so one that focuses on sustainability is a shoo in for a favorite.

Check out this Geotourism Challenge.

There's a great interactive map and you can browse eco-friendly nominees from all over the world.

The challenge, sponsored by National Geographic, is a search for tourism innovations that "sustain, enhance and preserve local culture and place."

Here's a good one...Green Routes, which identifies and evaluates Minnesota businesses that strive to go green and support sustainability. More at the Green Routes site.

I'd prefer to be able to look just at the nominees by country and region. But that's proving difficult. Maybe the developers will have that figured out by time we're allowed to start voting at the end of May.

Feeding the Soul and Tummy this Sunday

It's not that the iFarmer has to drag me to church on Sundays, but today I can say I was pretty eager to go. Sadly it wasn't because of Pastor Kersten's timely "low Sunday" sermon about Doubting Thomas. No, today Grace hosted a Winter Farmers Market!

I tried my best to pay attention and be engaged during the service, but after 80 minutes, I couldn't get to the market fast enough. I was impressed with how many vendors they squeezed into the Great Hall...organic meats, an aquatic fish farmer, homemade soaps and beauty supplies, some root veggies and loads of jams, wines, some Wisconsin cheeses and homespun yarns. The organizers hosted a brunch too, made with ingredients from the participating vendors.

We didn't eat there, but I still spent way too much money. Thankfully, I limited myself to the cash I withdrew the day before.

I'll be blogging updates about the items I purchased as we give them a try. I'm particularly excited about cilantro vinegar from Herbally Yours, which is based in Willow Springs.

More on Farmgirl Kathy and Jim and their 30-year-old hobby at this Slow Food USA post. I love how their daughter Brenda's idea to seal the vinegar bottles with recycled school crayons.

Will Ethanol Demand Edge Out Small Farmers as Feed Prices Rise?

Interesting reading in the Chronicle-Tribune today about Van Buren-area Farmgirl Kris Goff, who moved back to the area with her husband, in part, to raise a family and to breed and sell swine.

Farmgirl Kris works for Purdue Extension and is active with 4-H clubs.

“I enjoy the people I work with, especially the kids, and watching them grow as they go through 4-H,” she says.

Kris and her husband Bret have been farming, mostly as a hobby, since 1999 and, according to the article, are seeing some success. Check out Goff Select Swine Genetics.

But rising demands for corn for ethanol is raising feed prices.

The paper notes that, "This has caused some farmers to lose $30 to $50 per pig," Goff's husband Bret told the paper. "The equation involving meat and ethanol is unbalanced."

Cherry & Peach Salsa? Sounds Pretty Good

I trekked out tonight in the sleet and snow...yes...it's still snowing in Chicago. I was on the hunt for some Milk & Honey granola at Whole Foods. But no such luck. I bought a bulk granola instead to make my own parfaits. I have some good Mexican strawberries that I need to use up.

Anywho, while I was there, I found some yummy looking and sounding salsa from Petoskey Mich., that great UP city which shares the name with that enchanting little fossilized coral. [When you don't try to pocket a Petoskey, they can make for excellent skipping.]

I picked up the Cherry Peach Salsa from American Spoon.

Organic Farming Hero at Field Museum

I had a lovely random day off.

Hoosier Outsider and I decided to take the Future Farmkids to the Field Museum.

So what's the VFG connection? There was a nice little exhibit featuring the peanut king and organic farming pioneer George Washington Carver.

Here's an inspirational quote HO jotted down:

"Start with what you have little man. There's more around you than you see. As for the land, make something of it."

A Farmgirl Confession

American Idol was OK tonight. I was hardly paying attention until David Cook performed Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

He totally rocked . Who knew someone could put a rocker spin on a yippie Michael Jackson '80s tune.

So here's my Farmgirl Confession...I was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan. I owned every biography, tapes and had a whole sticker collection featuring Jackson in the '70s and '80s.

I dug up the books on a trip to my mom's one time and carted them back on the plane. So I have a good bit of the collection on my shelf, alongside my Nancy Drews. I gave most of my sticker collection to the Future Farmkids. But I still guard the Jackson stickers, and the jellies...and the scratch-n-sniffs.

Frango Mints Go Green

Big news on the Macy's front...Frangos are going green.

Doesn't make up for Macy's destroying the quality and history of Marshall Fields. And it doesn't make up for Macy's only returning a portion of Frango production to Chicago.

But it is nice to see a big company embracing organic. Organic milk chocolate, cane sugar and vanilla; plus packaged in recycled paperboard and printed with veggie-based ink, the Trib's Sandy Jones reports.

The new "green" Frangos are set to debut in mostly Midwest stores on April 22, Earth Day, aka, the Playful Spirit Potter's birthday.

Ready for Some Green, and a Splash of Yellow

Looking over Farmgirl Renee's Sweet Earth Organic Farm site made me start craving heirloom tomatoes.

Sounds like Renee knows her heirlooms too. She's been farming organic for more than three decades in Wisconsin.

But will Spring ever really arrive? I suppose it's time for me to start some seeds on my kitchen window sill and on the buffet. Not enough sun anywhere else in the house.

The Future Farmkids are so ready to plant sunflowers. FFB got a bag out today and wanted to start planting...even though the snow hasn't melted yet.

I got a great idea from a friend to plant the sunflowers in a circle so that they grow to create a fort for the kids to play in. We're going to give it a try this year. [The photo is from Welcome to My Garden's archives.]

I'm also trying to plan out some raised beds so I can plant more veggies this year. I'm told the chemical-rich soil in Oak Park requires raised beds for vegetables. I'm thinking of putting herbs in the window boxes on the garage.

Peeps for Breakfast

None of us could wait...especially me.

I had given up candy (and Dunkin Donuts) for Lent, so it was near torture (though not quite nail-to-the-cross-and-die torture) to dream up and work on those Peep dioramas and not even get to lick my fingers.

Future Farmgirl was first to unwrap a candy carrot hanging from her Easter basket, followed quickly by me ripping open a box of pink Peep bunnies. Yum.

Now to pre-church breakfast...toast and a couple of dyed hardboiled eggs. My fingers are still a little food-color stained from working on those with the kids yesterday. They did a great job with the food coloring.

I almost bought a dye kit, then realized that was silly. We had everything we needed in the pantry.

So Close to Victory...Elusive 8 Slips from Giants' Grasp

Sad news from Marion this morning. My fearless purple & gold lost the state championship last night after a dramatic buzzer shot by a senior from Brownsburg.

Brownsburg kids can play basketball? Who knew.

The Chronicle-Tribune reports senior forward Bulldog Gordon Hayward pushed up a last-second shot inside the paint, netting the team's first state championship.

Marion was so close to tying for the most state championships in Indiana (eight). The record is currently held by Muncie. Gag.

When I read the Chronicle-Trib story I did a double take. One of the star seniors is named Jay Edwards. The troubled Jay Edwards was one of the superstars when I was at Marion, cheering the team on every game from the Booster Block and M-Club stands. [Yes, even discus throwers and swimmers are huge B-Ball fans in Indiana].

It was fantastic being at Marion during the Purple Reign years.

Sure enough, the Jays are related, father and son. Hopefully the Jr. Jay Edwards will keep it together better than his dad did, control his off-court behavior and develop his skills in college.

Note on the pic of the mug the years Marion had won state back in my day. The first year was when my grandpa was at Marion. He wasn't on the team, but clearly was influenced by the Giants hype. He went on to be sports editor at the Purdue Exponent.

Marion went on to win one more state championship, led by Zach Randolph in 2000. Randolph is now a power forward for the New York Knicks.

Snow, Sleet...Plus a Real Spring Surprise!

I was so happy this week to see my bulbs sprouting up in the backyard.

Now? They're buried under 4-6 inches of snow...and more's on the way. The kids were actually on the sledding hill when I was walking home from work.

So much for the first day of Spring.

But the good news this Good Friday is that my uncle, the River Runner, from NM is headed out for a visit the first week of April! So exciting.

He's a fantastic uncle. He sends me regular news clips and recently turned me on to a riveting book, "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Plus, he's super cool with his kayak (hence the nickname River Runner) on those Rocky Mountain rapids. It'll be great to show him around the Windy City.

Since he's driving, I might see if I can get him to load up some dry ice and pack as many roasted green chilies as he can. I wonder if you can get chilies in winter.

'Hick to Hip' at a Store Near You

Because I'm interested in not just farming, but ways to make a comfortable living on a sustainable farm, I am attracted to stories like this one in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about Brian Goldenman and Dan Adamson who made $2 million in sales with their Farm Boy and Farm Girl apparel.

Wow. That's a lot of baby doll t-shirts.

The two farm-bred entrepreneurs founded Farm Boy Co-op & Feed Co. with the idea that they would transform the farmer's image from "hick to hip" with a line of catchy casual clothing. My favorite t is the wheelbarrow image with this message, "sorry I only clean after my horse."

I'm not sure I buy the transformation line. But the timing is probably pretty good with so much emphasis on knowing where food comes from.

But here's where it gets a little tacky/creepy: "The business is supported by a slick catalog and website that features real farm boys and girls, sometimes shown in mildly risqué settings: kissing in a cornfield, hugging in a haymow or huddled together on a tractor. Think Abercrombie & Fitch meets 'Green Acres.'"

The risqué model poses are a little too porn-ish for my comfort level.

Still, the strategy seems to be working. More than 1,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada sell the line.

Vote For Your Favorite (Farm)Girl Blog

If you know of any good blogs written by women (hint to family), you only have one more day to nominate them for inclusion in Women's Voices top blogger list.

So Cute, So Tasty

The Trib has a great story today about grass-fed meat, this time a Springy piece about fresh lamb from "local" farmers (I count 115 miles south of Chicago as local for this market).

As much as I'm learning to enjoy lamb, I will say that I doubt I could raise and slaughter lamb. They are so freakin cute in the Trib's print photo and here in this farm shot.

Check out the farm that supplies local markets, chefs and Marion Street Cheese in Oak Park, Country Cottage Farm. I noted in the Trib story that the farm isn't certified organic. But I like his methods and lack of antibiotic use.

Idol Criticism

Even though I almost always agree with Simon, I disagree a bit with his evaluation of David Cook. I thought he did a good job with Day Tripper. I can see how he had a problem with his facial expression, though I didn't read "smug" into it.

Unlike Simon, I also enjoyed Carly Smithson's version of Blackbird...another one of my favorites from The Beatles. I think I liked it though just because someone picked it to sing.

Total agree with Randy on Jason's version of Michelle. Didn't quite get it. And Chikezie, started out very Boyz II Men then morphed into weird honky tonk country. Never been a fan of Ramiele...still not.

I loved Syesha Mercado's version of Yesterday. I really liked it and think it could sell as a single.

I did agree with Simon that Idol should have skipped a second week of Beatles. They should have quit while they were ahead.

Farmgirl Ingenuity at Work

The 4-H Champ definitely knows how to pull a party together. She hosted more than 30 family members for lunch on Sunday, then welcomed another 40-50 to celebrate the confirmation of her eldest.

My favorite part of the party...besides seeing my dolled up niece (the curls suited her for sure), was the salad sled.

Yes, the salad sled. She needed to keep the pasta (I made that), ham, chicken and potato salads cold from noon to 5. So she invented the sled solution.

Pure genius. Here's what it looked like...

So what's 4-H Champ's secret to success? She plans ahead. Just about everything was made in advance, so she could actually enjoy the church service. And she had a loyal group of farmgirl-like helpers who stayed behind and had everything ready when we walked in the door.

The party was great. I have only one gripe...no one appreciated my pickled pepper platter. Say that 10 times fast! Anyway, just about all the peppers were from Sechler's, which is based in Northern Indiana.

The 4-H Champ blamed poor placement. But she was just being kind. I was, however, pleased to see my Italian-influenced (w/salami and extra sharp cheddar, roasted bell peppers, artichokes and olives) disappeared pretty quickly. I made the dressing with an Italian herb mix from Penzeys.

Farm & Order Peeps

I now have two new Peep diorama faves...

This is one we did tonight, in celebration of buying local and eating farm fresh foods. It's called Peepers Market:


Then there's this one, an excellent Law & Order scene. It's way more skillfully put together than my Peepers Market. The Farm folks who put this together tell me it's titled, Hung Jury:



They both should be on the Trib site.

We Have a Winner!

I got a comment on my original post "Name That Building/Town." Turns out the building is indeed an old school house.

But it's in Sedalia, Ind. The Google map looks just about right from what I remember.

It apparently was part of the Rossville Consolidated School District. Too bad it's falling down. It's a beautiful structure. I hate to see those disappearing from our rural landscapes.


View Larger Map

Some Kids Play With All Their Toys

For those of you who wonder what kids do with ALL those stuffies...

Well, my Future Farmgirl uses all of hers, plus the ones she's co-opted from her brother. I often find them lined up, watching her play or set up as a crowd for a show she's producing. She talks to them and takes them on "picnics." When she was smaller, I had to give her a tote bag because she'd try to cart arm loads all at once up and down the stairs. The safety of her stuffies was clearly first, hers second.

Check this out...

Here are a bunch of her animals..."sleeping."

And here's the octopus, off on his own, sleeping on the couch.

FFG already has a strong sense of gender identity, so it's my guess that the big group of stuffies are all female. And the octopus is a boy.

Closer to Naming that Building/Town

I'm homing in on the location of the old building photos I posted a while back.

A cousin, on the iFarmer's side, guessed, (without looking at this blog) that it's an old schoolhouse at Middlefork, Ind. That's in Clinton County, which reminds me that it could be a municipal building in or near Rossville, which is also in Clinton County and right along Indiana 26.

Since Hoosier Outsider's coming up next week, we may have to ask that he cruise slowly with a photographer's eye peeled for the building. It's on the south side of the highway, behind a few houses. I think we could only see it because it's winter.

Farms on Film

For ag movie lovers, there's a nice post at Bill's Movie News and Reviews about the National Archives, which on Saturday hosted an environmental film festival "For a Better America: The New Deal on Film."

Bill reviews the films and provides links, including for one that I'd like to see, "Power and the Land" (1940, RKO Radio / U.S. Film Service, Rural Electrification Administration, dir. Joris Ivens, written and narrated by Stephen Vincent Benet, 39 min).

Bill notes that:

The film traces the life of a farm family of five, the Parkinsons, in southwestern Ohio. The countryside is quite hilly and looks like the western edge of Appalachia. The film shows all of the daily tasks or chores on the farm before electricity: the boys sharpen equipment with a foot-pedal lever; the wife washes and irons clothes by hand, and great attention is paid to cooling milk.

Sounds like a fascinating snapshot of rural family life and an interesting look at gender roles.

Other films at the festival include, "The Plow that Broke the Plains" (check out the YouTube clip) and "The River."

Buy Local Tip of the Day

Thanks to Vital Information for the tip on some fantastic-looking granola made by a local chef, Carol Watson.

The Milk & Honey Granola site has a teaser link to recipes, but there are only two on the list. Still, the granola - chock full of sunflower seeds, almonds and dried cherries combined with hints of coconut, honey and brown sugar. Yum.

Looks like I can get a batch from Whole Foods or my favorite spot, Marion Street Cheese.

I'm starting to check out Vital Information on a daily basis. It's full of some great tips on buying local. Love it.

RIP U-Pick Pioneer

Sad news in Southern Indiana with death of Joe Huber, who turned his 260-acre farm in Starlight into a massive u-pick operation.

Huber, described by the News and Tribune as an "agri-business icon," started the first u-pick farm in the Midwest in 1967.

When the u-pick biz lost its momentum in the 1980s, Huber and his wife Bonnie shifted gears and launched a restaurant and farm-fresh fruits and veggie business known as Joe Huber's Family Farm and Restaurant.

The farm specialized in strawberries, green beans, apples and pumpkins.

The farm turned Starlight into a destination for children on school trips headed to Huber's corn maze and covered wagon rides.

Huber was 74 and died of leukemia. God's blessing and sympathies to the Hubers.

Name That Building/Town

I was uploading some pix from my camera and realized I had these gems of a decaying public building from 1892.

Anyone know where/what this is? I actually can't recall precisely. I forgot to write it down, though I pass it every time I visit The Farm.

For those of you who are not intimately familiar with my route, my hint is that it is somewhere off State Road 26 between Lafayette and Kokomo.

Here are the pix:

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

David Cook rocked American Idol, yet again. [It was surprisingly entertaining and exciting to see Idol get access to the Lennon/McCartney songbook. I was worried the Idol contestants couldn't measure up (can you say David Hernandez?)].

I'm so thrilled to have heard Cook's rock out version of the haunting ballad Eleanor Rigby, one of my all time favorite Beatles songs.

Chikezie was fantastic too with his down-home, then rock'n rendition of She's a Woman. As Randy says, "It was dope. Chikezie smashed it."

And, BTW, Brooke White...Sgt. Pepper's Loney Hearts Club Band was the first album that put me in touch with the Beatles.

But, I confess, it was the Peter Frampton/Bee Gees movie version.

I had to get that out of my system first...then I picked up The White Album and have been in love with Paul McCartney ever since.

This Week: Mommy & Me Bake-a-thon

It's just me and the kids this week. The iFarmer is working nights, raising money for good deeds.

But we haven't used his absence as an excuse to let loose, sit around, watch TV and eat pizza. I admit it. I've done that. And coming off the flu, I was tempted. But this week, we've set out to get as much baking in as we can stand.

It was a breezy mid-50s on my walk home from the train today. I love the Spring teaser. But I also know that means my days of cranking up the oven temp without turning down the AC are numbered.

Last night we experimented with some whole wheat pumpkin muffins. Those were a huge hit. They had almost no sugar...until I threw in a handful of chocolate chips.

Tonight, I finally reconnected with my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. I made the basic recipe.

I'll find out if doubling the recipe was a smart move or a disaster. In the spirit of everyone gets a turn stirring, I sometimes get confused by my measurements. Plus, Future Farmgirl was a little trigger happy with the yeast. So...we'll see.

I have a feeling we're missing a few of those yeast critters. That will be a shame because I have a whole lotta dough attempting to rise.

Give Peeps a Chance

I am still obsessed with the Trib's Peep diorama contest (up to 189 self entries at this writing). And, I have a new favorite:



BRAVO Scoob7. Bravo!

Food Fight at So. Cal. Farmers Market

Q: How do you know when your local farmers market is a success?

A: When the produce is gone even before the market opens.

That's what early risers are discovering at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. Bigger companies are swiping up the fresh greens by placing advance orders, the LA Times reports on its Emerald City green living blog.

"This isn't a farmers market anymore; it's some kind of boutique wholesale operation," one indignant chef is quoted saying.

One possible solution is to offer wholesale hours for the bigger customers.

The full story and the battle over sweet English peas in the Times is here.

A Localvore's Debut

There was a nice perspective piece in the Trib today from Robert Gardner, a localvore, who blogs at Vital Information.

Gardner talks about how his family has devoted themselves to eating local and seasonally to maximize their consumption of only the freshest produce from area farmers and growers.

He's also turned his Oak Park attic and basement into food storage...squirreling away as much as possible to get his family through the dreary, cold winter months.

I'll be checking back with Vital from time to time to see what local finds Gardner discovers.

Thanks to Urban Dweller for pointing me to the piece in the Trib.

Midwest's Farmers Market Leader

I learned from the 4H Champion that there's a fantastic new farmers market just outside of Elkhart.

American Countryside bills itself as the Midwest's largest farmers market. It does look pretty expansive from the slide shows.

And the best part is that it's open year round. Well, the best part is that it offers fresh, mostly local foods year round. I see vendors cart up veggies from the southern hemisphere in the winter to supplement greenhouse varieties.

I think it'd be worth the trip to check out the Amish breads, cheeses and meats.

Check out the Cooking Show schedule. There're classes on Leisurely Mornings, throwing a Tapas Party and Summer Picnics.

A Sweet Distraction

That distracting Chicago Tribune almost derailed my entire day today with its 145-plus Peep diorama slide show.

They are absolutely hysterical. If I can keep from eating all the Peeps, I'll try to come up with one or two dioramas this weekend.

But, for now, here are my favorites from the Trib submissions...

I think I found your problem ma'am:



Jiffy Peep:



And, of course, American Idol:

Doing Some Idol Shopping Tonight

OK. I confess. I bought David Cook's single, an alternative interpretation of Lionel Richie's "Hello." He's now one of my two favorite guys...David and super hottie Michael Johns.

Among the girls, my standout favs are Carly Smithson and Brooke White.

Oh...and as much as I like Wham [Yes. I have them in vinyl. And, I did see them in concert in Oakland. I dragged my mom along with me. She was a trooper that night], Hoosier Luke Menard just didn't pull it off. It was actually painful to listen to, twice. I'm sure Luke will do just fine though. He's plenty cute and charming.

On the Mend? We Hope

It's Wednesday night and we're still not all recovered from this weekend's flu assault.

By Sunday we were all sick as dogs. All four of us. We were a sight. Our babysitters...Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George and My Friends Tigger & Pooh...proved to be our only salvation during the weekend. The shows gave the iFarmer and I time to rest and kept the Future Farmkids from wallowing in their own misery.

I have not been this sick since I had the Russian Flu in the 2nd or 3rd grade. And this is the first time in more than a decade of marriage that we have both been sick at the same time for this long.

Usually when the whole family gets sick, one goes down, then another, then the first one is on the mend, then another goes down, the second one is on the mend, then the last one of us goes down.

This time, we all needed TLC and loads of rest all at the same time.

But we were all back at work and school today, even though Future Farmboy fell asleep on the way home and was so sleepy he skipped supper. Poor sugar.

We're hoping Thursday brings us more sunshine, fewer throat lozenges and a dresser top that doesn't look like a makeshift pharmacy.

Are Farms a Nuisance?

I read story after story about people who decide they want to live the rural life, then fight like hell to sterilize nature.

Apparently the Farm Bureau folks in Utah have noticed this, in part because a farmer spent $70,000 defending against a nuisance suit brought by neighbors, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"People move to rural settings because they want the lifestyle and ambiance but the first thing they do is try to change the agricultural operations to make it more convenient for themselves," the Farm Bureau's VP of public policy tells the paper.

Will be interesting to see if Utah lawmakers decide to protect farmers from litigation, putting them in a special class.

When Will This Winter End?

After a few days of feeling nauseous, it's becoming painfully clear...I have the flu. And I even had a flu shot. Actually all of us did. But this is no ordinary late-winter cold. All but Future Farmboy have been struck.

I thought, no way could we have the flu. But I woke up this morning to a story in the Chicago Tribune about how the flu shot we all got last fall only gives us about 50 percent protection against the varieties of flu strains out this season.

Ugh. The good news, I hope, is that after a full day of pushing fluids into Future Farmgirl, she seems to have her appetite back and boundless energy. I'm hoping that's good news for me and the iFarmer, who came back from his conference today completely wiped out and fading fast.

The bad news? I don't have a mommy or wife to take care of me.