Since the mascot for the Champaign Farmers Market is Eggwardo the Eggplant, eggplant holds a special place in my heart. This is partially due to the fact that I am the one who dresses up as Eggwardo. That is right, we have a giant eggplant costume that I wear for special events. Maybe, if you […]
recipes
Farming Foibles: Baking as Memory
Submitted by Birgit McCall on Sun, 12/03/2017 – 11:23am Certain baked items are forever associated with certain people in my mind — gingerbread and my dad, Christmas coffee cake and my mom, Tiesen Arman and my Aunt Sue, peanut butter cups and my sister (though she no longer makes them — she now makes almond […]
Food for Thought – Grilling Peaches (and just Grilling)
Submitted by Taidghin O’Brien on Tue, 07/17/2018 – 9:55am Last Sunday, Rey and I decided to have some friends over for a little grill-out in our backyard. We are very proud of our backyard and have gardened it to within an inch of its life, which seems silly given that we rent our house, but […]
Food for Thought (Summer Edition) – Basil & Garlic Scapes
Submitted by Taidghin O’Brien on Mon, 06/11/2018 – 11:41am Farmers Market season is one of my favorite times of the year. Walking up and down the aisles past mountains and mountains of fresh produce, freezers full of local meat and poultry, and vendors selling anything and everything you can think of is so exhilarating. One […]
Freshen Your Breath with Fennel
Fennel is another example of an herb or vegetable that I think gets overlooked quite often. Not only can you use pretty much every part of the plant, but it’s great for dogs and cats and their digestion. In fact, although I have no research or scientific evidence for this, whenever I give my dogs […]
Friendsgiving: Why we Gather to Give Thanks
Submitted by Taidghin O’Brien on Thu, 11/15/2018 – 4:10pm Rey and I went to a Friendsgiving celebration last night and it reminded me what Thanksgiving is about, not from a historical standpoint but from an etymological standpoint. Thanksgiving is a celebratory embodiment of the actual act of giving thanks. But, more on that later. We […]