I’ve become such a geek about canning fresh fruits and vegetables. I live in the middle of downtown Chicago, so I lack the space to grow my own produce.  But, I am happy to make do with what our neighborhood farmer’s market has to offer.  Last summer I bought a big bag of discounted ugly […]

Ever since I taught myself how to preserve fresh foods the old-fashioned way last summer, I’ve been obsessed.  It is such a rewarding way to spend a quiet summer afternoon.  I swear my heart skips a beat when I hear the tops of the jars “pop!”, signaling that the food within is now safe and […]

My husband called me from work yesterday with a very urgent message: “Organic blueberries are on sale at Whole Foods for $1.99 a pint! Go there. Now. Before they’re gone!!” He knows me so well.  A deal like this would be hard for most moms to pass up, but since I am a total organic […]

The local produce market I shop at once a week had a sale on domestic strawberries – just $0.50 a pound!!  Granted, the fruit was about 5 minutes from going bad and it wasn’t organic, but at that price I just couldn’t walk away.  So, I scooped up four packages, raced home and spent yesterday […]

Living in a big city offers many eco-boosting benefits: we walk every where, we have an extensive farmers market system and and we live in a reasonably-sized apartment that doesn’t require a ton of energy to heat and cool. With that said, I am still bummed that I can’t compost our food scraps. I’d estimate […]

Chicago has enjoyed a very pleasant and mild October. Today was no exception. With sunny skies and the temperature in the 70s, it was a perfect day for a lunchtime picnic with my family. Evelyn packed her pink soccer ball and Mack packed his smile. I packed sandwiches, fruit, and a jar of sort-of homemade […]

Last month Chris and I took the kids to an apple orchard in Indiana. We hope to make this an annual family tradition as it is a very pleasant way to spend time together as a family on an autumn afternoon. When I think back to our trip last year I can’t believe how much […]

I recently conquered one of my fears. For years I have been interested in jarring and canning to preserve foods, but the process always intimidated me. All that boiling water…and fears of botulism contamination if the process wasn’t done exactly right…and what a waste of time and money if the jars didn’t seal…I was getting […]

Today at the farmer’s market Lane’s End Farm was selling baskets of “ugly” organic tomatoes for $1.50 per ound. While most people would look at the misshapen, bumpy, and uneven colored tomatoes with suspicion, I knew I found a little gold mine! My favorite was this two-for-one tomato that looked like a portly and friendly […]

Such a busy day! I took care of a week’s worth of grocery shopping and three loads of laundry (including cloth diapers) this morning, and I spent a few peaceful hours this afternoon making yogurt and baking in the kitchen. Stanley’s, my favorite neighborhood produce market, had raspberries on sale for $0.98 a container. While […]