Category Archives: food

Green Festival Chicago and Oak Park Farmer’s Market this weekend

There are two events coming up this weekend for the locals. This Saturday May 22, 2010 from 7am to 11am, there’s the first Oak Park Farmer’s Market of the season. It’s at 460 Lake St. in the parking lot. I … Continue reading

Posted in events, farms, food | Leave a comment

Mother Earth News Reports on Herbicides in Compost

If you’ve purchased and used commercial compost, and you’re finding that your plants are not growing or are even dying, it may not be your fault. Mother Earth News reports that two herbicides have been found in commercially produced compost. … Continue reading

Posted in composting, food, gardening | Leave a comment

I bought plants at the Cheney Mansion today. Did you?

Today at the Cheney Mansion Plant Sale, I bought a Melrose pepper plant, a cayenne pepper plant, a Tom Thumb tomato plant, Manzano tomatoes, creeping thyme, a Black Beauty eggplant, kale plants, and a strawberry plant. Because I have limited … Continue reading

Posted in container gardening, current events, earth box, events, food, gardening, philosophy, small spaces | 2 Comments

Homemade vanilla extract update – I know you’re on pins and needles

The extraction of the delicious vanilla molecules into the vodka (i.e., the making of vanilla extract) continues apace. Here’s a photo I took about a week ago. It’s even darker now, and it’s just about ready to strain and pour … Continue reading

Posted in diy, food, recipes | Leave a comment

Community Gardening In Oak Park – someone is actually doing it!

Root Riot has a loaned lot here in Oak Park at Madison and Grove, and they are renting 4’x8′ plots for community gardeners. It’s $90 for a plot for the growing season, which will last until November 15. Check out … Continue reading

Posted in events, food, gardening, links, Oak Park, small spaces | 2 Comments

Product review – Teeccino herbal coffee substitute

Because I’d been feeling quite sick for over a month and suspected the culprit was caffeine – and I suspected it because I went through an allergic period in childhood when cola and chocolate made me violently ill – I … Continue reading

Posted in food, product review | Leave a comment

Book review – My Empire of Dirt

It’s difficult to know what to say about this one, especially since this is Green In Oak Park’s first book review, and also because I have very mixed feelings about the book in question. The author is a journalist who … Continue reading

Posted in book review, farms, food, philosophy, small spaces | Leave a comment

12 foods with greater pesticide residue

Thanks to Sayward of Bonzai Aphrodite for bringing this article to my attention.  It’s a list of fruits and vegetables that absorb more pesticide than others and the article suggests that the organic versions of these are better candidates than … Continue reading

Posted in consumer issues, farms, food, gardening, organic | 1 Comment

Breakfast burritos from The Simple Dollar

What’s this? It’s a breakfast burrito made with the recipe at The Simple Dollar. Mine have scrambled eggs, some hot sauce, black beans, green and red peppers, spices, salsa, and salt and pepper. I soaked and cooked my own dried … Continue reading

Posted in food, food storage, frugal | Leave a comment

Frugal strawberry freezer jam, while supplies last

Did you know there’s currently a glut of strawberries on the market in the United States?  Florida’s strawberry crop was delayed by cold and it has produced not only an overabundance of crop, but this year it also coincided with … Continue reading

Posted in food, frugal | 2 Comments