Little Locavores

Cook a Rainbow with Your Kids

2012-01-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Purple carrots, had only I known you six years ago. . . Unlike many other purple vegetables, like purple Brussels sprouts and sadly even purple asparagus, purple carrots, the ones colored through to their core retain their vivid hue after cooking. Not only do they keep their color, but purple carrots lend it to their partner ingredients in a dish. You won’t find these carrots at your ordinary

Lucky John Hops into the New Year: Black Eyed Pea and Ham Salad

2012-01-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

When growing up, my parents hosted an annual New Year's Day party. In addition to family favorites, my mom filled the table with traditional dishes thought to impart good luck to the eater. Several years ago, my husband and I began hosting our own New Year's celebration and I renewed my mother's tradition. Well sort of. Rejecting the herring (I just don't want money that badly), Hopping John

Diet Food that Doesn't Suck: Salsa Turkey Burgers

2012-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

I hate diets. There’s far too much delicious food to be eaten in this world to deprive ourselves of it. And yet, every January, I start one. Sort of. After a month long of indulgences, including a 4 day sojourn to the dining capital of the southern states: New Orleans, I need to recalibrate my eating. Out go the cookies, in come the carrots. Skim milk, turkey bacon, and lots of lettuce

Chuck a Spear at Childhood Obesity: Support Purple Asparagus

2011-12-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit Kelly Angeline PhotographyToday, I read two pieces of frustrating news.The first was a gracious rejection letter from a major grant funder. After careful consideration, blah, blah, blah. Bottom line, yet again, Purple Asparagus will enter a new year nowhere near fully funded. I must admit that even though Purple Asparagus has been in existence since 2005, it’s only been a year since

Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T06:41:00.000-08:00

I spent a little time this past weekend looking through last year's blog posts, reliving dishes made and events transpired.Starting with the death of our family dog, Sam, punctuated by my dad's passing, and three surgeries (1 for me and 2 for my husband) thrown in for good measure, it's been a challenging year. As 2011 winds to a close, I won't be sad to see it go.But today, on this day, only one

Happy (Virtual) Thanksgiving!

2011-11-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

In our household, we don’t really have traditional family recipes. I’ve never subscribed to the notion that a holiday isn’t complete without green bean casseroles or candied yams on the table. Instead, I like to mix it up with new dishes appearing each year.What we do have is a family recipe tradition. As long time readers will recall, my son and I started one of these a few years back. He had

Ummm . . . Doughnuts: Chocolate Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts

2011-11-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Just last month, I wrote a post for Williams-Sonoma’s Blender blog about the multitude of uses for squash and pumpkin. When cooking for families, the puree can be blended into mac and cheese, smeared onto tortillas for quesadillas, and whirred in a blender with a banana and apple cider for a smoothie. All of these recipes are delicious and nutritious as we like to say at Purple Asparagus. But

Way to Go Girl Scouts: Locavore Badge

2011-11-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

It may or may not come as a surprise, but I was a Girl Scout. And not just a Junior troop dropout. But full on, Brownie to Senior scout. I sold cookies, marched in parades, traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands AND Bermuda with my troop, and even served as the youth representative on my county's Girl Scout board of directors. Seriously.Given this, I can't tell you how tickled I am that the Girl

A is for Apple-licious!

2011-10-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

Did you know that October is National Apple Month? We at Purple Asparagus sure do! These days our cars are smelling all apple-licious as we cart varieties like Mutsu, Razor Russet, Scarlet O’Hara, and Lucky Jon’s to Chicago Public Schools all over the city.See Purple Asparagus is a non-profit that educates children, families and the community about eating that’s good for the body and the planet.

Bring a Little Sunshine to the Family Table

2011-10-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

As if on cue, only 1 week after I renounced myself as a blogger, but instead a working mom with a blog, my life went kerplooey. Four days before Purple Asparagus’ biggest event and fundraiser of the year, Corks & Crayons, my dad passed away. He’d been diagnosed with a terminal disease, fibrosis of the lungs, merely a month before. This terrible development was coupled with the abrupt and

Drink, Eat at Corks and Crayons and Support Purple Asparagus

2011-08-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit, Artisan Events Imagine a class full of children swearing that they hate vegetables. Not hard to envision, right? Come back in an hour and watch them swarm the teacher’s desk for any leftovers from their veggie tasting. Believe that? I’ve witnessed this transformation on hundreds of occasions while teaching in the Chicago Public Schools for the non-profit that I founded and run,

Look Ma, No Splint: Purple Viking Potato Salad

2011-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

After a long month of one handed existence, I'm back. Some of you may recall that back in June, I had a fight with a wine glass - it's not hard to figure out who won. Surgery and a month in a splint ensued putting a crimp in my two main work related activities: cooking and typing. For the first week, I kept up this site with guest posts, posts written beforehand, and short posts pecked away on

Watch Us Grow: Learn About Illinois Farm Families, Become a Field Mom

2011-08-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Close your eyes. Picture a farm. Does your mind’s eye see the bucolic scene pictured on many a milk carton full of happy cows grazing around a red barn? Or maybe the only farm you can picture is Fisher-Price’s version for kids. I bet many of us will have no better luck when asked to describe a farmer. Even today, popular culture still portrays our farmers in bib front overalls and hayseed

Nice Surprises: Purple Asparagus on USA Network's Character Approved Blog

2011-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a long July. I'm a bit slow these days given that I'm going about my days one handed after nerve repair surgery. Given this, the last thing that I needed was to be slowed down by lousy customer service. Unfortunately, however, that's exactly what I got from my now former landscaper Christy Webber Landscapes this weekend and from AT&T who left us without phone service for four days.So,

Why I Love My CSA: Buttermilk-Scape Marinated Pork Chops

2011-07-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Reposted from KiwilogLet’s admit it. A farmers’ market can be an overwhelming place. Don’t get me wrong. I love them and won’t soon forgo my weekly visits. But there is something rather dizzying about them, especially during the height of the season when tent after tent is populated by dozens of different shapes and varieties of fruits and vegetables. Who hasn’t overbought at one time or another

How to Get the Kids in the Kitchen and Start Cooking

2011-07-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today's guest post comes from Mary Crimmins native Nashvillian who lives with her husband, Chris of 5 years, and her 2 dogs. Mary is a local food advocate, foodie, sustainability seeker, yogi, cocktail enthusiast and Farmers Market Manager. As I have often said, “Kids don’t stay kids forever. At some point they grow up and become adults and they need to learn how to cook before they get there.”

Eat Your Greens: Collard Greens Spring Rolls

2011-07-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Another challenging ingredient from our weekly CSA box are collard greens. While delicious braised, one method of cooking can get boring and I need a bit more excitement in my cooking routine. This weekend faced with another bunch of olive colored, fan shaped greens from our share, I tried something new. Borrowing and adapting a recipe from my friend and dedicated Purple Asparagus volunteer, Jill

Little Garden Gourmets at Academy for Global Citizenship

2011-07-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Since I’m a bit limited in my ability to type having had surgery yesterday, I’m going to fill this space today with pictures of kids cooking outside. A bit of a cheap ploy, wouldn’t you say? Everyone loves pictures of cute kids.Last Saturday, I visited one of my favorite Chicago Public Schools, Academy for Global Citizenship. AGC is a charter school that uses the environment as the third teacher.

The German Turnip: Kohlrabi, Cabbage and Apple Slaw

2011-07-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Kohlrabi is a vegetable that’s hard to love. Often mistaken for a root vegetable, the bulbous kohlrabi is instead related to cabbage and other brassicas like Brussels sprouts. The kohlrabi pops out of the earth like a fat broccoli, which makes sense give that its flesh tastes and feels a bit like the broccoli stem. The kohlrabi will grow almost anywhere, which is why I think it’s popular among

Getting My Eat on in New York City

2011-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

My favorite movie line comes from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds.When Lt. Aldo Raine suggests to Bridget von Hammersmark blame her shoot-out injured leg on a mountain climbing accident because German actress, telling her “you [Germans] all like mountain climbing,” she retorts: “ I like smoking, drinking, and ordering in restaurants, but I see your point.” While smoking is a thing of the

As American as Pizza Pie

2011-07-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

After a two day eatstravaganza in Manhattan, I'm headed to Long Island to celebrate the 4th with my parents. I'm not sure what's on the menu. Knowing my mom, we'll likely enjoy a fruit of the sea or perhaps some grilled wursts. But if we were home, we'd definitely be grilling, grilling pizzas.Last summer we splurged. Our old faithful Weber grill bit the dust. We planned to replace it with

CSAs and Chard Fatigue: Franks, Beans & Greens

2011-07-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

While many of you around the country are enjoying early Summer produce, we Chicagoans are still seeing Spring's greens in our CSA box, lots and lots of greens.With a little oil, salt, and a warm oven, I can transform the kale into crispy little bites. Chard, on the other hand, has begun to outlive its utility. Unlike its fairer cousin spinach, I don't like to freeze excess chard. To me, it only

Strawberries: Salsa Style!

2011-06-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'll be at Green City Market making Strawberry Salsa with the Sprouts. Even if you're busy or too far away to make it, I still want to get you the recipe. It's a quick recipe to brighten up a weeknight dinner.Seedling's weekly email tells proclaims that this is the strawberry's peak week. To celebrate this, we're eating strawberries every day: in our cereals, in our yogurt, in our

On Surgery and Pretzel Chicken and Beer Cheese Sauce

2011-06-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

I've always been blessed with good health, which is a good thing generally, but particularly because my husband's had more than his share of health issues, mainly back related. I can claim no major illnesses and with the exception of tubes put into my ears at age 4, no surgeries. My accidents and incidents have been of the freakish sort, like the iron that fell on my head last summer. Last

What's Eating Your Child?

2011-06-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

“If you could quickly and effectively cure your child’s ear infection, moodiness, or frequent colds with food instead of drugs, which option would you choose? In WHAT’S EATING YOUR CHILD? leading nutritionist Kelly Dorfman empowers parents to become Nutrition Detectives by revealing simple ways to uncover the clues behind a child’s health problems and find an accurate, nutritional treatment