Eating Local

  • Planning for Abundance

    We migrated back to the Eden of Garden three weeks later than usual this year. This typically would not be a big deal to me — May in the UP sucks. May in the UP is like going back in… Continue reading

    Planning for Abundance
  • Put your butt in the seat and eat

    “This food is the gift of the whole universe – the earth, the sky, and much hard work. May we live in a way that makes us worthy to receive it.”  – Thich Nhat Hanh We have a big problem around here:… Continue reading

    Put your butt in the seat and eat
  • A Eulogy for the Butterboy

    The garden is officially winding down. The boss man harvested all the green tomatoes off our wilting plants and pulled the last of the corn — oh Butter Boy you served us well, time to put you away until next… Continue reading

    A Eulogy for the Butterboy
  • The Tomato Parade

    The tomato parade has begun and soon tomatoes in various stages of red will be covering every surface of our kitchen.Tomatoes are the heart of summer, the fruit of hot and humid days that get even hotter when you spend… Continue reading

    The Tomato Parade
  • The Garlic Harvest

    140 pounds of garlic harvested!  Now the squash, which is towering above four-feet tall, has room to breathe. This is the deal with harvesting homegrown garlic: The most important thing you need to know about harvesting fresh garlic is: Eat… Continue reading

    The Garlic Harvest
  • Garlic Scapes and Walleye Cheeks

    The Upper Peninsula is always a bit behind the times compared to the rest of the country. Just turn on the radio or walk into one of the restaurants along Highway 2 and you’ll think you stepped back into the… Continue reading

    Garlic Scapes and Walleye Cheeks
  • Garlic and Dilligence

    If you grow garlic, it should be kicking ass about now. And you are probably thinking, When is this stuff going to be ready? (I am not a mind reader, I get this question regularly from our friends/family who’ve started… Continue reading

    Garlic and Dilligence
  • Our Cash Crop

    Garlic is our cash crop (not the typical cash crop the Garden Peninsula is known for). It didn’t start out that way. But when the public started getting a hold of our garlic and then  coming back for more and… Continue reading

    Our Cash Crop
  • String Bean Theory

    I was going to write about our incredible garlic harvest, but the beans are stressing me out. They tend to overwhelm. Just when I had things under control —  peas, broccoli and lettuce —  the beans start to appear.  If… Continue reading

    String Bean Theory
  • The Third Best Farmer’s Market in Michigan

    Some of our farmer’s market vendors are threatening to defect. They’ve experienced the greener grass of another farmer’s market, and by “greener” I mean more lucrative, and are feeling under appreciated at our market. They’ve been complaining that the Garden… Continue reading

    The Third Best Farmer’s Market in Michigan
  • Tomato Luv

    The first bunches of green tomatoes are starting to appear in our garden, which triggered an immediate Pavlovian response (a la Homer Simpson) — mmmmm, tomatoes. mouthwatering, drool, drool. Then a tinge of fear struck me, what if we get… Continue reading

    Tomato Luv
  • Exactly how much pig would that be?

    I was a vegetarian for many years. After a stint as an editor at a cattle breeding magazine, I had learned a little too much about commercial beef production. Then I moved to the U.P., tried an especially tasty venison… Continue reading