I’ve been thinking of ways to introduce myself to this new community – as a novice cook and gardener, as a local foodie, or perhaps simply as someone who believes in the healing power of cooking from scratch.  But, while all of that is true, none of it tells you my journey.  And I happen to believe life is in the journey, and that when you share it with others, you start to build a community.  And to me, the local, slow food movement, cooking, growing – it is all about community.

So, I’ll keep my story brief, but it starts with an admission – I am a recovering attorney.  Basically, when I started law school, nearly all of my energy went into studying, arguing and trying to “get ahead.”  For four recent years of my life, I followed a career that I believed was my passion, all the while neglecting the part of me that needed to create something positive, to find joy, and to build a community.

But that part of me was persistent and fought to be heard.  I started wishing for a life where I could sow harmony in the world, and create more peace – not adversity, which was almost all the law had become for me.  It was a constant fight, and even when I believed in what I was fighting for, it was still an us vs. them approach to life, and that was not good for me.  My life was not abundant – with community, with health, or with joy.

So, almost two years ago, I took a plunge and walked away from the traditional practice of law.  Ever since then, my life has been growing more full.  I have discovered an unexpected joy in cooking.  I love the act of taking beautiful, fresh produce and creating something tasty and nourishing. I also experience abundant happiness in cooking for others.  Creating meals for my friends and family allows me to express my love and gratitude for them, and every time we eat together, our bond grows stronger.

During the last two years, I have also become committed to living a more sustainable life.  As I’m sure many of you have experienced, that is a long process, and not an easy one in our consumer-driven society.  But I’m trying.  I’m planting a garden this year, and shopping for my food as locally as possible.  I am excited to be a new part of the FarmersMarket.com community.  For my part, I am going to share my adventures in the kitchen and the garden, as well as local and sustainable inspirations, with the community.  I look forward to learning from all of you as my journey continues. 

If you’re like me, then you’ve probably often wondered how to turn a fresh, healthy all natural foods salad into a whole meal.  It’s a classic dilemma in my house actually, as I live with someone who only reluctantly will eat an all vegetarian meal.  Like last week, I made the standard black beans and rice with ripe green peppers and onions, only to be met with, “but…no sausage?!”  So, as you can see, I better be creative in making a vegetarian meal if I want it to be a success and have it...

One of the best gifts I’ve received in a long time is the book Cooking From the Farmers Market.  It promises at least 3 recipes for anything you pick up from the local farmers market, so darn it, live a little!  Truly though, this book has given me such delicious recipes as seared halibut with wild mushroom ragout, wild rice and mushroom pilaf, and English peas with prosciutto.  If you happen to pick this book up, you won’t regret it.  The book provided the absolutely perfect recipe for the...

Look what I found yesterday at my local farmers market!

First, just look at that cute little purple garlic.  I was recommended to head over to an Amish farmer’s stand for “the best fresh purple garlic here” from another farmer – I love the cooperative attitude at the market.  Until yesterday, I’d never had purple garlic.  More on that later.

The garlic is resting nicely on some snow pea shoots – my hubs’ favorite for topping any salad.

Next to the shoots are radish pods – never heard of such...

Summer weather is officially here, and guess what we just did?  Bought a fancy new grill!  And by fancy I mean, the ignition and thermometer actually work and it is able to cook a hamburger in less than an hour.  This is all an upgrade from our previous grill. 

So now, I’m becoming a grill-master.  I think I’m better at it than my hubs (though he takes issue with this opinion), and I’m actually starting to really appreciate this new art of cooking. I recently tried it out with some local, organic...

I have the PERFECT spring recipe for you.  Depending on where you live, you can probably pick up almost everything you need from your local farmers market this week.  Here in the Midwest, we can only get about half of everything at the market, but by mid-June, everything will be straight from local Indiana farms. 

Locavore friends, I give you Bok Choy Asian Chicken Salad. 

I’ve already made this twice in one week.  You’re gonna love it.

To start, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and throw in...

I used to live 600 miles away from my family.  The week after I graduated college, I up and moved what little I had to Philadelphia to start my “adult life” in a big city.  Philadelphia took me in, and, over the next 6 years, I managed to forge out a truly happy life for myself.  One lingering sadness over those 6 years, however, was living so far away from my family.  I missed birthdays, celebrations, reunions, and the day to day stuff of life that solidifies strong bonds. 

But now I’m back in...

Lately I’ve been on this quest to limit my “comfort food” intake and increase my healthy, non-fatty, organic, brightly colored, naturally sweetened food intake.  But honestly people, it’s hard.  Maybe not for everyone, but I have a seriously unhealthy relationship with mashed potatoes made with cream and absolutely anything and everything made with chocolate.  Especially cookies, brownies, candy bars and donuts.

But, I am proud to say, my health-quest has been progressing.  Spring has basically...

Who says you can’t have a little romance on a Monday night? 

After coming home from the start of another work week, and after sitting in front of my computer on yet another gorgeous, sunny spring day, I thought – I need wine.  And romance.  So I promptly drove to one of the local organic markets, picked up a bottle of Chianti, some nice antipasti treats, and went home to prepare a surprise candle-lit dinner for the hubs and me. 

I was already planning this pizza, which is definitely...

I am, at this very moment, making socca.  Anyone know what I’m talking about?  I hadn’t heard of it until about a week ago when I decided to make my household much more gluten-free.  And I thought, while I’m at the major life changes, why not throw in vegetarianism 3 or 4 days a week.  I stumbled across this brilliant blog called My New Rootsand have already spent hours learning from this woman.  What I love most is that the author is a holistic nutritionist and many of her recipes include...

Big Fancy Steak Salad

I have to give a big shout-out to the Pioneer Woman for this amazing recipe.  In anticipation of my in-law’s coming to visit, I ordered a 1.5 pound free range flank steak from Green Bean Delivery (my local organic grocery delivery service – you can check out how I discovered them here) but I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  After an indulgent weekend of bbq pulled pork and two meals out, I knew we needed something on the lighter side, but I wasn’t going to send...