Category > Local 365
Several years ago I worked on a web project in which one of the principals wanted me to address the subject of agroterrorism. You can't be serious. Why would anyone want to waste time poisoning our food supply when they can see each week on the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm) and USDA websites what a bang up job we do of it ourselves. But as politicians and federal agencies rush to point fingers, the fact remains that much of the blame …
| Three weeks ago I wrote that I didn't really like corn. Since then, my husband has been only too happy to point out the irony of it. For 20 weeks a year, it is my job to persuade the shareholders of Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture to love vegetables, all vegetables. I tell them, if you don't like a vegetable it is only because you haven't found the right recipe. Last week, I ate my words, literally. For several weeks …
In the U.S. pasta sauce has traditionally been a labor of love, something that your parents, grandparents, or even you in an intrepid mood, made possibly over the course of an entire day or days. The process took up most of the kitchen and involved tending a giant pot or pots for hours, and typically raised the humidity level in your house or apartment by a good 10 to 15 percent — just what you need in the middle …
I don't like sweet corn. I know in East Central Illinois it makes me a "Godless Communist," but it's true. I don't really care for sweet corn. Before you say, "Oh you just haven't had good corn, you need to try xyz," or "If you'd only had it prepared correctly," or "Blah, blah, blah," consider that, from the age of six on, I spent the pre-dawn hours of Saturday mornings helping my parents harvest sweet corn for our farmers …
Nearly everyone knows that a salad of spinach is nutritionally superior to one of iceberg lettuce. But what if there was something that made spinach look like a lightweight? What if it grew nearly effortlessly, with each plant capable of producing over 52,000 seeds? What if the seeds of its 500 species could remain dormant for up to 30 years, withstanding droughts and other unfavorable conditions? And what if there were no less than nine genera native to North …
This year's long, cool spring made for an explosion of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries. As riders on Saturday's Tour de Fruit learned: plums, apricots, pears, and apples won't be far behind. Galettes are a great way to showcase the local harvest. They can provide a sweet ending to a meal. Or, you can leave out the sugar and use them for a savory starter when the first of the field tomatoes arrive.
Temperatures of ninety degrees with oppressive levels of humidity tend to put the brakes on most people's appetites here in the Midwest. But these conditions exist for extended periods in parts of India and Vietnam. So when the heat index is on the rise, I look to what people eat where it is hot and humid for months on end. Spiced bean dishes like rajmah and chana masala which feature kidney beans and chick peas, respectively, are common in …
Mac and cheese, tomato soup, mashed potatoes... the power of food to comfort us is well known. Likewise when the smell of cookies, apple pie, or bread is involved, people find themselves more willing to give an overpriced house a second look. For years we've heard about food's ability to protect us from disease only to be repeatedly let down whether it was the cholesterol lowering benefits of oat bran or the vision protecting power of lutein in carrots …
Chicory season is that all too brief period between spring thaw and the heat of summer. A few days near 80 will turn what were mildly bitter greens into something inedible. A solid week of heat will cause the plants to bolt as they attempt to flower and reseed themselves for the fall crop. The members of the chicory family range from maroon radicchios to yellowy Belgian endives. In between, you'll find green curly endive/frisee and escarole, as well …
At a neighborhood feed courtesy of Hilary Valentine and Neil Bernstein's Veggie Trails Wagon this weekend, one of my neighbors asked, "What's the best way to get rid of my lawn and start over with new grass? Where do I rent a tiller?" I told her that she could easily rent a tiller nearby at McCabe Brothers, but that she might want to ask herself why she wanted to redo her lawn in the first place. She said that …
Most Recent Food Comments
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
“more beer is drank” Awesome. Way to go “editors.“
You left out the best part—you have to REMEMBER your number after the beer chugging! Yeah, I’m a member.
Great article, man. Like you, I didn’t really know Daniel all that well, but I felt the impact of his death. I too was inspired by him and it pleases me to see that he continues to live on in the spirit of the community.
Thanks you guys…I love living in a community that can connect, share, and create through food. It’s inspiring…
<div> A beautiful recap of the evening and thank you for sharing why you find what the Fund is doing is inspiring. I haven’t been able to write too much about my feelings about the community’s loss of Dan yet either, but Dan has also inspired me…
Seth and Justine, thanks so much! Through your writing and your photos, everyone can get at least a taste of what was served up Sunday night. Dan would very much have liked that! As you say, our community is very much “fertile ground,“ and Dan had such…
That is perhaps the best article you have ever written… a love letter to Champaign-Urbana and the people who call it home.
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Most Recent Comments
Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
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I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…