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March 7, 2010

This is "Foodie Week" on The Mike Nowak Show!
I say that because in both hours I'm talking to people who are at least knee deep in efforts to help you grow your own food easily and efficiently.

Let's start with two people that I first got to know on Twitter. After all, it's supposed to be the next great social medium...perhaps not as good as having your own radio show, but some people are really working it. Like authors Jean Ann Van Krevelen and Amanda Thomsen. Out in the Twittersphere they are known, respectively, as @JeanAnnVK and @KissMyAster. Well, not exactly. Jean has other Twitter accounts, but that's something she likes to do. Without belaboring the point, the jury is still out for me.

Anyway, they're serious writers. Jean has several blogs, including Gardener to Farmer and The Edgy Entrepreneur. Amanda--who, as far as I can tell, is actually edgier than Jean (but I wouldn't like to see them get into a contest)--does a blog for Horticulture Magazine online. Here's an example. They also have a podcast called "Good Enough Gardening." What scares me is that they're pretty damned funny--which I always thought was MY gig. But I suppose it doesn't hurt to have other funny people around, especially if they grow things.

But I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about their new, terrific book,Grocery Gardening: Planting, Preparing and Preserving Fresh Food. They collaborated with Robin Ripley and Teresa O'Connor to create a book that delivers what it advertises. It walks you through the whole process--from selecting varieties to preparing your soil to dealing with insects and diseases to presenting recipes of all shapes and sizes to preserving and storing the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor. They even give you tips on how to purchase the best produce, in case you can't grow it yourself. Like a lot of the best of the new gardening, their ideas are organic through and through.

Okay, I don't cook...much. But considering how much territory this book covers in a relatively short space (250-something pages) , I suggest you add it to your collection.

And the Chicago Flower & Garden Show opened yesterday!
Geez, I almost forgot about that. It's quite good, really, and if you have any interest in plants at all you should stop by. This year's theme is "Cultivating Great Performances," which means that horticultural and theatre designers got together for a number of the exhibits. Shows like "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," "Miss Saigon," "Wicked" and more are represented--some more successfully than others.

There are the usually goodies like the Master Gardeners booth, where you can have all of your garden questions answered; the Marketplace, where you can start shopping for the gardening season (even if it's way too early) and the educational seminars, where even I will be doing my thing. On Monday, March 8 at 6:15 p.m. (yes, in the evening), I will be presenting readings of my favorite columns that I have written for Chicagoland Gardening Magazine. If this garden show is about theatre, then I will do my best to bring those columns alive, as they say. Here's the complete seminar schedule.

"Foodie Week," Part Deux: Family Farmed Expo 2010
It bills itself as "The Midwest's Premier Local Food Event" and I, for one, am not going to argue with that label. Family Farmed Expo is a three day extravaganza, March 11 - 13 at the UIC Forum on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. Among the features of this three day event:

  • Thursday: Financing Farm to Fork. No touchy-feely stuff here. It's all about the business side of connecting connecting local food producers with potential investors.
  • Friday: The Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council Summit. This day brings together urban farmers, city officials, community activists and educators, as they hammer out solutions to questions about how to make healthy foods to create healthy neighborhoods.
  • Friday night: Localicious! A sampling of the freshest ingredients and flavors of the season.
  • Saturday: Local Food Festival Workshops

Family Farmed's guiding force Jim Slama and Vicki Nowicki, who has been growing food sustainably in the suburbs of Chicago for decades, will walk me through the mission of this local food event. By the way, I will be moderating a seminar called "Growing & Using Herbs & Botanicals" on Saturday from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

By the way, there are fees attached to all of the events at Family Farmed Expo, so check the website for the seminars, talks, and food happenings that you would like to attend.

One more thing. I was contacted by Alicia Ontiveros, who is the host of an blog called EcoChicago, which works to connect Chicagoans with green resources. As part of that, she recently launched on online talk show called EcoChat.

On Monday, March 8th, at 8PM CST, she'll also be interviewing Jim Slama. You can participate by visiting ecochicago.blogspot.com and keep track of shows by following @ecochat on Twitter.

What's the latest on the DeKalb "mega-dump"? If you heard the show last week, you know that I talked to Dan Kenney from a group called Stop the DeKalb County Mega-Dump about a proposed expansion of a DeKalb County landfill.

The county landfill, operated by Waste Management, was seeking to expand its intake from The expansion would allow the landfill to increase its intake from about 340 tons to about 2,000 tons per day, including waste from surrounding counties, which would pay a tipping fee. That revenue would be used to expand the county jail, among other capital projects.

The public hearing was scheduled for last Monday, though it would be extended if there was a need. Well, apparently there was a need. According to Dan and the posts I'm seeing on their Facebook site, the hearing--and the controversy--are far from over.

I'm talking to Dan again today, to get the latest information.

 

 
 
Podcasts

 


@KissMyAster and@JeanAnnVK
AKA Amanda Thomsen and Jean Ann Van Krevelen
Who's betting they'll have Mike for lunch?

 

 

 

 

 

 


Jim Slama of Family Farmed


The irrepressible Vicki Nowick flashing the
"Live Green and Prosper" sign