Photo by Judith Hausman I used farm-fresh greens to fill my calzone. Calzones are like amplified pizzas. The enclosed filling, often pillowed on top of ricotta, makes them neatly portable and somehow cozier than pizza, and they’re just as quick to compose. Traditionally, pizzerias serve calzones with a side of mild tomato sauce for dipping or […]
Because of the many different ways Italian summer squash, or trumpets, can be grown, it has become one of my favorite crops.
Photo by Judith Hausman Cooked, seasonal vegetables pair well with these savory chickpea pancakes. Vegetarian main dishes appeal to me as transitions from heartier winter stews and soups to lighter dinners that showcase the newest spring arrivals. Spring onions, chives and over-wintered leeks replace winter’s onions and shallots, and other renewed crops of herbs and mushrooms link […]

Photo by Audrey Pavia Mr. Molly, crowing his brains out. When I first got my chickens, a friend on a chicken message board warned me that the crowing of bantam cocks could be quite annoying. Unlike standard-size roosters, their crows are higher-pitched and irritating. I was so in love with my two little roos that […]
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto/Thinkstock Guerrilla Grafters is converting city streets into food forests. Taking the underground gardening movement to a new level, San Francisco-based activist group, Guerrilla Grafters, helps fruit grow — on urban, non-fruit-bearing trees. The ultimate goal is to “turn city streets into food forests.” There are many public ornamental fruit trees lining […]
Kiwi vines grow fairly well if you watch for PSA and temperature changes.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto/Thinkstock The Beacon Food Forest mixes forested areas with fruit trees and shrubs, as well as gardening patches. Residents of the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle came up with a plan to transform an unused tract of land into an urban food forest. Despite robust community support, creating the Beacon Food Forest, […]
Photo by Audrey Pavia Cheddar enjoyed his camping trip this weekend. One of the perks of being a professional writer is that you get to research the stuff you are writing about. When the editors of Cat Fancy magazine agreed to have me write an article on traveling with cats for their August 2012 issue, […]
iStockphoto/Thinkstock Starting in April, Organic Creamery’s cheese recipe contest will give home chefs the opportunity to win eco-friendly prizes for their kitchens. DCI Cheese Company recently announced its Pure Ingredients, Purely Delicious recipe contest, which will kick off in April and last through May. Sponsored by Organic Creamery, DCI Cheese Company’s line of certified-organic cheeses, […]

Kale's dark-green leaves are nutrition-dense and easy-to-grow, even out here in Italy.
Photo by Judith Hausman Deviled eggs taste even better when made with fresh, local eggs. Out here in the East Coast, it’s the season of birth and rebirth, so it’s not surprising that eggs figure into the celebrations coming up. Whether it’s the chicks or the eggs that come first is another issue, but both […]