Frog Log

Funky tomato: the backside of the December tomato. Funky or not, it was delicious in December! Surprise! Photos on the Frog Log! I'm trying to learn - wish me luck! I had to practice when I had help but I'm not abandoning my Michael Pollan rant (More seeds, Feb.25). Stay tuned!

Here is a tomato from December.

Well that last blog even surprised me by its rather precipitous ending. Apparently the Frog of this Log decided to reach out its long tongue and snap that little blog right up. That's all, rivet rivet. And he was right; without knowing or planning it, I had arrived at my conclusion. But I'm returning to circle 'round the word pond, hopefully avoiding his greedy tongue until I'm ready for the last period. Or not. My frog muse knows better than I, methinks. So continuing with the last blog where I had ordered Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, and then moved on to making our seed order. Well, the seed order was tough this year. Not only are we ordering as much organic seed as possible, which is expensive, all seed seems pretty pricey. We look at a tomato variety, decide how much we need and then look at the price. And then stop. " How much??" "Can we really do that?" "Hmmm, I guess we have to." Okay, gulp, next!" We order a...

Uncharacteristically, I ordered something in response to an online offer. It was from a legit company and I did get 40 % off, so I took the bait and pushed the buttons. What I ordered was a copy of Michael Pollan's latest book, "In Defense of Food". The title alone was intriguing and accompanying reviews piqued my interest enough to complete the sale. Michael Pollan is one of the darlings or enfant terribles (depending on which side you're on) of the new food consciousness. His most recent bestseller, The Omnivore's Dilemma, delivered a behind-the-scenes look at a few of the most popular and pervasive food items in our national diet. The New York Times said that "...you're not likely to get a better explanation of where your food comes from." And The New Yorker added, "...a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our national eating habits." I didn't read that book. Perhaps in a show of hubris, I told myself ...

When I was a sophomore at Northwestern University, I joined the college radio station. The airwaves of WNUR probably reached not much farther than the next dorm, but I still got a kick out of being in the broadcast booth and talking into the microphone.The downside was that fledgling DJ's were constrained to playing music only from the "easy listening" category. Every week before my show I would thumb hopefully through the designated shelf of LP's, (yes, I'm dating myself), only to find variations on Mitch Miller and/or the Swingle Singers (okay, I'm really dating myself!). I would sigh, make a few selections and hand them to my engineer as I headed into the booth. Now this was a time when in the music world, the British Invasion was in full swing. In the political world, the Civil Rights movement was cresting with "Women's Lib" not far behind. Folks headed to San Francisco with flowers in their hair (got the date yet?). I knew no one was listen...

Yessirree, the Farmers Market is very green in the month of December! The greens, however, as you may have guessed, are not edible. Almost the entire front section is filled with holiday wreaths, table arrangements, and decorations made from evergreens, embellished with seasonal ribbons and sparkle. It looks very colorful and festive and I saw smiling customers walking away with unique arrangements, created by an extended farming family in their "off time". It was a biting cold Saturday and I cruised quickly along the aisles in search of apples and cider. Many farmers had constructed little 3-sided tents to hold a bit of the heat generated by their propane heaters. In the old days, the heaters were called "salamanders"; they were fueled with kerosene, which made a nasty and ominous black smoke when something was about to go awry. Yes, I speak from experience. If you have been reading carefully, I assume you are about to ask: why would a heater be called a salamander...

Nov. 22, Thanksgiving. Yesterday, last market. Today, first snow. A finality to the season, as the winter winds blow. Yet farmers have faith; farmers believe. So we covered the lettuce from tonight's chilling freeze. Because, well, you know, you never can tell, We just might get another warm spell! Then we'll snip up a batch of our greens and lettuce And give all our friends salad mix for Christmas!