Everyone I know is suffering from quarantine fatigue, and you may be too. But there have been a few upsides to this forced exile. We have returned to the kitchen to make many more meals at home than usual and discovered the pleasure of family dinners. And if you are like me, you’ve also been prodded into doing a deep dive into the cabinets and freezer in an effort to find inspiration and also to clean out things that have been lingering around for a while. Continue reading →

I wait all summer for that day when all of the juicy red tomatoes are ripe at one time – gathering them into a basket, feeling their sunny warmth on my fingers, my mouth watering as I imagine what I will make with them now and in the long winter months ahead.

Continue reading →

Photo and styling by Judith Dunbar Hines

When was the last time you visited Lincoln Park Zoo? The zoo always has plenty of things to see, but cooks and gardeners should certainly check out the Edible Gardens at the entrance to the Farm in the Zoo.

Where a patch of farm corn and soybeans used to grow, the 1000-square-foot plot now features nearly 100 types of edible plants thanks to a cooperative effort between the zoo and Chicago Green City Market.  Just looking into the garden from the pathways is an inspiration but frequent workshops and demonstrations provided by The Organic Gardener (theorganicgardener.net) give hands-on information on planting, tilling, harvesting and ways to use the plentiful results so Chicago gardeners can replicate their efforts in their own garden or balcony pots. (Get the schedule here: lpzoo.org/events/calendar/edible-garden )  Continue reading →