Local 365

When most people think “salad,” they think lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Anna Barnes thinks local, and as a result, her salads know no bounds.

What’s life without sweets? Pretty worthless. But challenge yourself to making a cookie that is sweetened with honey (and only honey) and you’ll see that treating yourself can be good for you too.

Don’t look now, but we are T minus 19 days from spring. The time changes this Sunday at 2 a.m. And, Blue Moon Farm already has locally grown spinach that will stave off any residual winter sadness. Get your happy on with the green giant of veggies.

Anna Barnes stumbled upon a local secret: Pekara baker Dusan Katic is baking bread that is unlike anyone else’s in town. Who says you have to travel to San Francisco to get good sourdough?

Sometimes the easiest and most basic ingredients open the door to a multitude of culinary options. Polenta, made simply from boiled cornmeal (and available locally), fits the mold perfectly.

Don’t bother with a jar of old soggy sauerkraut from the store. You can make your own fresh. The difference is staggering.

Eating locally = eating healthy = keeping your New Year’s resolution alive.

A recession is here, and in case a depression is coming, Anna Barnes lets us in on a little secret to beat down that big grocery bill. Behold, The Lentil.

In 1997, the city of Champaign changed its laws to ban the raising of hens in backyards. Locally raised eggs have more than a few benefits. Anna Barnes explains the importance of changing the code back.