co-op

Although there's plenty of winter left — remember, as the wise Prince sings, sometimes it snows in April — this is the perfect time to start thinking about tomatoes. And cabbage, and green beans, and kale...

Whether you've made a New Year's resolution to eat healthier or not, maybe this is your year to consider a share in a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm. I'm pretty biased on the subject, since my partner Karla and I have a farm that runs a CSA, but since we're taking this year off, it's my last chance to sound somewhat objective so I'm going for it. 

When I got the press release announcing Gardens of Eagan's unique new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program last week, I was excited. Was it possible that Gardens of Eagan had found a way to address customers' primary concern -- that they're signing up for a box of foods they don't know what to do with -- while still directly supporting the farmers who grow local food? Here's a look at the press release:

Gardens of Eagan - the popular organic produce farm in the south metro - is debuting a unique CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that enables shareholders to select their produce items at their convenience throughout the 2011 growing season.

If I am going to get a new cookbook, the best possible situation is to have my dad next to me when I do. I can’t think of a better companion for looking through recipes. Who else but my father reads through lists of ingredients with as much relish as I do, as if they were suspenseful novellas? Who else immediately starts thinking about how to change -- and improve -- recipes that we haven’t even tried yet? Nobody, that’s who.

In the second installment of this gift guide – written while the beginnings of our first major snowfall are floating to the pavement – I thought it would be good to offer you some shopping alternatives that don’t necessarily separate you from your bunny slippers. Or your cup of hot Northwoods cocoa (see yesterday’s post).

I found some local Minnesota gifts that would be simple, good and tasty to give; they're all available online, and they all meet my shopping criteria, which I outlined in yesterday's post:

Mississippi Market is on a roll these days. Having hosted a terrific grand opening at the new Mississippi Market site just this past July, one might think that St. Paul's favorite locavores would take the rest of the year off. Think again, silly friends. Mississippi Market has recently published their fall calendar of classes. It's an impressive list, offering something for every locavore.