(A few goodies from our garden at Lillie House.) Add up 1 part impending ecological catastrophe WITH 1 notoriously unhealthy food system PLUS 2 decades of declining economic opportunity, and you’re sure to get a crazed North American obsession for finding meaningful work on the land. With real incomes declining since the 70s, unpaid work hours sky-rocketing while paid work hours per capita decline, it’s no wonder that more and more people are looking at their back yards as a way to make an income, while simultaneously providing healthier food for their communities and fighting the lead cause of climate … Continue reading Small Farm, Real Profit: Mother Earth News

Want an amazing edible landscape plant with the beauty of wild sunflowers, that’s a hard worker in the garden, a high quality medicinal, a great vegetable and also an extremely productive “carb” crop?  Yes, yes, the sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke is all that and a bag of chips. Like literally, they make really, really great chips.  But that’s just the start of their culinary potential. While I’m personally not too fond of the cooked, unprocessed vegetable, the thinly sliced raw tuber (in small amounts) is a great crunchy stand-in for water chestnuts in salads, and when processed, it becomes nearly … Continue reading The Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke