For those of you who are interested in learning more about the business of locally grown food, there are several upcoming conferences around the state.

Meet Your Local Producer

Date: November 10, 2007

Take advantage of this opportunity to meet Central Illinois' local grower and producers. Find out what types of foods are available locally, how they are produced and where to purchase them. Interested in signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for the next growing season? Would you like to be able to buy local foods to serve this holiday season? Come "Meet Your Local Producers" at the Lincoln Park Pavilion on Saturday, November 10, 2007 from 10:00am - 2:00pm. Workshops will be held throughout the event on topics such as "Why Choose Grass Fed Beef?" and "What is Community Supported Agriculture?" This event hosted by Slow Food Springfield and Illinois Stewardship Alliance is free and open to the public. For more information: Contact Lindsay at (217) 498-9707 or lindsay@illinoisstewardshipalliance.org

Location: Springfield, IL

Introduction to Organic Markets and Certification

Date: November 15, 2007

5:00 pm – 7:30 pm (program starts promptly at 5:00 pm)

Registration is $10 per person and required at least 3 days in advance of the workshop. Light refreshments and materials will be provided. To register, please contact Donna Cray at 217-241-4644, or you can register online.

Locations:

Carbondale Extension Center

Champaign Extension Center

Countryside Extension Center

East Peoria Extension Center

Edwardsville Extension Center

John Wood Community College (Room B008)

Mt. Vernon Extension Center Springfield Center

Macomb Extension Center

Rockford Extension Center

Will County Unit

For more information contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at 217-968-5512.

Tri-State Locally Grown Conference

Thursday, November 29, 2007

9 am - 4 pm

John Wood Community College in Quincy, IL

This conference is designed for farmers, consumers, chefs, retailers, educators and others who are interested in building and supporting a sustainable local food system. Experts from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and beyond will share their research and experiences in local food system work.

Displays on marketing tools, local food system work and interesting topics will be available throughout the day. Lunch will be prepared by Chef Michael Mitchell of Busy Bistro and will highlight local foods.

For more information see the Adams - Brown Locally Grown site

Buy Local - Eat Healthy Seminar

Date: January 12, 2008

There has been a growing interest among farmers, consumers, and grocery chains to promote the growing and marketing of local foods. Locally produced foods are fresher, support local farmers, support the local economy, and provide greater food security. Join us for a local foods seminar entitled "Buy Local - Eat Healthy" on January 12, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza, Springfield, IL. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. followed by the program at 9:00 a.m. The seminar will be sponsored by Illinois Vegetable Growers Association, Illinois State Horticulture Society, Illinois Herb Association, Illinois Department of Agriculture, and University of Illinois Extension.

For more information- see the events page on the Illinois Small Farms Website

I wanted to continue the discussion about locally grown foods. When you first think about locally grown food, often not a lot comes to mind. However, have you ever shopped at a farmers market, bought wine from a local winery, picked fruit at a local orchard? Those are all examples of locally grown foods. Many restaurants in the Chicago region also may be serving you locally grown foods.

Locally grown foods can come in many varieties. They may come from a regional large farmer that focuses on one crop (like peas or beans), small farms that focus on a variety of crops, people who sell at markets, farmers that sell to local businesses, organic beef farmers, local specialty food businesses, and those that focus on foods geared toward tourism (like wineries). Basically, locally is any food that is grown within a certain geographic region. This includes food products that are made from locally grown foods such as cider, wine, jams, jelly, and sausages.

Over the next few months, we will be focusing on getting to know more about the locally grown foods on the Chicago Region and Illinois. To get us started, here is a list of Chicago restaurants that serve locally grown foods. This was put together by a fellow Dietitian who is an expert in locally grown foods - Angie Tagtow, MS, RD, LD, a consultant of Environmental Nutrition Solutions.

This is the time of year when pumpkins are a great buy and are a great thing to serve at that Halloween Party. Here are a few recipes to get in to the spirit of the season.

Pumpkin Pie Party Mix

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons margarine

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-1/4 cup crispy corn and/or rice square cereal

1/3 cup chow mein noodles

1/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces

Instructions:
1. Combine margarine, honey, and pumpkin pie spice in cup and microwave until margarine is melted.
2. Combine cereal, noodles, and nuts in a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.
3. Pour margarine/honey/spice mixture over cereal, noodles and nuts.
4. Microwave, uncovered, for approximately 2-1/2 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
5. Cool, stirring occasionally.
6. Mix will crispen as it stands.
6. Store in airtight container.

Pumpkin Pudding

Ingredients:

1 large package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 can (12-ounce.) evaporated milk

1 can (16-ounce) pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices or ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Non-dairy whipped topping

Instructions:
1. Prepare pudding according to package directions except substitute evaporated milk for regular milk.
2. Chill the pudding until it thickens about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add pumpkin, spices and, vanilla to the pudding and mix thoroughly.
4. Chill before serving.
5. Top with non-dairy whipped topping before serving.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dip

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pumpkin

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
1. Mix peanut butter and brown sugar.
2. Add vanilla and stir.
3. Add pumpkin and stir until well blended.
4. Serve with graham crackers, bread, apple slices, celery sticks, etc.

For more information about Pumpkins, check out the Pumpkins and More site

This week is the festive holiday of Halloween. Traditionally it is known for candy and other sweets. While I don't think all sweets should be limited, there should be an effort to offer some healthier alternatives.

For those looking for more information, here is a link to Healthier Halloween Treats

Happy Haunting!

Eggplants always look so colorful and inviting, but it is not always clear what to do with them. One of the most popular ways to serve them is with pasta or other Italian foods. Here are two different versions of Eggplant Parmesan.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, peeled, 8 slices equal thickness

Salt to taste

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup low-sodium spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Finely chopped onion, green pepper, mushrooms

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place sliced eggplant in a single layer on a slightly greased baking sheet.
3. Lightly salt each eggplant slice
4. Bake eggplant for 15 minutes then turn and bake 15 more minutes.
5. Remove eggplant from oven.
6. Top each eggplant slice with 1 tablespoon of spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese.
7. May add other finely chopped vegetables for flavor.
8. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

OR

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

1 cup water

2 cups canned diced tomato

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons basil

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. In bowl,mix tomato paste, water, and tomatoes.

3. Mix in oregano and basil

4. In a 13 x 9 baking pan, layer half of the sauce, eggplant, andcheese.

5. Repeat layer with the second half of the ingredients.

6. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.

7. Cover with foil andbake for 50 minutes oruntil eggplant is soft and tender.

This week we are starting to see a combination of sales on fall produce and early winter produce. There are still good deals on apples, pears, and squashes. Pumpkins have also been on sale for the past few weeks, but if you haven't gotten yours yet you might see some good close out sales. Other harvest type vegetables on sale are green onions, carrots, and eggplant.

As winter nears, we will start to see more and more sales on citrus types of fruits. This week we are starting to see some of those with grapefruit.

Lastly, depending on where we are importing foods from, there may be a variety of other produce items on sale at different times throughout the year. This week check out sales on avocado and lettuce.

If you are like me, you want to stock up on a product when it is on sale. After all, who doesn't like to save money? However, have you ever bought too many fruits and vegetables and have them spoil before you could eat them? Well there is a way to still stock up on all your favorite fruit and vegetable items and save them to eat throughout the year by canning or freezing them. However, it is not as easy as just putting them in a can or bag and putting them on the shelf or in the nearest freezer. It does take a little work; but with a little practice, you will be enjoying your favorites all year long.

If you are interested in storing your produce, I encourage you to check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. This is the most up to date information about storing and preserving food.

It is important to store food properly. Food not preserved correctly can cause people to get seriously ill and even die. For those who would like more information on handling food safely, here are some other Fact Sheets on Food Safety.

For those of you who would like more information about preserving food, check out the our Master Food Preserver blog or consider taking a food preservation class through the University of Illinois Extension.

I will usually only post once a week for "What's in my cart", but sincethis week was the first edition I am trying to get on a regular schedule. Here is "What's in my cart"for the upcomingweek.

This week there is a variety of produce on sale. Check the sale papers for your favorites. Some of the better buys are still apples and pears. Other root vegetables that are popular in fall are also becoming good buys like potatoes and onions. You can also still find good buys on grapes. Added to this week's list are also tomatoes.

Apples are going to be in season for the next few weeks, but now is a great time to buy apples that are not usually available in the store all year around like Jonamac, Gala, and Honey Crisp.

Happy Shopping.

Stay tuned for more information on how to store and preserve your favorite fall fruits and vegetables.

This summer while shopping in the produce department, I noticed a lot of signs labeling foods as locally grown. Since locally grown foods have become so popular, I thought it would be a good topic to start blogging about.

What is locally grown food?

While there is no formal definition of locally grown food, most agree that it is food grown within a 100-150 mile radius or within a similar region. For Chicago, it often includes northern and central Illinois, Southern Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana, and Southwest Michigan.

What are the benefits of eating locally grown food?

Environmentally

Most foods that people eat travel about 1500 miles to get to their plate. By eating food grown closer to homewe would beusing less oil and natural resources for shipping as well as creating less pollution. It also promotes a safer environment by using land in other ways.

Nutritionally

Locally grown foods are fresher because itis harvested closer to its peak ripeness. It would also be more nutritious because foods harvested close to ripening have the most vitamins and minerals.

Economically

Growing food locallycreates morelocal jobs.When people buy it,the money goes back to the local economy.

Safety

With the recent scares of food recalls, it will also give people a chance to get to know where their food is coming from. By getting to know the farms and people that grow your food, you can be sure about the safety of the growing practices that are used.

Is local food organic?

Not always. Organic foods are grown without pesticides and artificial fertilizers, hormones, or antibiotics. Locally grown food may be organic or it may not be. However, many experts agree that the environmental and the economic benefits of locally grown food outweigh whether it is organic or not. I am not going to debate that, I will let you decide.

Throughout the coming weeks, watch for more information about locally grown food and where you can find it in Chicago. In the meantime, please email me with any questions you may have. jmccaffr@uiuc.edu

Welcome to the weekly installment of what's in my cart. In these weekly postings I will talk about items that I noticed were good buys in the produce department. I am concentrating on produce because I find that people are always saying that fruit and vegetables are so expensive. Well, one of the ways to save a little is buying what is on sale. So here it goes.

Since it is fall, that means we are starting to get really good buys on some of the fall fruits and vegetables. This week look for sales on apples and pears. Also different varieties of squashes are coming on sale. You might also find sales on grapes and late season cantelope.

Fall is harvest time and around the Midwest one of the most popular fruits and vegetables is apples. People often ask, are apples good for you? "They don't really have that many vitamins and minerals". While it is true, looking at the nutrition of the apple, it doesn't look like an apple packs a lot of nutrients, but that is what is mysterious about fruits and vegetables.

Many fruits and vegetables have benefits that go beyond the nutrients they contain. For years we have been hearing about how there are new antioxidants and other phytochemicalsin our food that help fight cancer and other diseases. It is these pieces of the food that are not listed in the ingredients or the nutrition facts label that are so important to our health. Most of these phytochemicals are in fruits and vegetables and that is why we are told to eat more fruits and vegetables.

While apples have Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, it is the antioxidants that give it the extra value.

In Illinois, mid October often signals the end of apple season as most apples are harvested in September. However several local orchards still have later season apples such as Braeburn, Crispin, Goldrush, and Winesap. Peter Piper picked a peck..... Don't be surprised if you go to a local orchard and they are selling apples by the peck. 10.5 pounds of apples is one peck. Apples are often sold by the peck and half a peck.

To learn more about apples, including some great apple recipes and where to find a local apple orchard, visit the Apples and More page.

Welcome to our newest blog, What's on Your Plate. Tune in weekly for information on buying local foods, stretching your food dollar, preparing healthy meals, cooking ideas, and nutrition tips. Please feel free to email any questions you have and I will try to post the questions and the answers.

Here is to good eating!