foraging
Eat the weeds: Playing with purslane
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 09-05-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
Purslane is known to many as a noxious weed and few today in this country know its value as an edible food. That's all beginning to change as the wild edibles trend heats up with the Farm to Plate movement. Farmers and foragers are seeing...
From the garden: Harvesting your own hyper-local herbal apothecary
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 06-13-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
For many, the term herbal apothecary evokes images of shelves, bottles and jars all filled with mysterious herbs and herbal formulas from exotic plants. But to have an herbal apothecary, plants need not be exotic or mysterious - in fact, as more and...
Eat the Weeds: ReWilding the Spring Salad
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 05-26-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
While it was a cool start to spring, the past two weeks of warm, wet weather have the plants around us springing from the earth. You may have taken particular notice if you are a lawn-mower -- the grass is growing tall and so are many of the lawn...
Cultivating A Sense of Place: Becoming a Forager & Land Steward
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 05-11-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
Our culture is starting to shift. We are beginning to understand the connection between healthy soil and healthy people. We are beginning to make choices and invest in good, healthful and local whole foods as part of our health insurance. Lifestyles...
Wild, weedy & edible: the infamous garlic mustard
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 04-28-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
What is the adage, "A weed is a plant that is growing where you don't want it?" Abundant in areas of disturbed soil - at the forest's edge, along roadsides, and on river floodplains, the garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is...
The Local Beet: Grand Rapids' Food Trends for 2011
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 02-01-2011 under OPINION
Frugal. Quality. Hyper-Local. Traditional. Artisanal. Bartering. Food empowerment. Now that we are one month into 2011, it's already shaping up to be a fun year on Grand Rapids' food front. What will we see more of in 2011? Here’s the run-down...
The Local Beet Farmer Feature: Mud Lake Farm
by Lisa Rose Starner (Lisa.rose.starner)
Submitted 05-02-2010 under LOCAL LIFE
Mud Lake Farm: Going Beyond SaladSituated in between the gentle, sloping hills of the quietude of Hudsonville's farmland - just 20 minutes from Grand Rapids' bustling downtown - is Mud Lake Farm. Mud Lake, a farm that has been in the Van Haitsma...
