Posts under ‘Iowa City’

Back in June, my friends Maggie and Heal got married. This might not seem like a big thing to announce a month and a half later, but it’s a huge thing. They are one of my favorite couples, because they are generous and kind and throw wonderful dinner parties and know all kinds of things [...]

I shocked any number of my citified friends with my rodent-bitten tomato-eating. Protests came in from as far away as North Carolina pleading with me to return to something resembling urban life before it was too late. (I must repeat, for those not in the know: Iowa City is not a city. I love it, [...]

Luckily for me, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for Tuesday mid-day, which meant I could spend my first post-weekend recovery day working from home. It was a productive day, for sure, but I can guarantee my co-workers should be glad I was not in the office. Cranky? Oh, yes, I was. Still, there were small [...]

I’ve been tagged for a blog meme once before, and now, recently, I’ve been tagged twice. Once, by Kenny of Veggie Gardening Tips for 7 Random Things About Me, and once, by Cole of Blah Blah Blah for 8 Things About Me. So, here it is, folks. The definitive Inadvertent Gardener meme post. And why [...]

Iowa City is about as far from an ocean as I’ve ever lived, so it was with great glee that I learned from my friend Sarah last year about “The Shrimp Guy.” The crew from Fabian’s Seafood drops into town about every four weeks from April to November, delivering shrimp, crabmeat, crawfish, and other seafood [...]

When I was looking into the opportunities for free compost in the area, I found Iowa City’s helpful, handy dandy brochure on composting. It was clear, straightforward and instructional, but also included a directive: build the pile no less than 20 feet from any house structure and no less than five feet from a property [...]

There are a few ways to acquire compost. You can buy it, you can borrow it (it’s the giving it back that’s hard) or you can make it. Although Steve and I finally decided it was time to make the leap to making it via a compost pile, that wasn’t going to do us any [...]

We revisited the four-and-a-half-year-old’s house for another brunch outing last weekend, and I took the opportunity to ask how her sunflower seedlings were doing. “They’re fine,” she said. “They’re upstairs.” “Good,” I replied. “I’m glad they’re still doing well.” “They might need another transplant,” The Mint Killer said. “They’re getting kind of leggy.” The brunch [...]

Last week, I received my copy of the second issue of Edible Iowa River Valley, a terrific magazine that shines a light on the great locally sourced food products available here in Iowa. It is free, and available at a number of locations around the state. The quarterly magazine launched in October 2006, and if [...]

As I’ve learned how to grow the most local of food, I’ve become even more interested in eating locally than ever before. In Iowa, it’s not hard to eat well off locally sourced goods, although it is a little more of a challenge in the winter than the summer. If you’re looking for more information [...]