Check out this link for access to healthy food, including locally grown:

http://maps.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/

Exercise once a week.

Phys Ed: If You Are Fit, You Can Take It Easy

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Pamplemousse/Getty Images

New Year’s resolutions tend to war with wintertime malaise. Resolution urges you to work out. Malaise suggests that you linger in bed. But there’s good news for those of us torn between these impulses. A number of newly published studies offer compelling reasons to get out and exercise on the one hand, as well as new estimates of just how little we can do and still benefit on the other.

The most sobering of the recent studies, published last month in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at a large group of retired elite male athletes, most now in their 50s. Some had remained physically active, although they were no longer competing. Others had taken fully to sloth, avoiding almost all exercise. When the researchers examined the health profiles of the two groups, they found, to no one’s surprise, that the sedentary ex-athletes had a much higher risk of metabolic abnormalities, including insulin resistance, than their more active counterparts. Training hard and often in their youth had not conferred lifelong health benefits on the athletes as they aged, not if they now sat around all day.

Similarly, although in a more compressed time frame, a study published earlier this year found that when a group of world-class kayakers completely quit training (at the end of a competitive season), they rapidly lost strength and endurance. After only five weeks of not training, according to one measure of strength, they’d sloughed off about 9 percent of their muscular power and 11 percent of their aerobic capacity.

In other words, being almost completely inactive, whether for a short or prolonged period of time, inexorably de-tones muscles and compromises health. The benefits of regular activity don’t last long.

But there is a loophole. In these same studies, as well as others, relatively small amounts of activity allowed participants to maintain much of the health and fitness they had previously gained. In the kayaking study, for instance, some of the athletes didn’t completely cease their training at the end of the season; they merely cut back, limiting themselves to one weight-training session and two endurance workouts per week (a fraction of their full-season training) and consequently lost barely half as much of their aerobic power as the kayakers who stopped exercising altogether. Five weeks “of markedly reduced training in a group of elite athletes seems effective for minimizing the large declines” in conditioning “that take place by completely stopping physical training,” the authors wrote.

RELATED

• More Phys Ed columns
• Faster, Higher, Stronger
• Fitness and Nutrition News

Even more relevant to those of us who aren’t world-class athletes (and aren’t, therefore, likely to reduce our training to three sessions a week), a study just published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that visiting the gym only once a week may be enough for young and older athletes to hold onto past strength gains.

For the study, researchers with the University of Alabama at Birmingham recruited one group of adults in their 20s and 30s and another in their 60s and 70s and had both groups undertake a four-month program of fairly strenuous weight training, with thrice weekly, multiset sessions at the gym. By the end, all of the volunteers were dramatically stronger and had added considerable muscle mass.

The researchers then randomly assigned the volunteers to different groups for the next eight months. One group quit all exercise. Another cut the number of their training sessions by two thirds, showing up at the gym only once a week. The final group not only reduced the number of their gym sessions to once a week, but completed only a third as many exercises during that session, for a total reduction in exercise volume to one-ninth.

At the end of the eight months, the groups’ muscle size and strength varied markedly. The volunteers who stopped all exercise, whether they were young or old, had lost most of their newly acquired muscle mass, as well as a large portion of their strength. Those who’d continued to train once a week, however, had maintained much of their muscle mass, as well as their strength. The younger volunteers had even added muscle mass with the once a week full sessions (although not with the shortened bouts). Older volunteers hadn’t augmented their muscle size during the maintenance routines, but they had lost little of their strength gains, even when their exercise volume was reduced to a ninth. A “once per week exercise dose was generally sufficient to maintain positive neuromuscular adaptations,” the study authors concluded.

There are caveats to these encouraging findings, of course. You must have a baseline level of fitness to maintain, for one thing. Before they moved to the once-a-week routine, the weight trainers completed four months of three-times-a-week sessions. If you have no fitness base, resolve now to build one. The latest studies also did not pin down just how long you can maintain a reduced level of exercise, without the vestiges of fitness finally slipping away. The maintenance portion of the strength-training experiment lasted eight months; the kayaking study stretched only to five weeks. At some point, you probably have to return to a full exercise program. But for now, a little may be enough.

On Forgiveness

We are in a season traditionally devoted to good will among people and to the renewal of hope in the face of hard times. As we seek to realize these lofty ideals, one of our greatest challenges is overcoming bitterness and divisiveness. We all struggle with the wrongs others have done to us as well as those we have done to others, and we recoil at the vast extent of injury humankind seems determined to inflict on itself. How to keep hope alive? Without a constructive answer to toxic anger, addictive cycles of revenge, and immobilizing guilt, we seem doomed to despair about chances for renewal. One answer to this despair lies in forgiveness.

What is forgiveness? When is it appropriate? Why is it considered to be commendable? Some claim that forgiveness is merely about ridding oneself of vengeful anger; do that, and you have forgiven. But if you were able to banish anger from your soul simply by taking a pill, would the result really be forgiveness? The timing of forgiveness is also disputed. Some say that it should wait for the offender to take responsibility and suffer due punishment, others hold that the victim must first overcome anger altogether, and still others that forgiveness should be unilaterally bestowed at the earliest possible moment. But what if you have every good reason to be angry and even to take your sweet revenge as well? Is forgiveness then really to be commended? Some object that it lets the offender off the hook, confesses to one’s own weakness and vulnerability, and papers over the legitimate demands of vengeful anger. And yet, legions praise forgiveness and think of it as an indispensable virtue. Recall the title of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book on the subject: “No Future Without Forgiveness.”

If you claim you’ve forgiven someone then take revenge, you’re either dishonest or ignorant of the meaning of the term.

These questions about the what, when, and why of forgiveness have led to a massive outpouring of books, pamphlets, documentaries, television shows, and radio interviews. The list grows by the hour. It includes hefty representation of religious and self-help perspectives, historical analysis (much of which was sparked by South Africa’s famed Truth and Reconciliation Commission), and increasingly, philosophical reflection as well. Yet there is little consensus about the answers. Indeed, the list of disputed questions is still longer. Consider: may forgiveness be demanded, or must it be a sort of freely bestowed gift? Does the concept of “the unforgivable” make sense? And what about the cultural context of forgiveness: does it matter? Has the concept of “forgiveness” evolved, even within religious traditions such as Christianity? Is it a fundamentally religious concept?

On almost all accounts, interpersonal forgiveness is closely tied to vengeful anger and revenge. This linkage was brought to the fore byBishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752) in his insightful sermons on resentment (his word for what is often now called vengeful anger) and forgiveness. These sermons are the touchstone of modern philosophical discussions of the topic. Butler is often interpreted as saying that forgiveness requires forswearing resentment, but what he actually says is that it requires tempering resentment and forswearing revenge. He is surely right that it requires at least that much. If you claim you’ve forgiven someone and then proceed to take revenge, then you are either dishonest or ignorant of the meaning of the term. Forgiveness comes with conditions, such as the giving up of revenge. What are other conditions?

If you seethe with vengeful thoughts and anger, or even simmer with them, can you be said to have forgiven fully? I would answer in the negative. That establishes another condition that successful forgiveness must meet. In the contemporary literature on forgiveness, the link between forgiveness and giving up vengefulness is so heavily emphasized that it is very often offered as the reason to forgive: forgive, so that you may live without toxic anger.

However, if giving up revenge and resentment were sufficient to yield forgiveness, then one could forgive simply by forgetting, or through counseling, or by taking the latest version of the nepenthepill. But none of those really seems to qualify as forgiveness properly speaking, however valuable they may be in their own right as a means of getting over anger. The reason is that forgiveness is neither just a therapeutic technique nor simply self-regarding in its motivation; it is fundamentally a moral relation between self and other.

Consider its genesis in the interpersonal context: one person wrongs another. Forgiveness is a response to that wrong, and hence to the other person as author of that action. Forgiveness retains the bilateral or social character of the situation to which it seeks to respond. The anger you feel in response to having been treated unjustly is warranted only if, in its intensity and its target, it is fitting. After all, if you misidentified who did you wrong, then forgiving that person would be inappropriate, indeed, insulting. Or if the wrongdoer is rightly identified but is not culpable, perhaps by virtue of ignorance or youth, then once again it is not forgiveness that is called for but something else — say, excuse or pardon. (One consequence: as philosopher Jeffrie Murphy points out in his exchange with Jean Hampton in their book “Forgiveness and Mercy,” “they know not what they do” makes Christ’s plea on the cross an appeal for excuse rather than forgiveness.) Moreover, it is not so much the action that is forgiven, but its author. So forgiveness assumes as its target, so to speak, an agent who knowingly does wrong and is held responsible. The moral anger one feels in this case is a reaction that is answerable to reason; and this would hold too with respect to giving up one’s anger. In the best case, the offender would offer you reasons for forswearing resentment, most obviously by taking a series of steps that include admission of responsibility, contrition, a resolve to mend his or her ways and recognition of what the wrong-doing felt like from your perspective.

Forgiveness is fundamentally a moralrelation between self and other.

Of course, as the wronged party you don’t always get anything close to that and are often left to struggle with anger in the face of the offender’s unwillingness or inability to give you reason to forswear anger. But if the offender offered to take the steps just mentioned, you would very likely accept, as that would make it not only psychologically easier to forgive, but would much more perfectly accomplish one moral purpose of forgiveness — namely, restoration of mutual respect and reaffirmation that one is not to be treated wrongly. A similar logic holds on the flip side: if as the offender you take every step that could reasonably be asked of you, and your victim is unable or unwilling to forgive, you are left to struggle with your sense of being unforgiven, guilty, beholden. Offered the chance that your victim would set aside revenge and vengefulness, forgive you, and move onto the next chapter of his or her life, you would very probably accept.

The paradigm case of interpersonal forgiveness is the one in which all of the conditions we would wish to see fulfilled are in fact met by both offender and victim. When they are met, forgiveness will not collapse into either excuse or condonation — and on any account it is essential to avoid conflating these concepts. One of the several sub-paradigmatic or imperfect forms of forgiveness will consist in what is often called unconditional, or more accurately, unilateral forgiveness — as when one forgives the wrongdoer independently of any steps he or she takes. Some hold that unilateral forgiveness is the model, pointing to the much discussed case of the Amish unilaterally forgiving the murderer of their children (for an account of this case, see “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy,” by D. B. Kraybill, S. M. Nolt, and D. L. Weaver-Zercher). I contend, by contrast, that the ideal is bilateral, one in which both sides take steps. I also hold that whether forgiveness is or is not possible will depend on the circumstances and reasons at play; not just anything is going to count as forgiveness. Establishing the minimal threshold for an exchange to count as “forgiveness” is a matter of some debate, but it must include the giving up of revenge by the victim, and an assumption of responsibility by the offender.

Other familiar cases of imperfect forgiveness present their own challenges, as when one seeks to forgive a wrong done to someone else (to forgive on behalf of another, or what is commonly called third-party forgiveness, as for example when the victim is deceased). Another case concerns self-forgiveness. The latter is particularly complicated, as one may seek to forgive oneself for wrongs one has done to others; or for a wrong one has done to oneself (say, degrading oneself) by wronging another; or simply for a wrong one has done only to oneself. Self-forgiveness is notoriously apt to lapse into easy self-exculpation; here too, conditions must be set to safeguard the integrity of the notion.

Excuse, mercy, reconciliation, pardon, political apology and forgiveness of financial debt are not imperfect versions of interpersonal forgiveness; rather, they are related but distinct concepts. Take political apology, for example. As its name indicates, its context is political, meaning that it is transacted in a context that involves groups, corporate entities, institutions, and corresponding notions of moral responsibility and agency. Many of the complexities are discussed by philosopher Nick Smith in “I Was Wrong: the Meanings of Apologies.” Apology figures into interpersonal forgiveness too. But in the case of political apology, the transaction may in one sense be quite impersonal: picture a spokesperson apologizing for a government’s misdeeds, performed before the spokesperson was born, to a group representing the actual victims. A lot of the moral work is done by representation (as when a spokesperson represents the state). Further, the criteria for successful apology in such a context will overlap with but nevertheless differ from those pertinent to the interpersonal context. For example, financial restitution as negotiated through a legal process will probably form an essential part of political apology, but not of forgiveness.

But, one may object, if the wrongdoer is unforgivable, then both interpersonal forgiveness and political apology are impossible (one can pronounce the words, but the moral deed cannot be done). Are any wrongdoers unforgivable? People who have committed heinous acts such as torture or child molestation are often cited as examples. The question is not primarily about the psychological ability of the victim to forswear anger, but whether a wrongdoer can rightly be judged not-to-be-forgiven no matter what offender and victim say or do. I do not see that a persuasive argument for thatthesis can be made; there is no such thing as the unconditionally unforgivable. For else we would be faced with the bizarre situation of declaring illegitimate the forgiveness reached by victim and perpetrator after each has taken every step one could possibly wish for. The implication may distress you: Osama bin Laden, for example, is not unconditionally unforgivable for his role in the attacks of 9/11. That being said, given the extent of the injury done by grave wrongs, their author may be rightly unforgiven for an appropriate period even if he or she has taken all reasonable steps. There is no mathematically precise formula for determining when it is appropriate to forgive.

RELATED

More From The Stone

Read previous contributions to this series.

Why forgive? What makes it the commendable thing to do at the appropriate time? It’s not simply a matter of lifting the burden of toxic resentment or of immobilizing guilt, however beneficial that may be ethically and psychologically. It is not a merely therapeutic matter, as though this were just about you. Rather, when the requisite conditions are met, forgiveness is what a good person would seek because it expresses fundamental moral ideals. These include ideals of spiritual growth and renewal; truth-telling; mutual respectful address; responsibility and respect; reconciliation and peace.

My sketch of the territory of forgiveness, including its underlying moral ideals, has barely mentioned religion. Many people assume that the notion of forgiveness is Christian in origin, at least in the West, and that the contemporary understanding of interpersonal forgiveness has always been the core Christian teaching on the subject. These contestable assumptions are explored by David Konstan in “Before Forgiveness: The Origins of a Moral Idea.” Religious origins of the notion would not invalidate a secular philosophical approach to the topic, any more than a secular origin of some idea precludes a religious appropriation of it. While religious and secular perspectives on forgiveness are not necessarily consistent with each other, however, they agree in their attempt to address the painful fact of the pervasiveness of moral wrong in human life. They also agree on this: few of us are altogether innocent of the need for forgiveness.

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Charles L. Griswold is Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. His books include “Forgiveness: a Philosophical Exploration” (2007) and “Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment” (1999). He is currently co-editing a book with David Konstan on ancient Greek, Roman, Christian, and Judaic notions of forgiveness. An exchange between Griswold and Father William Meninger about forgiveness was published by Tikkun in its March/April 2008 issue.

Acupuncturist Treats 40 NFL Players in 4 Cities

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/sports/football/30acupuncture.html

Yummy Pumpkin and Leek Tart

Pumpkin: The Flavor of Late Fall

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

I never got around to carving a jack-o’-lantern for Halloween. I bought the pumpkin, yes, but then decided to save it for cooking. The day after Halloween, I cut it into chunks — about eight pounds — put them on foil-lined baking sheets, covered the sheets and roasted them at 425 degrees until they were very soft, which took about 1 1/2 hours. Then I spent the week making pumpkin recipes.

Jack-o’-lantern pumpkins are easier to cut than other pumpkinlike squashes, like kabochas, because the skin is not as thick and hard. The flesh is also very moist, which is one of the reasons I think it works well in a savory pie. (Depending on what you’re making, it can be a good idea to drain the purée in a cheesecloth-lined strainer.)

I used some of the pumpkin for a savory Greek pumpkin and leek pie, which is now in my freezer awaiting Thanksgiving; it will serve as an entree for the vegetarians at the table. I also made pumpkin cornbread, inspired by a Basque recipe but perfect for a Thanksgiving table. And if you love pumpkin pie but don’t want to bother with the crust, you’ll get some of the same wonderful flavors in this week’s Indian pudding and pumpkin gelato.

But a Thanksgiving dinner needs more than just pumpkin. You can find creative dishes from famous chefs at the Well blog’s vegetarian Thanksgiving interactive. And following today’s recipe, I’ve appended a list of my holiday favorites, culled from the Recipes for Health archive.

Greek Pumpkin and Leek Pie

This savory Greek pie, one of my favorites, makes a great vegetarian main dish for Thanksgiving. You can make the filling days before you assemble the pie; you can also make the whole pie ahead, wrap it well and freeze it. Like all winter squash, pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene, and a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese.

2 1/2 pounds pumpkin, cut into large chunks

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 large leeks (about 1 1/2 pounds), white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

3 large eggs, beaten

Salt and freshly ground pepper

12 sheets phyllo dough

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the pumpkin pieces on the baking sheet, drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on top and cover tightly with foil. Place in the oven, and roast for 1 1/2 hours or until thoroughly tender. Remove from the heat, transfer to a strainer or a colander set over a bowl or in the sink, and allow to cool and drain. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees.

2. Peel the cooled pumpkin, and place in a large bowl or in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Purée coarsely or mash with a fork. Stir in the herbs, nutmeg and feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan. Add the leeks. Cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to color, five to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from the heat, and add to the pumpkin. Beat the eggs, and stir into the pumpkin mixture.

4. Brush a 10- or 12-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil and layer in seven sheets of phyllo dough. Place them not quite evenly atop one another, so that the edges overlap the sides of the pan all the way around. Brush each sheet with olive oil (or a mixture of olive oil and melted butter) before adding the next sheet. Fill with the pumpkin mixture, and fold the edges over. Brush the folded-over phyllo with olive oil, then layer five more sheets of dough over the top, brushing each with olive oil (or a combination of melted butter and olive oil). Crimp the edges into the sides of the pan. Pierce the top of the pie in several places with a sharp knife. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Recrisp the crust if necessary in a low oven for 10 to 20 minutes.

Yield: Serves eight to 10.

Advance preparation: The pumpkin can be cooked and mashed three or four days ahead of making the dish and kept in the refrigerator in a covered bowl. Drain off liquid that accumulates. The filling will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator; don’t add the eggs until you’re ready to assemble the pie.

The finished tart keeps for a few days, but you must keep crisping the phyllo. This is easily done, either in a low oven (250 degrees to 300 degrees) for 10 to 20 minutes or in a hot oven that has just been turned off for 5 to 10 minutes. You can assemble the pie in its entirety, double-wrap it in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze until ready to bake. Uncover, brush the top with olive oil or melted butter, and transfer directly from the freezer to the oven. Add 15 minutes to the baking time.

Nutritional information per serving (eight servings): 312 calories; 17 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 96 milligrams cholesterol; 32 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 383 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 9 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (10 servings): 250 calories; 14 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 77 milligrams cholesterol; 26 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 306 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 7 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com. Her latest book is "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

A Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

Stephen Scott GrossPumpkin Dumplings With Radicchio

By TARA PARKER-POPE

When Silvana Nardone’s son Isaiah was diagnosed with gluten intolerance three weeks before Thanksgiving, the Brooklyn mom knew she faced a particularly challenging holiday meal. But as the owner of a bakery and founding editor of the food magazine Every Day With Rachel Ray, Ms. Nardone was up to the challenge.

“Cornbread was the first thing Isaiah wanted me to make,” says Ms. Nardone. “I tested it and failed. But once I finally got it, that was my platform for many other dishes.”

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, so it can be challenge to cook without it. Ms. Nardone’s adventures in gluten-free cooking are documented in her new cookbook, “Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals.”

For Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, Ms. Nardone offers three gluten-free vegetarian dishes that celebrate the season: pumpkin dumplings with radicchio, apple-pecan corn bread stuffing (made with her “double corn” cornbread,) and pumpkin muffins with crumble topping.

With a husband who is a vegetarian and a son who requires gluten-free food, Ms. Nardone has learned that cooking challenges can boost creativity in the kitchen.

“It forced me to be a better cook,” says Ms. Nardone, who blogs about gluten-free cooking at DishTowelDiaries.com. “It opens up a whole new way of cooking that you didn’t even know existed.”

See Ms. Nardone’s recipes below, and go to “Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving”to see all the dishes in the series that have been published so far.

Silvana Nardone’s
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Dumplings With Radicchio

Something to keep in mind when you make this recipe — it’s a lot easier than you think. The dumplings are super light and pillowy, but if you prefer a firmer texture, add more gluten-free flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the pasta dough.

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 small head radicchio, sliced into 1/4-inch strips (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, flour and 1 teaspoon salt to make the dough.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until softened, about five minutes; remove from the heat and set aside.

3. When the water comes to a boil, use a teaspoon to scoop up the dough and form a dumpling, then carefully slide the dumpling off the spoon and into the boiling water. Continue forming dumplings until half the dough is used. Cook until the dumplings float, then simmer for about two minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and add to the saucepan with the onion. Repeat with the remaining dumpling dough.

4. Return the saucepan with the onion to medium-high heat. Toss in three-quarters of the radicchio and stir gently until just wilted, about two minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste. To serve, divide the dumplings and sauce among four bowls and top with the remaining radicchio and parsley.

Yield: Serves 4.

Stephen Scott GrossApple-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing

Silvana Nardone’s
Gluten-Free Apple-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing

Instead of toasting the cornbread, you can spread out the pieces on a baking sheet and let them sit on your counter top overnight, uncovered, to dry out.

Double Corn Cornbread:
1 cup rice milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal, preferably medium grind
1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup corn kernels (from about 1 ear of corn)

Stuffing:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
4 cups Double Corn Cornbread (see recipe below), toasted and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried herb blend, such as McCormick Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Prepare the cornbread. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 4 1/2-inch by 8 1/2-inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the milk mixture, eggs and oil until just blended; fold in the corn kernels. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

2. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

3. Prepare the stuffing. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch square pan with olive oil. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about five minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste.

4. In a large bowl, toss together the onion mixture, cornbread, apple and herb blend. Transfer to the prepared pan. Scatter the pecans on top and cover with foil; bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil; bake until crispy and golden, about 20 minutes more.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

Stephen Scott GrossIsaiah’s Pumpkin Muffins With Crumble Topping

Silvana Nardone’s
Isaiah’s Pumpkin Muffins With Crumble Topping

If you make these muffins around the holidays, stir a handful of dried cranberries or 1/4 cup chopped walnuts into the batter. You can also make pumpkin muffin tops with this recipe — just use a muffin-top pan and bake for about 10 minutes.

Topping:
1/4 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 tablespoons all-vegetable shortening
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups store-bought gluten-free flour blend
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Prepare the crumble topping. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Add the shortening and, using your fingers or a fork, blend together until coarse crumbs form.

3. To make the muffins: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add to the flour mixture; stir until just combined.

5. Fill each muffin cup almost full; top each with crumble topping. Bake until the muffins are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan, set on a wire rack. Using a sieve, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Yield: 12 muffins.

Success means we go to

sleep at night knowing that

our talents and abilities were used

in a way that served others.

Marianne Williamson

Perfect Pie Crust

Sunday November 7, 2010 and runs until March 28, 2011 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.

Welcome to the Logan Square Farmers Market

Signup for Market Updates!

Email:

The Logan Square Indoor Winter Farmers Market begins on Sunday November 7, 2010 and runs until March 28, 2011 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.

The Logan Square Farmers Indoor Winter Market will be once again be located at the Congress Theatrer, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. The market will run from 10am to 2pm.

Logan Square Farmers Market is now on facebook

Looking to sell at the indoor winter market?
We are no longer accepting applications for the indoor winter market. But if you are lookling for an application click here.
The deadline for applications is Monday, November 1, 2010

Food stamps and credit cards now accepted at the market. Click here for details.

Logan Square Farmers Market is run independently by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. We thank the City of Chicago's Mayor's Office of Special Events for their assistance in launching the market in 2005 and partnering with the Chamber to grow.

New Vendors for 2010: See a complete list of vendors, including links to their websites in Vendor Information.

Enriching Logan Square: The Chamber of Commerce has set aside information tents for both community organizations and local businesses that want to reach out to folks at the market. Click here for more information.

CSA's, CSAs offer a box of the farmer's freshest produce or meat every week. The vegetables vary, depending on what the farmer is growing. Eating from the local foodshed brings with it so many benefits, from offering an affordable source of healthy food while reducing the carbon footprint incurred delivering that food to our plates, to supplying a connection for where our food comes from, to creating a true sense of food security. Joining CSAs help farmers thrive, while also giving you the freshest veggies available in a weekly box! For a list of our farmers offering CSA's click here

some

Vendor Information

Check out this year's farmers market vendor list...

Abbey Brown Soap Artisan

Abbey Brown uses only the finest ingredients; they are always fair trade and all our herbs are organic and grown locally by Smits farm. They make our products fresh daily, by hand, cutting trimming and packaging is all done by us in house. They are proud that they are the only Soap Shoppe in Chicago using these high quality ingredients while taking care to infuse our oils with herbs and botanicals. They do this everyday because there isn’t anything more rewarding then creating specialty soaps and aromatherapy blends for you.

Black Dog Gelato

Black Dog Gelato produces artisanal gourmet gelatos and sorbets. All of our products are made from scratch, and are run in small batches to insure the freshest and highest quality, flavor, and texture. Black Dog Gelato operates in the heart of Chicago and distributes to local restaruants and cafes.

Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm

An old-fashioned family farm located north of Ottawa, IL on the banks of Indian Creek. Jody and Beth Osmund returned to this family farm to five years ago to embark on sustainable farming.
They use sustainable method of farming and living that emphasizes responsible stewardship of our resources. They raise there animals in ways that nurture and respect nature’s systems.
They offer a meat csa.
Cedar Valley will be at the farmers market every third Sunday of the month.

Chicago Honey Co-op

They have been tending the bees and making natural honey from chemical free beehives at this spot for the past five years.

Cookie Jar Cookies

Homemade organic and gluten free cookies using the highest quality, most pure organic ingredients thery could find.

Earth First Farms

Southwest Michigan's finest Certified Organic apples and premium apple cider. Come taste the difference and find out how you can find certified organic fruit grown within 100 miles of Chicago! Ask us about You-Pick weekends and our innovative tree lease program.

Jake's Country Meats

With over six generations of farming they take pride in providing environmentally friendly practices, animal compassionate standards, animals raised without antibiotics or growth hormones, animals raised on green pasture and in deep bedded barns with outdoor access.
They will providing fresh, natural pork direct from their family farm.
Products include: Boneless Han Roast, Boneless Pork Roast, Pork chops, Pork Cutlets, Ribs, Bacon, Sausage.

Lyons Fruit Farm

Lyons Fruit farm has been in operation for 28 years. They farm on 15 acres of land. They are a 3rd generation fruit farmer. Among the products there will be: asparagus, eggplant, okra, peas, tomatoes.

M's Organic Sustainable Farm

They specialize in Greens (arugala,lettuces, chards. Asian greens for stirfries and cabbages) as well as herbs (dried and live), greens,tomatoes,peppers, sunflowers and more.We also create Pestos, Sauces and Granolas.

Many more and you can also do a CSA here

CSA Shares 2011 Logan Square Full&Half Shares:egg option

November 6, 2010 · Filed under CSA

CSA Information Sheet: www.msorganicfarm.com
TO SIGN UP: mail or email form below with check made out to MM Graff.
“Harmony, Balance, Bliss.”
Organic Vegies, Herbs & Granola PLUS free Range Eggs.
Hello and thank you for your inquiry about Organic Produce Shares at M’s Organic Farm where we support a Cruelty Free Animal Environment
We specialize in Greens(Greens, Arugala, Spinach,& more ), expect them in every box

csa list http://www.thelocalbeet.com/2010/02/11/2010-csa-guide/