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Prairie Fare: What’s for dinner? Start with safe thawing

“What should we have for dinner?” my husband asked one morning. “I’m thinking roasted root vegetables and grilled pork loin,” I replied. “I have the vegetables and the meat.” “The pork is frozen solid,” he noted. “Oh, just put it in the sink,” I said. He looked at me ...

Prairie Fare: Plan ahead for healthy, budget-friendly meals

“Mom, could I have this backpack? It’s really cool!” I heard a child say the other day. I was feeling nostalgic watching kids check their school supply lists and load crayons, pencils and notebooks into their parents’ carts at a retail store. When my kids were young, I enjoyed our ...

Dakota Gardener: The birds and the bees and the cucumbers

Cucumbers are one of my favorite garden vegetables. I love picking them when they are 5-6 inches long and eating them plain or with a basic veggie dip (my favorite is published in the North Dakota State University Extension publication “Field to Fork: Cucumbers!”). But what do you do when ...

Prairie Fare: Taste the freshness of farmers market finds

“We’ve officially used up all the vegetable samples,” my server announced. We had just finished serving grilled vegetables to a long line of curious taste testers, many of whom were very young. On a sunny day at a farmers market, they eagerly sampled grilled summer squash, onions and ...

Dakota Gardener: Why is my grass brown?

Just last week, I was visiting with a concerned homeowner about his brown lawn and whether he should mow now, since weeds are coming up. Some homeowners strive for a lush, green, manicured lawn. High summer temperatures can frustrate homeowners who take great pride in the orderly appearance ...

Forage Matters: Covering your bases in dry weather

Several years ago, I was working with a producer in north Texas during a particularly hot and dry summer. He called me up one morning, and when I asked him how he was doing, he said, “Well, we’re one day closer to a rain.” That’s a great reminder that things will get better – we ...