I picked up a copy of a magazine called Chop Chop “The fun cooking magazine for families” at a local New Balance shoe store. I have to say the magazine looks great. High quality content. It would be a great place to go after reading Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant and the upcoming Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant. So kids’ veggie and fruit enthusiasm can move into the kitchen. Here’s Chop Chop magazine’s site:  http://www.chopchopmag.org/

Kirkus Reviews sure knows how to ask quality questions to get a person talking and reflecting. Read the Rah Rah Radishes interview here.  There’s also a fun little California connection for the book made by a writer out in Salinas. His article is “‘Vegetable Chant’ showcases Central Coast’s chief product.”  Meanwhile, after a fun South Bend Farmer’s Market signing last Sat, I’m completing final shots for Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant, 2012.

I’ve been busy admiring greens, the structures of leeks, and other veggies at South Bend Farmer’s Market. Beets are one of the most productive crops because both the greens and roots can be used.

When I got into a pickle with needing some fruit photos for the upcoming fruit chant book (Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant, 2012) , a gardening friend directed me to Shelton’s Farmer’s Market near Niles, MI, and they welcomed me heartily.  I hadn’t visited in years. What surprised me is how much produce they had. They had all the traditional Midwestern fresh veggies and fruits, but also lots of specialty items for the Hispanic community and other communities, as well. Lots of Mexican fruits and vegetable specialties.  Plus many other intriguing gourmet items. I’ve never seen black radish! I was able to buy a whole case of cactus fruit here for one of the shots in the new fruit book. Thanks, Shelton’s!

Explore Chicago’s Farmer’s Markets at this useful site, which lists them by day of the week. I can’t wait to try the green market. While I was in town for a reunion of grad school friends/writers, I visited Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market.  The place was hoppin’! Music playing. Kids climbing, Chicagoans foot splashing in the water, and lots of folks buying veggies and fruits. Children’s book authors Gretchen Woelfle and Carmela Martino and I strolled, purchased beeswax products, and sampled some yummies. Some of the farmers here also come to my market at home, I think. Many represent orchards and farms in southwest Michigan. A few were from Wisconsin, too. I took a few photos in my continuing work for Go, Go, Grapes: A Fruit Chant, (Beach Lane, S&S, 2012), the sequel to Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant. 

In between a panel talk and signings at ALA in New Orleans late June, I fit in a trip around the corner to the lovely Crescent City Market near my hotel. This small market stood out for its farms with diverse heirloom variety veggies and its ready-to-eat savory foods and bakery goods. Really, it’s all you really want on a Sat morning.

I found yummy peppers and a possible fruit for Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant: huckleberries. I stood in the market pondering, trying to figure out how to work it into the rhyme. Nothing came to mind. Just in case, I bought the huckleberries to take home and photograph. But I  forgot them in the fridge at my hotel. Couldn’t tote them home for book photos. Oh, well, huckleberries. Sorry you’re not in the book, only in the blog!

Back from steamy, sparkly ALA in New Orleans to find that folks are lovin’ Rah, Rah, Radishes.  Katie Davis brought Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant along with two other books to discuss them in her segment on Good Morning, CT.

See what A Year of Reading has to say. Shirley Duke posted extension activities here: Simply Science Blog. Back to photographing fruit for Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant, which is out next year. Mangosteen, anyone?

Recent random veggie yumminess in my life

10: 30 a.m. Hungry. Pick arugula from garden. Pour last summer’s Brandywine canned tomatoes  into favorite bumblebee bowl. Open up snow pea pods that look weary and toss their little tiny peas into soup . Eat. Yum!

Next up are a photos from Easter at my amother-in-law’s house. She’s artful in her tables and reads recipes from magazines. (She’s a philosopher, professor, and artist.)

See what she does with radishes? I don’t know which magazine inspired it. They had some delicious spread underneath and were tasty. Maybe I should make some for the Rah, Rah, Radish  launch party!

Just about the only time we ate collard greens, specifically, was on New Years Day. Then, it was a good luck food, along with black-eyed peas. I grew up in South Carolina and this is a southern U.S. tradition. It also shows up in other countries and cultures, too. Collard greens are a healthy, everyday, part of soul food meals beloved in the South.

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