Manuse, Daily News staff GHS Sun Sep 09, 2007, 12:32 AM EDT Story Tools: Email This . Print This Apple farmers in eastern Massachusetts are increasingly depending on pick-your-own operations to keep their farms going, but even with the greater emphasis on retail, the age-old business still depends on the weather. Manuse, Daily News staff GHS Sun Sep 09, 2007, 12:32 AM EDT Story Tools: Email This . Print This Apple farmers in eastern Massachusetts are increasingly depending on pick-your-own...

The moms get laptop computers to write about their experiences, which include travels to corporate test kitchens, processing plants, orchards and restaurants. To convince people the fast-food industry is not the main culprit in the nation's growing obesity epidemic, McDonald's hopes to spread the word through the mom grapevine. Mothers are critical for McDonald's and any fast-food chain because they typically choose where the family eats and often cast the veto vote. Canizares, who applied...

Department of Agriculture issued guidelines requiring that foods labeled organic be grown and produced without conventional pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, genetic engineering or sewage sludge. The farm's mission, according to Wegman, is to provide locally grown fruits, vegetables and honey to nearby Wegmans stores and, eventually, to serve as an educational model for local growers, employees and consumers who want to learn about organic food production. Star-Gazette.com - Local...

Although the transfer helped preserve South Glastonbury's agricultural tradition - the state Apple Marketing Board lists eight apple growers alone in the area - clusters of big new homes continue to pop up among the orchards and farms. Donald Preli, co-owner of Belltown Hill Orchards, said it was difficult to host an 800-person event at an orchard in the middle of the fall picking season, but he wanted to do it because of Belltown's role in one of the farmland trust's first successes. The...

Unlike most community-sponsored agriculture systems in which bags are pre-filled with the farmer's choice, How on Earth shareholders have almost complete freedom to pick and choose what they want to take home. They come from seeds with lineages that trace back at least 50 years, before long-distance distribution inspired industrial agriculturalists to engineer produce that could withstand the rigors of traveling to supermarkets. She also described a nursery venture starting up there in...

Sunday, September 09, 2007 By Bob Darrow The Grand Rapids Press Editors note: Grand Rapids freelancer Bob Darrow has written about orchard owners who cannot find enough help to bring in this year's apple harvest -- Michigan's largest and most valuable fruit crop. Sunday, September 09, 2007 By Bob Darrow The Grand Rapids Press Editors note: Grand Rapids freelancer Bob Darrow has written about orchard owners who cannot find enough help to bring in this year's apple harvest -- Michigan's...

She paints so many gourds that she has a "gourd village" with dozens of the natural canvases converted into 'people' of all walks of life and varied costumes. She also loves to raise vegetables and flowers, many of which she paints as well, either on the fruit itself (gourds) or in scenes. She uses plaid enamel on glass, acrylic on gourds and pictures, and whatever works on buildings, walls, canvas and most other surfaces. So until she finds the perfect site for her dream art gallery, the...

Fruity teas are the most obvious choice, as they easily complement baked goods and fruit-based desserts. Or use cooled fruit teas as some of the liquid in baked goods. For example, try poaching pears or apples in a blend of berry tea and honey. The tea brine imbues the shrimp with a succulent flavor and tender texture (the salt helps the shrimp absorb and hold moisture) If you find the shrimp too salty, either cut back on the amount added to the brine, or give the shrimp a quick rinse in...

Made from grapes that are partly dried before they're fermenteddramatically concentrating their sugar content"it has just enough sugar to contrast perfectly with chocolate made from 70 percent cacao beans," explains Joshua Wesson, coauthor of Red Wine With Fish: The New Art of Matching Wine With Food. A winemaker turned chocolatier who cofounded San Francisco's famed Scharffen Berger chocolates, he has spent much of his food career trying to perfect their highly complex smells and tastes....