A "better" mac n cheese

I'm all for recipes that look and taste like the "real" thing but are better for you, so I was thrilled to see this article in yesterday's New York Times which also includes a recipe for mac n cheese!

"Researchers at Penn State University found that adding vegetable purée to various recipes [resulted in feeling] full after eating fewer calories, allowing the vegetable purée mixtures to act as natural appetite suppressants."

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/recipes-to-curb-appetites/

Enjoy.

South Side Community Garden Tour

This tour of four community gardens on the South Side of Chicago was led by Neighborspace - a non-profit urban land trust that permanently protects and helps manages the city's community gardens - and the Chicago Park District - which hosts many community gardens in its open spaces.

Despite the overcast day, it was great to explore in some neighborhoods with which I'm not very familiar and see some spaces made magnificent by local gardeners. They were all a mix of flowers and produce, but I will of course focus on the food.

Rainbow Beach Victory Garden - oldest community garden in Chicago

Jackson Park Growing Power Garden
Our tour was led by high school students, employed here over the summer.






65th & Woodlawn Community Garden in Woodlawn

Brickyard Garden in Hyde Park

The final tour of the summer will focus on North Side community gardens on August 28th. Sign up; it's free!

See Seeding Chicago's post about the tour.