It's time to get your salsa on!  The gardens are full of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and everything else that makes salsa a summer wonder food.  Show off your favorite salsa recipe at our Salsa Contest, August 28th, at the Downtown Farmer's Market.  Registration is $15; early registration is encouraged, as entries will be capped at 25. 

Categories are:

• Raw salsas
• Cooked salsas
• "Specialty" salsas (where non-traditional ingredients are the focus)

Winners will be judged and awards given for each category, as well as a Best-In-Show "Taster's Choice" award.  Winners in the three categories will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Downtown Farmer's Market.  Taster's Choice will receive a $50 gift certificate.

Terre Foods Cooperative’s mission is to provide access to organic and natural foods at fair value for the Terre Haute community. As a member-owned and member-run market, we are committed to serving the needs of the community while using ethical and sustainable business practices to sustain and invigorate our regional economy. 
For more info:  812-201-7910  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

It's time to get your salsa on!  The gardens are full of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and everything else that makes salsa a summer wonder food.  Show off your favorite salsa recipe at our Salsa Contest, August 28th, at the Downtown Farmer's Market.  Registration is $15; early registration is encouraged, as entries will be capped at 25. 

Categories are:

• Raw salsas
• Cooked salsas
• "Specialty" salsas (where non-traditional ingredients are the focus)

Winners will be judged and awards given for each category, as well as a Best-In-Show "Taster's Choice" award.  Winners in the three categories will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Downtown Farmer's Market.  Taster's Choice will receive a $50 gift certificate.

Terre Foods Cooperative’s mission is to provide access to organic and natural foods at fair value for the Terre Haute community. As a member-owned and member-run market, we are committed to serving the needs of the community while using ethical and sustainable business practices to sustain and invigorate our regional economy. 
For more info:  812-201-7910  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carol Hudelson and Karen Foster, both of Paoli, will be cooking up some fine summertime recipes for your enjoyment at the farmers market in Orleans this Saturday. On behalf of the Lost River Market and Deli they'll share recipes illustrating some unique and tasty uses for the summer bounty available to you.

Carol will be preparing her favorite gazpacho recipe loaded with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and more. Karen will be sharing a favorite Gulf Shore recipe partnering black eyed peas and seasonal produce. These recipes use natural ingredients, readily available and healthy for you, but also guaranteed to dazzle the taste buds.

Join the Lost River Market and Deli cooks this Saturday at the farmers market in Orleans. Receive free recipes and coupons for ingredients. The cooking demo will take place at 10 a.m.

For more information about Lost River Market and Deli contact 812-723-3735 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kendallville, IN  Recycle? Sure. But used clothes, used furniture upholstery, used buttons, used zippers, or just about anything else made from thread… why not?

 Melissa Hess of Kendallville, Indiana has innovated a clever niche for recycling but also for practical daily use. Enter, Green Chick Designs designer handbags. (www.GreenChickDesigns.com)

“It really started as a hobby. I never sewed a stitch in my life until the past couple years when I pulled out a friend’s Kenmore sewing machine she gave me and decided to give it a try. I used old clothes and buttons and made a personal handbag. I showed it to friends and family and they loved it. Since then, I’ve been designing one-of-a-kind creations from remnants of old upholstery, clothes, and just about anything I can find at garage sales or is donated to my craft,” stated Melissa.

Not that the t-shirt quilts or legacy stuffed animals haven’t already been around, this recycling initiative enters more of the designer accessory market than something you’d throw over a spare bed or put on a shelf.

“I have customers all over Northern Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois sending me their favorite pair of worn out jeans, or kids clothes that no longer fit them in order for me to make a designer accessory for them. I’ve even had a male customer have me custom design a laptop bag using outdoorsy materials from old hiking pants and backpacks he no longer used,” she added.

Green Chick was chosen as the product brand to capture the reality that relatively every item used in the product is recycled except the thread, thus being a “green” product.

As a stay at home mom since 1996 and part-time office administrator for her husband’s business, Melissa creates each handbag, clutch, overnight bag, or kids mini-purse without using a single pattern. No two bags are the same because the recycled materials used are typically enough to make just one creation.

“When I discovered Green Chick handbags from a friend and the Green Chick Facebook page, I fell in love with the design and obvious detail that goes into each one. You just don’t find this kind of product in stores around Chicago. I’m actually amazed at how durable and strong they’re put together. It doesn’t matter where I go when I carry one of them, people go nuts over it and I end up having to sell it to them and replace it with another,” stated Dawn Austin, a regular customer based in the Chicago area.

Many of the products can be seen at the Green Chick website. Although custom orders are a normal part of the business, creating stock for sale through her website fulfills Melissa’s creative drive.

Melissa noted, “It’s nice to know that apart from toting the cardboard and plastic to the recycle bins each week, I’m also helping re-purpose items that would otherwise end up in the trash.”

Potential for high ground-level ozone readings may affect sensitive groups.

INDIANAPOLIS – The city of Indianapolis forecasts Friday, August 20, 2010 as a Knozone Air Quality Action Day for ozone. The region’s air quality may become unhealthy for individuals who are sensitive to air pollutants and may be categorized as “orange” on the Air Quality Index (AQI). 

Tomorrow’s AQI forecast indicates that ground-level ozone levels may be high. Ground-level ozone is the key component in urban and regional smog.  Smog is formed when harmful emissions from a variety of sources react with sunlight.  Because heat and sunlight are important in its formation, ground-level ozone is more common from April through September.

 Many scientific studies have associated ground-level ozone pollution with serious health problems, such as aggravated lung disease and decreased lung function.  It can also trigger and intensify asthma attacks. Children, the elderly, and people already suffering from lung disease are especially vulnerable to its effects. 

Small changes in behavior on the part of individuals and businesses can prevent the formation of ground-level ozone pollution. The public is asked to follow these guidelines:

Reducing vehicle idling

Biking or walking instead of driving

Carpooling

Using public transportation

Combining errands

Filling gas tanks and mowing after 6 p.m.

Individuals, especially active children, the elderly and anyone suffering from lung disease, should also monitor their health on Knozone Air Quality Action Days. People who have any concerns about how air pollution affects their health should seek the advice of a physician.

Knozone
Knozone is a year-round voluntary air pollution reduction program for the city of Indianapolis through the Office of Sustainability. The program educates the public about the effects ground-level ozone (smog) and fine particles (soot) on public health and the environment and promotes clean air strategies that help clean the air. For more information, please visit www.knozone.com or call (317) 327-4AIR for current air quality information.

[Indianapolis] – INDYCOG and Sun King Brewing Company join forces for “2 Wheels 1 City,” an event designed to celebrate all things bicycle on September 11, 2010 at the Indianapolis City Market beginning at 3pm.

Planned activities include an afternoon of fun, food from local vendors including West Coast Tacos, A Taste of Philly and Natural Born Juicers, tasty local craft beer from our friends at Sun King Brewing Company and, of course….bikes.

A bicycle donation drive for Freewheelin’, a community bike initiative that teaches at-risk youth valuable bike repair and maintenance skill is also part of the day’s activities. Freewheelin’ accepts gently-used bikes that are repaired by volunteer mechanics and then sold at reasonable prices to area residents.

Join us as we celebrate the ever-growing bike culture in Indianapolis and see the future site of the City Market station for bicycle commuters in the east wing.

Secure bike parking is offered for all of those who arrive via our favorite mode of transportation, however if you need to drive don’t fret as we are working on designated parking areas in close proximity.

Also, 2 Wheels 1 City will occur shortly after the usual farmers’ market that happens every Saturday in front of the City Market, so make a day out of it and see all the great local vendors that come take part. The Original Farmers’ Market on Saturdays takes place on Market Street (between Delaware and Alabama) from 9:30am until 1pm through October.

The Indianapolis City Market is a non-profit organization, and the Original Farmers Market was reinstated in 1996, boasting once again plentiful produce and community meeting place. For further information, visit our website www.indycm.com, our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/IndyCM?ref=ts or follow us on Twitter @IndyCM.