Looking for the perfect place to cool down after a long day at the beach?

At the farmers markets of the West, it is common to find morel mushrooms for sale in little baskets.

Farm-to-table is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in the restaurant industry. Some restaurants may guarantee farm fresh food but fail to follow through on that promise. Risen Breakfast and Bakery, opening in downtown Mason this fall, will source all of its ingredients from local farms in the area.

The summer solstice is in the rearview mirror. Even though the hottest days are before us, the longest days are past. If you haven’t planted your tomatoes or melons yet, you might not bother. The plants will grow like steroid abusers, but there isn’t time for the fruit to ripen. Or maybe you’ll get one small melon. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Salt Rock Brewing Co., a new brewpub restaurant coming to Lansing later this summer, is a longterm dream finally come true for couple and business partners Donna WIlliams and Steve Kelly. 

Even vegetarians and vegans love chicken nuggets, which explains the recent explosion of fake chicken nuggets onto the food scene. Chicken behemoth Tyson Foods is now selling Raised and Rooted chicken-free nuggets. Several other startups, including Nuggs, Daring Foods and Rebellyous, each has its own crispy breaded chicken-style product. Kentucky Fried Chicken, meanwhile, is tweaking its Beyond Fried Chicken nuggets.

Across the Northern Hemisphere at about this time, garlic plants are reaching for the sun. Each clove planted last fall has divided and swollen into a bulb of cloves, while the flowers emerge in a circuitous path.