Great Escape

Great Escape: Farmers' Market Barbecue

Create an summer escape for friends by planning a creative menu and shopping local farmers' markets.

Friends and food help make the dog days of summer a little easier to manage.  Although we don’t actually need a holiday to call upon friends to bring dish and drink, sometimes the barbecue basics -- hamburgers, slaw, potato salad, beans -- just get a little dull. Try a new twist on your next barbecue picnic. Grab a friend and make a plan. Take your favorite comfort foods cookbook, a great little entertainment guide (a friend recently gave me The Get ‘Em Girls’ Guide to the Perfect Get Together) or even the latest issue of Cooking Light or Everyday with Rachael Ray.  Select recipes that create a picnic to remember from spritzers to dessert. Photo copy a recipe for each invitee, but let guests know that ingredient substitutions are welcome …

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The Funny Farm is Serious About Organic Food

Duane Marcus gave up the corporate life to grow organic vegetables and herbs

In an age where everything is instant and readily attainable, Duane Marcus holds fast to a decision he made more than three decades ago: to grow his own vegetables and respect nature. And when Marcus married his wife, Robin, at the age of 20, she was ready to join him. Her grandparents and parents had already taught her the value of frugality, along with canning and preserving. Both of the newlyweds did what back then was considered "fringed and what hippies did," Marcus says. Today, though, at the age of 57, they are both riding the wave of organics and healthy eating by managing the Decatur Farmer's Market and growing their own herbs and vegetables here in Stone Mountain. Robin helps Duane harvest the vegetables and makes the pickles and…

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