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It's back! My approximate (no chef training) half-assed recipes are back with a vengeance! I've been cooking up a storm with my CSA shares and had a little Asian inspiration last week when I started feeling under the weather. This week's recipe brings you back in time but in a much improved fashion: Ramen Soup. Forget those .49 cent box wonders we relied on for nutritional value in College. After trying authentic Ramen in Fukuoka, Japan, I could never go back to the instant water variety. And for years, I couldn't find a satisfaction in the city of brotherly love. Yet always being a trend-setter,  Ramen is infiltrating Philly in a  huge way. But what if you want to try Ramen from your own kitchen? This recipe uses some of your finest (fall) CSA veggies for a hearty (and filling!) soup. Plus, I'm 5% Asian (accurate by blood test!) so it's at least 5% authentic. Julie's Half-Assed Ramen (or Udon) Japanese-ish Soup: (Check out the recipe, after the jump!)

Happy Friday! With the Philly Fringe Fest back in town and warmer (yet more crisp) fall temperatures, lots is going on in Philly (and around) again this week! Check out what you may have missed (plus a few sweet things to do this weekend!):

The Philly Fringe Festival is back and playing local artists with cutting edge theatre performances & diverse cultural experiences. I kicked off my Fringe Fest experience with Of Plastic Things & Butterfly Wings, an environmentally themed performance. Centered around a

At this risk of sounding like an annoying daytime television commercial, "Yes I suffer from terrible seasonal allergies." For me and other allergy sufferers fall can mean tissues, eye drops and lots of cursing your bad fortune. I've learned a few tricks over the years to help clean household air and reduce allergy symptoms:

Philly residents have a lot on their mind - will the Eagles squeak out a win again this Sunday, will the Phils make the playoffs, how long will the beautiful weather last? However, we continue to feel pleased to hear that Philadelphians also care about the city's plastic bag use. When someone signs our plastic bag reduction petition we ask that they list a reason why this initiative is important to them. Here's just some of the reasons Philadelphians are saying prompted them to sign the plastic bag petition:

Bike sharing is FINALLY in Philly... kinda sorta maybe. Our only Philly-based bike sharing company, Cityryde and its founders, left town due to our lack of bike sharing. Dranoff Properties (owner of 5 apartment buildings), has picked up the slack and

Our reader Heidi asked on our Facebook page: GPB ladies! I recently had to order new busines cards and am so sad to waste the old ones. Creative ideas for using up otherwise useless business cards? We did a little research, Heidi, and came up with a 11 innovative ideas to recycle your old stack of business cards:

What's more interesting than the amazing comments of support we've seen about the plastic bag ban is the opposition. I LOVE dogs. I have my parent's daschund (whom I trained as a mini hot dog) as my iPhone background. I adopt pit bulls (and other breeds) for an hour (per session) through the Monster Milers program at PAWs. And I stop strangers on the street to ask and pet their cute canines. Dog owners, I hear you. Your dogs shit. A lot. And you prefer (free) plastic bags to clean up their poo. I get it: Love: Dogs! Hate: Poop. So what would you do if plastic bags were banned or if there was a fee?

Eco-minded Philadelphians were graced with a picture-perfect day yesterday for GreenFest. The historic Headhouse Square was lined with rows of green businesses and non-profit organizations. It was refreshing to look around and see hundreds of like-minded people gathered in one place. Though we're constantly interacting with so many of Philadelphia's eco- activists and green companies, it's always revitalizing to chat in person. For us, much of the day was focused on discussing the Plastic Bag Ban.