I would love to start a little garden, nothing all out, but just a little starter garden. What are some easy beginner plants? I think easy is the wrong word...more like hardy, something that can take my slow learning process and not croak on me a week later.

I am WITH YOU on this one! I just mentioned in the folder "bare essentials" that I wanted to learn how not to kill plants so I can come up with a little garden! Any feedback would be awesome :)

A good source of information and advice would be your county extension agent. www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/   They will, of course, be primarily interested in agriculture, but they will have information for the gardener and probably be able to point you to any local resources that may be available like gardening clubs, etc.

Deciding what to grow depends as much on where you are as it does on what you want.  You need to choose the plants (breeds, not species) based on your local weather patterns, and a local gardener can assist you with that.  While it is possible to raise a plant in a hostile environment, a beginner shouldn't try learning with something that will take special care.

My husband and I have been eating locally AND seasonally for about a month and have found this website a great help when finding out what is currently in season http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/seasonal/ Our goal is to start growing our own foods and being familiar with what works for you locally is important, I think.