What’s In Season Now Looks Like Christmas

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Posted: May 17, 2013 at 1:57 pm

61st ellis display

One of our Local Beet truisms is that at various times of year, farmer’s markets are all one color.  Spring is generally, mostly green, late summer is ripe red from tomatoes and pepper and fall tends towards browns.  This time of year, we’re lucky that two colors dominant.  It looks a little like the holidays with the reds of rhubarb and the greens of asparagus.

What’s In Season Now

The Green and Their Cohorts

Asparagus is now fully abundant and may also be purple!  Find an array of leafy greens like spinach,  bok choy (and other Asian greens), collard and mustard greens.  Want more, there may also be turnips, kohlrabi and beets with very usable green tops. Make salads with much of what’s around now like radishes (also usable greens!), arugula, and lettuces.

Also very much green this time of year, onions and garlic.

Wild at Heart

Ramps are around as are nettles, various cresses, garlic mustarddandelion greensfiddle-head fernssorrel, and morel mushrooms.

We Can Still Enjoy Last Year

We think you may still see some nice stored crops including carrotspotatoes, radishes, and onions.

A nice surprise, we’re seeing more dried beans in the market than in prior years.

 

 

Ramp Pesto Toasts

Ramp Pesto Toasts

 

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

Your ability to purchase what’s in season is finally expanding.  Jeannie, in the Local Calendar is keeping you ascribed on key markets, and we’ll have our fuller 2013 Market Locator up soon.  There’s still plenty of time to find a CSA box too.  See our big list to find a CSA for you.  Our friends at Fresh Picks have a good and growing inventory of local food, or you can try one of these stores that specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Check out their produce share January 9th through May 4th. You can still subscribe even though the share has started already.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Standard Market – 333 East Ogden Ave., Westmont


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A Lazy Writeup of Chicago Craft Beer Week

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Posted: May 15, 2013 at 9:52 pm

ChgoCraftBeerWk2013

I’m not going to write much about Chicago Craft Beer Week this year (Thursday, May 16th – Sunday, May 26th … apparently the organizers don’t understand the concept that a week includes only seven days). I’m tired, and everybody else who writes about Chicago-area craft beer has already pimped it out enough.

There are literally hundreds of events, and you can get the schedule by following this link. http://chibeerweek.com/schedule/

For me, I’ll try to get to these events:

Monday, May 20 — Ale Syndicate’s Brew Night at The Beer Bistro, 1061 W. Madison, Chicago. Ale Syndicate comes to us from two brothers who sold off their California brewery. (They wanted to move back to Chicagoland for family reasons.) Ale Syndicate’s guys will be showcasing their stuff, which is currently tough to find anywhere else (they’re still building out their brewery). And their beers seem to make fun of city government, which is always a plus. Starts at 5 pm. No reservation required.

Tuesday, May 21 — Nanobrewers Meet & Greet at Binny’s South Loop (1132 S. Jefferson St. Chicago). Brewers from Pipeworks, Spiteful, and 18th Street will be there to answer questions, sample beers, and generally screw around with other beer drinkers. Starts at 5:30 pm. No reservation required.

Wednesday, May 22 — New Brewer Showcase at Hamburger Mary’s (5400 N. Clark St. Chicago). This one has brewers from Temperance, 4 Paws, Lake Effect, Spiteful, Flesk, Ale Syndicate, Begyle & DryHop, and quite possibly others. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. 7 pm. Tickets ($20) are required (includes 20 tastings), book at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/379497

Thursday, May 23 — Real Women of Craft Beer at Riverview Tavern (1958 W Roscoe St. Chicago). Who says women don’t like beer? This event, organized by Kim Leshinski, will feature a special tapping of a collaborative beer, cheekily named “99 Problems.” The beer, a saison with ginger and chamomile, was brewed by Jennifer Piotter of Greenbush, Hayley Shine of Rock Bottom, Ashleigh Arnold, Maryhelen Harper, and Ashley Hunsader of Two Brothers, Tracy Hurst of Metropolitan, Claudia Jendron of Temperance Beer Company, and Jessica Murphy of Girls Like Beer Too $1 per pint will be donated to the Chicago Chapter of “Dress For Success” a charity that promotes economic independence by providing professional clothing and resources to disadvantaged women. Starts at 6:30 pm. No reservations required

Friday, May 24 — Atlas Barrel-Aged Night at Atlas Brewing Company (2747 N. Lincoln, Chicago). Atlas will be tapping three different barrel-aged beers: FEW Gin Barrel-Aged “Turn Around, Bright Eyes” Saison, Koval Rye Barrel-Aged “Old Disheveler” Barley Wine, and Koval Whiskey Barrel-Aged “Obfuscation” Imperial Stout. Starts at 7 pm, no reservations required.

Of course, there are many, many other events during the ten day week; these are only the ones that I’ll try to make (and I can’t be sure I’ll make all of them). I do, after all, have a small, pitiful life outside of beer. But if you happen to attend one of these events, and see an old creepy fat guy hanging around, come by and say hi.

More info on some of the newer breweries can be found in this earlier, but frequently updated, roundup of what’s new in the area.


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Local Calendar 5/15/13 Food Patriots Monica Eng at Experimental Station, Daley Plaza Market Opens Tomorrow!

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Posted: May 15, 2013 at 5:46 am

b830a79dfb16a004f3c400187f042157Vallarta028c8d967b42bde835f798133b351d3f                                                              The Daley Plaza Market opens tomorrow, which is the official kickoff of the farmers market season in the city. COUNTRY Financial will reveal the winner of their 6th Annual Reusable Bag Design Contest during the 11 a.m. program. This year’s artistic theme is “Sprouts in the City” and the winning design will appear on thousands of bags distributed throughout the season. Finalists are Juana Delao and Jose Melgoza from Lane Tech College Prep High School, and Mara Hantanosas from Mather High School. Country’s reusable bag is my favorite market bag to use and I think they are becoming “collector’s items”. The Daley Plaza market has vendors you won’t necessarily find at other markets like Vallarta Foods and their fresh salsas or Lou The Pickle Guy. Woo hoo!  Farmers market season is officially here, get your favorite market bag, get to the markets and shop!  Our full list of area markets can be found here (and remember this list will only get bigger).

Wondering what is in season? Chief Beet Rob Gardner elaborates on it and gives his advice on how to shop at a farmers market. Food Day Chicago (Oct. 24) is celebrating the onion and the many benefits of the allium family for the month of May on their facebook page (Check it out for some health tidbits, recipes, onion trivia and “like” it while you are there!)

Farm dinners have started, Slagel Family Farms has their first farm dinner of the season this Saturday which includes Nicole Pederson of Found Kitchen and John Asbaty of  Panozzo’s. Here are the details and dates of the farm dinners on the calendar so far including Mint Creek Farm and Prairie Fruit Farms.

Some sites to check out for further detail on sustainable food/urban ag are the Illinois Stewardship Alliance (get their policy updates here) out of Springfield and the Advocates for Urban Agriculture who is having their spring gathering tonight!  WeFarmAmerica has tons of weekly events and The Peterson Garden Project  has lots of information for the urban gardener.

Now on to the busy week ahead including tonight the film Food Patriots 6:30pm at Experimental Station with the Tribune’s Monica Eng, and the Spring Gathering for the AUA and tomorrow the opening of the Daley Center Market tomorrow as well as A Chef’s Playground, the benefit for the Academy of Global Citzenship at Terzo Piano.

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

These stores specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Watch this fantastic video about GMOs, sourcing local and see what you are missing if you don’t shop at the GG.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave. 4/24 Cheese and Wine Pairing Class in the Barrel Room at City Winery, details here.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Sharpening By Dave  - Green City Market and other locations throughout Chicagoland. If you want to eat local, you need to have sharp knives to prepare the produce!!  Let Dave know that you read about him in the Local Beet and you will get one dollar off each knife sharpened. 

THIS  WEEK’S CALENDAR AND BEYOND  IN LOCAL FOOD:

Food The Nature of Eating Exhibit continues at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Skokie- Seedling Sales The Talkng Farms’s Howard Street Farm – 10am – 2pm 3701 Howard St. (April 20th – June 1st)  Cool Weather seedlings: spinach, swiss chard, peas, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, seed potatoes Warm Weather seedlings: (beginning May 11th)tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, melon, basil, and cilantro Associate Beet Editor Wendy Aeschlimann elaborates on it.

May 15

Chicago – Watch Food Patriots Work in progress film screening and discussion with producer Jeff Spitz and the Tribune’s Monica Eng. 6:30pm Experimental Station 6100 S. Blackstone

Chicago - Wednesdays at Wood Street - The opening of the Growing Home Wood Street Farm Stand 11am – 4pm 5814 S. Wood St.

Chicago - Green City Market Lincoln Park Location 7am – 1pm Chef demonstration 10:30am – 11:30am Paul Virant Vie, Perennial Virant

Chicago –  AUA Spring Gathering: Sharing the Harvest  5-8PM Garfield Park Conservatory – Jensen Room 300 N Central Park Ave FREE This season’s quarterly gathering will be another great opportunity to connect with and learn from urban agriculture practitioners and supporters from across the Chicago area.  As usual, there will be a potluck/mix & mingle at the beginning of the evening, followed by a community slideshow during which you’ll be able to showcase your urban garden or farm project.

Chicago – Wine Wednesdays at Province – Seasonal farm to table 5 course tasting menu with pairings $49 159 North Jefferson A Gold level LEED certified restaurant with 3 stars from the Green Restaurant Association.

May 16-26

Chicago – 10 day celebration Chicago Craft Beer Week

May 16

***Chicago - Opening Day of the Daley Center Farmers Market - Market will run May 16th through October 31.

Chicago – A Chef’s Playground - Terzo Piano – At the Art Institute A fundraiser for the Academy for Global Citizenship 6-9pm Purchase tickets here $225

Chicago – Uptown Market Uptown Farmers’ Market is year round. Every Thursday from 7-1 inside Weiss Memorial Hospital or in the parking lot during the warmer months. 4646 N Marine Drive This is an appropriate day to stock up on Spark of the Heart Soups

Hyde Park - C & D Family Farm delivers 7-11am Harold Washington Park

Lincoln Square – C & D Family Farm delivers 4-7pm Lincoln & Leland

May 17

Food Revolution Day 

Chicago - Half Acre Brewery Anniversary Party - Hee hee!! Stay tuned!

Chicago –  Unicornucopia: Big Fork, CO-OP Sauce, & Pipeworks Brewing Co. Collaboration Party 7 – 9 PM Star Lounge  2521 W. Chicago Ave. Why: To celebrate Craft Beer Week in Chicago, 4 micro companies (Big Fork BrandsStar LoungeCO-OP Sauce, & Pipeworks Brewing Co.) and 2 chefs are combining forces to bring you one amazing night of food & beer.  What: 4 courses with 4 beer pairings

May 18

FD!! Champaign - Celebrate Spring! Prairie Fruit Farms 4pm 4410 North Lincoln Ave. This is their first dinner of the 2013 season.  Expect an explosion of spring flavors such as Caveny Farm Katadin lamb, ramps (wild leeks), spring greens, sweet turnips, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. Purchase tickets here.  $92

Chicago – Agroterrorism – Food Poisoning Brought to A New Level – Culinary Historians of Chicago – 10am Chicago History Museum 1601 North Clark

Chicago 61st Farmers Market -  9am – 2pm During the outdoor season, which lasts through the end of October, the Market is located on 61st Street between Dorchester and Blackstone Avenues. The 61st Street Farmers Market accepts LINK and Senior Farmers Market Coupons. They also match LINK purchases up to $25 per cardholder, per market day, as long as funding lasts. This means that LINK cardholders can double the value of their LINK purchases each week at the Market. This year, the Market will also be accepting DEBIT AND CREDIT, for those of you who are always short on cash!

Chicago Green City Market Lincoln Park 7am – 1pm 10:30am Chef demonstration Zoe Schorr Ada Street

Chicago – Edible Gardens Workshop -  9:30am – 10:15am Edible garden in the zoo Planning for Summer: Transplanting Warm Weather Crops
Join us as we transplant warm weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and herbs.  Learn how to layout your garden and space your transplants to maximize fruit production throughout the season.  We will also discuss what plants pair well together and the benefits of planting a diversity of crops.

Chicago - Iron Street Farm Stand - 9am – 3pm 3333 S. Iron St.

Elgin - Winter Market at Habitat for Humanity ReStore Elgin - 800 North State St. 9am – 3pm (thru May) Their mantra is “Keepin It Local1″ As such, their intention has always been to supply the local community with local products.

Evanston - Downtown Evanston Farmers Market - This market will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every Saturday from May 4 through November 2. Location: Intersection of University Place and Oak Ave. (behind Hilton Garden Inn, east of East Railroad Ave.) In 2013, the market will celebrate its 38th year.

Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm First Farm Dinner of the Season! Transportation included from Chicago to the farm and back. $125 BYOB The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Nicole Pederson of Found Kitchen and Guest Chef John Asbaty of Panozzo’s. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided and of course includes a tour of the farm, butchering class on sustainable meat practices and lots of food!!

La Fox – Heritage Prairie Saturday Farmer’s Market  9am – 1pm 2N308 Brundige Road

***** Oak Park - Opening Day of the Oak Park Farmers Market - The market will run every Saturday through 10/26/13 7am – 1pm Pilgrim Church, right next door to where the market is held, offers fresh warm donuts, juice and coffee, with live bluegrass music nearby. The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is located at 460 Lake St., just one block west of Ridgeland Avenue.

Woodstock - Woodstock Farmers Market Outdoors 9am -12pm

May 19

Chicago - Opening Day of the Logan Square Outdoor Market

CBW!! Chicago – 25 Years of Craft Brewing Block Party at Goose Island 12pm – 3pm 1800 W.Fulton St. 
Goose Island is celebrating a quarter-century of craft brewing. Ticketholders receive 25 beer tasting vouchers for Goose Island classics, along with new releases and guest beers. $25 Check out the complete Craft Beer Week schedule 

May 20

Chicago - Big Jones Trash Fish Dinner(Grubstreet Chicago) –  Paul Fehribach of Big Jones is joining with Chefs CollaborativeFortune Fish and Gourmet and nine other chefs to put on a dinner showing how these trash fish— from smelt to dogfish to speckled trout— can be used in a sustainable, tasty meal. Tickets $125

SAVE THE DATE

May 22

Chicago - International Biodiversity Day at The Field Museum - Join The Field Museum, Peterson Garden Project, Seed Savers Exchange and Jewell Events Catering for an event celebrating seed diversity! The highlight of the evening will be a lecture on FOOD ORIGINS by the renown photographer and seed saving advocate David Cavagnaro. FOOD ORIGINS: Travel the globe through the lens of David Cavagnaro’s camera. Learn about the geographic origins of our favorite fruit and vegetable varieties and the diaspora that is responsible for the diversity we have today. 5:00 Tours of the Edible Treasures Garden on the west side of the Field Museum 5:30 – 6:30 - Registration - Reception in the West Lobby of the Field Museum with food provided by Jewell Events Catering that is inspired by the 2013 plantings of the Edible Treasures Garden- Meet-and-greet Seed Savers Exchange representatives and other local seed saving organizations 6:30 – 8:00 David Cavagnaro lecture in the historic A. Montgomery Ward Theatre Cost: $10

May 25

FD!! Champaign, Il - Prairie Fruit Farms  – Sunday Dinner Club “For their Love of Chicken“ The Sunday Dinner Club Crew is back, and they will be frying up lots of local fried chicken at the farm!  Josh and Christine are joining us early this season, because they are getting ready to open a new restaurant in Chicago, come get a sneak peak of foods from their new venture, “Honey Butter Fried Chicken” $70

CBW!! Chicago – West Loop Craft Beer Fest - 12pm – 5pm  West Loop (Clinton Street between Lake and Washington Street) The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, the Chicago French Market, and the Fulton River District Association have come together to host their inaugural celebration to close out Chicago Craft Beer Week 2013. The city’s largest craft beer outdoor block party will commence with a VIP event beginning at 12pm, and General Admission running from 1pm to 5pm.The General Admission experience will include over 25 craft beers and hours of entertainment and food for purchase.

May 28

Chicago - The Stew Supper Club presents Super Dragon Slayer Spicy Supper  -7-10pm Sauce and Bread Kitchen 6338 N Clark St “Imagine if you will, a meal built for May where dragons will not triumph.  Think middle evil banquet with spicy goodness tempered only with what we describe as a steely samurai’s touch.  Eat much May with us then……”- The Stew

June 1

Champaign, Il -  Prairie Fruit Farms - Virant’s Can Can - 4pm What better way to celebrate the beginning of summer than with some fantastic preserves and incredible food! All of this will be brought to you by Paul Virant! A seasoned veteran in the wide world of preserving, pickling, and canning, Paul follows his Perennial Virant philosophy to a tee – “eat what you can – can what you can’t.” $107

June 8

Chicago – Midnight Sun Farm Tour and Picnic hosted by The Sugar Beet Coop 10am – 2pm Midnight Sun Farm is just an hour away from Oak Park and is excited to host The Sugar Beet Co-op for a farm tour and catered picnic lunch. We will start the day by exploring the 5-acre organic vegetable farm that is also home to chickens, turkeys, pigs and goats. After a guided hayride tour by farmer Nick Choate-Batchelder, we will feast on a delicious farm picnic catered by Crème Crafted Parties & Events.

Chicago/Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm Tour & Dinner Event with The Publican! 2:30pm  The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Brian Huston of The Publican. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided. Bus transportation from Chicago will be provided, when purchasing your ticket please select if you would like that option. The Bus will pick everyone up at 837 W Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 at 12:00 noon on June 8th. Children are welcome as long as they have parent supervision. $125June 13

Chicago –   Eli’s Cheesecake & Wright College Farmer’s Market Grand Opening Fresh fruits and vegetables from Nichol’s Farm and the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, hand crafts,flowers & more Continental Breakfast Lunch on the grill will be offered each Thursdaybased on what’s in season!

June 9

Chicago -

No Kid Hungry No Dessert Left Behind - Little Goat 820 West Randolph 2nd floor Come support Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign . There will be patio seating and full bar along with baked goods from Chicago’s finest pastry talent. A portion of all drink sales will go directly to the charity as well.

June 15

Chicago - Mash Tun Festival - The festival is a celebration of the release of Mash Tun: A Craft Beer Journal issue #3. The Mash Tun is a publication put out by your buddies at Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar and The Public Media Institute, a non profit arts and culture organization based in Bridgeport.

FD!! Champaign, IL -  Prairie Fruit Farms  City Pub in the Country 4pm Bar Pastoral is a new cheese and wine bistro adjacent to the original Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine Shop in Chicago. Chef Chrissy will be showcasing her love of cheese, charcuterie, pickles, and other local ingredients. $107

June 26

Chicago – Logan Square Night Market kicks off today – Palmer and Kedzie in Palmer Park 5pm – 9pm weekly through September 4th.

June 27

Chicago - Argyle Night Market kicks off today – Argyle and Broadway 5pm – 9pm weekly through September 5th

June 29

Champaign, Il – -  Prairie Fruit Farms Summer Vegetarian 4pm Thad Morrow, chef/owner of Bacaro, Champaign is back for another season. He will be making the trek from Bacaro, in downtown Champaign, across town and out into the country! His SUV will be packed with lots of early summer vegetables. $107

July 18

Chicago – The Locavore’s Real Taste of Chicago - The Green City Market BBQ Tickets on sale now!

 


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Wherein Being Stuck At Home Isn’t So Bad.

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Posted: May 13, 2013 at 9:46 am

Years past, I would have been up to the Dane County Farmers’ Market several times by now. We camp at a park in the area, making the trip to Madison, WI an easy Saturday morning treat. But work schedules, school activities and personal commitments have kept me home in the western burbs, where farmers markets – and farm stands – have yet to really take off. Asparagus has been plentiful in our kitchen, but what I really missed were ramps.

Did I say miss? No, more like crave.

Ramps

I mean, ramps are only around for such a very, very short time. Madison was my connection to this most spring of vegetables. And Madison is hopelessly out of reach for now.

So imagine my delight to see that Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks would have ramps in their Fresh Picks Box last week. Saved! Like Beet Reporter Jacqueline Fisch I occasionally order from Fresh Picks, especially when their boxes start to fill up with locally sourced products as they are now. Their ramps, and the over-wintered parsnips that were also included last week, come from the very same farm – Harmony Valley Farm -  that operates one of my standard stops at the Dane County Farmers’ Market.

Roasted Parsnips

Thanks to Fresh Picks, and some venison loin steaks I had left in the freezer from Gooch Farms in Sullivan, WI, I was able to put together quite a local foods feast for dinner last night – a nice Mother’s Day treat to myself! Roasted parsnips became a earthy puree to balance out the richness of the venison. And here I will put in a huge plug for grilled ramps.

Grilled Ramps

If you’ve ever been unsure about the garlicky/oniony pungency of ramps, fear not.  Two minutes on the grill is all it takes to transform raw ramps into a silky treat with an amazing sweetness. Trust me. You need to eat these.

And hey – just two weeks until my first trip up to Madison this year. Hooray!

Venison_Ramp_Parsnip

 

 


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2013 Local Beet Big List of Farmer’s Markets

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Posted: May 9, 2013 at 7:07 pm

We are pleased to put up the first version of our 2013 Farmer’s Market List. We have nearly 175 markets listed so far for 2013. We warn you, however, this number will change soon. We plan on the list getting much bigger, as we have not added all the markets we know, including markets in Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin that we think would be of interest to the Local Beet readership. On the other hand, we expect the list to subtract as well. Farmer’s Markets are notoriously fragile affairs, here one year, gone the next. Chicago specifically has cut down on the amount of markets in its city. We’ve eliminated markets we know that are gone, but in other cases, when you see no dates listed, we have not confirmed the status of that market for 2013.

This is a joint effort for sure. Any of those markets with blank dates, if you can fill them in for us, please let us know in the comments. Likewise if you know of a market not listed, especially new markets, please let us know so we can include them. Like we said, we have not entered all the markets we know, so if we have not got to yours yet, forgive us but tell us anyways.

The Locator is fully searchable. It is also sortable by its columns. Use those columns to see if your market has opened (or closed) for the season or look for a market in your city.

Again, we welcome any and all feedback. Do enjoy the many, many farmers markets in or near Chicago in 2013.

2013 Farmer's Market Locator

Find Farmer's Markets in your area by entering your neighborhood, town, or nearby towns in the search box.
Name/Occurrence
Web Site
City, STAddressDayTimeStart DateEnd Date
61st Street Farmers Market (Experimental Station) /Weekly
http://www.experimentalstation.org/farmers-market
Chicago, IL6100 S Blackstone Ave
Saturday9 - 205/11/1312/14/13
Andersonville/Weekly
http://www.andersonville.org/
Chicago, IL1500 W Berwyn, AveWednesday3 - 8 06/05/1310/16/13
Antioch/WeeklyAntioch, IL854 Main St.Thursday3 - 706/06/1310/10/13
Argyle Night Market/WeeklyChicago, ILArgyle Street and BroadwayThursday4 - 806/27/1309/05/13
Arlington Heights/WeeklyArlington Heights, ILVail Avenue and Fremont StreetSaturday730 - 123006/08/1310/19/13
Aurora Farmers Market ATC/Weekly
Aurora, IL233 N. BroadwaySaturday8 - 1206/01/1310/19/13
Aurora Farmers Market Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church/WeeklyAurora, IL701 E. Eola RoadThursday1 - 6 07/11/13 08/29/13
Aurora Farmers Market West Plaza Shopping Plaza/WeeklyAurora, IL1901 W. Galena Blvd
Wednesday1 - 5 07/10/1309/11/13
Austin Town Hall/WeeklyChicago, ILLake Street and Central AvenueSaturday10 - 206/29/1310/26/13
Avondale - Sprouting Out - Wednesday/Weekly
Chicago, IL3300 N. WhippleWednesday3 - 6 10/19/11
Avondale - Sprouting Out - Saturday/Weekly
Chicago, IL3300 N. WhippleSaturday3 - 6 10/22/11
Barnharts Stone Corner Organic Farm Market/Daily
Oregon, IL2169 E Honey Creek Rd
06/01/1311/30/13
Barrington Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.barringtonfarmersmarket.org/
Barrington, IL100 S Cook St.
Thursday2 - 706/20/1310/17/13
Bartlett Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.village.bartlett.il.us/fmarket.html
Bartlett, IL228 S. Main StFriday2 - 706/07/1309/13/13
Batavia/WeeklyBatavia, ILDowntown on South Water StreetSaturday8 - 1206/08/1310/19/13
Benton Farmers Market/WeeklyBenton, ILBenton Community ParkThursday3 - 605/02/1310/24/13
Beverly/Weekly
Chicago, IL95th & Longwood
Sunday7 - 105/12/1310/20/13
Bolingbrook/WeeklyBolingbrook, ILE Boughton Road (West of 355)Thursday4 - 806/06/1310/03/13
Bridgeport/WeeklyChicago, IL35th & Wallace (In parking lot)
Saturday7 - 106/15/1310/05/13
Bronzeville Community Market/WeeklyChicago, IL4400 S. Cottage Grove
Saturday8 - 106/15/1310/26/13
Brookfield/WeeklyBrookfield, IL8820 Brookfield AveSaturday8 - 106/01/1310/26/13
Buffalo Grove/WeeklyBuffalo Grove, IL951 McHenry Road.Sunday8-12:3006/15/1310/06/13
Burr Ridge/WeeklyBurr Ridge, ILBurr Ridge Parkway & McClintock DriveThursday10 - 206/13/1309/26/13
Cary/WeeklyCary, IL445 Park AveSunday9 - 106/02/1309/29/13
Chesterton’s European Market/Weekly
http://www.chestertonseuropeanmarket.com/
Chesterton, INBroadway and ThirdSaturday8 - 205/04/1310/26/11
City Farm Market Stand/Tuesday - Friday
Chicago, IL1204 N. Clybourn
1 - 530 07/01/1310/31/31
City Farm Perry Street/WeeklyChicago, IL57th Place and South Perry StreetSaturday10 - 207/06/1310/26/13
City Hall Farmers' MarketRacine, WI730 WashingtonSaturday12 - 4
City of Zion/WeeklyZion, ILShiloh Blvd. & Sheridan Rd.Thursday2 - 7
Columbia Farmers' Market/WeeklyColumbia, IL1000 Columbia Ctr DriveThursday3 - 604/25/1310/24/13
Columbus Park Farmers MarketChicago, ILHarrison Street & Central AvenueTuesday2 - 706/25/1310/29/13
Country Club Hills French Market - Wednesday/WeeklyCountry Club Hills4116 W. 183rd StWednesday8 - 106/05/1309/25/13
Country Club Hills French Market - Sunday/WeeklyCountry Club Hills4116 W. 183rd StSunday8 - 106/09/1309/29/13
Crete/WeeklyCrete, ILMain and Exchange Saturday8 - 105/18/1310/5/13
Crystal Lake/WeeklyCrystal Lake, IL70 E. WoodstockSaturday8-106/01/1310/12/13
Cullom Community Market/WeeklyCullum, IL112 W. Hack StWednesday3 - 605/01/1309/25/13
Daley Plaza/Weekly
Chicago, ILWashington & Dearborn
Thursday7 - 305/16/1310/31/13
Dane County - Outdoor - Saturday/Weekly
http://www.dcfm.org/
Madison, WICapital SquareSaturday6 - 204/20/1311/09/13
Dane County - Outdoor - Wednesday/Weekly
http://www.dcfm.org/
Madison, WI200 blk of MLK, Jr. Blvd.Wednesday830 - 204/24/1311/06/13
Deerfield/WeeklyDeerfield, ILNW Corner of Robert York Ave. & Deerfield Rd.Saturday7 - 12:3006/08/1310/12/13
Dekalb/WeeklyDekalb, IL135 N. Second StThursday12 - 606/06/1309/26/13
Devon Community Market/MonthlyChicago, IL2720 W. Devon AveSunday10 - 207/07/1310/06/13
Division Street/Weekly
Chicago, ILDivison & Dearborn (On Division btwn. State & Clark)
Saturday7 - 105/11/1310/26/13
Downtown Bloomington/WeeklyBloomington, ILN. Main, E. Jefferson & W. Center streetsSaturday8 - 104/06/1311/30/13
Downtown Elgin/WeeklyElgin, IL200 N. Grove Ave.Thursday9 - 206/04/1310/31/13
Downtown Market Grand Rapids/Tuesday/WeeklyGrand Rapids, MI435 Ionia SW Tuesday8 - 105/07/1310/26/13
Downtown Market Grand Rapids/Saturday/WeeklyGrand Rapids, MI435 Ionia SW Saturday8 - 1 05/04/1310/26/13
Downtown Market Grand Rapids/Thursday/WeeklyGrand Rapids, MI435 Ionia SW Thursday4 - 705/09/1310/28/13
Downtown Racine Farmer's Market/WeeklyRacine, ILState and Erie StSaturday8 - 12
Downers Grove Farmer's Market - Saturday/Weekly
http://www.ymcachicago.org/indianboundary/blog/entry/downtown-downers-grove-market1/
Downers Grove, ILMain St. Metro Station, Lot B
1000 Burlington Ave.
Saturday7 - 12:30 05/11/1310/19/13
Dwight/WeeklyDwight, ILEast Main Street at South FranklinSaturday8 - 1105/18/1310/05/13
East Side Green Market/Weekly
http://www.theeastside.org/categories/10-green-market
Milwaukee, WI1901 E. North AveSaturday10 - 206/15/1310/12/13
East Town Market - Saturday/Weekly
http://www.easttown.com/categories/6-easttownmarket
Milwaukee, WICorner of Kilbourn & Jefferson (Cathedral Square Park)

Saturday9 - 106/01/1310/05/13
Eden Place Farmers Market/Weekly
Chicago, IL4330 S. ShieldsSaturday8 - 305/18/1309/28/13
Eli's Cheesecake/Wright College/Weekly
Chicago, IL6701 W. Forest Preserve Dr.
Thursday7 - 106/13/13 10/31/13
Elk Grove Village/WeeklyElk Grove Village, IL901 Wellington Ave.Saturday730 - 16/01/1310/12/13
Elmhurst/WeeklyElmhurst, ILYork and ValletteWednesday7 - 106/05/1310/30/13
Evanston/Weekly
http://www.cityofevanston.org/evanston-life/farmers-market/
Evanston, ILIntersection of University Place and East Railroad Ave.
Saturday730 - 105/04/1311/02/13
Evanston - West End Ethnic Market/WeeklyEvanston, ILEvanston High SchoolSaturday8 - 306/08/1310/26/13
Evergreen Park/WeeklyEvergreen Park, ILYukich Field, 89th and KedzieThursday7 - 105/02/1310/31/13
Federal Plaza/WeeklyChicago, ILAdams & Dearborn Tuesday7 - 305/14/1310/29/13
Forest Park/WeeklyForest Park, IL7824 MadisonFriday3:30 - 7:3006/10/1310/14/13
Frankfort Country Market/WeeklyFrankfort, ILDowntown Frankfort at Breidert Green Oak & Kansas St.Sunday10-204/28/1310/27/13
Fulton Street Farmers Market/Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and SaturdaysGrand Rapids, MI1147 E. Fulton Street8 - 305/04/1312/21/13
Galena Farmer's Market/WeeklyGalena, IL123 North Commerce Saturday7 - 1203/11/1310/27/13
Garfield Park ConservatoryChicago, IL300 N. Central Park AveSunday11 - 406/23/1310/27/13
Geneva Green Market/WeeklyGeneva, IL75 North River LaneThursday7 - 1
Glenview/WeeklyGlenview, IL1510 Wagner RoadSaturday8 - 1206/22/1310/12/13
Glenwood Sunday Market/WeeklyChicago, IL6950 N. Glenwood Sunday9 - 206/02/1310/27/13
Grayslake - Spring/Weekly
http://www.grayslakefarmersmarket.com/
Grayslake, IL149 CENTER ST
Saturday10 - 205/04/1308/31/13
Grayslake - Summer/Weekly
http://www.grayslakefarmersmarket.com/
Grayslake, IL149 CENTER ST
Wednesday3 - 7
Green City Market - Wednesday/WeeklyChicago, IL1750 N. Clark St. at the South End of Lincoln Park btwn. Clark and Stockton DrWednesday7 - 1 05/08/1312/27/13
Green City Market - Saturday/WeeklyChicago, IL1750 N. Clark St. at the South End of Lincoln Park btwn. Clark and Stockton DrSaturday7 - 105/04/1312/29/13
Green Youth Farm's North Chicago Stand/Twice WeeklyNorth Chicago, IL1215 North Green Bay Road (Greenbelt Forest Preserve)Wednesday 9 - 107/10/1310/02/13
Green Youth Farm's North Chicago Stand - Saturday/WeeklyNorth Chicago, IL1215 North Green Bay Road (Greenbelt Forest Preserve)Saturday9 - 109/07/1310/05/13
Gurnee Park District Farmers' Market/WeeklyGurnee, ILCorners of Grand and Kilbourne Rd (Esper Petersen Park)Friiday8 - 106/07/1309/27/13
Harvard/Weekly
Harvard, IL19 N. Ayer St.
Saturday9 - 106/01/1310/26/13
Heritage Farm Farmers Market
http://www.heritageprairiefarm.com
Elburn, IL2N308 Brundige Rd.Saturday9-104/27/1312/28/13
Hinsdale Farmers Market/Weekly
Hinsdale, IL30 E Chicago Ave
Monday7 - 106/03/1310/14/13
Homer Glen/Weekly
http://www.homerglenil.org/CurrentEvents/FarmersMarket.aspx
Homer Glen, IL15833 S. Bell RoadSaturday9 - 105/18/1310/05/13
Homewood French Market/WeeklyHomewood, IL2020 Chestnut RoadSaturday8 - 105/18/1310/19/13
Huntley Farmers Market/Weekly
Huntley, IL11704 E. CoralSaturday8 - 105/25/1310/12/13
Hyde Park/WeeklyChicago, IL53rd Street and Hyde Park BoulevardThursday7 - 106/06/1310/31/13
Illinois Products
Farmers' Market/Weekly
http://www.agr.state.il.us/nightmarket/
Springfield, ILCommodities Pavillion
Illinois State Fairgrounds
Thursday4 - 7 01/03/1312/26/13
Independence Park/2nd & 4th Sundays of the month
Chicago, IL3945 N. Springfield
Sunday9 - 106/09/1310/27/13
Jefferson Park/Every 2 WeeksChicago, ILJefferson Park Field House, between Higgins Road and Lawrence AvenueSunday930 - 13006/09/1310/27/13
Kankakee Farmers' Market/WeeklyKankakee, IL100 E. MerchantSaturday7 - 1204/27/1310/26/13
Kenosha HarborMarket - Harbor Market Location - Outdoor/Weekly
http://www.kenoshaharbormarketplace.com/
Kenosha, WI2nd Avenue between 55th and 56th Street Saturday9 - 205/18/1310/12/13
Kenosha HarborMarket - Harbor Market Location - Indoor/Weekly
http://www.kenoshaharbormarketplace.com/
Kenosha, WI514 56th StSaturday9 - 210/19/1312/21/13
LaFollette ParkChicago, IL1333 N. Laramie Ave.Wednesday2 - 706/26/1310/30/13
La Grange Farmer's Market/WeeklyLa Grange, ILParking lot south of Village Hall, DowntownThursday7 - 105/09/1310/31/13
Lake Bluff Farmer's Market/WeeklyLake Bluff, IL40 E Center Ave
Friday7 - 1206/14/1310/11/13
Lake Forest/Weekly
Lake Forest, IL671 N. Western AveSaturday8 - 106/22/1310/12/13
Lansing Farmer's Markett/Weekly
Lansing, ILRidge Road and Grant StreetWednesday4 - 706/05/1308/28/13
Lawrence County Farmers Market/Tuesday/WeeklyLawrenceville, IL712 12TH STTuesday3 - 705/07/1310/29/13
Lawrence County Farmers Market/Friday/WeeklyLawrenceville, IL712 12TH STFriday6 - 1205/03/1310/25/13
Lawndale Market/Weekly
Chicago, IL3750 W. Ogden Ave.Wednesday9 - 107/10/1310/02/13
Lemont Farmers Market/Weekly
Lemont, IL435 Talcott Avenue
Tuesday8 - 106/04/1310/29/13
Libertyville Farmers Market/WeeklyLibertyville, ILW Church Street between Milwaukee AvenueThursday7 - 1 06/20/1310/17/13
Lincoln Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.lincolnfarmersmarket.org/
Lincoln, IL316 S. Kickapoo St.Saturday7 - 1204/27/1310/26/13
Lincoln Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.lincolnfarmersmarket.org/
Lincoln, IL316 S. Kickapoo St.Wednesday3 - 65/01/1310/23/13
Lincoln Park/WeeklyChicago, ILArmitage & Orchard
Saturday7 - 105/11/1310/26/13
Lincoln Square/WeeklyChicago, ILLincoln/Leland/Western (City Parking Lot adjacent to Brown Line Station)
Tuesday7 - 106/04/1310/29/13
Lincoln Square - Evening/Weekly
Chicago, ILLincoln/Leland/Western (City Parking Lot adjacent to Brown Line Station)
Thursday4 - 806/06/1310/24/13
Lisle French Market/Weekly
http://www.villageoflisle.org/home/index.asp?page=386
Lisle925 Burlington AvenueSaturday8 - 105/04/1310/26/13
Logan Square/Weekly
Chicago, IL3107 W. Logan Blvd
Sunday10 - 305/19/1310/27/13
Logan Square Night Market/WeeklyChicago, ILPalmer Square ParkWednesday5 - 906/26/1309/04/13
Loyola University Farmer's Market/WeeklyChicago, ILSouthwest Corner of Albion and Sheridan RoadsMonday3 - 706/10/1310/14/13
Macomb Farmers Market - Thursdays/WeeklyMacomb, ILCourthouse SquareThursday7 - 105/16/1310/17/13
Macomb Farmers Market - Saturdays/WeeklyMacomb, ILCourthouse SquareSaturday7 - 105/18/1310/19
Main Street Farmer's Market Downtown Aledo/WeeklyAledo, ILS. College Ave. (Downtown Aledo)Thursday4 - 606/13/1310/10/13
Main Street Farmer's Market of Olney/WeeklyOlney, IL202 E Main StreetSaturday7-11
Marengo Friday Farmers Market/Weekly
Marengo, ILWashington and Ann Streets
Friday12 - 6
McHenry Farmers Market/WeeklyMcHenry, IL3400 PearlThursday4 - 73001/05/1306/06/13
Midtown Farmers Market/Weekly
Rockford, IL1132 2ND AVE
Friday3 - 7
Miller Beach Farmer's Market/First & Third SundaysGary, IN215 N. Grand Blvd.
Sunday10 - 306/05/1310/29/13
Mokena French Market/Weekly
http://www.mokena.org/index.aspx?nid=57
Mokena, ILFront Street Metra Lot (Front Street & Wolf Road)

Saturday8 - 105/18/1310/26/13
Morton Grove Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://mgfarmersmarket.com/
Morton Grove, ILWaukegan and GreenwoodSaturday8 - 106/08/1310/19/13
Mount Prospect Lions Club Farmers' Market/WeeklyMount Prospect, IL13 E. Northwest Hwy.Sunday8 - 106/09/1310/20/13
Mundelein Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.mundelein.org/farmers_market
Mundelein, ILPark and Seymour Friday3 - 706/07/1310/25/13
Murphysboro Farmer's Market/WeeklyMurphysboro, IL1101 Walnut Street (City parking lot at 11th & Chestnut St.)Wednesday12 - 605/01/1311/01/13
Museum of Contemporary Art/Streeterville/Weekly
Chicago, ILChicago & Mies van der Rohe Way (On MCA Plaza)
Tuesday7 - 306/04/1310/29/13
Naperville Farmer's Market/WeeklyNaperville, ILFifth Avenue Station parking lotSaturday7 - 1206/01/1310/26/2013
Nettelhorst French MarketChicago, ILBroadway and Melrose AvenueSaturday8 - 204/27/1311/02/13
New Lenox /WeeklyNew Lenox, IL1 Veterans Pky
Saturday9 - 105/11/1310/13/13
Northbrook Farmer's Market/WeeklyNorthbrook, ILMeadow and CherryWednesday7 - 106/19/1310/09/13
Northcenter/WeeklyChicago, ILBelle Plaine/Damen/Lincoln
Saturday7 - 106/15/1310/26/13
Northfield Farmers' Market/Weekly
http://www.northfieldchamber.org/
Northfield, IL6 Happ RoadSaturday730 - 123005/25/1310/26/13
Oak Park/Weekly
http://www.oak-park.us/farmersmarket/
Oak Park, IL460 LakeSaturday7 - 105/18/1310/26/13
Old Dundee Farmers' Market/ Weekly
http://www.dundeedepot.com/
East Dundee, IL319 N. River Street
Saturday8 - 20511/1310/26/13
Old Capitol Farmers Market - Wednesday/Weekly
http://www.downtownspringfield.org/market.htm
Springfield, IL500 E. AdamsWednesday8 - 1230
Old Capitol Farmers Market - Saturday/Weekly
http://www.downtownspringfield.org/market.htm
Springfield, IL500 E. AdamsSaturday8 - 1230
Olde Schaumburg Centre Farmers Market/Weekly

Schaumburg, IL190 S. RoselleFriday7 - 106/14/1310/25/13
Oneida Farmer's Market/WeeklyOneida, IL221 US-34 (Across from DT Sales)Thursday3 - 607/05/1309/27/13
Orangeville Farmer's Market/WeeklyOrangeville, ILEwing St @ W. High Road (Richland Creek Trailhead)Saturday8 - 1207/06/1310/12/13
Oswego Country Market/WeeklyOswego, IL15 North Main StreetSunday9 - 106/02/1309/29/13
Palatine Farmer's Market
http://www.palatine.il.us/departments/village_clerk/market.aspx
Palatine, IL137 W. Wood St. Saturday7 - 106/04/1310/26/13
Palos Heights Farmers Market/WeeklyPalos Heights, IL12217 S. HarlemWednesday7 - 105/08/1310/30/13
Park Forest/Weekly
Park Forest, IL271 Lakewood
Saturday7 - 1205/04/1310/26/13
Park Ridge Farmers' Market/Weekly
http://www.parkridge.us/farmers_market/
Park Ridge, IL15 Prairie AveSaturday7 - 105/25/1310/26/13
Peoria RiverFront Market/WeeklyPeoria, IL330 SW Water Street (Liberty Park)Saturday8 - 1206/01/1309/28/13
Pilsen Community Market/Weekly
Chicago, IL1800 S. Halsted
Sunday9 - 306/26/1310/27/13
Portage Park Farmers Market/Weekly
Chicago, IL4100 N. LongSunday10 - 206/02/1310/06/13
Printers Row/WeeklyChicago, ILDearborn & Polk (Printers Row Park)
Saturday7 - 106/15/1310/26/13
Prudential Plaza/WeeklyChicago, IL130 E. Randolph St.Wednesday10 - 206/05/1309/25/13
Pullman/Weekly
Chicago, IL111th & Cottage Grove (In Arcade Park)
Wednesday7 - 1207/10/1310/30/13
Quincy Farmer's Market - Tuesday/WeeklyQuincy, IL128 N. 5th (Washington Park)Tuesday7 - 105/14/1310/29/13
Quincy Farmer's Market - Saturday/WeeklyQuincy, IL128 N. 5th (Washington Park)Saturday7-105/18/1310/26/13
Ravinia Farmers Market/Weekly
Highland Park, IL678 Judson Avenue
Wednesday7 - 1
Richmond Farmers Market/WeeklyRichmond, IL11011 US-12Sunday10 - 304/20/1311/03/13
Riverside Farmer's Market/WeeklyRiverside, IL1 Burling RoadWednesday2:30 - 706/05/1310/02/2013
Rockford City Market/WeeklyRockford, ILWater Street between State and Jefferson StreetsFriday3 - 806/05/1310/25/13
Saturday Produce Market/WeeklyDecatur, ILOne College Park (Richmond Community College)Saturday8 - 1205/11/1310/12/13
Schererville Farmer's Market Beer/Wine GardenSchererville, INRedar ParkThursday3 - 8 05/16/1309/26/13
Seaway Bank Farmers Market /Weekly
Chicago, IL645 E. 87th Street
Wednesday9 - 206/24/1309/25/13
Skokie Farmer's Market/Weekly
http://www.skokie.org/FarmersMarket.cfm
Skokie, IL5127 Oakton Street
Sunday730 - 124506/16/1310/27/13
Skokie French Market/WeeklySkokie, ILOld Orchard MallThursday10 - 205/16/1309/26/13
South Shore/Weekly
Chicago, ILRainbow Beach Park, 3177 E. 77th StSunday1 - 506/23/1308/25/13
Southport Market/WeeklyChicago, IL1420 W. Grace
Saturday8 - 206/22/1310/05/13
Sugar Grove French Market/WeeklySugar Grove, IL10 S. Municipal DriveSaturday8 - 1206/01/1309/28/13
Summit Park District Farmer's Market/WeeklySummit, IL5700 S. Archer Rd Wednesday2 - 706/12/1310/16/13
Swansea Farmer's Market/WeeklySwansea, IL2801 N. IllinoisThursday2-605/02/1310/31/13
Tinley Park Farmers Market/Weekly
Tinley Park, IL17116 S. Oak Park, AveSaturday7 - 1206/01/1310/12/13
Trinity 7th Street Moline Farmer's Market/WeeklyMoline, IL500 John Deere RoadSaturday8 - 1205/04/1310/26/13
Twin City Farmer's Market/WeeklySterling, IL106 Avenue ASaturday8 - 1201/05/1312/28/13
Uptown Farmers Market at Weiss/Weekly
Chicago, IL4646 N. Marine Dr.
Thursday730 - 123005/02/1310/31/13
Uptown Normal Trailside Farmer's Market/WeeklyNormal, IL100 E. BeaufortTuesday3:30 - 606/04/1309/17/13
Urbana, Market on the Square/Weekly
http://urbanaillinois.us/market
Urbana, ILCorner of Illinois & Vine Streets Saturday7 - 1205/04/1311/02/13
Villa Park French Market /WeeklyVilla Park, ILOn Park Boulevard, West side of Ardmore Avenue
Sunday8 - 105/05/1310/27/13
Warrenville Farmer's Market/ Weekly
Warrenville, IL3S200 Route 59
Wednesday3 - 706/05/1308/28/13
Washington Park/WeeklyChicago, IL555 E. 51st StWednesday9 - 107/10/1310/02/13
Watseka Farmer's Market/WeeklyWatseka, IL120 E. Walnut
First Trust & Savings Bank parking lot
Saturday7 - 1206/01/1309/28/13
Waukegan Farmers Market/WeeklyWaukeganGrand Ave and West St
Wednesday12 - 5
West Allis Farmer's Market - Saturday/Weekly
West Allis, WI6501 W. National Ave
Saturday1 - 605/04/1311/23/13
West Allis Farmer's Market - Tuesday/Weekly
West Allis, WI6501 W. National Ave
Tuesday12 - 605/07/1311/19/13
West Allis Farmer's Market - Thursday/Weekly
http://www.ci.west-allis.wi.us/health/health_farmers_market.htm
West Allis, WI6501 W. National Ave
Thursday12 - 605/09/1311/19/13
West Humboldt Park Farmers Market & Bazaar
Chicago, IL3601 W. ChicagoSaturday10 - 206/29/1310/26/13
Western Springs French Market/WeeklyWestern Springs, ILHillgrove Avenue between Lawn & Grand Ave.Thursday2 - 7 05/02/1310/24/13
Wheaton French Market/WeeklyWheaton, ILMain Street and Liberty DriveSaturday8 - 204/20/1312/21/13
Wicker Park & Bucktown/Weekly
Chicago, ILWicker Park & Damen (In Wicker Park)
Sunday8 - 206/02/1310/27/13
Willis Tower Plaza/WeeklyChicago, IL233 S. Wacker Dr.
Thursday7 - 306/27/1310/31/13
Wilmette French Market/WeeklyWilmette, ILMetra Parking Lot-Green Bay and CentralSaturday8 - 1 04/27/1311/02/13
Wood Street Farm Stand: A Growing Home market/WeeklyChicago, IL5814 S. Wood St.Wednesday11 - 405/08/1310/20/13
Woodstock - Tuesday/Weekly
http://www.woodstockfarmersmarket.org/
Woodstock, ILWoodstock Town Square
100 Johnson Street
Tuesday8 - 105/07/1310/29/13
Woodstock - Saturday/Weekly
http://www.woodstockfarmersmarket.org/
Woodstock, ILWoodstock Town Square
100 Johnson Street
Saturday8 - 105/04/1310/26/13
Yorktown Mall Farmers Market
Lombard, IL203 Yorktown Rd
Wednesday3 - 7

One Comment



The Local Calendar 5/8/13 Asparagus Appears, More To Come/61st St. Mkt Opens This Weekend

By
Posted: May 8, 2013 at 5:22 am

AsparagusGCM13GreenonionsGCM13Spring onionsGCM13

When I saw that asparagus was on the tables at the opening of the Green City Market last Saturday, I had to buy it. Asparagus is such a sure sign that the spring harvest has started, which means that the summer abundance of local vegetables is not far away. It was not until took I nibbled on a piece I had sauteed for a salad and tasted that fresh-from-the-ground, earthy, green flavor, that I remembered how much I love locally-grown asparagus. There was a time that I wondered what that smell was? Yes, I was born with THAT GENE. All I know is, Asparagus, I am happy that it is your time to shine at the markets!

Wondering what is in season? Chief Beet Rob Gardner elaborates on it and gives his advice on how to shop at a farmers market. Food Day Chicago (Oct. 24) is celebrating the onion and the many benefits of the allium family for the month of May on their facebook page (“like” it while you are there, check it out for some health tidbits, recipes, onion trivia and some beautiful pics from some friends of the Beet!).

Our friend Dave Nells of Sharpening By Dave is at the Green City Market and other locations throughout Chicagoland. If you want to eat local, you need to have sharp knives to prepare the produce!!  Let Dave know that you read about him in the Local Beet and you will get one dollar off each knife sharpened!!!

Farm dinners are starting earlier this year, Mint Creek FarmPrairie Fruit Farms and Slagel Family Farms, all their dinners book up pretty quickly so time to get a-scheduling! We have all the details and dates. More seem to crop up as we get closer to summer so we will keep you posted.

We try to keep up on events but miss some, some sites to check out for further detail on sustainable food/urban ag are the Illinois Stewardship Alliance (get their policy updates here) out of Springfield and the Advocates for Urban Agriculture here in Chicago that has its spring gathering, Sharing the Harvest going on tonight.  WeFarmAmerica has tons of weekly events.  The Peterson Garden Project (Annual Plant Sale & Bake Sale 5/10-5/12) has lots of information for the urban gardener.

Now on to the busy week ahead including the opening of the 61st Street Farmers Market which gets bigger and better every year!!

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

These stores specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Watch this fantastic video about GMOs, sourcing local and see what you are missing if you don’t shop at the GG.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave. 4/24 Cheese and Wine Pairing Class in the Barrel Room at City Winery, details here.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Standard Market – 333 East Ogden Ave., Westmont Be sure to say hi to Rockstar Butcher Joe Parajecki!!!

THIS  WEEK’S CALENDAR AND BEYOND  IN LOCAL FOOD:

Food The Nature of Eating Exhibit continues at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Skokie- Seedling Sales Start – Howard Street Farm – 10am – 2pm 3701 Howard St. (April 20th – June 1st)  Cool Weather seedlings: spinach, swiss chard, peas, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, seed potatoes Warm Weather seedlings: (beginning May 11th)tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, melon, basil, and cilantro Associate Beet Editor Wendy Aeschlimann elaborates on it.

May 8

Chicago – Wednesdays at Wood Street – The opening of the Growing Home Wood Street Farm Stand 11am – 4pm 5814 S. Wood St.

Chicago - Green City Market Lincoln Park Location 7am – 1pm Chef demonstration Justin Hall Fig Catering

Chicago – Wine Wednesdays at Province – Seasonal farm to table 5 course tasting menu with pairings $49 159 North Jefferson A Gold level LEED certified restaurant with 3 stars from the Green Restaurant Association.

May 9

Chicago – Uptown Market Uptown Farmers’ Market is year round. Every Thursday from 7-1 inside Weiss Memorial Hospital or in the parking lot during the warmer months. 4646 N Marine Drive This is an appropriate day to stock up on Spark of the Heart Soups

Hyde Park - C & D Family Farm delivers 7-11am Harold Washington Park

Lincoln Square – C & D Family Farm delivers 4-7pm Lincoln & Leland

May 10,11,12

Chicago - Peterson Garden Project Plant Sale & Bake Sale Fundraiser - 10am – 4pm  Peterson Garden Project Learning Center 4642 N. Francisco Items for sale will include herb and vegetable seedlings, basic gardening supplies, seeds and tasty baked goods from renowned Chicago pastry chefs. There is no cost for admission, and all proceeds benefit Peterson Garden Project learning programs. Peterson Garden Project is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

May 11

Chicago Opening Day of the 61st Farmers Market -  9am – 2pm During the outdoor season, which lasts through the end of October, the Market is located on 61st Street between Dorchester and Blackstone Avenues. The 61st Street Farmers Market accepts LINK and Senior Farmers Market Coupons. They also match LINK purchases up to $25 per cardholder, per market day, as long as funding lasts. This means that LINK cardholders can double the value of their LINK purchases each week at the Market. This year, the Market will also be accepting DEBIT AND CREDIT, for those of you who are always short on cash!

Chicago- Empty Bottle Farmers Market - The Empty Bottle 12-5pm 1035 N. Western Ave. Just in time for Mother’s Day! Buy mom a locally-sourced food gifts from our vendors, including coffee, tea, chocolates, pastries, sauces, soup, and more!

Chicago - Bee Keeping Class Chicago Honey Coop Christy Webber Landscapes 10am – 3pm

Chicago - Green City Market Lincoln Park 7am – 1pm 10:30am Chef demonstration Paul Feihrenbach Big Jones

Chicago – Iron Street Farm Stand – 9am – 3pm 3333 S. Iron St.

Elgin - Winter Market at Habitat for Humanity ReStore Elgin - 800 North State St. 9am – 3pm (thru May) Their mantra is “Keepin It Local1″ As such, their intention has always been to supply the local community with local products.

Evanston - Downtown Evanston Farmers Market - This market will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every Saturday from May 4 through November 2. Location: Intersection of University Place and Oak Ave. (behind Hilton Garden Inn, east of East Railroad Ave.) In 2013, the market will celebrate its 38th year.

La Fox – Heritage Prairie Saturday Farmer’s Market  9am – 1pm 2N308 Brundige Road

Morton Grove - Morton Grove Spring Market  Saturdays, 8 am – 12 noon 6210 Dempster St  The summer markets will run every Saturday from 6/8/2013  – 10/19/2013

FD!! Stelle- Mother’s Day Eve and Farm Tour - Mint Creek Farm BYOB $60 3pm Meet-up at The Greenhouse Bed & Breakfast 3606 N. 1700 E. Rd. For more information contact Julie at Jlarsen@mintcreekfarm.com

Woodstock - Woodstock Farmers Market Outdoors 9am -12pm

May 12

Happy Mother’s Day!

Chicago - Chicago Food Swap - 3pm Host: The Scrumptious Pantry 3230 W. Fullerton Ave. in ChicagoRegistration: http://maychifoodswap.eventbrite.com/ Please email chicagofoodswap at gmail.com if you’d like more information or become a fan on Facebook.

Chicago - DOSE Market River East Arts Center

SAVE THE DATE

May 15

Chicago –  AUA Spring Gathering: Sharing the Harvest 5-8PM Garfield Park Conservatory – Jensen Room 300 N Central Park Ave FREE This season’s quarterly gathering will be another great opportunity to connect with and learn from urban agriculture practitioners and supporters from across the Chicago area.  As usual, there will be a potluck/mix & mingle at the beginning of the evening, followed by a community slideshow during which you’ll be able to showcase your urban garden or farm project (please send 1-2 photos to me by 8AM on 5/14).

May 16-26

Chicago – 10 day celebration Chicago Craft Beer Week

May 16

Chicago - Opening Day of the Daley Center Farmers Market - Market will run May 16th through October 31.

Chicago – A Chef’s Playground - Terzo Piano – At the Art Institute A fundraiser for the Academy for Global Citizenship 6-9pm Purchase tickets here $225

May 17

Food Revolution Day 

Chicago - Half Acre Brewery Anniversary Party - Hee hee!! Stay tuned!

Chicago –  Unicornucopia: Big Fork, CO-OP Sauce, & Pipeworks Brewing Co. Collaboration Party 7 – 9 PM Star Lounge  2521 W. Chicago Ave. Why: To celebrate Craft Beer Week in Chicago, 4 micro companies (Big Fork Brands, Star Lounge, CO-OP Sauce, & Pipeworks Brewing Co.) and 2 chefs are combining forces to bring you one amazing night of food & beer.  What: 4 courses with 4 beer pairings

May 18

FD!! Champaign - Celebrate Spring! Prairie Fruit Farms 4pm 4410 North Lincoln Ave. This is their first dinner of the 2013 season.  Expect an explosion of spring flavors such as Caveny Farm Katadin lamb, ramps (wild leeks), spring greens, sweet turnips, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. Purchase tickets here.  $92

Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm First Farm Dinner of the Season! Transportation included from Chicago to the farm and back. $125 BYOB The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Nicole Pederson of Found Kitchen and Guest Chef John Asbaty of Panozzo’s. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided and of course includes a tour of the farm, butchering class on sustainable meat practices and lots of food!!

***** Oak Park - Opening Day of the Oak Park Farmers Market - The market will run every Saturday through 10/26/13 7am – 1pm Pilgrim Church, right next door to where the market is held, offers fresh warm donuts, juice and coffee, with live bluegrass music nearby. The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is located at 460 Lake St., just one block west of Ridgeland Avenue.

May 19

Chicago - Opening Day of the Logan Square Outdoor Market

May 20

Chicago - Big Jones Trash Fish Dinner(Grubstreet Chicago) –  Paul Fehribach of Big Jones is joining with Chefs CollaborativeFortune Fish and Gourmet and nine other chefs to put on a dinner showing how these trash fish— from smelt to dogfish to speckled trout— can be used in a sustainable, tasty meal. Tickets $125

May 22

Chicago - International Biodiversity Day at The Field Museum – Join The Field Museum, Peterson Garden Project, Seed Savers Exchange and Jewell Events Catering for an event celebrating seed diversity! The highlight of the evening will be a lecture on FOOD ORIGINS by the renown photographer and seed saving advocate David Cavagnaro. FOOD ORIGINS: Travel the globe through the lens of David Cavagnaro’s camera. Learn about the geographic origins of our favorite fruit and vegetable varieties and the diaspora that is responsible for the diversity we have today. 5:00 Tours of the Edible Treasures Garden on the west side of the Field Museum 5:30 – 6:30 - Registration - Reception in the West Lobby of the Field Museum with food provided by Jewell Events Catering that is inspired by the 2013 plantings of the Edible Treasures Garden- Meet-and-greet Seed Savers Exchange representatives and other local seed saving organizations 6:30 – 8:00 David Cavagnaro lecture in the historic A. Montgomery Ward Theatre Cost: $10

May 25

FD!! Champaign, Il - Prairie Fruit Farms  – Sunday Dinner Club “For their Love of Chicken“ The Sunday Dinner Club Crew is back, and they will be frying up lots of local fried chicken at the farm!  Josh and Christine are joining us early this season, because they are getting ready to open a new restaurant in Chicago, come get a sneak peak of foods from their new venture, “Honey Butter Fried Chicken” $70

May 28

Chicago – The Stew Supper Club presents Super Dragon Slayer Spicy Supper  -7-10pm Sauce and Bread Kitchen 6338 N Clark St “Imagine if you will, a meal built for May where dragons will not triumph.  Think middle evil banquet with spicy goodness tempered only with what we describe as a steely samurai’s touch.  Eat much May with us then……”- The Stew

June 1

Champaign, Il -  Prairie Fruit Farms - Virant’s Can Can - 4pm What better way to celebrate the beginning of summer than with some fantastic preserves and incredible food! All of this will be brought to you by Paul Virant! A seasoned veteran in the wide world of preserving, pickling, and canning, Paul follows his Perennial Virant philosophy to a tee – “eat what you can – can what you can’t.” $107

June 8

Chicago/Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm Tour & Dinner Event with The Publican! 2:30pm  The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Brian Huston of The Publican. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided. Bus transportation from Chicago will be provided, when purchasing your ticket please select if you would like that option. The Bus will pick everyone up at 837 W Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 at 12:00 noon on June 8th. Children are welcome as long as they have parent supervision. $125June 13

Chicago –   Eli’s Cheesecake & Wright College Farmer’s Market Grand Opening Fresh fruits and vegetables from Nichol’s Farm and the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, hand crafts,flowers & more Continental Breakfast Lunch on the grill will be offered each Thursdaybased on what’s in season!

June 9

Chicago -

No Kid Hungry No Dessert Left BehindLittle Goat 820 West Randolph 2nd floor Come support Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign . There will be patio seating and full bar along with baked goods from Chicago’s finest pastry talent. A portion of all drink sales will go directly to the charity as well.

June 15

Chicago - Mash Tun Festival - The festival is a celebration of the release of Mash Tun: A Craft Beer Journal issue #3. The Mash Tun is a publication put out by your buddies at Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar and The Public Media Institute, a non profit arts and culture organization based in Bridgeport.

FD!! Champaign, IL -  Prairie Fruit Farms  City Pub in the Country 4pm Bar Pastoral is a new cheese and wine bistro adjacent to the original Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine Shop in Chicago. Chef Chrissy will be showcasing her love of cheese, charcuterie, pickles, and other local ingredients. $107

June 29

Champaign, Il – -  Prairie Fruit Farms Summer Vegetarian 4pm Thad Morrow, chef/owner of Bacaro, Champaign is back for another season. He will be making the trek from Bacaro, in downtown Champaign, across town and out into the country! His SUV will be packed with lots of early summer vegetables. $107

July 18

Chicago – The Locavore’s Real Taste of Chicago - The Green City Market BBQ Tickets on sale now!

 


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The Chef at the Market Still Loves Asparagus

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Posted: May 6, 2013 at 7:21 am

Editor’s Note: It was a real pleasure that last weekend’s blossoming of farmer’s markets coincided with the blossoming of our local asparagus crop.  And with the use of real asparagus, we have the excuse to use our real chef contributor, Patrick Sheerin.  When the Beet first launched, Pat was executive Chef at The Signature Room, and he contributed this article on his love for markets and his love for asparagus.  More recently, with his brother, Michael, he opened the acclaimed Trencherman, where he continues to exercise his passion for seasonal food and high quality ingredients.   Things have gotten a little more complicated in Pat’s kitchen these days, but this classic asparagus recipe remains a favorite.  Please share with us tales of “your asparagus.”

When you hear the restaurant name “The Signature Room at the 95th“, most people in the food business think about the phrase “tourist trap.” And it is no joke; we get a lot of tourists from around the block to across the globe. It is unlikely that the phrase “one of the largest restaurant buyers at the Green City Market” comes to mind. The reality is that you will find more locally grown fruits and vegetables in my ninety-five story kitchen than you will tourists in the dining room. After our first introduction, courtesy of my good friend Paul Virant at Vie RestaurantRob Gardner from The Local Beet inquired about how it is possible for us to plan and buy so much local produce.

As a chef, I have had the pleasure of a few incredible work experiences in Chicago. Call it the luck of the Irish, if you will, but I was a prep cook in kitchens that sourced local produce in the 1990’s – years before this practice was on the industry radar. Fortunately our local farmers grow great vegetables in conjunction with the all mighty and benevolent Mother Earth, a practice which has enabled them to sell a superior product. The Chef’s who source local will all agree that this produce looks better, tastes better and is often more affordable.

Now I have always been the type of guy who enjoys a visit to the outdoor market. Every week I would walk through the farmers market in Federal Plaza and pick up interesting stuff both for the sake of learning and cooking in my kitchen at home (I am a Printer’s Row resident). The items made with fresh, local ingredients tasted better than anything from a grocery; the carrots crunchier, the radishes more flavorful. So when I inherited my kitchen in the clouds six years ago, we immediately began to purchase directly from the farmers at the markets in the area. My goal was to provide a superior product to our diner. Regardless of whether or not they were having a side of whipped potatoes or a plate of mixed greens, it should be the best vegetable they had ever eaten. In my journey through the market that first season as banquet chef, I discovered that Green Acres Farm grew an incredible golden zucchini. The first ratatouille I made with that zucchini was phenomenal; the color popped a brilliant gold and was so dense and meaty that Anton Ego would have drooled over it. While everyone loved that ratatouille they didn’t see it again for a long time because Bruce Sherman at North Pond would buy every last zucchini from Green Acres hours before I could make it to the market each week.

Since I knew that I would never wake up earlier than Bruce, I had to call in reinforcements. Over the next few seasons I carpooled with Paul Virant, met as many farmers as humanly possible and earned some street credit at the market. Eventually, after we purchased produce for a few seasons to supplement the core menu and create monthly specials, the farmers and growers began to remember my face. I was welcomed each week by the voices of enthusiastic merchants looking to sell me the “best eggplant” and the “juciest apple.” On the day that I had to hail two cabs to transport my fruits and vegetables back to the Hancock building, I knew that I had made my mark.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank Paul Virant for the countless times he drove me back to work with my fresh market items (imagine two grown men in a RAV4 sandwiched between crates of squash and flats of fresh berries, and you will see why it is so important to show my gratitude). In the summer of 2007 I was promoted to Executive Chef of The Signature Room and immediately began contracting directly with the growers for more and more items. It was logistically smarter to quit hailing cabs twice a week and establish a regular delivery system. We presently purchase 100,000 pounds of fresh produce, meats and cheese from local farmers in a five state area.

And just in case you were wondering, I have earned some growing power with Green Acres for that highly coveted golden zucchini. In fact, when the summer squash are abundant in the market stalls, be on the lookout for Chef Pat’s Golden Eight Ball Zucchini grown only by Green Acres farms and bred especially for stuffing in a cheesy, 80’s kind of way. That right readers – with a little bit of dedication and 30,000 pounds of produce purchased annually, you too can have a squash named after you.

 

 

 

Grilled Michigan Asparagus (with asparagus bread and truffled egg salad)
The Signature Room at the 95th
John Hancock Center
Executive Chef Patrick Sheerin

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, thinly sliced
20 spears asparagus, washed, peeled, stems removed

Ingredients for Asparagus Bread:
* Please allow 24-hours to prepare
¾ cup shredded asparagus bodies, cut off tips and discard
¼ cup spinach, wilted, sautéed
1 whole egg
1 Tbsp honey
½ cup canola oil
1 cup flour
1/16 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Method for Asparagus Bread:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place asparagus, wilted spinach, egg and honey in a blender. Puree until smooth, slowly add canola oil into the mix. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and pour into a shallow greased and floured brownie pan. Bake approximately 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature, slice thin and let dry out in an oven with a pilot light overnight.

Ingredients for Truffled Egg Salad:
3 whole hard boiled farm eggs, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp cup minced truffles
touch of black truffle oil
chives
salt and pepper

Method for Truffle Egg Salad:
Combine all ingredients and reserve for service

Ingredients for Truffle Vinaigrette:
5 whole shallots, roasted-soft
½ cup sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp black truffle peelings
4 oz black truffle juice
1 whole Portobello mushroom-gills from the underside only
1/16th tsp Zanthan gum (find at whole foods)
1 cup canola oil
¼ cup black truffle oil

Method for Truffle Vinaigrette:
Combine the shallots, sherry, truffle peelings, truffle juice and gills in a blender. Add the zanthan gum and drizzle in the canola and truffle oils to emulsify. The mixture should pour like a sauce.

Method for Service:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the 20 asparagus spears in the oven. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and warm for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 degrees and place the bacon slices in the oven until dry and crispy.

Plating:
Spread egg salad on the bottom of the plate, place the bundle of asparagus on top and garnish with crispy bacon and asparagus bread crumbles.


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What’s In Season Now Tastes Like Spring

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Posted: May 3, 2013 at 11:48 am

Green Garlic from Vera Videnovich/Videnovich Farms Courtesy of Green Grocer Chicago

 

Maybe it’s me, but my idea of what Spring tastes like and what it actually tastes like is widely off.  Tiny plants, emergence of green, the (infrequent) return of sun and warmth; my imagination tells me that Spring should taste delicate, mild, sweet.  What I know from years of eating local is that Spring tastes much different.  The Spring season, especially the earlier parts of the Spring season, taste unlike what I expect.  There is a definate meme to the season, and it is sharp, vegetal, often bitter and set to jolt your palate not gently awaken.

The truest sign of seasonal eating is not scoring asparagus and peas from covert sources; it is using various young onions in your cooking.  A good locavore should be running out of storage onions by now.  In their place, he or she cooks with scallions and immature onions.  Instead of the mellow sweetness cooked onions give dishes; scallions stand un-bowed.  They lend that sharp flavor of Spring to all they touch.

This is also the time of year of green garlic.  Again, we should be running low on stored, dry garlic.  We can use green, fresh garlic for flavoring as we would old garlic, but green garlic much more lends itself as an element to a dish.  Green garlic is a vegetable as much as a seasoning.  Again, those wonderfully pungent green garlic dishes taste of the season.

Or take sorrel, who’s small season may even be over.  It looks not too different from spinach, but you bite it and you get a sour burst pretty much exactly as if you bit into a lemon.  That’s what Spring tastes like.

What else you’ll find, early greens, wild items, lean bitter.  Likewise, the Spring crops of carrots, beets, and turnips tend to be more earthy and less sweet than their fall (and storage) versions.

Enjoy the taste of Spring!

Season Extension and Other Indoor Crops

Much of what’s around now comes from the hoops.  These include radishesswiss chardarugulalettucesspinachturnipsbok choycollard greens, and napa cabbage.  There may also be cold hearty herbs like cilantro and lovage.

We Can Still Enjoy Last Year

We think you may still see some nice stored crops including carrotspotatoes, radishes, and onions.

Foraged and Field

Do we report these things just for reference.  Will you actually taste ramps, various cresses, garlic mustarddandelion greensfiddle-head fernssorrel, or morel mushrooms.

Who will have the first LOCAL asparagus?

 

 

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

Your ability to purchase what’s in season is finally expanding.  Jeannie, in the Local Calendar is keeping you ascribed on key markets, and we’ll have our fuller 2013 Market Locator up soon.  There’s still plenty of time to find a CSA box too.  See our big list to find a CSA for you.  Our friends at Fresh Picks have a good and growing inventory of local food, or you can try one of these stores that specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Check out their produce share January 9th through May 4th. You can still subscribe even though the share has started already.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Standard Market – 333 East Ogden Ave., Westmont


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Local Calendar 5/1/13 Green City Outdoor Downtown Evanston Markets Open Saturday

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Posted: May 1, 2013 at 8:47 am

Get ready for plenty of green on the tables at the outdoor markets! Green City Market opens this Saturday at their spring/summer location, on the southern end of Lincoln Park across from the Hotel Lincoln. The Downtown Evanston Market opens as well. Due to the cold weather, the spring produce will arrive later than last year on the farmers’ tables. Soon though, spring onions, green garlic and asparagus will be plentiful. Wondering what is in season? Chief Beet Rob Gardner elaborates on it and gives his advice on how to shop at a farmers market. Food Day Chicago (Oct. 24) is celebrating the onion and its many benefits for the month of May on their facebook page (“like” it while you are there), check it for some health tidbits, recipes and onion trivia.

Cosmo Goss of The Publican was the winner of Cochon 555 on Sunday and had a bountiful display of their charcuterie. Fellow Beet Matt Kirouac details all the porky fun! Goss used a Hampshire Hog from Faith’s Farm in Bonview, IL and thank you Faith for the REAL bacon lip balm that I found in my bag the next day!! Cochon was a celebration of heritage animals and the chefs went out all in displaying their enthusiasm for the event including Ryan Poli of Tavernita and Little Market Brasserie who dressed like the Pork Avenger!

This past weekend was truly a trifecta of artisanal events, Whisky Fest, the Pastoral Farmstead Cheese Artisan Fest and then Cochon 555. Now it is time to get ready for the outdoors!!!

Our friend Dave Nells of Sharpening By Dave is at the Green City Market and other locations throughout Chicagoland. His schedule is here. If you want to eat local, you need to have sharp knives to prepare all the produce!!  Let Dave know that you read about him in the Local Beet and you will get one dollar off each knife sharpened!!!

Farm dinners are starting earlier this year.  We have listed dinners with some of the leading sustainable farmers in the area, Mint Creek FarmPrairie Fruit Farms and Slagel Family Farms. The dinners book up pretty quickly so time to get a-scheduling! We have all the details and dates. If you would like to add a farm dinner to our calendar, leave the info in the comments below!

We try to keep up on events but miss some, some sites to check out for further detail on sustainable food/urban ag are the Illinois Stewardship Alliance (get their policy updates here) out of Springfield and the Advocates for Urban Agriculture here in Chicago as well as WeFarmAmerica which has tons of weekly events.  The Peterson Garden Project (Annual Plant Sale & Bake Sale 5/10-5/12) has lots of information for the urban gardener.  Now on to the busy week ahead!!!

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

These stores specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Watch this fantastic video about GMOs, sourcing local and see what you are missing if you don’t shop at the GG.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave. 4/24 Cheese and Wine Pairing Class in the Barrel Room at City Winery, details here.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Standard Market – 333 East Ogden Ave., Westmont Be sure to say hi to Rockstar Butcher Joe Parajecki!!!

 

THIS  WEEK’S CALENDAR AND BEYOND  IN LOCAL FOOD:

Food The Nature of Eating Exhibit continues at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

The Food Revolution Summit Broadcasting 4/27 – 5/5 Go to link to hear broadcasts

Skokie- Seedling Sales Start – Howard Street Farm – 10am – 2pm 3701 Howard St. (April 20th – June 1st)  Cool Weather seedlings: spinach, swiss chard, peas, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, seed potatoes Warm Weather seedlings: (beginning May 11th)tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, melon, basil, and cilantro Associate Beet Editor Wendy Aeschlimann elaborates on it.

May 1

Andersonville - C & D Family Farms delivers 4-7pm Ashland at Berywn

Chicago - Inaugural “Friends of the Illinois Local Food Farms Jobs Council” planning meeting Wed. May 1 3:00-4:30pm  Bilandic Building; Room N505, 5th floor; 160 N. LaSalle St. will initiate a metro Chicago dialogue about creating a comprehensive legislative initiative to accelerate the growth of local food economies statewide.

Chicago – Wine Wednesdays at Province – Seasonal farm to table 5 course tasting menu with pairings $49 159 North Jefferson A Gold level LEED certified restaurant with 3 stars from the Green Restaurant Association.

May 2

Chicago – Uptown Market Uptown Farmers’ Market is year round. Every Thursday from 7-1 inside Weiss Memorial Hospital or in the parking lot during the warmer months. 4646 N Marine Drive This is an appropriate day to stock up on Spark of the Heart Soups

Chicago – The Fourth Annual Little City Food Frenzy Kendall College 6-9pm All proceeds benefit Little City’s ChildBridge Center for Children & Families, providing specialized adoption and home-based services for individuals with disabilities.

Hyde Park - C & D Family Farm delivers 7-11am Harold Washington Park

Lincoln Square – C & D Family Farm delivers 4-7pm Lincoln & Leland

May 3

Chicago - The Chicago Reader’s Key Ingredient Cook-Off  - Join Chicago’s most celebrated chefs for an evening of exemplary and unusual culinary concoctions at their first annual Key Ingredient Cook-Off. Inspired by the Reader‘s James Beard Award-winning series, the Key Ingredient Cook-Off will see 26 chefs (from the likes of BalenaBlackbirdEl IdeasSproutNellcoteTrenchermen, and more) go head-to-head using one of five ingredients—all originally chosen by chefs participating in their Key Ingredient series.  7-10 PM | Bridgeport Art Center | $65-$100

May 4

**** Chicago - Opening Day of the Green City Market in it’s outdoor location – Lincoln Park 7am – 1pm 9:30am Jeanne Pinsoff Nolan of The Edible Gardens gives Container Gardening Tips!! 10:30am Chef demonstration Shelley Young of The Chopping Block and 11:30am Andrew Hroza Goose Island Clybourn

Chicago - Bull Breakdown Class & Tasting 10am – 1pm Red Meat Market 10am – 1pm Cut, Cook & Carry Toro, Toro, Toro hosted by Centered Chef Studios.

Elgin - Winter Market at Habitat for Humanity ReStore Elgin - 800 North State St. 9am – 3pm (thru May) Their mantra is “Keepin It Local1″ As such, their intention has always been to supply the local community with local products and crafts.

****Evanston - Opening Day of the Downtown Evanston Farmers Market - This market will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every Saturday from May 4 through November 2. Location: Intersection of University Place and Oak Ave. (behind Hilton Garden Inn, east of East Railroad Ave.) In 2013, the market will celebrate its 38th year.

La Fox – Heritage Prairie Saturday Farmer’s Market  9am – 1pm 2N308 Brundige Road

**** Woodstock - Opening Day of the Woodstock Farmers Market Outdoors 9am -12pm

May 5

Chicago – Woo hoo! The Sunday BBQ  series starts at Publican Quality Meats Carriage House starts it off!!

Oak Park - Austin Gardes Urban Foraging - 4-6PM 167 Forest Ave., Oak Park professional urban forager Nance Klehm will lead an edible plant foraging expedition. David Hammond elaborates on it here on The Beet.

May 7

Chicago - 11th Annual Growing Home Benefit 6pm Salvage One 1840 West Hubbard Chef Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno and Food For Thought Order tickets online here...

SAVE THE DATE

May 10,11,12

Chicago - Peterson Garden Project Plant Sale & Bake Sale Fundraiser - 10am – 4pm  Peterson Garden Project Learning Center 4642 N. Francisco Items for sale will include herb and vegetable seedlings, basic gardening supplies, seeds and tasty baked goods from renowned Chicago pastry chefs. There is no cost for admission, and all proceeds benefit Peterson Garden Project learning programs. Peterson Garden Project is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

May 11

Chicago Opening Day of the 61st Farmers Market -  9am – 2pm During the outdoor season, which lasts through the end of October, the Market is located on 61st Street between Dorchester and Blackstone Avenues. The 61st Street Farmers Market accepts LINK and Senior Farmers Market Coupons. We also match LINK purchases up to $25 per cardholder, per market day, as long as funding lasts. This means that LINK cardholders can double the value of their LINK purchases each week at the Market. The Market goes Indoors on: November 2

Chicago- Empty Bottle Farmers Market - The Empty Bottle 12-5pm 1035 N. Western Ave. Just in time for Mother’s Day! Buy mom a locally-sourced food gifts from our vendors, including coffee, tea, chocolates, pastries, sauces, soup, and more!

Chicago – Bee Keeping Class Chicago Honey Coop Christy Webber Landscapes 10am – 3pm

Morton Grove - Morton Grove Spring Market  Saturdays, 8 am – 12 noon 6210 Dempster St  The summer markets will run every Saturday from 6/8/2013  – 10/19/2013

FD!! Stelle- Mother’s Day Eve and Farm Tour - Mint Creek Farm BYOB $60 3pm Meet-up at The Greenhouse Bed & Breakfast 3606 N. 1700 E. Rd. For more information contact Julie at Jlarsen@mintcreekfarm.com

May 12

Chicago – Chicago Food Swap – 3pm Host: The Scrumptious Pantry 3230 W. Fullerton Ave. in ChicagoRegistration: http://maychifoodswap.eventbrite.com/ Please email chicagofoodswap at gmail.com if you’d like more information or become a fan on Facebook.

Chicago – DOSE Market River East Arts Center

May 16-26

Chicago – 10 day celebration Chicago Craft Beer Week

May 16

Chicago - Opening Day of the Daley Center Farmers Market - Market will run May 16th through October 31.

Chicago – A Chef’s Playground - Terzo Piano – At the Art Institute A fundraiser for the Academy for Global Citizenship 6-9pm Purchase tickets here $225

May 17

Food Revolution Day 

Chicago - Half Acre Brewery Anniversary Party - Hee hee!! Stay tuned!

May 18

FD!! Champaign - Celebrate Spring! Prairie Fruit Farms 4pm 4410 North Lincoln Ave. This is their first dinner of the 2013 season.  Expect an explosion of spring flavors such as Caveny Farm Katadin lamb, ramps (wild leeks), spring greens, sweet turnips, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. Purchase tickets here.  $92

Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm First Farm Dinner of the Season! Transportation included from Chicago to the farm and back. $125 BYOB The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Nicole Pederson of Found Kitchen and Guest Chef John Asbaty of Panozzo’s. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided and of course includes a tour of the farm, butchering class on sustainable meat practices and lots of food!!

***** Oak Park - Opening Day of the Oak Park Farmers Market - The market will run every Saturday through 10/26/13 7am – 1pm Pilgrim Church, right next door to where the market is held, offers fresh warm donuts, juice and coffee, with live bluegrass music nearby. The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is located at 460 Lake St., just one block west of Ridgeland Avenue.

May 19

Chicago - Opening Day of the Logan Square Outdoor Market

May 20

Chicago - Big Jones Trash Fish Dinner(Grubstreet Chicago) –  Paul Fehribach of Big Jones is joining with Chefs CollaborativeFortune Fish and Gourmet and nine other chefs to put on a dinner showing how these trash fish— from smelt to dogfish to speckled trout— can be used in a sustainable, tasty meal. Tickets $125

May 25

FD!! Champaign, Il - Prairie Fruit Farms  – Sunday Dinner Club “For their Love of Chicken“ The Sunday Dinner Club Crew is back, and they will be frying up lots of local fried chicken at the farm!  Josh and Christine are joining us early this season, because they are getting ready to open a new restaurant in Chicago, come get a sneak peak of foods from their new venture, “Honey Butter Fried Chicken” $70

June 1

Champaign, Il -  Prairie Fruit Farms - Virant’s Can Can - 4pm What better way to celebrate the beginning of summer than with some fantastic preserves and incredible food! All of this will be brought to you by Paul Virant! A seasoned veteran in the wide world of preserving, pickling, and canning, Paul follows his Perennial Virant philosophy to a tee – “eat what you can – can what you can’t.” $107

June 8

Chicago/Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm Tour & Dinner Event with The Publican! 2:30pm  The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Brian Huston of The Publican. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided. Bus transportation from Chicago will be provided, when purchasing your ticket please select if you would like that option. The Bus will pick everyone up at 837 W Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 at 12:00 noon on June 8th. Children are welcome as long as they have parent supervision. $125June 13

Chicago –   Eli’s Cheesecake & Wright College Farmer’s Market Grand Opening Fresh fruits and vegetables from Nichol’s Farm and the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, hand crafts,flowers & more Continental Breakfast Lunch on the grill will be offered each Thursdaybased on what’s in season!

June 15

Chicago – Mash Tun Festival - The festival is a celebration of the release of Mash Tun: A Craft Beer Journal issue #3. The Mash Tun is a publication put out by your buddies at Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar and The Public Media Institute, a non profit arts and culture organization based in Bridgeport.

FD!! Champaign, IL -  Prairie Fruit Farms  City Pub in the Country 4pm Bar Pastoral is a new cheese and wine bistro adjacent to the original Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine Shop in Chicago. Chef Chrissy will be showcasing her love of cheese, charcuterie, pickles, and other local ingredients. $107

June 29

Champaign, Il – -  Prairie Fruit Farms Summer Vegetarian 4pm Thad Morrow, chef/owner of Bacaro, Champaign is back for another season. He will be making the trek from Bacaro, in downtown Champaign, across town and out into the country! His SUV will be packed with lots of early summer vegetables. $107

 


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Did I Know Our Next Sponsor Plum Market? I Did

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Posted: April 25, 2013 at 8:40 am

Welcome our Latest Sponsor

My family and I have been eating local for over eight years. What that means to us is that we aim to get as much of our food from an area close to Chicago. We do not restrict ourselves, surely enjoying things from seasonal citrus to necessary coffee, but if it grows here, we only get it from here. Likewise, we make a strong effort to favor local products. Milk, cheese, beer, eggs, chicken all come from local sources. Nearly all our beef, pork and lamb also comes from local farms. Even most of our tofu, on our vegan stint, is local. We also have a rule that says, it’s local where you buy it. So, for instance, when we made pies from the coconuts we foraged in Florida, we were still eating local.

It means that we are always on the look out for good and interesting local foods when we travel. Did I know Plum Market?

As a family that travels for its stomach, Ann Arbor Michigan has been a place we love to visit. It’s not just the tour d’Zingerman (visit 4 Zingerman operations in one day, get a t-shirt). There is the outstanding smoked fish at Tracklements. And as we learned one visit, Plum Market.

I am invariant collector of free publications when on the road. They have served me exceedingly well.* It was in some Ann Arbor newspaper that I found the ad for Plum. In that ad, I learned of their commitment to local food. We went and stocked up on an array of Michigan products, including fruit, pickles and jams. (Remember, it was all local because of where we got it.) We said to ourselves, we’d love a store like this by us. Who knew, a few years later, I’d get an email saying, Plum’s coming to Chicago and would like to advertise on the Local Beet. Yes, I knew them, I said.

You will too. Plum intends to open in Chicago on on Thursday, June 13, with daily hours from 8:00am to 10:00pm. The store is at 1233 N. Wells St. at Division and Wells in Old Town. Guests will have access to free parking. They will be working hard to carry as much local products as possible.   See how they’re doing and tell them you saw their ad on the Local Beet.

*These free publications have been useful for things besides finding good food. Once in Los Angeles, I picked up a Jewish newspaper. In there, I found an ad where Universal Studio invited their Hebrew friends to visit the theme park during the Christmas holiday for 1/2 off. An offer we gladly took.


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Grand Rapids Will Emphasize Local Foods With New Year-Round Market

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Posted: April 22, 2013 at 2:13 pm


Photo courtesy of Downtown Market

The possibilities of eating local in West Michigan will get about 130,000 square feet better. Grand Rapids, about three hours from Chicago and a frequent stop on local brewery and food explorations in Michigan, is building an indoor/outdoor, year-round, seven-days-a-week market. Opening this summer, Downtown Market will emphasize local foods with an outdoor farmer’s market that will operate three days a week, and an indoor, year-round marketplace that will feature local food retailers, a commercial kitchen that will be an incubator for local food businesses, a rooftop greenhouse garden, a bakery, brewery, sit-down restaurant, and a hands-on teaching kitchen for kids. With a few exceptions for specialty products, the market will offer Michigan food.

When it’s finished, it will be the first LEED-certified market in the country. Even though it’s natural to compare this market to other year-round markets in the country, Mimi Fritz, the President/CEO of Downtown Market, said that it will be unlike any other market: 

“You will find markets around the country that have some/various aspects of what we have, but none of them have it all in one place. North Market in Columbus is probably closest to ours in [terms of the number] of indoor vendors, however, their outdoor market is only one day a week and ours is three. They have a demo/banquet room, but do not have a greenhouse, kid’s kitchen, incubator kitchen, restaurants, brewery, commercial office space, and are not LEED certified.”

Even though Grand Rapids already has a farmer’s market, the Fulton Street Market, Fritz said that Downtown Market will be “chock full of fresh local foods”, and will not have any arts and crafts products (which are currently allowed at the Fulton Street Market). Further demonstrating its commitment to local foods, Downtown Market’s Food and Farmers Advisory Committee includes farmers such as Casey Visser of Visser Farms, Karey Robinette of Robinette’s Orchards and Charles Ham of Ham Family Farm, among many others.


Photo courtesy of Downtown Market

The idea of the market took on reality in early 2009, when Grand Action, a privately-funded nonprofit that developed other major projects in Grand Rapids, commissioned a feasibility study by Market Ventures, Inc., a Portland, Maine-based urban planning and economic development firm that focuses on food-based projects. It concluded that Michigan’s abundant farm production, consumer demand and community could support a year-round market. By showcasing the farms and dairies that operate just outside the perimeter of the city, Grand Rapids hopes to capitalize on its unique food system that has enjoyed a steady tradition of growing and producing local foods. Even though Downtown Market is focusing on small-scale, micro-local producers, even mid-scale food producers in the area show some resistance to the infectious trend that has national companies scratching out regional brands through bankruptcy and buyouts. (For example, greater Grand Rapids is home to Hudsonville Ice Cream, a nearby mid-scale local ice cream producer that has been making ice cream since 1926, and The Koeze Company, which has been making Cream-Nut-brand peanut butter in Grand Rapids for over 80 years using vintage machinery.)

These grand plans were enough to grab the attention of the New York Times, which dedicated a lengthy feature on it last year, and wrote that the development of Downtown Market is a sign of West Michigan’s economic vitality, foothold in the local food movement, and arrival as a cultural destination.

Retailers are still signing on; most notably, Shelby Kilmer, the former, longtime baker at artisanal powerhouse Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, will open a bakery, Field & Fire. Other shops joining the market are Simpatico Coffee, a fair-trade and sustainable coffee roaster based in nearby Holland, Love’s, a hand-crafted, boutique ice cream-maker, Aperitivo, a wine and cheese bar, Old World Olive Press, an olive oil purveyor, and a gourmet kettle corn shop. Fritz said that they are close to announcing the name of the brewery, and says that it’s an established brewery with a “new concept in brewing.” Aperitivo, which will operate a retail cheese shop as well as a wine bar, is working with local creameries such as Dancing Goat Creamery in Byron Center, Evergreen Lane in Fennville, and Zingerman’s from Ann Arbor.

By working with businesses that offer locally-produced and grown products, Fritz believes that the market is more sustainable by reducing the transportation needs for food (and thereby reducing their carbon footprint). Also, all vendors are required to participate in the Market’s recycling program, which includes composting and feeding food waste to animals.

The farmer’s market will open May 4, and operate from 8 am to 1 pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and 4 to 7 pm on Thursdays.


Photo courtesy of Downtown Market


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Tim Burton’s Rampathon

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Posted: April 17, 2013 at 5:12 pm

Knee Deep in Ramps and Never Knew It

 

Tim Burton may be known for maple (if you don’t know him for maple, you should), as the owner of Burton’s Maplewood Farm in Medora, Indiana. But come early spring, he’s a ramp tycoon, as his farm sits conveniently on a gold mine of ramps, everybody’s favorite wild onion.

The whole gang picking ramps.

Four years ago, Burton had no idea what a ramp was. The fact that he was surrounded by ramps every spring was unbeknownst to him. That’s sort of like having the key to the U.S. Mint and never using it. So one year he received an email from Mark Psilos from Green City Market, inquiring if he knew of a source for ramps. Since Burton presumed Psilos wasn’t looking for inclined platforms, he researched what a ramp was, and realized that he had been surrounded by ramps all along. For the past three years, he has picked ramps every time they sprout in early spring and brought them to chefs in Chicago, who are always as ravenous for ramps as kids were for Beanie Babies back in the day.

This year, Burton picked hundreds of pounds of ramps with the help of his high school-age nieces and nephews and their friends. They picked ramps down in hollers by the farm, hollers being Indiana lingo for small valley. Ramps grow along streams and hillsides, so Burton and his clan spent hours in the woods picking ramps, stuffing them into bags, and loading them into a truck.

Loaded in the truck and ready to roll.

The thing that chefs like the most about ramps is that they’re the first official sign of spring (screw that groundhog). Their blink-and-you’ll-miss-it growing season also adds to their coveted status. This year, Burton drove up early April 15 and parked out front of Publican Quality Meats so that chefs could come by and pick up ramps. He also made deliveries later that day, and wound up selling to more than 20 chefs, including Rick Bayless, Carrie Nahabedian, Kevin Hickey, Art Smith, Paul Fehribach, Mindy Segal, Mark Steuer, Jason Vincent, Stephanie Izard, Paul Virant, Bruce Sherman, and of course the whole Paul Kahan gamut. Burton gets a thrill delivering ramps to Chicago chefs because he gets to see the many different uses for ramps. At Allium, Hickey is working wonders with ramps, frying the ramps for a risotto and using the roots as garnish. Virant has also been tempura-frying ramp leaves. At Carriage House, Steuer is outfitting redfish grits with ramp pistou and a ragout of spring garlic, fava beans, and guanciale. Big Jones’ Fehribach sautées ramp tops with morel mushrooms and Sea Island benne in bacon fat as part of a vegetable dish.

Last year, Burton rewarded his high school helpers with a special surf & turf dinner on the farm the weekend after picking. This year, he’s planning to bring the group to Chicago for a couple days once Green City Market opens to show them the market and the city. Needless to say, I’ve already signed myself up to pick next year.




Why Preserve Food at Home?

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Posted: April 16, 2013 at 8:46 am

Eat Local Later

Rhubarb-rose petal preserves were one of the prettiest things I made last year.

Spring is finally here and with the arrival of spring fruits and vegetables like strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, ramps, and fava beans, I have a lot of cooking and preserving projects on the horizon. Strawberry rhubarb jam, pickled asparagus and a freezable fava bean sauce are some of my first preserving projects of the season. Spring is fleeting, but my family can savor the taste of it all year long.

Home food preservation seems to be on a lot of people’s minds right now. I have been getting a lot of requests for canning lessons lately and I am excited to be teaching a canning demonstration class at the River Forest Whole Foods on Saturday April 20 at 1 pm as part of the store’s Earth Week celebration. (The demo is free but call ahead to reserve your spot: 708-366-1045.) People often ask me why I enjoy canning so much and what the benefits of home food preservation are. My students get to hear my whole explanation in person, but I thought I should share it with my readers as well.

So, here it is. My thoughts on why it is worthwhile to preserve food at home:

  • Know what is in your food. I started canning, now some 5 years ago, because I wanted a kitchen project that I could do with Zuzu. At the time, Zuzu was allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, nut and peanuts, so we couldn’t exactly bake cookies together. I started making jam because all of the necessary ingredients — basically fruit and sugar — were safe for my daughter. There are so many people today with food allergies, food sensitivities and other dietary restrictions. There are also many people out there who are concerned about the chemicals and preservatives that are found in their supermarket staples. For people in both of these categories, home food preservation is a way to know exactly what it going into their food. When you make your own jam, pickles, salsa or ketchup, you know exactly what is and is not in that jar or bottle. No need to decipher labels or search high and low for food that is free from chemicals and artificial preservatives.
  • Save money. Another reason I started canning? Because I always bought too much at the farmers’ market. One day I came home with a flat of strawberries because the flat, which is 8 quarts, was the same price as 6 quarts. “That’s like getting two free quarts of berries,” I told my husband. “But what are we going to do with 8 quarts of strawberries,” he asked. Buying in bulk and taking advantage of sales can be a great way to save money on fresh fruits and vegetables but only if you actually use what you buy. If you know how to preserve food, you can take advantage of sales like the one at my Whole Foods recently: ten mangoes for $5. I don’t know if you could eat ten mangoes before some of them went bad. But I turned my ten mangoes into three pints of mango salsa that are sitting in my basement just waiting for grilling season.
  • Preserve the season. We are now so used to having asparagus and tomatoes all year round, but before refrigeration, people understood these crops to be seasonal. You ate asparagus in the spring, peaches in the summer and tomatoes in the late summer and fall. If you wanted to enjoy these seasonal fruits and vegetables all year round, your only option was to preserve them. If you have ever eaten fresh asparagus that was picked only days before, or a sun-ripened local tomato, you know how much better these crops taste when you eat them in season. My family doesn’t only eat seasonally — JR wants grapes year-round, thank you very much — but I try very hard to emphasis local and seasonal produce as much as possible for reasons of taste, economy and environmental sustainability. By preserving local fruits and vegetables when they are in season, I can enjoy them long after they have left the farmers’ market bins.
  • Stock your pantry. As I mentioned in my post about tomatillos, having a pantry stocked with sauces, salsas and relishes helps make dinner preparation easier all year long. When I need to create a Mexican-inspired dish in January, I just pull some tomatillo sauce up from my basement. When I want to jazz up a pasta dish or a homemade pizza, I reach for one of the many jars of marinated red peppers that I put up in late summer when peppers were inexpensive and plentiful at the farmers’ market. And my homemade preserves make special and attractive presents during the holiday season, and indeed whenever I want to thank someone or bring a hostess gift. That shelf full of homemade jams, pickles, and salsa in my basement is a very handy thing to have indeed.
  • Have fun! Canning is fun, y’all. You kind of feel like Ma Ingalls when go out apple-picking with your kids, come home and make pint after pint of applesauce. Your friends always seem amazed when you present them with a jar of homemade pickles or jam. And it’s honestly not that hard.

Thinking of giving canning a try? If you are local to Chicago, feel free to contact me about a lesson or attend one of my demonstrations. If you live elsewhere, don’t worry. Look into canning class in your area — Google is your friend here. There are also many canning blogs and cookbooks devoted to helping a beginner get started. Ones I like include:

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Kingry and Devine
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone
The Joy of Jams, Jellies and other Sweet Preserves by Linda Ziedrich
Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan and her blog of the same name.




We’ll Have a CSA Box Next Week, Will You?

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Posted: April 12, 2013 at 11:26 am

You Can Eat Local Without a CSA, but It’s Easier to Eat Local with a CSA

Granted it’s only been a few weeks since our last CSA* (Community Supported Agriculture) box came, but I’m very excited for a new season of Local Family CSA-ship.  Many Chicago area CSAs have begun a-rollin’ out their boxes in April.  If you have not chosen your 2013 CSA, now is the time to do it.  A CSA subscription makes it easier to eat local.  I’ve listed many reasons below, and the quicker you sign up, the quicker you’ll have your local food.  To help you pick your CSA, Wendy’s looked at your options for the year.  Any other questions, feel free to ask.

Myself, the Condiment Queen and the two kids have been a Local Family for about eight years.  We’ve done it with and without CSA subscriptions, so I know you do not need a CSA box to eat local.  I do believe having that box makes it easier to eat local, and anything that makes it easier to eat local is a good thing.  I’ve come up with five reasons why you should get a CSA.

  1. It’s Your Farm – There’s so much talk these days about changing the food system.  God know’s there’s so much to change.  And you should be able to say to someone, “I’m changing it already.”  How can you safely say that.  By knowing your farmer.  Knowing how they farm.  Knowing you rely on a farmer that does it the way it should be done.  You can change the way your food is produced by picking a CSA farm that does it your way.
  2. The Food Shows Up – I firmly believe that the biggest barrier to eating local remains the ability to get local food, especially outside the prime farmer’s market months.  A CSA box is there every week with a chunk of food.  More importantly a CSA subscription can do a couple of things that your market shopping may not.  It can get you local food on a regular basis, and it can get you a larger variety of local food on a regular basis.  Want more?  Most CSA farmers give you more.  They expect you to put away their bounty for leaner times.  You may not know going in where the surplus will be, but believe me, there will be something too much.  Don’t fret with your abundance of spinach or sweet corn this year.  Freeze what you cannot eat for local food year-round.
  3. Eat More Foods – It’s vital to have a wide variety in your diet of fruits and vegetables.  Don’t just live on asparagus and frozen peas.  Variety allows you to appreciate more tastes.  It also allows you to get your full range of nutrients.  There’s probably a lot to it, the idea that Spring greens are cleansing and winter roots are warming.  Your CSA will force you to get what’s good for you.
  4. You’ll Know What to Do With It – Your CSA Farmer wants you to enjoy their harvest.  They worked hard to get you tasty stuff.  They’re filled with tips and recipes in their newsletters and e-mails.  They’ll share what other customers do with their kohlrabi.  A CSA gives you more resources towards your local eating needs.
  5. There’s a Farmer on the Other End – We cannot have local food without local farmers.  I believe (and know) that not all farmers should be CSA farmers.  Experts note that having a CSA is a more advanced form of farming and not a form suitable to everyone.  Still, getting a CSA supports and invests with people committed to producing local food.  Your CSA payments are critical also in helping the cash flow needs of your farmer.  CSA users make CSA farmers possible.

Has your CSA box shown up yet?  What have you got?  If you do not have a CSA subscription for 2013, what are you waiting for?

*My wife works for Tomato Mountain, which provides our CSA subscription.




Local Calendar 4/10/13 Ramps Are In The Air, GastroConference This Weekend at UChicago

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Posted: April 10, 2013 at 9:50 am

The arrival of ramps is in the air. We are not quite there yet though. This year we have had a somewhat cold Spring so far which many of the farmers at the markets have said, has delayed the Spring harvest. So expect green garlic, green onions, ramps to be a couple of weeks later this year. I did find some beautiful sage grown in a hoop house at the Majestic Nursery table. There still are winter greens available as well as root vegetables that store well. For the 411 on exactly WHAT IS IN SEASON, Chief Beet Rob Gardner goes into great detail here.

Every Saturday at 10:30 the Green City Market has a chef demonstration which includes free tastings. This Saturday Chef Janet Kirker of Foodease was the guest chef. Foodease sources from Nichols Farms and many of the other farmers at Green City.  Finally, our friend Dave Nells of Sharpening By Dave is at the Green City Market and other locations throughout Chicagoland. His schedule is here. If you want to eat local, you need to have sharp knives to prepare all the produce!!  Let Dave know that you read about him in the Local Beet and you will get one dollar off each knife sharpened!!!

Farm dinners are starting earlier this year.  We have listed dinners we are aware of so far, with some of the leading sustainable farmers in the area, Mint Creek FarmPrairie Fruit Farms and Slagel Family Farms. The dinners book up pretty quickly so time to get a-scheduling! There are other “road trip” (RT) opportunities ahead, morel season is soon, ramps will start appearing at the markets, spring is here!!!

Farm Dinners 2013

Mint Creek Farm - Stelle, IL 4/21, 5/11 All meet-up at The Greenouse Bed & Breakfast just down the road from Mint Creek. Dinners are BYOB and include a farm tour. Mint Creek is known for their sheep but ask Farmer & Poet Harry Carr to recite one of his poems or bring a poem of your own to share!!

Outstanding In The Field - National farm dinner tour, has set the bar for farm dinners with their connected tables of white table cloths and stemware. Here are their Midwest dates, go to the links for reservations. 8/4 (Shooting Star Farms, Chef Tory Miller, Mineral Point, WI), 8/5(Pinehold Gardens, Chef Dan Van Rite, Oakcreek, WI), 8/7(City Farm Chicago, Chef Jared Wentworth), 8/8(Mick Klug,Chef Brian Huston, St. Josephs, MI), 8/10(Seedling Farm,  Chef Stephanie Izard, South Haven, MI)

Prairie Fruit Farms -Champaign, IL  5/18, 5/25, 6/1, 6/15, 6/29, 7/13, 7/27, 8/10, 8/24, 9/7, 9/21, 10/26 The Prairie Fruit site describes the chef, theme and menu. Here is brief description of what to expect. Reservations can be made on the Showclix site, only 40 seats available per dinner and only 4 tickets can be purchased per person, the price incudes tax, tip not included BYOB. Prairie Fruit is known for their goats and cheeses but they ,also, make some killer gelato!

Slagel Family Farms - 5/186/87/208/109/14 The Slagel Family has teamed up with some well known Chicago chefs who have supported farm to table food for a long time. For each of these dinners, transportation is included in the price from Chicago to the farm, and its BYOB. Slagel pork among their other meats has been a sought after menu item at some of the top restaurants in Chicago and Farmer Louis John Slagel has been a leader in sustainable farming.

We try to keep up on events but miss some, some sites to check out for further detail on sustainable food/urban ag are the Illinois Stewardship Alliance out of Springfield and the Advocates for Urban Agriculture here in Chicago as well as WeFarmAmerica which has tons of weekly events. The Peterson Garden Project has lots of information and workshops for the urban gardner, Matt Kirouac described their Victory Garden they showcased at The Chicago Flower and Garden Show. Now on to the very busy week ahead.

WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS

These stores specialize in local foods:

Artisanal Wilmette – 414 Linden Ave. Wilmette

Butcher and Larder 1026 North Milwaukee in Noble Square, Chicago

Dill Pickle Food Co-op – 3039 West Fullerton, Chicago

Edible Alchemy Foods Co-op - Located in the near-SW Pilsen neighborhood, the co-op has grown to five locations in, including Hyde Park, River North, Lakeview, and Logan Square

Green Grocer 1402 West Grand Ave in West Town Check out their produce share January 9th through May 4th. You can still subscribe even though the share has started already.

Marion Street Cheese Market 100 South Marion St. Oak Park

Provenance Food & Wine - 2 locations Logan Square 2528 N. California Lincoln Square 2312 W. Leland Ave.

Publican Quality Meats – 835 W. Fulton, Chicago

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - 6338-40 N. Clark, Chicago

Standard Market – 333 East Ogden Ave., Westmont Be sure to say hi to Rockstar Butcher Joe Parajecki!!!

THIS  WEEK’S CALENDAR AND BEYOND  IN LOCAL FOOD:

April 10

Andersonville - C & D Family Farms delivers 4-7pm Ashland at Berywn

Chicago - Soup and Bread at The Hideout - 1354 W. Wabansia  5:30pm -8pm We are counting down the remaining weeks of Soup & Bread, as spring is finally upon us. This week’s theme is “Spring Forward”— Bread donated, as ever, by Publican Quality Meats.

Chicago - Pig Butchering Demo Butcher and Larder 5pm 1026 North Milwaukee

Chicago – Wine Wednesdays at Province – Seasonal farm to table 5 course tasting menu with pairings $49 159 North Jefferson A Gold level LEED certified restaurant with 3 stars from the Green Restaurant Association.

April 11

Chicago – Uptown Market Uptown Farmers’ Market is year round. Every Thursday from 7-1 inside Weiss Memorial Hospital or in the parking lot during the warmer months. 4646 N Marine Drive This is an appropriate day to stock up on Spark of the Heart Soups

Hyde Park - C & D Family Farm delivers 7-11am Harold Washington Park

Lincoln Square – C & D Family Farm delivers 4-7pm Lincoln & Leland

April 13

Chicago – Gastro Conference – 11am – 5pm Ida Noyes Hall 1212 E. 59th St. EnvisionDo will be hosting chefs, restaurateurs, nonprofit directors, researchers, and entrepreneurs  to talk about what it means to start a business in the food industry, how some of the most celebrated restaurants in Chicago create unforgettable experiences, and what can be done about problems of food and poverty in Chicago. The cost of the event is $10 for U of C affiliates (faculty & alumni) and non-University of Chicago students and $20 for the general public. Put your name on the list at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ockmZewalf6CjnakuWrA23AFv6ERl9CDemirZjS1Kbw/viewform.
Please purchase your ticket at http://chicagogastroconference.eventbrite.com/.

Chicago – Green City Market at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum 8:30- 1pm 2430 North Cannon Drive The market runs indoors through April 27th Bring your children to Club Sprouts at 9:30 – 10:15am. Chef Charlie McKenna of Lillie’s Q.

Chicago – 61st Market sponsored by Experimental Station –  6100 North Blackstone 9am – 2pm Connie Spreen of the market sends out a great weekly letter with some inspirational thoughts and excellent info as to what will be available. Go here to sign up for it.

Elgin - Winter Market at Habitat for Humanity ReStore Elgin - 800 North State St. 9am – 3pm (thru May) Their mantra is “Keepin It Local1″ As such, their intention has always been to supply the local community with local products and crafts.

Evanston – Winter Evanston Farmer and Artisan Market at the Ecology Center  9-1pm 2024 McCormick Blvd.  The market will be at this location for the next 5 months, today and every Saturday through April 27, 2013. Spark of the Heart Soups and C & D Family Farms will be there

La Fox – Heritage Prairie Saturday Farmer’s Market  9am – 1pm 2N308 Brundige Road

Oak Park –  Beef, Pork and Eggs Wettstein Organic Farm delivery  Buzz Cafe 12:00 – 3:00. 905 West Lombard They are bringing up Beef and Pork and Eggs. It will be next month at the market for the Chicken and Lamb.

 April 14

Chicago - Bread Class at Floriole - 3pm 1220 West Webster Complimentary glass of wine and pizza dinner, $75

Rogers Park - Glenwood Sunday Market – Glenwood Bar 9am – 2pm 6962 N. Glenwood

April 16

Chicago - Re-Thinking Soup Jane Addams Hull House UIC 12pm – 1pm Chef Keizo Shimamoto will be joining us via video conference. Ramen will be served Tsukemen style Screening the documentary “Ramen Dreams” starring Chef Keizo Shimamoto

SAVE THE DATE

April 17

Chicago - ”We Can Change The Food System” Hosted by Food Tank 5:30pm – 7:30pm  Piazza Bella restaurant 2116 W Roscoe St.(About a 10 minute walk from the Brown Line Paulina Station) A very special evening bringing together the Chicago food movement hosted by Food Tank: The Food Think Tank

April 18

New!! Chicago - Heirloom 2.0 Canning For Newbies With The Scrumptious Pantry – 6:30pm – 8:30pm Local Goods Chicago 5354 West Devon Ave. $20

April 20

Chicago - BACONFEST - UIC Forum It is Sold Out but there are creative ways to win tickets here...

Chicago - Pinot Days  Navy Pier 2-5pm

Chicago - Red Meat Market Spring Lamb Butcher Class - With Ben Harrison Master Butcher Whole Foods Lincoln Park and a cooking class with Ryan Hutmacher of Centered Chef Studios. 10am – 1pm 177 North Ada Learn, eat and take some some good meat! $150

Chicago - SEE FOOD: // graze issue three release party  8pm Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art 756 N. Milwaukee Hop on board with Graze as we celebrate the release of issue 3 Your ten dollar ticket gets you: // one free copy of issue three // the music and tapping of Sidewalk Chalk (!)

April 21

Chicago - Calling all kids!!! Earth Day at Sandwich Me In - 11am – 7pm 3037 North Clark(near Halsted) All day event with snacks and guests, sustainable farmers, learn how to make bread, music, arts and crafts.

Stelle - Mint Creek Farm Sunday Brunch & Farm Tour 11am Meet-up at The Greenhouse Bed & Breakfast  3606 N 1700 E Rd. $50 For more information contact Julie at Jlarsen@mintcreekfarm.com There will be plenty of time to visit all the animals living on the 200+ acre farm including cows, chickens, pigs, sheep and goats.  Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather. See the 3 minute short film on Farmer Harry Carr by Storybuzzmedia here.

April 22

EARTH DAY! Food Day is only 5 months away! Like the Food Day Chicago 2013 Facebook page here. Every day can be Good Food Day!!

Chicago – Monthly Dinner at Floriole Bakery and Cafe - 7pm 1220 West Webster 3 Course Farm to Table menu this month includes rabbit. $49

April 23

Chicago - Great Lakes Sustainable and Invasive Species Dinner Dirk’s Fish & Gourmet Shop 2070 N. Clybourn 7:30pm – 9pm $65 Celebrate the Great Lakes distinctive seafood bounty including the controversial Asian Carp. Sponsored by Lake Michigan League of Women Voters For further information and reservations email LWVFood@gmail.com

April 25

Evanston - ”Can Meat be Truly Sustainable?“ NU Sustainable Food Talks 6:00PM – 8:00PM Technological Institute, Room LR4 Northwestern University

April 26

Chicago - Whiskyfest It sold out pretty darn quickly last year!! Better get your tickets now!

April 27

Chicago - Third Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival Chicago French Market Go to the link for tickets, although it is free, there still is a maximum capacity and I think this year they will reach it!!! Meet+eat+shop w/ 90+ culinary producers. GO here for the full press release. It is bigger, butchering demonstrations with Rob Levitt of the Butcher and Larder and Brady Lowe of Cochon 555, artisanal beverages and more!!

Chicago – Recipe for Success Starting & Growing A Food Business in Chicago – Held by the University of Chicago Law School Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship This is free, runs from 9:30am to 3:30pm and you can make reservations here…

Evanston – TreeKeepers Earth Day events

April 28

Chicago - Michael Pollan lecture at Elmhurst College  “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation”

Chicago - Cochon 555 Four Seasons Hotel

April 30

Chicago – The Stew Supper Club presents a Foraged Feast with Pete Kelly.  7pm - Sauce and Bread Kitchen 6338 N. Clark Pete is a Midwest charcuterie pioneer and foraging expert who works with the Underground Food Collective and Promega. $45

May 4

**** Chicago – Opening Day of the Green City Market in it’s outdoor location – Lincoln Park 7am – 1pm

Chicago - Bull Breakdown Class & Tasting 10am – 1pm Red Meat Market 10am – 1pm Cut, Cook & Carry Toro, Toro, Toro hosted by Centered Chef Studios.

May 7

Chicago - 11th Annual Growing Home Benefit 6pm Salvage One 1840 West Hubbard Chef Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno and Food For Thought Order tickets online here...

May 11

FD!! Stelle- Mother’s Day Eve and Farm Tour - Mint Creek Farm BYOB $60 3pm Meet-up at The Greenhouse Bed & Breakfast 3606 N. 1700 E. Rd. For more information contact Julie at Jlarsen@mintcreekfarm.com

May 16-26

Chicago – 1o day celebration Chicago Craft Beer Week

May 16

Chicago – Opening Day of the Daley Center Farmers Market – Market will run May 16th through October 31.

Chicago – A Chef’s Playground - Terzo Piano – At the Art Institute A fundraiser for the Academy for Global Citizenship 6-9pm Purchase tickets here $225

May 17

Chicago - Half Acre Brewery Anniversary Party - Hee hee!! Stay tuned!

May 18

Champaign - Celebrate Spring! The start of Farm Dinner season at Prairie Fruit Farms in Champaign. 4pm 4410 North Lincoln Ave. This is their first dinner of the 2013 season.  As has become our tradition, expect an explosion of spring flavors such as Caveny Farm Katadin lamb, ramps (wild leeks), spring greens, sweet turnips, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. Purchase tickets here. (FYI, they make some killer gelato!!)

Fairbury - Slagel Family Farm First Farm Dinner of the Season! Transportation included from Chicago to the farm and back. $125 BYOB The dinner will be prepared and served by Guest Chef Nicole Pederson of Found Kitchen and Guest Chef John Asbaty of Panozzo’s. Please BYOB, lemonade and water will be provided and of course includes a tour of the farm, butchering class on sustainable meat practices and lots of food!!

***** Oak Park – Opening Day of the Oak Park Farmers Market – The market will run every Saturday through 10/26/13 7am – 1pm Pilgrim Church, right next door to where the market is held, offers fresh warm donuts, juice and coffee, with live bluegrass music nearby. The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is located at 460 Lake St., just one block west of Ridgeland Avenue.

June 13

Chicago –   Eli’s Cheesecake & Wright College Farmer’s Market Grand Opening Fresh fruits and vegetables from Nichol’s Farm and the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, hand crafts,flowers & moreContinental Breakfast Lunch on the grill will be offered each Thursdaybased on what’s in season!

 




It Doesn’t Get More Local than the Chicago Food Swap Monday, March 25th, 2013
UPDATED! – Frost Kissed Spinach and What Else is In Season Now Friday, March 22nd, 2013
The Local Calendar 3/20/13 Spring Equinox, Farm Dinner Season Starts Early! Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
18 Ways to Keep the Good Food Feelings Going Sunday, March 17th, 2013
The Local Beet and FamilyFarmed Want to Talk CSAs at the Good Food Festival Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
The Good Food Festival Gets Even Better and We’re Still With Them Monday, March 4th, 2013
Local Beer News — 5 Rabbit, Goose Island, and Distributors Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
Local Calendar 2/20/13 Local Options Continue To Grow Sauce and Bread Kitchen Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
SB 1666 GE Labeling Bill Introduced to Illinois Senate Thursday, February 14th, 2013
Local Calendar 2/13/13 Know Your Urban Animal First Annual Livestock Expo Sat Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Winter Happenings Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
This Week, Michigan Cidermaker Vander Mill Tours Chicago Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
This Week’s Local Calendar – Superbowl, Asian Herbs, Morton Grove Market and More Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
The Local Beet’s 2010 Restaurant Of The Year: City Provisions Delicatessen Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
Seasonal Spotlight: Brussels Sprouts Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
The Week the Local Food Came in a Box – Tomato Mountain Winter CSA – Week 1 Thursday, January 17th, 2013
The Local Calendar 1/16/13 Hello Greens Good By Flu…More Markets Open For The Year! Wednesday, January 16th, 2013
The Local Calendar 1/9/13 The Beet Goes On- Connect To Your Inner Locavore in 2013! Friday, January 4th, 2013
It’s Back! The Local Beet’s Last Minute, Quirky Gift Guide for 2012 Friday, December 21st, 2012
GIVEAWAY! – We Have Something for You Because We Respect the Craft Thursday, December 13th, 2012
Local Calendar 12/12/12 An Auspicious Day! The Holidays Are Here, Make Time To Get To The Markets! Wednesday, December 12th, 2012
Our Next Sponsor Offers a Year Round CSA Monday, December 10th, 2012
The Local Calendar 12/5/12 The Weather Outside Is ??? The Tables Are Still Full of Produce Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
Welcome Our First Sponsor, Be Next Monday, November 26th, 2012
The Local Calendar 11/7/12 Now That the Election is Over, Thanksgiving is Around the Corner Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
Read Local Sunday, November 4th, 2012
It’s Root Cellar Season – David Hammond’s Root Cellar Diaries Tuesday, October 30th, 2012
Weekly Harvest – 10.29.12 Monday, October 29th, 2012
Local Calendar 10/24/12 2nd Annual Celebration of Food Day!!! Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
American Cheese Month: Capriole, of Indiana Thursday, October 18th, 2012
Send a Farmer to Italy Friday, October 5th, 2012
Happy American Cheese Month!! Thursday, October 4th, 2012
The Local Calendar 9/27/12 Chicago Gourmet Festival, Indie Spirits, and Pumpkins Thursday, September 27th, 2012
Recycled – Apples & Honey for a Sweet New Year Monday, September 24th, 2012
Making the Most of the Seasonal Bounty Tuesday, September 18th, 2012
GIVEAWAY TIME! FARMERS’ MARKETS OF THE HEARTLAND Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
On the Edge of a Locapocalypse Thursday, September 6th, 2012
Pork Belly at Home Thursday, August 30th, 2012
Local Calendar 8/30/12 Enjoy the Last Days of Summer!! Thursday, August 30th, 2012
OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES: The Easy Preserving Alternative Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012
The Local Calendar 8/8/12 Drought Aid Continues, The Colors of Summer Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Pickled Beets Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Weekly Harvest 7/13/12 Sustainable Food Blogs Here and Yonder Friday, July 13th, 2012
A Slow Beet – Let’s Welcome the Sugar Beet Co-op Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Midwest Cheese Plate: An Introduction Sunday, July 1st, 2012
The Weekly Harvest 6/22/12 Sustainable Food Blogs Here and Yonder Friday, June 22nd, 2012
Strawberry Wine Jelly Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
I Take Comfort in My CSA Monday, June 18th, 2012
The Local Calendar – Snap Peas, English Peas, Favas Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
Spring Bounty 2012 Saturday, June 9th, 2012
We Have Rhubarb Thursday, June 7th, 2012
She’s Cookin’ and Not Done with Her Greens Monday, June 4th, 2012
The Local Calendar May 31 Moving Into The Bounties Of Summer Thursday, May 31st, 2012
She’s Cookin’ Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
How I Make My Lemonade Pink (and Encourage Better Snacks for the Kids) Friday, May 25th, 2012
The Slow Food Chicago Pig Roast Approaches Monday, May 21st, 2012
The Local Calendar 5/16 May Showers Bring June Flowers Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
So You Want to Eat Local, Buy the Book Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
To Market with Mo: Yes, Nettles Sting Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Slow Cookin’ With Cedar Valley Friday, May 11th, 2012
Farmer’s Markets Are What’s In Season Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Updated Forecast on Western Michigan Fruit Says to Focus on Strawberries Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup Monday, April 30th, 2012
What I’m Preserving Now by Vicki Nowicki Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Staking My Reputation: Best Steak Sauce Ever Monday, April 23rd, 2012
Weekly Calendar – 4/18/12 – Less Than A Month Until The Outdoor Markets! Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
D is For Duncan…Beet Farmer Blogger Jody Osmund Continues His Way Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Become a Local Family Now – A Year in Your Life as a Local Family Monday, April 16th, 2012
A rampstand? you betcha. Friday, April 6th, 2012
Eggscellent – Natural Eggs and Natural Egg Dying Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Friday, March 30th, 2012
This is NOT Your Momma’s Bread of Affliction Friday, March 30th, 2012
The Compost Chronicles: Urban Composter Monday, March 26th, 2012
Local Beers as an Illiquid Investment Saturday, March 24th, 2012
It Was a Good Food Festival Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Welcome to the Local Beet Sunday, March 18th, 2012
The Local Beet’s With The Good Food Festival Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
2012 CSA Guide Monday, February 27th, 2012
Hey, you. Yeah, you. Dere’s a FEW things we gotta discuss. Friday, February 24th, 2012
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Monday, February 20th, 2012
Farmers are the New Movie Stars Friday, February 17th, 2012
Michigan’s “Riesling Specialist”: Chateau Grand Traverse’s Lot 49 Is Jancis Robinson’s Wine of the Week Friday, February 10th, 2012
Oh, the Web We Weave – The Many Connections of Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Don’t Fear Saying Gouda Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Another Suburban Storagist Monday, January 30th, 2012