Local dates. I got you, huh. No one’s a-growin’ dates around here right, not even Lloyd Nichols. Well, just because I could not find any dates at the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market yesterday, does not mean I did not happily buy some dates today from Middle Eastern Flair in Norridge (yes Norridge, or as someone on Yelp said, “Who would of thought that Norridge would get something this good?). I bring this up for two reasons. First, to make the obvious but somehow necessary point, we locavores don’t have to get all our food within a few hundred miles. Sometimes we want some fresh, seasonal dates. Second, man those dates were good.
I could go on. As I already noted, the dates are in season, probably accounting for the fact that they are one of five foods mentioned in the Talmud for Rosh Hashanah. They came from California, so they were not from that far away. And as much as it aggrieves me to say, it has not been a great year for local fruit. I purchased three kinds of plums at Daley yesterday and I am still searching for one with flavor. It took one proffered taste of these dates to know I had something special to get. The one I was given to try was “half-n-half”, which seemed on first blush to be half spoiled. It was not–after all most dates are eaten dried anyways–it was sweet and sweeter. There’s a strong preference in Arabian food for premature fruits. In all the other examples I have tried, like green plums, the fruit is awfully puckish. Premature dates won’t make you wince at all.
A few years ago I heard Illinois organic farmer Stan Schutte declare that local food came as long as it took you to find it. If it takes you a visit to California, via Middle Eastern Flair in Norridge, to find seasonal dates, it does not make you any less a locavore.
Much other food stuff at Middle Eastern Flair including roasted chicken ala LA’s Zankow (true! their words); house made fresh cheese with black seeds, and various pastries. 4311 N. Harlem, Norridge, IL — (708) 457-2100.
As promised, I did receive a cheese press for my birthday. It is an old style Dutch version and it’s really big. But regardless of it’s size, it makes cheese and that’s the only thing that matters.
I wanted to start out making the easiest of the hard cheeses. Although, making even the most difficult cheeses isn’t really that hard it’s just time consuming. Anyway, I chose a nice farmhouse cheddar. My cheese making book said that you should wax this cheese and age it for at least one month. At the time that I made this cheddar I was so excited that I started making it and didn’t have any wax – by the time I ordered it and it came we had already eaten all the cheese– even so, it wasn’t bad. All that to say, you should let it age so it’ll taste it’s very best!
Ok here we go!
As always, my cheese making recipes come from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
What you’ll need…
a cheese press – there are lots of kinds: check them out here!
cheese cloth
2 pound cheese mold
2 gallons whole milk (I have my secret raw milk hook up, but just pasteurized milk will work too)
1 packet direct-set mesophillic starter
½ tsp liquid rennet (1/2 rennet tablet) dissolved in ¼ cup cool water
1 tbs cheese salt
cheese wax – or not, whatever.
Heat the milk to 90 degrees. Add the starter and let it ripen for 45 minutes. Just enough time to watched that taped episode of Project Runway – if you fast forward through commercials!
Add the dilute rennet and stir gently with an up and down motion for one minute. Cover and let stand at 90 degrees for another 45 minutes or until the curd gives a clean break.
Cut the curd into ½ inch cubes.
Here’s the only tricky part and it’s not even that tricky. Fill up your sink with really hot water. Put the pot in the water and slowly raise the temperature of the cheese by no more that two degrees per minute. This sounds really complicated but it’s not. The cheese won’t naturally heat up really fast just by putting it in the water. It’s in a huge pot and it’ll take a while. Just if you see the temperature starting to get high fast pour some cool water in the sink to slow it down.
Stir the curds gently to prevent matting. You’ll notice that the curds are shrinking too – that’s good! Cover and let the curds rest for five minutes.
Put curds into a cheese cloth lined colander and drain for 1 hour. Afterwards, break apart the curds into walnut sized pieces and mix with salt.
Firmly pack the curds into the mold. Press at 10 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes. Take the cheese out, remove the cloth, flip the cheese over, redress and press it at 20 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes. Repeat this process except now press the cheese at 50 pounds of pressure for 12 hours.
Afterwards, remove the cloth and let the cheese air dry on a cheese board until the rind is developed and the cheese is dry. For me, in this humid Chicago summer, it took 5 days, but it could take anywhere for 2-5 days depending. Flip the cheese over several times a day so it doesn’t get moist on the one side.
After it’s dry, wax the cheese. Here’s a cool video of waxing a wheel of cheese.
Let it sit on your counter for one month. Then savor the goodness.
Enjoy!
love,
Keighty
Local wine takes a big step into the mainstream as Alpana Singh, Master Sommelier and Director of Wine and Spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., selected two Illinois wines for inclusion on the wine list of local Big Bowl restaurants. The first is August Hill Winery’s Seyval Blanc — which I wrote about awhile back on The Local Beet. The second is a very climate-appropriate Cabernet Franc by Prairie State Winery in Genoa, Illinois. Both wines are produced from grapes grown in Illinois, and will be available at Big Bowl’s Chicago, Lincolnshire and Schaumburg locations. (Alpana blogged about her Illinois wine country adventures here.)
A while back, I boasted of the Local Family’s Asparagus Challenge. Eating asparagus is a seasonal treat, and it’s worth it to taut heavy aspara-use. On the other hand, I’ve probably had a tomato a day for a while now. I’m not calling that a challenge. I mean the only thing I would find challenging would be to eat a tomato in January. What better way to celebrate awesome tomato-ness than with Slow Food Chicago and their 3rd Annual TomatoFest Potluck. Beyond the good food, the event will benefit preSERVE, a community garden in North Lawndale in partnership with the North Lawndale Greening Committee, NeighborSpace, the Chicago Honey Co-Op, and Slow Food Chicago. It’s also your chance to show off your home grown tomatoes!
Bring your favorite potluck dish to share– appetizer, main course or dessert. We encourage you to use tomatoes in your contribution, but if you don’t, that’s fine too!
Bring your chair!
Organically grown wine provided by Candid Wines
Beer & soft drinks donated by Goose Island Brewery
Chicago Honey Coop is an urban apiary dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices. This West Side bee farm houses about 100 chemical-free hives on the site of the original Sears headquarters. Tours of the apiary and the preSERVE garden will be given, and we will harvest black eyed peas and crowder beans. Bee Etiquette: Please wear light colored clothing and a hat. Don’t wear perfumes or colognes or scents.
| Where & When |
| Thursday, September 9, 2010 5:30-8:30 pm Chicago Honey Coop 3740 W. Fillmore Cost: $10.00 for Slow Food members and Honey Coop members + side dish or dessert. $15.00 for non-members + side dish or dessert.Children are free Contact:
Volunteer at TomatoFest and get in free!
Buy a Sandwich, Build a Garden, our fundraiser for the preSERVE garden!
Rain Date: Friday, September 10th, 5:30-8:30 pm |
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If you think Cleetus and the City Provisions crew are pouring all the attention into the about to open deli, you’d be wrong. They are still knee deep in farm dinners, and they have one forthcoming at Heritage Prairie Farm.
City Provisions Farm Dinner at Heritage Prairie Market & Farm
Here are the details…
September 11, 2010
Heritage Prairie Market & Farm, Elburn, IL
Great Lakes Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Meet:
1 p.m. at City Provisions (returns to City Provisions about 11 p.m.)
1820 W. Wilson Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
773-293-2489
City Provisions 2010 Farm Dinners
Tickets are $175 per person and include round trip transportation to the farm on a
biodiesel bus, snacks and beer on the bus, a tour of the farm, a five-course meal with beer
pairings on the farm, the evening closes with a bonfire and campfire treats!
Visit www.cityprovisions.com for more information.
Tax and tip are also included.
Call 773.293.2489 or
Email: supperclub@cityprovisions.com to make your reservation.
Roger Williams Dr., East of Green Bay Road
Adjacent to Jens Jensen Park
Highland Park (Ravinia), IL
Hours: 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM Wednesdays, June 16th through October 20th
This week’s Neighborhood Feature: Belle Fleur, 487 Roger Williams Dr., Ravinia
Belle Fleur is a charming and homey shop, across the street from Jens Jensen Park, which carries many reasonably-priced decorative items for the home. The friendly and personable proprietess, Cheryl Richter, has been at this location for three years, and specializes in items of whimsy (metal flying pig sculptures, $109; metal high-button shoes, $24 each), as well as things with a French twist, reflecting her interest in European travel. Ms. Richter also provides in-home decorating services, for the coordination-impaired. Fun place, full of charming gift ideas.
Hours: Tues. – Sat. 10-5 Telephone: 847.780.4939 Email: cherylrichter@yahoo.com
August 25th Update – What was new and in season this week:
Several vendors MIA this week, including Gramp’s Gourmet Pickles and Necessity Baking Co. Hoping for a full house on 9/1, as harvest season is suddenly upon us:
- Klug Orchards, Berrien Center, MI: Several varieties of plums; Klug is now displaying the orchard’s organic certification. Kevin Klug will be delivering the first of the deliveries of dressed lamb, raised at his farm, this week; ½ and ¼ lambs, butchered into the typical cuts, and cryopaked for the freezer, are $8.95 per lb. Deliveries will continue until the end of the market season. Contact him at kevinklug@gmail.com for further information on availability.
- Red Barn Farms, Woodstock, IL: Mirai sweet corn, dill weed and pickle cucumbers
- K&K Farms, Coloma, MI: Bartlett pears available – fall is upon us, alas
- LeilaLove (PomOlive): new variety of pomegranate/olive spread available, incorporating caramelized garlic. Very delicious and unique.
We recently told you about a locavore dinner at the StarGrazer Cafe in Graylake. Event organizer Jim Javenkoski provided us this recap to whet your whistle for more locavore dinners, whether organized by Jim or made yourself.
Feasting with Farmers at StarGrazer Cafe
On August 20th, StarGrazer Cafe (Grayslake, IL) hosted its first-ever Locavore Dinner. The dinner attracted 28 guests, including the farm families from Sandhill Organics, Dea Dia Organics and Wild Goose Farm, all of whom grow food crops (and raise chickens and pigs, in the case of Dea Dia Organics) on the fertile soil of Prairie Crossing, a conservation community of 359 homes located in Lake County about 35 miles north-northwest of downtown Chicago. StarGrazer Cafe, owned and operated by chef Tim Kuck, is a sustainability-focused restaurant which opened in October 2009.While planning the event, Tim and I agreed that the menu should maximize the number of ingredients sourced from the on-site farms, all which are located about a mile from the restaurant. The proximity of farms and forks enabled us to offer a hyper-locavore dinner in terms of distance and food freshness. The vegetables, fruits and herbs were harvested within 24 hours of the meal and delivered directly to Tim, ensuring they retained all of their nutrients and sensory qualities prior to preparation. Additionally, each course was paired with craft beers from Mickey Finn’s Brewery in Libertyville, located just 4 miles from StarGrazer Cafe. Brewmaster Greg Browne joined us for the meal and offered insights about the ingredients and methods he uses to brew his beers, which were enthusiastically poured from growlers at each table during the meal.
Following my brief welcome to the guests, our dinner began with a family-style platter of three crostini featuring sweet and sour honey goat cheese, peach and scallion shredded pork and cucumber and heirloom tomato. The honey was sourced from the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and the goat cheese was hand-made at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery (Champaign, IL). The scallions and pork were produced on-site by Dea Dia Organics and the cucumber and heirloom tomatoes were grown by Sandhill Organics. We paired the crostini with Gudenteit Hefeweiss (5.2% ABV, 12 IBU), a refreshingly effervescent wheat ale with subtle banana/clove notes.
The second course was a delicious gazpacho made from a selection of roasted summer vegetables. The tomatoes were grown on-site by Sandhill Organics, the zucchini and yellow squash were sourced from Natural Farm Stand (Richmond, IL) and the onions and herbs were grown on-site by Dea Dia Organics. We paired the gazpacho with Hopgarden Helles (5.5% ABV, 15 IBU), a robust lager with an appealing aroma of roasted malt and yeasty bread dough.
Prior to serving the entrees, StarGrazer Cafe’s staff presented two salad courses, both of which included seasonal fruit. The blueberry/blue cheese/beets salad featured blueberries grown on-site at the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and a combination of red, orange and heirloom beets grown on-site by Sandhill Organics. On a hunch, Chef Tim smoked the beets over apple and cherry wood for 12 hours and the results were indescribably delicious! This successful culinary experiment has ensured that smoked beets will become a seasonal staple on StarGrazer Cafe’s menu. The grilled peach and mozzarella salad was equally delightful and a perfect companion for the beer pairing. Katarina Wit (5.7% ABV, 18 IBU) is a Belgian-inspired white ale brewed with coriander, orange peel and lemon peel (and a liquid homage to the famous German figure skater). The peaches were grown in Michigan and purchased from Natural Farm Stand.
When the entrees were served, all of the guests had been happily chatting and chowing for about 45 minutes. Just by chance, each of the three communal tables for the dinner included one of the farm families from Prairie Crossing, offering all of the guests a unique opportunity to share a meal with the people who provided the food. The first entree was blueberry-rum marinated pork shoulder, prepared with blueberries from the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and pork raised on-site by Dea Dia Organics. The companion entree was grass-fed beef tenderloin with vanilla wine sauce, featuring beef from none other than Dietzler Farms (Elkhorn, WI) and vanilla extract from Nielsen-Massey Vanillas (Waukegan, IL). Both entrees were accompanied by succotash (Swiss chard, kale, corn and torpedo onions) and roasted Peruvian blue and huckleberry (pink) potatoes, the latter of which is an heirloom variety. We paired the entrees with Dog Days Summer Ale (4.2% ABV, 25 IBU), a pale and hoppy brew with subtle floral and citrus undertones that slightly amplified the fruit and vanilla notes of the pork and beef preparations, respectively.
The final course of our feast was an almond waffle topped with peach-pecan ice cream. The dual textures and temperature contrast between the ingredients made this a scrumptious conclusion to a deliciously satisfying meal. The characteristic malty flavor of the waffle was enhanced by Legspinner Barley Wine (9% ABV, 35 IBU), a strong ale with a robustly malty and slightly fruity flavor profile.
Buying locally-grown foods produces a positive, residual effect as those food dollars multiply while circulating through the community. An additional benefit of purchasing food from farmers is re-establishing a clear line-of-sight to the origin of our food.
Additional background and details can be found here.
It’s here, the Corks and Crayons benefit for Purple Asparagus. In addition to the party, there’s a farmer’s market. You do not need to attend the benefit to shop the market. One of the things you can buy from some little locavores is farm eggs. The Chicago Tribune reminded us yet again that the economies of industrial food do not produce the food we want (or need). Instead, get local eggs. And today, when you go for your local eggs, go get them at the Corks and Crayon Market. Your good eggs will support some good eggs.
Uncommon Ground
1401 W Devon Ave, Chicago
4-7pm
As we have let you know, Sunday August 29 is the Corks and Crayons benefit for Purple Asparagus. We have yet to tell you that the party Sunday also features a farmer’s market manned by some Little Locavore friends of ours, including some actually not so little Local Family teens. They want you to come by and buy farm fresh, organic produce from them. In fact, you do not otherwise need a ticket to the Corks and Crayons event to dig into their market. They’ll have assorted heirloom tomatoes, seasonal peppers, speciality melons, sweet corn to eat soon and a bunch of other great stuff. You can fill up your larder while supporting a very important cause.
Uncommon Ground
1401 W Devon Ave, Chicago
4-7pm
Last weekend, the second annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival was held at Grand Traverse Commons, a bucolic complex featuring yellow Italianate brick buildings set amid rolling hills. The Wine and Arts Festival draws together mostly all of the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsula winemakers in one place to offer tastings of their wine. (Incidentally, the Wine Fest followed a Mario Batali event at the same venue the prior weekend — Batali is a part-time Traverse City area resident and local food and wine supporter.) The fest also featured food from prominent Traverse City restaurants — and the food at this festival should be more of a draw. Most festival food is bland, overly salty, fried and tired, but many of these restaurants prepared food on-site, and offered fresh, vibrant selections of sophisticated (and mostly local) food for a reasonable price, such as grilled Middle Eastern food, grilled beef tenderloin, and Indian-inspired vegetarian meals with fresh, local vegetables. (As an aside, this is partly due to Traverse City’s stellar dining scene — the bar for food is set high, and the festival’s food reflects that.)
Although the fest is clearly in its infancy, it’s off to a good start. First, some minor kvetches: The music and entertainment could be better-suited to the event. The art portion could be larger, but again, I think it’s clear that wine is the focus, and the relatively small art section might be a by-product of that strategy. Finally, I wish the Festival organizers would have a clearer idea as to who comprises their target audience. This is reflected most prominently in the bland generic logo for the event, which is plastered on posters and merchandise advertising the event. Given the arts angle, it seems like this could be re-worked to better reflect the creativity of the participating artists as well as the forward-thinking winemakers. (Not to mention that, ostensibly, an enticing logo can be used to help sell merchandise to underwrite the Festival.)
Those nitpicks aside (and they are nitpicks), there is virtually nothing comparable to the Traverse City Wine & Arts Festival from a local wine perspective in which to try the best locally-produced wine, and interact with the winemakers under one tent. Judging by the crowds, and the emphasis on wine (as opposed to other aspects of the festival), there is clearly interest in local wine. White wine in particular — Northern Michigan’s specialty — was poured in abundance. Even those winemakers that focus on reds (such as 2 Lads) poured strictly whites and rosés, no doubt a nod to the summer weather.
My favorites were:
Chateau Grand Traverse ’08 Dry Riesling with its floral nose and sweet, muted honey notes that is balanced by zesty lime and green apple — it is elegant, and finishes clean on the palate.
Left Foot Charley’s Murmur ‘09: Bryan Ulbrich, LFC’s winemaker, writes “The art of blending . . . Is underappreciated.” And you what? He’s right! “Murmur” is an Alsatian “Edelzwicker”-style white blend. This semi-dry wine blends primarily Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Grigio with a little Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Traminette. I think this would be great with seafood, or any food you’d normally serve with an Alsatian white blend.
2 Lads’ lovely fruit-forward ‘09 Rosé of Cabernet Franc with its rich pink color that tastes like raspberry and the tangy “green” of rhubarb. Any easy summer drinker.
Black Star Farms Arcturos Pinot Noir, which exhibits a fruity flavor redolent of ripe red berries, it’s a classic, easy-drinking Michigan Pinot Noir.
Any of L. Mawby’s méthode champenoise sparkling wines, most notably the demi-sec J’Adore, a blend of locally grown pinot noir, vignoles, pinot gris and chardonnay. I love the complexity and color of Mawby’s wines — just watching the fine bubbles traversing up and down the glass are a testament to Mawby’s mastery of sparkling wines.
Of the wineries that I had not tried before last weekend‘s event, I enjoyed Chateau Fontaine’s “Woodland White”, made with 100% Auxerrois.
Some pictures from the event:
Grand Traverse Commons
Tasting Tent
Larry Mawby
The added benefit of going up to Traverse City for the weekend is that you can take a day or two and visit your favorites wineries. Stay tuned. . .
For the most part, this summer, Angelo Caputo’s has not played the local card in their weekly ads. I’ve been a bit surprised as I know they sell about as much local produce as they can. They rectify that this week, putting “Michigan Grown” in the center, front of their weekly flyer. Jewel continues to strongly feature local produce and Dominick’s makes a locavore comeback this week. The other stores who advertise in my Chicago Trib, Food4Less, and Ultra and Aldi show no local.
One second before we get to what’s on offer. Let’s discuss price. The costs of local foods seems to be on everyone’s minds right now (and we have a piece in process of saving money while eating local), but the prices on display in the ads are quite illustrative. On one hand, Angelo Caputo’s has all their local foods priced at less that $1/lb. Dominicks, on the other hand, charges $2/lb for local lettuce and $2/lb for freakin’ hot house (not local) tomatoes. In other words one can find bargains and high prices wherever they shop.
Angelo Caputo’s
Jewel
Dominicks
Last week’s grocery store report is here.
Over 500 million eggs recalled. One major company with a long history of bad behavior. Over 1,300 sick.
We’ve heard the term “too big to fail” apply to banks and financial companies. We even passed financial reform in the hopes (hopefully) that we won’t hear that phrase again.
But in the food spectrum, “too big to fail” has been going on for some time. And this egg recall is just the latest straw.
The FDA came out and said it needs more power for a “preventive approach.”
It’s extremely easy to say, “Know where your food is grown.” Unfortunately, that option isn’t viable to most Americans, and they need to be protected, too.
For more on this saga, check out my column on this topic from my blog, BalanceofFood.com.
WTTW showed a documentary — “Farm Fresh to You” — Sunday night on the benefits of locally grown food, specifically in Southwestern Michigan. Judy Kite Gosh used to live in Chicago but moved to Harbor Country to start a restaurant. Gosh takes us to meet some of the local farmers, showing how what they grow ends up on our plates.
There are nice cameos from Chicago figures such as Rick Bayless, Bill Kurtis, and Jean Joho of Everest Restaurant.
You see the appreciation for the unique products that come from this corner of Michigan, and some of the history, including a story about how farmers would drive their produce to the town square in Benton Harbor, Michigan and start selling their goods.
The documentary is rebroadcast on WTTW at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning (think really late Monday night). Thank goodness for DVRs.
If you’re like me and you’re feeling oppressed by the intense summer heat and you find that it is simply too hot to stand over a stove of boiling milk to make cheese – take a break and eat some else’s cheese.
Besides all the fabulous cheese makers that sell their products at farmers markets and local stores here in Chicago, there are a ton of restaurants that have wonderful cheese plates featuring local delicious cheese.
Cheese plates are such a great thing. They are served to you – no cutting required! They are usually only found at restaurant where the chefs know what they’re doing so you know you’re getting some great cheese and they’re usually paired with a swoosh of jam or preserves to bring out the flavors in the dairy. And they make an excellent dessert – especially when paired with a dessert wine!
It’s true that most of the time that you’ve seen a cheese plate it is at a wine tasting or a restaurant dedicated to their wine. But cheese plates are becoming more and more popular as the “real food” trend continues. Which is great for us because cheese is the best and really good homemade cheese is even better.
Pairing cheese, like pairing wine, is a skill that has to be learned. You can’t just throw a giant porterhouse steak and an albarino together – well you could, but it wouldn’t be displaying the wine’s and the steak’s hidden flavors. This is a great reason to go out and order a cheese plate because these chefs know how to pair things to bring out their food. And in case you don’t know just what preserve would go best with your homemade brie, check out some of these spots to get some ideas.
There are a lot of great dining establishments in Chicago that offer cheese plates but I am just going to name a few. The ones I’ve chosen are affordable and approachable to most and they’re my favorites.
The Purple Pig, at 500 North Michigan, offers a large selection of homemade cheeses including ‘Big Ed’s’ and ‘Truffle Tremor’. They also have a wide array of house-cured charcuterie to munch on with your cheese.
Lula Café, at 2537 North Kedzie, has a delicious plate that is constantly changing. If you get this plate ask for a glass of the Solera Crème dessert wine, it cuts through the fat and really brings out the distinct notes in the cheese.
Longman and Eagle, at 2657 North Kedzie, have a wonderful spread that can be eaten after dinner or simply as an after work snack with a glass of sparkling rose – which is how I did it.
Bin Wine Café, at 1559 North Milwaukee, while best known to me for their Tuesday night hamburger specials, this place has an awesome cheese options that can be cleverly paired with a wine flight. (wine flight optional but oh so good).
So there are a few places where you get started trying out new cheese and to get some ideas for your own pairings while supporting your local businesses and maybe finding a new favorite restaurant!
We will get back to making cheese soon but in the mean time, have a long, leisurely meal and try a cheese plate for dessert in the restaurant’s air conditioning until it cools down a little.
Love,
Keighty
