Results tagged “farmersmarkets”

Two years ago, we bought our first local turkey to serve for Thanksgiving. At the time, it was mostly an ethical decision - after reading far too much about turkeys that are too breast-heavy to walk and too stupid to mate on their own, we didn’t want any part of the turkey empire that is Butterball. We visited a farm near our parents' home in Iowa, picked out a turkey that seemed lively and drove home with it that very day. After brining and roasting, the turkey was presented to family and friends, and we realized the other reason to buy local - it tastes better. Much better.

This time of year is probably the most bountiful for our farmers markets, with a litany of in season fruits and vegetables available for purchase before the weather truly turns. With pumpkins and other gourds ripening, apples and pears available by the bushel, and root vegetables ready for the spotlight it's also an exciting time for home cooks.

Sad news for Soul Food fans this morning: Helen Maybell Anglin, who founded South Side staple Soul Queen, passed away yesterday at the age of 80. Take a pilgrimage to 90th and Stony Island this weekend in Ms. Anglin's honor. [Sun-Times]

                    

We’ve already raved about the tasty chocolates and caramels made by Katherine Anne Confections, and we buy them most weeks at her stand at the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market. A few weeks ago, while biting into a chocolate-covered caramel, we realized that we had no idea how fancy chocolates were made. We thought it had something to do with milk and sugar and dipping, but the actual process (aside from what we glimpsed in the movie Chocolat) was a complete mystery. Katherine graciously allowed us into her kitchen to clear things up, and we have returned with photos.

Walmart will be hosting a “Fresh Farmer’s Market” Saturday at the site of their proposed store in Chatham, at 83rd and Stewart. Press releases were sent to local news outlets, and the Tribune’s story on the market remained on their site’s front page all day yesterday. Could it be true? Could Walmart actually be getting involved with the community and promoting products grown here, rather than in China or Mexico? Or is this just another shot in the ongoing battle between Walmart and the City Council? (Ed. Note: A Sun-Times op-ed today weighs in favor of a Walmart in Chatham. — CS)

          

As promised, we got up very very early to hit the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market as soon as it opened on Thursday morning. In future entries, we'll be visiting a varieties of farmer's markets around the city, but for the first day of the season, we returned to our old standby.

         

The weather Saturday was more akin to late March than early May, but it didn't keep people from venturing to the southern tip of Lincoln Park for the first outdoor weekend of Green City Market. We loaded up on microgreens, Piedmontese beef tri-tip roasts from Heartland Meats and ground elk from Hawks Hill Elk Ranch, and ate a cheeseburger worthy of Kevin Pang's attention from the fine folks at Sunday Dinner.

This Thursday, May 14, the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market opens for the season! Don't let the enthusiasm for the wonderful Green City Market blind you to all the other great farmer's markets in the city, especially this one. Drop in on your way to work - it's centrally located, full of everything from flowers to baked goods to produce, and a great spot to grab a quick breakfast snack or meals for a week! We'll be there early, and we'll post pictures of the first selections of spring produce. 7AM-3PM, 50 W. Washington.

The farmers markets are heading indoors with the coming of winter. The Family Farmed EXPO 2008, held this weekend at the Cultural Center, is an annual event featuring an indoor farmers market, seminars on the food to table movement, exhibitions and cooking demonstrations.

It's turning out to be a picture perfect autumn morning, don't you think? Here are some events over the next seven days to tie you over while we fill our flask with some Bulleit bourbon.

A couple weeks back we attended the Green City Market farmer's dinner at Goose Island's Clybourn brewpub. That was the one that featured dishes from a host of chefs including Dean Zanella of 312 Chicago; Brian Huston of Paul Kahan's the Publican (opening in mid-autumn); Elissa Narow of Custom House and Paul Virant of Vie in Western Springs. Virant's dish was easily the most ambitious of the courses, utilizing lamb in unexpected ways. Virant sourced the lamb from Mint Creek Farm in downstate Stelle.

Lots of festivals, tastings and food-related events this week, people.

One of the great things about shopping at farmers markets is having the luxury to grab a quick bite while looking for deals. Green City Market has Hoosier Mama pies, fresh crepes, organic baked goods from Bleeding Heart Bakery, fresh juices and smoothies, among noshables.

A couple of localvore items of note to start:

Travel + Leisure, CNN.com and Headline News tag-teammed a really arbitrary survey of 60,000 people about the "best" cities. And we did pretty OK, so...awesome poll guys! According to the story, we have the best skyline and the worst weather. Worse than Minneapolis. Ouch, dudes. Ouch. We ranked first out of 25 cities in: best food and dining overall, best pizza, best home design shopping, best business trip (that's secretly fun), and sports' fan...

Angels will get their wings this Saturday night at Custom House. From 6-9 p.m. Shawn McClain's South Loop steakhouse is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Blue Sky Inn. Frequent shoppers at area farmers markets might be familiar with Blue Sky Inn for the work they do with their transitional work program, "A Taste of Success." The program hires and trains homeless youth in baking pastries, which are then sold at farmers markets and through catering...

A couple years back we had a Chicagoist alum who chronicled his attempts to grow his own tomatoes from seeds. If you click those links, you'll notice that he wasn't very successful. Now, we have something of a green thumb. Our apartment is full of various ficuses, cacti, African violets, rhododendron, split leaf philodendron and other plants we've been tending for a friend for so long, they now qualify as ours. Still, we were hesitant...

We don’t know about you, but Chicagoist always feels healthier just by walking around a farmers market. And that’s even before we get home and sample any of our beautiful bounty. That’s especially true at the Green City Market, which features products from local, small-scale, certified organic/sustainable vendors twice at week at the south end of Lincoln Park. Perhaps it’s the colorful array of produce, soothing live music, pristine flowers and giggling kids here that feed our inner Pollyanna and make us feel that, yes, things really are going to get better (the occasional sighting of a hunky local chef doesn’t hurt either). Heck, even the dogs are down with the program and get along.

File this under "chutzpah." An antitrust lawsuit (Adobe PDF file) filed by the Federal Trade Commission this week against Whole Foods, which seeks to block the organic food giant's purchase of its closest competitor Wild Oats, revealed that anonymous postings to business and financial forums criticizing the price of Wild Oats stock were actually authored by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. Mackey's postings, made under the name "radoheb" from 1999 to 2006, consistently criticized the...

Saturday the sun and heat agreed with Chicagoist. So we saddled up on our seven-year-old Schwinn Mesa GS and beat a straight line north on Halsted to the Lincoln Park farmers market. We just had some chicken butchered for us at Chicago Live Poultry House in Little Village, and had some ideas of how we wanted to prepare the cuts.

As you listen to the heat mercifully click on again, perhaps ushered in by the tell-tale blonks and cloinks of the radiator, you might be inclined to give in to the idea that winter is already here. That, once again, the icy chill will force you to wear a jacket over your Halloween costume. We know -- sigh.

We have never made it a secret that we like bees* and the good work they do. However, we know that people tend to be wary of bees. And ex-convicts. The public at large tends to get anxious at the sight of, starts backing away from, and doesn't have a really friendly relationship with bees or ex-cons. But in the neighborhood of North Lawndale, there are people working hard to make a difference in the lives of people who have served time and have criminal records or other barriers to employment. The North Lawndale Employment Network, created in 1997, has implemented their Sweet Beginnings program.

If you’re like Chicagoist, summer is usually a time for a renewed effort to eat better and exercise more, mostly to offset our time spent at various drunkfests. We usually find inspiration for healthy, or at least more wholesome, eats at local farmers markets, which are now in full swing around the city.

Bloodshot Records has teamed up with Farm Aid to bring music to the farmer's markets around the city next week. These performances are early, and we all know the early bird gets the best produce. All shows are free and are scheduled as follows.

Sorry, we're just not a fan of Whole Foods. It's one of those buzz phrases- "Starbucks", "Irish pub", and "Golden Tee" are others- that makes us break out in hives and forces us to crane our heads looking for ballcap-wearing graduates of Big Ten universities. Chicagoist is a frugal lot and has often asked itself whether we're paying for the products Whole Foods sells or the privilege of shopping at Whole Foods. Besides when we can buy fresh produce for a fraction of the cost at Stanley's, Cermak Produce, Egg Store on the South side, farmers markets, or any of the legion of mom-and-pop produce stores across the city, which gives us more money for beer.

20 years after the first Farm Aid concert occurred in Champaign, Illinois the concert is coming back to our fair state on September 18th at the Tweeter Center. So far the usual Farm Aid players are confirmed: Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellancamp, and Dave Matthews. Wilco has also been slated. Tickets for the fundraising concert go on sale July 30th at 10 a.m. A contest from Organic Valley for free tickets is going on through July 31st.

Chicagoist is happy to announce the addition of two new foodies to help Erin and Kevin out in their local food coverage. Chuck Sudo, who hails from the northwest side and currently lives in Bridgeport, will handle all neighborhood eating on the south side of town, as well as All-Things-Alcohol. The man has mad knowledge of booze. Taking care of the cooking and recipe beat is Little Italy's own Colleen Hines. Colleen also will delve...

Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Seems Martha Stewart isn't the only felon who will supporting herself by getting all domestic. In spite of Chicago's budget deficits, Mayor Daley found $259,367 to help ex-cons make honey.

Farmer's markets are cool. Period. You got your fresh tomatos, greens, maybe some fresh eggs, and then there's the whole thing where you get to meet the people that grew your food. When you live in a city, that kind of connection to the earth is a nice thing, and starting June 24, the Fulton Market area will have a night farmers' market every Thursday, 4pm to 8pm through October 28. For those of us who've been around long enough to remember when the swankiest place on West Randolph was Barney's teak house on Halsted and Randolph ("Yes sir, Senator!"), a night farmer's market seems like life coming full circle, since West Randolph and Fulton Market were actually wholesale food markets about twenty years ago.