Looking to shop local for the holidays? Consider heading to Ms. Mint's 2nd Annual Local and Fair Trade Holiday Bazaar. more ›

Baked goods are the downfall of many a healthy eater. There are few things as deliciously decadent as freshly baked cookies and cakes. Sadly, they are not often the healthiest of choices. Baked goods tend to be high in sugar, processed carbs, trans-fats, and even preservatives. Of course, this does not have to be the case. Thanks to the culinary artistry of the folks at B True Bakery, pastry lovers can now be true to themselves. more ›

In today's issue of Newsweek, Lisa Miller takes on a story that we have been following for months - the effect of our changing dietary habits on American society. Unlike most of the media coverage of this, which focuses on a ridiculous (and mostly made-up) "war" against foodies, Miller focuses on the impact of new food trends on America's perception of class. Despite the hysterical cover title ("how our foodie obsession is driving americans apart") she ends up with a fairly dead-on description of the problems underlying America's food culture. more ›

Localvore advocate and food science PhD holder Jim Javenkoski has put together another localvore dinner, this time partnering with Michael Kornick, Erick Williams, Tony Galzin and the staff at mk. more ›

(For Part 1, click here.) more ›

Jim Javenkoski has graced this corner of the internet before in his former roles as "Culinary Attaché" for Unibroue and "Ale-vangelist" for Arcadia ales. The holder of a PhD. in food science, Javenkoski has since turned his attention to the localvore and sustainability movements, producing dinners that showcase the bounty and environmental benefits of local farms. more ›

Shoppers at Green City Market may know Kate Gross as one of the folks selling arugula, cavolo nero and other heirloom greens and produce at the Kinnikinnick Farm booth. Gross is also an accomplished photographer; her photos of local farms seem to almost jump off the screen in their color and vibrancy. more ›

If you're a frequent visitor to the weekly Pilsen Community Market — and judging from the crowd yesterday you probably aren't — you might have already tried some of Donna Oppolo's honey, made from her five hives in Pilsen. Oppolo, a longtime Pilsen resident and beekeeper, tends to two hives in her backyard and another three at the Growing Station Community Garden at 21st and Sangamon, each hive populated by 50,000 bees. Of her apiary charges, Oppolo said, "It's like having nearly a quarter million pets." more ›

Unlike last year, when a fast but furious downpour hit just as the gates opened, the weather cooperated at last night's Green City Market Chefs BBQ. With the talents of most of the city's best chefs and cocktail alchemists on display, some folks have called the annual event "the real Taste of Chicago." It's certainly a Bizzaro version of Taste. While there weren't any turkey legs bigger than a baby's arm or random acts of violence, there was beer can chicken (courtesy of the folks at NoMI) and an estimated 2,000 people paying $100 a ticket for the chance to get their grub on during a hot and muggy Chicago evening. more ›

Ever contemplated the logistics of raising your own chickens in the city? Or wanted advice on how to enjoy local and organic food without wrecking your budget? If so, last Saturday’s Local Food Festival at UIC Forum, part of the 3-day Family Farmed Expo, was the place to be. The expert-led workshops included topics like “Drinking Farm to Glass”, offering tips on choosing beverages that sustain the community, and “Local and Organic Eating on a Dime”, demonstrating how to eat healthy organic food on a budget. The lively “Backyard Chickens” workshop featured a panel of inspiring chicken keepers sharing secrets to raising urban chickens (a legal practice in Chicago), including choosing the right breed, construction of pen and coop, and appeasing your weary neighbors with fresh eggs. more ›

The annual FamilyFarmed Expo has outgrown the confines of its old host, the Chicago Cultural Center, and will go down march 11-13 at the brand spanking new UIC Forum (725 W. Roosevelt Rd.). more ›

Congratulations to Rob Gardner and the folks at the Local Beet, who are celebrating their one-year anniversary removed from beta testing and are still the go-to guide for all foods and drink locally sourced. Gardner reflected on the past twelve months Monday, their 2010 CSA guide has just been released, and they were on top of it late last week with a roundup of new farmers markets popping up for the warm weather months. more ›

(Ed. Note: This post contains photographs that some readers may consider graphic. However, given the interest in snout-to-tail dining, as well as the educational subject of this post's content, it is our opinion that the photographs are essential component to the story. - C. Sudo) more ›

One aspect of the farm-to-table movement lacking from the Local Beet's coverage of all things localvore is a roundup of restaurants, grocers, bakeries and caterers. The Local Beet is more policy and example-driven, which is great for the home cook and farmers market enthusiast. For the localvore who's looking for a restaurant, however, there really isn't a one-stop guide. more ›

Yesterday Kevin and I went to St. Anne, IL in Kankakee County (where AT&T's 3G service fears to tread, apparently) to attend the Local Beet's inaugural farm dinner at Genesis Growers. It was my third official farm dinner of the year and it was interesting to look back at how the growing season has progressed since that first City Provisions farm dinner at River Valley and the Outstanding in the Field dinner at Kinnikinnick Farm. Back in August it looked like Kinnikinnick's tomatoes would never ripen. Now we're trying to can as many tomatoes as possible and get ready for peppers, gourds and fall root vegetables. more ›

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) more ›

Surrounded by dirt, trellises, plants and happy gardeners; you would think we had wandered into a fairy tale about sustainable agriculture. Which, in a way, we had … except this storybook was set in a magical land 20 feet above the ground. On Saturday, Uncommon Ground opened America’s first organically certified rooftop garden at their Devon Avenue location, and they invited Mayor Daley to join in the revelry. more ›

We snuck a tiny blurb into last week's "BotW" post about City Provisions's Saturday farm dinner (we're including the entire schedule here, in PDF format). more ›

Our Saturday visit to Green City Market resulted in a pirate's booty of fresh produce, planters, milk and meats. The highlight of our visit was the purchase of French breakfast radishes and white carrots from Green Acres Farm in North Judson, IN. June is when radishes just begin to make their way to farmers markets and Green Acres's French breakfast radishes have a crispness when you bite into them and taste best raw with a little bit of butter and salt. Wanting to use all of the purchase, we made a pesto from the radish greens. (Incidentally, radishes will be the subject of a future "Ingredient in Focus" post.) The white carrots were a revelation, with a taste to their greens similar to cilantro. We dehydrated some and used them on tacos last night. more ›

Mike Gebert took a road trip to Iowa recently to film some behind-the-scenes footage at La Quercia in Norwalk, IA. La Quercia owners Herb and Kathy Eckhouse make some of the best dry-cured artisan salumi available, particularly prosciutto and guanciale. Jeffrey Steingarten called La Quercia's prosciutto "the best American or imported prosciutto [he's] ever tasted," while Bon Appetit once named La Quercia "Food Artisans of the Year." more ›

Chicago Community Ventures recently awarded City Provisions Catering and Eventsand Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks as part of its Sustain Illinois competition. Irv & Shelly's, as readers know, delivers local organic and seasonal produce, meats, dairy and breads to its subscribers and is one of the more popular CSA programs in the area. more ›

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. more ›

We're all for hopping on the localvore train, but is raising farm animals on your back porch taking things a bit too far? Not according to some city residents, who have taken to raising chickens outside their urban households, a practice which is perfectly legal in Chicago. more ›

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. more ›

Joining a Community Supported Agriculture program is a great way to cut out the middleman and get just a little bit closer to your food supply. more ›

This has been making the rounds at other blogs, but we still wanted to share it with you. Mike Gebert at Sky Full of Bacon followed around localvore hero Rob Gardner as Gardner acquired a pig's head from the Oak Park Farmer's Market, then took it to Mado, where chef/co-owner Rob Levitt promptly made testa (aka "head cheese") out of it. This video is not for vegans or the queasy, nor should it be. more ›

Growing up in a family with Southern roots, we were always exposed to freshly butchered meat. Mom bought poultry on a regular basis from Ciales on Armitage or Western Meat Market, by Clemente High School. Our stepfather's family ran a livestock abbatoir/market in Mississippi. One of our first summer jobs was at a catfish farm in Tennessee. We were paid by the dressed pound, which might have seemed like an urchin's wage. But that job paid for our first trip to Mexico. Our brother-in-law traps raccoons in Wisconsin every winter to sell the fur and cook the meat, and we've hunted for deer, boar and the wily squirrel. It forces one to come to terms in his approach towards eating meat. It's not taken lightly in our family, believe that. more ›

I think the title of this post says it all, don't you? more ›

Tomorrow is the start of the annual Green City Market Localvore Challenge, where market regulars who partake in the challenge must commit to eating only locally produced food. more ›

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