Green City Market is open for business. Even though it's still early in the season, there are plenty of goodies to be found. more ›

The markets will serve the west side as part of the mayor's plan to improve access to fresh food. Also part of the plan? A whole mess o' Wal-Marts. more ›

We're not talking about Green City - we're talking about corporate buyers. In collaboration with the USDA, Chicago-based FamilyFarmed has created a program that helps small farmers break into big markets. more ›

The indoor winter market runs from January through April. Matthias Merges, Chef of newly-opened Yusho, will be running a demo. more ›

In the last few months, farm dinners have been popping up everywhere. And, let's be honest, they are often quite expensive. Readers often ask us what exactly goes on at a farm dinner. Do you just, like, go to a farm and eat? We asked Slagel Family Farm, host of last month's Publican farm dinner, to share some moments from a typical farm dinner. Hopefully, these will start to answer your questions. more ›

"Every week, I find something I didn't realize was in season or I didn't realize was possible to grow here," explained Bruce Sherman, of North Pond Restaurant, as he picked over the produce on a recent Wednesday at Green City Market. Diners have gotten used to seeing producers and market names all over menus, and during the summer, Chicago restaurants are inundated with farm-to-table dishes. Sherman, and many other Chicago chefs, go a step further, and visit the market every week, talking to farmers (many of whom are now old friends) and picking up their orders themselves. We followed Chef Sherman through the market to learn how a chef shops for produce. more ›

Every time we go to a farmer's market, we're amazed by how much has changed from the week before. One of the best things about talking to farmers and buying local produce is that you get back in touch with the seasonality of food - when things are available and at their peak. Right now, the colors of the market are bursting into full bloom, as the market moves out of its green period and into the bright oranges, purples and reds of mid-summer. It's not quite peak harvest time yet, but if you haven't been to the market lately, go on Saturday. more ›

It's a fantasy dream for gardeners and localvores - if only our backyard looked like this. more ›

If you're not a fan of Trump, don't worry - you don't have to go inside the glittering tower of wealth, power and over-priced cocktails to get to the market. more ›

The USDA regularly tests produce for pesticides and other chemicals - and they were surprised to find cilantro (the first fresh herb tested) was absolutely loaded with pesticides. The Tribune's Monica Eng reported that 94% of the samples taken by the USDA tested positive for at least one pesticide, and 44% showed pesticides not approved for use in Cilantro - the number in apples was 2%. more ›

A few weeks back, we brought you news of an aldermanic hissy fit that threatened the life of the Logan Square Farmers Market. Alderman Rey Colon objected that campaign material for his opponent in the last election had been handed out at the market, and tried to shut it down. The response was immediate - on every website that covered the story, angry comments piled up - and a few days later, Colon withdrew his formal opposition to their permit in the city counsel. Even then, it was unclear what would happen to the market. The Tribune reported Friday that Colon announced that he would support the market going forward. more ›

On Saturday, May 14, the weekly Farmers Market on Division Street between State and Clark streets opened for the season. It was one of several neighborhood markets around Chicago to open this past Saturday. We paid a visit, slinging both camera and canvas sack, to see what had been helped along by the short-lived heatwave we experienced last week. That it's still early in the Midwest growing season was evident in the relatively sparse offerings; nevertheless, some good-looking greens, fulsome fungi and an array of young potted plants all signaled a promising summer of cellulose ahead. more ›

Green City Market quietly opened this morning at 7 AM. The market wasn't crazy busy, and the offerings were a tiny bit slim, since most veggies haven't started to come up. But getting back into the market, seeing friends and farmers and coming home with a bag of food were wonderful reminders of why we love eating locally. The big stars of the market today were starter plants - herbs, flowers and vegetables. Most of the vendors who will be selling piles of heirloom tomatoes in about 3 months were pushing plants instead, and we got a few seedlings for the Chicagoist garden plot. more ›

Calling all locavores, market shoppers, friends of farmers and lovers of fine food! Green City Market, the city's premier organic farmer's market, opens for the season on Wednesday. We've enjoyed Green City's fall and winter offerings at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, but there's nothing like getting into the park again. We'll be attending the opening day and taking pictures, so if you can't get down there, you can be worked up for the Saturday market. From here on out, Green City is every Wednesday and Saturday from 7 AM to 1PM. Green City isn't the only market that's about to start up - a schedule of May openings is after the jump. more ›

Despite our adventurous foodie-ness, we still tend to return to the same ingredients over and over again. Sometimes we encounter something new at a restaurant, but (unless it's alcoholic) it rarely gets incorporated into our repertoire. We walk past the same things over and over again in the supermarket with practically no idea what they are! Well, it's time for our curiosity to start running amuck. more ›

This past weekend, Green City Market was busier than we've ever seen it before, and with good reason. Fall produce has started to arrive, and the crowds devouring honeycrisp apples, squash, the first of the pumpkins and the last of the berries threatened to overwhelm the park and collapse in a (very tasty) heap. more ›

You might look at that headline and think, "Canning? Simple? You must be kidding." That's what we thought until we tried it - turns out it's simple, fun and surprisingly rewarding. You don't need expertise, fancy equipment or anything else - just a few hours of free time and some fresh veggies. You barely even need a recipe - trial and error is probably the best approach, with some basic principles. You also get the intense satisfaction of looking at rows of neatly labeled jars sitting in your pantry. We canned cucumbers and carrots - this is the recipe for the cucumbers, but we're glad to provide more! more ›

After last Sunday, we have a new favorite farmers market. The Glenwood Sunday Market, in Rogers Park just steps from the Morse L stop, is a spot we've been meaning to check out all season. We're glad we made the time to take the trek up north. This market has a distinctly "neighborly" feel, with volunteers, educators and local residents everywhere you look. None of the huge growers that attend most of the large city markets were present and a small group of local (read: 10 feet away) businesses participate, opening their doors and offering specials and prizes. more ›

Strawberry season is short here in this part of the Midwest; the last good pints were sold weeks ago. If you want a fix, the folks at Seedling Orchard aren't growing just mere strawberries right now. more ›

From the inbox: Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks, the popular service that provides farm-fresh foods to customers via CSAs and weekly produce boxes, has been awarded an $81,000 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture's Small Business Innovation Research Grant Program to "increase the fair trade supply of local food." more ›

Is “attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD) simply a trendy medical diagnosis applied to unruly, excitable children? Or is there a scientific explanation for the rising incidence of ADHD among kids? A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Pediatrics strongly suggests pesticide exposure, specifically to organophosphates, increases risk of ADHD. more ›

After a few weeks of roaming the markets of the city, we finally made it to to Green City Market for the first time this past Saturday. If you haven't gotten a chance to go yet this summer, check it out - things have changed! The market seems much bigger, the stalls have been re-arranged and there are plenty of new things to see. We'll profile a few of those new things over the summer (Ed. Note: Actually, we've already started. — C.S.), but on Saturday we were more focused on getting as many veggies as possible. more ›

We've been lazy - the bad weather and lack of sleep kept us from the opening day of the farmers markets we frequent. But we managed to drag ourselves out of bed for yesterday's Daley Plaza market, and it was definitely worth the struggle. The fountain in Daley Plaza looks like something out of Dante's Inferno, unlike last week, and we were a bit scared of it, but it wasn't enough to keep us away. We met up with some old friends, saw some new faces and bought plenty of great local fare. more ›

Spring harks the arrival of several vegetables and greens: asparagus, for one. more ›

Why buy organic? Pesticide exposure poses a significant threat to our health, with children and infants being most vulnerable. Abundant pesticide use also wreaks environmental havoc by contaminating our water supply, increasing erosion and endangering our honeybees. In addition, conventionally farmed produce may be less nutritious than their organic counterparts. One study suggests organic tomatoes are notably higher in health-promoting antioxidants. more ›

Summer's bounty is finally upon us! This was the first week where we could do ALL of our grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market, rather than using it to enhance our regular meals. The first root vegetables of the year have come in, and the market was stuffed with carrots, onions and the first small potatoes. Lettuces, Chard and other greens continue to come on strong, but the real stars of the show were berries. Cherries, Raspberries, Blackberries - even currants were for sale at this Saturday's Green City Market. 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 ›

After spending Winter in the confines of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Green City Market spread its elbows today with its first day outdoor. To some, this is the first day of summer in Chicago. more ›

There are a thousand reasons why summer dining in Chicago is so fantastic. One of the best being fresh, locally grown ingredients and it doesn't get any fresher than when chefs grow their own ingredients in restaurant or home gardens. An increasing number of chefs are doing so including some of our faves: Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill, Paul Kahan of Blackbird, George Djurovic of August Grocery, (just to name a few.) more ›

A couple of localvore items of note to start: more ›