Use up the last of the summer tomatoes before they wither. more ›

We helped harvest a few weeks ago, and you can join in the fun tomorrow. If you like sweet potatoes (or urban gardening) you won't want to miss this. more ›

This morning the new Trader Joe's opens. Chicago Fair Food is protesting its opening. more ›

With tomato season now upon us, here's a drawing that celebrates the nightshade's presence in the Chicago-style hot dog. more ›

Heirloom tomatoes are finally starting to roll into farmers markets throughout the city. With that comes some pretty outstanding cocktail recipes. First, there's the always busy Adam Seger of Nacional 27. Seger's monthly cocktail class was the subject of a cover story in the New York Times style section yesterday. The Paper of Record also published Seger's Heirloom Tomato Mojitonico recipe for Anthony and Rob to try at home. more ›

Now that the farmer’s markets are filling up with tomatoes, it’s time to start finding great recipes to use them up. At this time of year, we prefer relatively simple, unadorned recipes - all the better to show off the freshness of the produce. This recipe is an adaptation of an old standard, usually made with vodka and a ton of cream. We use much less cream, to allow the flavors of the tomatoes and shallots to come through. Using grappa, instead of vodka, gives the pasta a kick AND some extra flavor. If you don’t have any grappa, we’d recommend using brandy. more ›

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

Tomatoes are safe again, but now a specific jalapeño (we like to pronounce it "jha-LA-pen-yo," just for kicks) has been identified as contaminated with salmonella. The contaminated pepper was found in a packing plant in Texas. [Trib] more ›

The FDA declared tomatoes safe to eat yesterday, after that serious salmonella outbreak that hit Our Town especially hard. If you're looking to make anything with jalapeno or serrano peppers, however, you're still playing with viral fire. more ›

• Turning bad to good, the parents of NIU shooting victim Daniel Parmenter planted an oak tree in his memory at the Elmhurst baseball park where he spent his youth. They’ve also created a scholarship to help children attend baseball or umpire training camps.
• Nine of the 17 Chicago victims of tomato-linked salmonella poisoning have been linked to one restaurant. 29 cases have been reported in Illinois, and there are now 23 states dealing with the epidemic. The Department of Public Health is not naming the restaurant at this time, but says the restaurant was shut down for 48 hours.
• In other infectious disease news, last weekend, we told you about the hotel hot tub that linked two people with Legionnaire’s disease. Well this weekend a third person has been linked to the same hot tub.
• Eight people have been killed in and around the city this weekend. The Trib has the tally.
• More rain came today. Flooding continues to rise in the north suburbs. And Iowans are now beginning to refer to their circumstance as “Our Katrina.”

• Tomorrow, on Father’s Day, Obama and his family will be attending a new church. At least that’s what he told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Friday.
• Metra expects at $20 million short fall, due to increased costs of diesel fuel. This despite a record 7-million riders. They’ll fix it by delaying plans to increase service, which puts Metra on-track with having standing customers. Huh?
• McDonald’s is reintroducing sliced tomatoes to their menu in the next seven to ten days after yanking them as a precaution. The FDA still hasn’t isolated the source of the salmonella bacteria.
• Cook County foreclosures are now worse than the U.S. average. Foreclosures were up 57% in May. Despite this, officials say we’re still faring better than most of the nation.
• Flooding. Flooding. And more flooding. Amtrak just announced they've suspended service on two lines between Chicago and the West Coast. Track river levels here.
• Daley says CTA’s current rail system is outdated. Really? He says he put the brakes on the downtown “Super Station” until they get the right technology.
• Johnson hits a homer to help the Cubs beat the Blue Jays in Toronto earlier today.
• Alderman Toni Preckwinkle is urging Daley to create a new Tax-Incriment Financing District to generate the millions needed to turn the closing Michael Reese Hospital into a $1.1 billion Olympic Village.

It was a bountiful morning at the farmer’s market! Spring and summer produce has begun to come out in full force – and there were some surprising things to be found. Fresh flowers were one of the stars this morning, with peonies and irises everywhere. Asparagus is still available, but has been replaced in the leading role by Strawberries, which are so plentiful they are overflowing off of the tables and stands. Nichols Farm stole the show with fresh Onions (red and white), green Garlic, all the greens you could ask for, Broccoli, baby Turnips and the first of the Sugar Snap peas of the year. more ›

] Apparently previous outbreaks were caused by a grower using pond scum to water their crops, but the FDA has not yet determined the cause of this most recent outbreak. more ›