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 ›

Do you want a community garden plot this summer? Register now, because spots are going fast. more ›

Not the nice, fuzzy muppet kind. The creepy computer-generated kind. more ›

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

It's getting hot out there, and that means it's time to start cooking outside again. And no, we don't mean hotdogs over a garbage can fire, despite how fun that sounds. We mean grilling! You can do this on a George Foreman too, but wouldn't it be nicer to stand outside in the warm Chicago sunlight, beer in hand, filling your neighborhood with the smell of warm, soft bread and seared cow meat? Your neighbors will love you. more ›

As our beloved Chicago Bulls continue to surprise and delight, the city's eyes will be on the team tonight as they play at home against the Atlanta Hawks. We weren't lucky enough to score tickets, but we (and now you, too) can make Chicagoist's own Bulls Broccoli at home to eat during the game. more ›

For dinner this week, try an alternative to your (snooze!) beef and rice-stuffed green peppers. This Chicagoist original recipe swaps ground turkey for ground beef, replaces the rice with vegetables, and burns you a new one with spices and jalapeno cheese. All of the vegetables in this recipe came from Stanley’s. 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 ›

Sometimes, we want to cook a side vegetable and a salad, but we don't really want to do the work of either. Face it, all of us are sometimes lazy in the kitchen - the key is having a couple of great, quick recipes so that you can be lazy AND well-fed! more ›

Alright, we'll admit it - a lot of the time, we think collard greens are boiled to death. We know that some collard purists are going to get angry with us, arguing that the traditional way of cooking greens is the only way and that "pot licker" is the nectar of the gods. That's fine for them - we like our greens with a bit more bite. more ›

Martha Bayne is at it again. The "Soup and Bread" mastermind is now holding Bingo nights at Hideout. Starting this Wednesday and running through September 9 Bayne and the fine folks at Hideout will be calling out Bingo numbers from 6-8 p.m., giving players a chance at free produce, sauces and other goodies from Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks. more ›

We’re in the midst of Asparagus high times, but before you know it, the season will be over until next year. Stacks of the green stalks reaching 3 feet high (and selling for reasonable prices) will give way to anemic bunches sitting in water-filled trays at your local market. How should you take advantage of this bounty? By learning something about this first veggie of the season, that’s how! more ›

We’re not ashamed to admit it - we love broccoli. To be honest, it’s probably our favorite vegetable, barely ahead of that other childhood favorite, Brussels Sprouts. Are we crazy? Vegan? Chlorophyll Deficient? No - we simply believe that, properly prepared, these are some of the tastiest veggies around. 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 ›

Question: You're at your local farmers market with $25 in your pocket. You want to buy a load of fresh herbs and vegetables and, maybe, something to nibble while walking around. What do you do? more ›

Within the last year or so, Brussels sprouts seem to be popping up as a side dish on every restaurant menu we lay eyes on. As we happen to love this oft-reviled vegetable, we consider this true progress, but we know a lot of people are skeptical. If mistreated, the Brussels sprout is a uniquely disgusting vegetable, but in the right hands, it can be so scrumptious that you forget you’re eating something healthy. Below are a few good spots to order them, and a fool-proof recipe to convert even the staunchest hater. more ›

As every committed localvore knows, the best way to get fresh local produce (aside from a farmer’s market) is to join a CSA. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a farm that has decided to sell directly to the public. By investing several hundred dollars in the spring, you can receive deliveries of fresh produce throughout the summer and fall. However, some of us aren’t ready to commit several hundred dollars up front to the cause of fresh produce, or we might not be around in the summers. But we still want to help out local farms, and we cringe a little every time we pick up shallots shipped all the way from Uruguay at Whole Foods. more ›