Every Week a Market

Two for the Price of One

I don't know how Robin's gonna split herself this weekend, but she has two markets going. Her weekly reminder follows.

T W O
Winter Farmers Markets this Saturday!
March 1, 10am to 2pm
Austin/Oak Park & St. Ben’s/North Center

. . . both featuring fresh produce!

~ 1 ~
Winter Farmers Market & Brunch
in the Austin neighborhood at
Third Unitarian Church
301 N. Mayfield Ave. (Corner of Mayfield Ave. & Fulton St., 2 blocks East of Austin Blvd./Oak Park)
Admission is FREE and open to the public
Third Unitarian is near the intersection of Austin Blvd. and Lake St. (CTA Green Line, Austin Stop). From this junction, the church is two blocks east to Mayfield and one block south to Fulton St. Parking is available on Mayfield Ave. and Fulton St.
See complete list of farmers market offerings below
The Brunch will be served during the market while quantities last
Prepared from ingredients purchased from the participating growers
Suggested donation: $8 adults ~ $4 children 10 & under

Mark your calendar!
A final Winter Farmers Market in the Oak Park-River Forest area will be held on
Sun., Mar. 30, at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest.


~ 2 ~
Winter Farmers Market & Café
in Chicago’s St. Ben’s/North Center neighborhood at St. Benedict Parish Social Hall ~ 2219 W. Irving Park Rd. (corner of Irving Park Rd. and Bell St., a few blocks East of Western Ave.)
Admission is FREE and open to the public
For pre-orders of chicken or hormone-free Black Angus beef
contact Mark or Linda Schramer by 8pm Thursday via email
or phone; go to http://www.farmdirectblackangus.com/ for contact info
(pick-up is at St. Ben’s only)
See more complete list of farmers market offerings below
An a la carte Café will be provided by Sweets by Carolyn featuring made-from-scratch goodies by “baketress” Carolyn Shoaf


Both Winter Farmers Markets
will feature most or all of the following:

· Tilapia (farm-raised in Illinois free of antibiotics, mercury, herbicides, hormones, pesticides and steroids)
· Cheese & yogurt, both in a variety of flavors
· Honey in a variety of flavors
· Organic lettuce, kale & chard
· Organic herbs (dill, sage, oregano, parsley)
· Spicy greens & shoots
· Organic potatoes, red and Yukon gold
· Fresh mushrooms (several varieties)
· Onions & shallots
· Jams & preserves
· Apple & pear butters
· Goats’ milk soaps in heavenly scents & fun shapes
· Pet products
· Angora fibers & felting supplies (Austin only)
· Bath & body products
· Infused vinegars & dried herbs
· Organic wheatberries & several varieties of milled flours
· Wool yarn & woolen goods
· Maple & sorghum syrups
· Beautiful fruit tarts & cakes by the Sisters of Fraternite Notre Dame
· Fair trade coffee, chocolate & tea
· Fair trade organic olive oil from the Palestinian region
· Opportunities to learn about CSAs (community supported agriculture) and purchase your subscription for this summer
· And much, much more!
Meat & poultry will be available in both locations. See the specific information for each location. For best selection, consider pre-ordering as indicated.

Support these local farm producers, eat locally, and shrink your carbon footprint by purchasing food that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles. Quantities of some products are limited, so shop early!

Drink Local

Time Out Chicago's David Tamarkin runs through a bunch of booze made near these parts. Maybe I'm a bit sensetive, but he seems less than fully enamored with the lot. Whether you agree with his tastes or not, it's a good starting point for local liquor.

I wonder what he thinks of D'Vine's grapey vodka?

One Fine Day

February 23, 2008

One of the things that I love about a newspaper subscription is its regulatory. Regular, in that it's there every morning (nearly every morning), and regular, what I really like, is the rotation, the features I always follow: Sunday's poker column, Wednesday food section, Thursday's At Play (play the Phil Vettel Game!). For my wife, the best day of the week is Saturday. She gets the soap summary and One Fine Day, perhaps her favorite feature (see here for an example). In the tradition of One Fine Day, I present our latest.

Morning

Magazines and Music, Oak Park Borders (1144 Lake St Oak Park, IL 60301(708) 386-6927) - Saturday is our day to sleep late, and for me, getting out of bed at 8:15 is nicely late. I need that extra bit of sleep because morning coffee gets delayed until Borders. Each Saturday three to six Oak Parkers take over the Northwest corner of the Oak Park Borders cafe. Some carry acoustic guitars, one regular plays a jazzy but muted hollow-body electric (which at least once per morning he solos using an organish effect), one has a mandolin (and does a bit or two with a recorder) and most of the time, there is a woman with an stand up bass. They play a mix of standards and rock. Brief words cannot convey how talented these folks are. They have technique like instructors but also unique and quality vocals, both as solos and as harmonizers. It has to be the best free show around. Listen, read, cafinate.

Afternoon

Fressers rejoice at Manny's (1141 S. Jefferson, Chicago). We time our departure from Borders generally to the musicians, but today we stayed longer awaiting our daughters commencement of her Young Scientist Conference (Dad all morning: "paging young scientists, paging young scientists, please report to lab..."). We are always more than peckish after Borders, but the lunch choices close by are seldom to our tastes. We let our tummies wait just a bit as I drove us to Manny's (love the valet parking!). Mom and Dad split roast beef. Luckily for us, French rare works, and corned beef. Dad splurged on a diet Dr. Browns, while Mom advertised her thrift on a fountain drink, "free re-fills". The kidz split corned beef and chicken.

We now find ourselves joining Binny's to any Manny's visit. The new location, across from Manny's, has a large selection and a decent deli (see side bar) but what makes it worth stopping is their drinks bar. All pour are priced from retail. It's a chance to sample an eighty-five dollar bottle of Calvados for less than ten bucks.

What's Local at Binny,s Across the Street from Manny's
Local pork. OK, I counted maybe three local cheeses in their whole selection, and one was Maytag, but there are other cheese stores. What Binny's did have for this localvore were local pork products. Nueske ham, Nueske bacon, good; really good, La Quercia ham, La Quercia guanciale and La Quercia pancetta. Get yourself there as the Quercia proscuiutto was less than $20/lb, a real steal

Binny's did not have the local booze we had been seeking. That would be Lush, a few blocks away (1306 S. Halsted, Chicago). As mentioned in Time Out Chicago, Lush sells Death Door Vodka and Death's Door Gin, booze made from wheat grown in one the best places on earth, Washington Island, Wisconsin. Lush also offers wee tastes of booze for free (free!). I'll take that $85 Calvados and raise you a $135 Scotch sample.

It's hard to believe anyone needs more food after Manny's, but we can hardly let a visit to this area go by without something sweet. Often, we end up at Ferrara (2210 W. Taylor). And I will guarantee you that every time we go there, my wife will comment at some point, how the Italian pastries in New York are just so much better. I do mostly agree, chauvinist that I am. A Ferrara sfogliatela would be finer if we got them at a different point. Ferrara, however, puts them in a refrigerated case that saps a bit of succor from the pastry. Minor quibble though.

Evening

A One Fine Day should be nobler than four or so of the deadly sins. It should also be a chance to put on a nice suit (sans tie for trendy affect) and cavort with the animals. What I mean is that our day was that much finer because we finished with the Have-a-Heart benefit for West Suburban PADS, the organization that provides emergency shelter and other services to the homeless in the near-Western suburbs. The event was at Brookfield Zoo, and part of the time we got to hang with the giraffes. We noshed, we bid, we listened to the awesome pipes of our Congressman Danny Davis, and watched a tear inducing film about some of the people PADS has helped.

Nothing against finger food noshing, but it's almost de rigour for benefit goers to have a hot dog on the way home, is it not? Pete's (6346 Roosevelt RD, Oak Park) offers a better than average Chicago style dog, even five minutes before their close.

Postscript

If the day was not fine enough, I won an online poker tournment later that night.

Inventory Soup

Inventory Update

Our poor kidz, they have a habit of getting the wrong apples from the attic. The other day, one of them brought down some precious Granny Smith's--we must save these for salads or cooking, not mere snacking! After allowing a lunch's worth of apples, I returned the apples to the attic. I had not spent much time with my food lately, and this attic visit gave me time to assess.

Not good.

Or an excuse to make soup. One of the things about storing food for the winter is the tug between using and having. It reminds me of the great MASH episode where Hawkeye and Trapper go searching for an incubator. They find a supply officer with three. They beg for one. "But then I'll only have two", he replies in refusal. Still, with food, food stored in the attic, there is surely a use it or lose it problem. We need to make our food last for a few more months, but if we never get to use it because of spoilage, what's the point. We continue to experience shrinkage.


We had already mapped out our Friday Night meal for the week, a boiled dinner. This would use up some, maybe all, of those rotting turnips as well as the parsnips that were weakening. The critical nature of some of the food warranted quicker action. Hence the soup.

The recipe (my own!): cube some Nueske slab bacon and render in a strong bottomed stock pot; sweat onions; chop a stalk of pathetic looking celery and add, do the same for woody winter carrot. If you have some garlic and dried local peppers use them for seasoning. While these things soften, peel and quarter the salvageable bits of your turnips. A few russet potatoes can be used too. Fill with water until it looks soupy but not thin. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, about an hour (your time may vary). Before serving add pre-cooked wheat berries. Adjust the seasoning. And, and right before serving, chop and add sorrel that's survived admirably in the fridge.

After the soup but before the corned beef, here's the updated inventory: (Two notes, here's the last inventory update to see the progress; here's the freeze/can inventory, which has been separated from the general inventory).

Cranberries - two packages
Pie pumpkins - 1
Celery - about 2/3rd of a head, usable for cooking
Herbs - rosemary, thyme, parsley
Winter squash - about six including acorn, delicata, turban and butternut
Keeper onions - good stock
Sweet potatoes - low stock
Garlic - about 20 heads
Cabbage - 3 heads of white cabbage, one head red; the whites have varying states of decay
Sunchokes - 2 lbs
Carrots - low stock
Parsnips - low stock
Beets - very low stock, about six usable beets
Turnips - very low stock, about four usable turnips
Potatoes - very good stock
Apples - medium stock
Lettuce - 1 bag of mixed greens, one head of boston lettuce (non-local)
Microgreens - 1/2 bag of sunflower shoots
Mushrooms - cremini, mixed oyster/shitake (cultivated)
Celery root - 2 lbs

Additional local stock includes dry beans, grains, dozen eggs

Eat Local Meat

More 1/2 Cow Use



Cholent again, an Ashkenazi version. Two cuts of meat, short ribs and rump roast; Michigan beans, Wisconsin potatoes, Illinois carrots.

Every Week a Market

This Week's Winter Market

Winter Farmers Market
Sunday, February 24 ~ 10am to 2pm
Epworth United Methodist Church, www.epworthumcelgin.org
37W040 Highland Ave., Elgin 60124
(NorthWest Corner of Highland Ave. & Randall Rd.)
Free admission ~ open to the public ~ plenty of parking

The Winter Farmers Market will feature:

• Beef, both grass-fed and grain-fed, all hormone-free*
  Pork, grass-fed and hormone-free*
  Chicken & turkey, pastured and hormone-free*
  Tilapia, farm-raised in Illinois (no mercury!)
  Cheeses in a variety of flavors
  Infused vinegars & dried herbs
  Honey and beeswax products
  Fresh, organic lettuce, kale, basil & other herbs
  Yogurt
  Apple & pear butters
  Fresh mushrooms, several varieties
  Onions & shallots
  Goats’ milk soap in heavenly scents & fun shapes
  Chocolate-covered fruit
  Spa & beauty products
  Jams & preserves
  Wool batting for quilts & comforters
  Mattress toppers & comforters
  Popcorn
  Raw Icelandic wool
  Wool rovings for felting
  Pet soaps & pet beds
  A variety of organic milled flours
  Wool yarn & knitted items
  Maple & sorghum syrups
  Fair trade coffee
  Fair trade olive oil from the Palestinian region
  CSA subscriptions for weekly produce this summer
  Beautiful fruit tarts, croissants & more from Fraternite Notre Dame’s patisserie
  And much, much more!
  

Reserve your Easter ham now for delivery in the weeks before Easter!

*Note, an order form for Arnold Meats can be found on the Chicago Locavore's Yahoo site:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagolocavores/

Support these local farm producers, eat locally, and shrink your carbon footprint by purchasing food and other local items that haven’t traveled thousands of miles. Quantities of some products are limited, so shop early!

Ø There will be additional Winter Farmers Markets throughout the Chicagoland area through March of 2008. Coming in the next few weeks:
· Sat., Mar. 1 ~ Third Unitarian Church, Chicago (in the Austin neighborhood, just East of Oak Park) ~ BRUNCH served while quantities last
· Sat., Mar. 1 ~ St. Benedict Parish, Chicago (in the St. Ben’s / North Center neighborhood)
· Sat., Mar. 8 ~ Beverly Unitarian Church, Chicago (in the Castle on the Hill)
· Sun., Mar. 9 ~ Park Ridge Community Church ~ BRUNCH served while quantities last
And we’ll be back in Elgin at Unitarian-Universalist Church of Elgin on Sunday, Mar. 16, open to the public from 1 to 3pm. Go to http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M19510 for more details on these and other markets.

You Know You Are a Localvore When

Onions, the Vegetable

I wish I could have Ronnie Suburban come to my house and take better pictures our our food.

When the supplies are dwindling (to be reported anon), what becomes the vegetable side dish? Well, onions of course.

"Mommy it looks as good as the book", my daughter said, commenting on what we had, not what's posted. That book is Jamie Oliver's Cook With Jamie*. He calls it "The best onion gratin", and he may be right (although until I adopted this whole localvore thing, I did not have much of a history of eating onion gratins). Oliver sez:

Make this gratin and it's bound to be the talk of the meal because its got ballsy flavor and sweetness.

It's an easy recipe, as easy as any recipe that uses "glugs" of olive oil. Essentially you "petal" the onion, pour over the glugs of oil, bake covered for 45 minutes, re-bake uncovered for a bit longer, then add creme fraiche and good grating cheeses; he recommends Gruyere and Parmesan, we've used a variety of things around the house including Maytag blue and Wisconsin fontina, the ultimate local version, would be Pleasant Ridge Reserve. After the cheese, bake again until golden.

*Bob's your uncle, Jamie ran me the wrong way in his Naked Chef glory. I was surprised to like and enjoy his Italy show on Travel Channel. Then, just when he got me, he's left me cold with his latest TVFoodnetwork outing. I do like the book.

Vie Pics Posted

See The Fuss

Here. Sure, I'm such a Vie-aholic that I would have linked to this post anyways (and even if it was not just my favorite restaurant, the pics are great), but I have the added advantage of actually having been at this meal presented in pixilated glory.

I don't have a lot to add to Ronnie Suburban's post. Not only does he nail the pictures, he nails the spirit of the event.

Vie continues to hit me on such an emotional and spiritual level, it's hard to analyze it. Each time I go there, I'm impressed by the way the dishes build in impact as the meal progresses. At so many other restaurants, after the short, intense burst of flavors provided by the starter courses, the entrees often fail to compel, and the momentum is lost. But at Vie, the exact opposite is true. Yes, the appetizers literally appetize -- hell, they dazzle -- but the inspired, imaginative and satisfying entrees just blow you away. There is no palate fatigue at Vie. Chef Virant and his crew may have the best senses of culinary build and pacing that I have experienced. The menu at Vie changes frequently and while that definitely benefits the diner, it's significant in that seems to be a natural extension of how this crew is constantly pushing themselves to build on what they have already accomplished. When you dine at Vie, you're tapping into the ongoing creative process of a uniquely-talented chef and a kitchen with a truly artistic sensibility. I'm sure customer satisfaction is important at Vie but I get the feeling that no one is harder to satisfy than chef Virant himself.

All I can do is comment around the edges. Since every dish hit home, of the ten or so times I've been to Vie in the last year, this was the best meal, I'll toss off a couple of nitpicks. Truffles on eggs is a great idea; the scrambled eggs fantastic--I'm not quite sure how Vie can do what appears to be a very slow cooked egg in a restaurant setting--but these truffles were not that pungent. OK, I've said my peace.

What's most interesting about Vie right now is the direction that Vie's heading. I'm hardly a fine dining snob. I am not one who seeks innovation for the sake of innovation in my food, nor do I think that the presence of foie gras, lobster, truffles and the such make the experience intrinsically better. But Vie is getting a bit classier in its approach. He's using truffles! The Au Bon Carnard local foie gras, has been on the menu for about a year, in ever changing variations. Now, it's showing up in the ice cream. With Vie, it works for a few reasons.

First, the food remains so tied to local, seasonal, and artesanal. There was nothing we ate the other night that was a "cheat" (beyond the sense that Vie gets fish from non-local waters). Second, the food is so precise, so well executed. They cover the basics so well; the time the fish is on the grill, the way things are fried. Third, as I have noted before, I love the repertoire. The dishes are always familiar but with enough twist to be Virant's. Finally, as Ronnie S notes, its the spirit of the place. Chef Virant walks out of the kitchen in a T Shirt, big smile on his face. Jenny who runs the front of the house is also all smiles. Everyone of the staff I talk to speaks to how much they respect Chef V and enjoy working there. This so much shows up in the dining room. I never worry about Vie getting too big for its britches because it's so comfortable to be there.

Vie
4471 Lawn Ave.
Western Springs, IL 60558
708-246-2082

People Want Safe Food

More From CTrib

Blogger Julie Deardoff continues the crusade.

Yet, as the largest beef recall in history shows, most of us have no idea where--or from whom--our food is coming. And because we're disconnected from the process and the environment, we no longer eat intuitively or instinctively. Instead we read confusing labels, we listen to marketers, we look for so-called "health claims" and we follow diet plans. We rely on a mechanized system of food production that is not in sync with the earth; it relies on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetic modification.

Eat local.

Order Local - Order Arrives

Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks

Just yesterday I was saying that a Chicago based localvore needs to set aside and preserve to maintain local year round eating. Luckily, there are some options to enhance and supplement the larder. I was glad when a commenter got me to explore Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks. Here waiting on my computer was a source for certain local foods in the worst time of year. I made an order.





The lettuce, which I'll get back to, obscures some of the order. Essentially, I ordered everything they had last week advertised as local.

• Boston lettuce
• Carrots
• Horseradish
• Cremini mushrooms
• Red cabbage
• Burdock root
• Arugula
• Brussel sprouts (outta stock)
• Limes (I needed a dollar's worth of something to push my bill over the $35 minimum)

When I first went through the stuff, I was mostly happy. The advertised six ounces of arugula looked like about 10 ounces--I mean it was a generous pour. My wife on the other hand, grr'd a bit at the carrots; she has a thing against chubby carrots. Actually, we both grr'd a bit at the horseradish, because, here instead of chubby, it was about six pencils of horseradish. We've never seen horseradish this skinny, and this was a bit galling because the site does not include an image of the horseradish. Still, it seemed A-OK. It was only after we examined the enclosed invoice that our grr turn more to growl.

As I have advertised before, our family is not one of extreme. We do not eat from within 100 miles, nor do we make sure that everything that goes in our mouths is local. I mean our order included limes for Pete's sake. Our rules are, however, that if it grows around here, then we will only eat it from local sources. It turns out that that generous helping of arugula and those healthy heads of lettuce came from somewhere, not here, not local, as recorded on the invoice and confirmed by Shelly in an e-mail. We aint gonna toss the produce, but we did feel a bit gypped. After the peril we went through to get local in Madison a few weeks ago, we expected a soft landing from Fresh Picks.

I'm not too angry though. Soft landing is good. How unhappy can I be with a source that delivers local, at least some local to my house in the middle of February. Really. Take away the lettuce and arugula, and it is still a robust inventory of local this time of year.* It beats the heck out what's local at Whole Foods. Shelly mentioned in her e-mail that I can stipulate in my order form that I only want local, so no trayf accidentally shows up at my door. I'd also say, that overall, I prefer market shopping. It's not just looking over the carrots and horseradish; it's that interaction with the vendors and shoppers and French Nuns. That's what got me into eating local. Yet, the markets only go so far this time of year, and Fresh Pick's serves a very needed need. I will surely order again, soon.

A word on price, local and organic food is not particularly cheap, e.g., $2.75/lb for carrots. Fresh Pick's prices are about in line for what one would pay at a farmer's market or Whole Foods, give or take, depending on the product. There is a $35 minimum order, at least to Oak Park, which I did not find unreasonable, and was a bit surprised that I had to lime to reach. The delivery charge was $5.50 to Oak Park, which, again, I did not find unreasonable. Cheap as the hotel we found via Hot Wire in Madison, it was more than $5.50.

*I did not buy quite everything local on their site last week. Other local products available were potatoes, a few kinds, and various sprouty-micro things.

Eat Local Later

What's Been Set Aside

(updates below)

Editor's note: During the summer months, this list included items set aside in the larder such as beans and onions, but during the rest of the year, this list will only include reports on items canned, frozen or dried.

Eating local in a place like Chicago requires a certain amount of advanced planning. I'm a hoop house a-lovin' kinda guy, but they really cannot supply my family's produce needs in the winter. One must preserve the harvest. Some of that preserving is just putting stuff away, and I've been tracking that stuff since December. I have not, however, done a good job of keeping a running tally of food that we have canned or froze (we have one full size freezer and the freezer halves to two refrigerators). In fact when I mentioned to my wife that I've been recording the inventory, she said, "great I've needed to know what's in the freezers."

"Um", I sheepishly had to reply, "that's not what I've been inventorying." Until now. With the fact that my wife froze all the cranberries that she did not use in last week's dessert, I will now track what we are preserving. For the most part, I am not going to retroactively update this listing with what's in the freezers now, but I've listed some of the food that I know is there. As to canned goods, I'm only gonna add right now, what we have canned ourselves. We also have a variety of local jams, jellies, pickles, etc., even some local Amish canned chicken [ed., just in case?] also lying around. (So much jelly and related that we have a moratorium on buying new.)

Freezer Inventory

• Cranberries - 2/15/08
• Beef from our 1/2 cow - cuts left include ground meat, tongue - Update: have eaten some of the strip steaks, more burger, much shank and short ribs, although we have more of both; the entire brisket; sirloin steaks (6/27/08); rib steaks (7/08); 2 lbs burger (7/25/08) flank steak (8/13/08) 2 lbs burger (8/28/08); liver 9/08; 4 lbs burger (LTHForum picnic); strip steaks (9/08) 2 lbs burger 9/08; rib roast (10/1/08) -- A somewhat greater effort to eat the older meat; 2 lbs burger (10/08); rib eye steaks (10/31/08)
• Lamb from our 1/2 lamb - cuts left include leg, rack, shanks, all offal - Update: Used 1/2 of the leg
• Pork including chops and ground
• Poultry including capon, duck and chicken - Update: Current status: have two chickens from our Genesis Growers CSA
• Greens - Update - Some used some during winter 08
• Broccoli - Update: Much but not all was eaten during late winter, early Spring 08; froze several stalks of broccoli on 10/24/08
• Green beans
• Cauliflower - Update: Some eaten
• Peas - Update: Some eaten - Peas added 6/21/08 & 6/28/08 & 7/5/08; used a bag of peas on 10/28/08
• Corn - Update: 12 ears of corn frozen Aug 08
• Rhubarb
• Sour Cherries
• Apple Sauce
• Asparagus
• Strawberries -
• Blueberries - added 7/1/08
• 1/2 hog, see here for details, less 15 lb shoulder roast and 4 bone-in chops - 7/5/08
• Peaches - 7/28/08
• Blueberries - 8/8/08
• Peaches, peeled - 8/15/08 and 8/22/08
• Crowder peas - 8/17/08 - About half have been subsequently eaten
• Tomato concentrate - 8/25/08
• Peaches - 9/08
• Red peppers - 10/31/08
• Habenero peppers - 11/24/08

Canned Goods

• Peach jam
• Blueberry preserves
• Pickled green beans
• Pickled ramps - done ca. late May 2008
• Tomatoes - 8/21/08
• Spiced peaches - 8/23/08
• Tomatoes - 8/26/08
• Peach chutney - 8/27/08
• Tomato puree - 8/29/08
• Tomato sauce - 9/2/08
• Tomatoes - 9/08

Semi-Preserved (i.e., meant to last but not sealed)

• Caponata - 6 quarts - 8/18/08; Update: have eaten 2 quarts
• Red peppers in vinegar - 10/25/08
• Red pepper in oil - 10/25/08
• Marinated beets - 10/31/08
• Oven roasted delicata squash - 11/1/08 - Consumed
• Brussels sprouts, shredded - 11/1/08 - Consumed
• Tomatillo salsa

Dried

• Oven dried tomatoes - 9/5/08
• A second batch, oven dried tomatoes - 9/08
• Red chili peppers - 11/2/08

Pickled but not sealed

• Mixed middle eastern style - carrots, broccoli, cabbage, jalepenos, red bell pepepr - 10/29/08

Eat Local Resource

Yahoo Group

From comments, I learned about Nina's Eat Local Chicago Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagolocavores/ . It has a great collection of links; farms, CSAs, local meat and various related items. The message board is a little slow so far, but I'm sure we can spice things up soon!

People Want Safe Food

Meat Recall

It seemed like only last week that the CTrib was editorializing about the need to eat local for food safety. Was this story in the works:

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday that a California meatpacking company had launched the recall of 135 million pounds of beef -- the largest meat recall in U.S. history -- following questions about the company's treatment of cattle that were slaughtered even though they could not stand up.

Now, I have two obvious reactions to this article, that is reactions after I decide to blog it. First, could not one argue that this meat was local to someone, someone in California. Is it really an eat local issue? Second, and kind of the flip side issue, one of the stock counters to eat local generally; that is, a processor, this processor, may have had issues, but only through mass/factory production can the population be fed. Together, these issues draw together the complaints that eating local is elitist, expensive and unrealistic. Yet, the very nature of the recall suggests needed change.

I am, first of all, unconvinced that we need industrial agriculture to feed the world. Our agriculture land presently is poorly utilized. So much of it is turned over to corn-soy when it can be used to farm consumer products. Then, you have my favorite idea of converted brownfields and urban agriculture. Food (at least a lot of it) cannot be outsourced. Places like Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Detroit (especially the latter two) have land that's not good for much else these days. Farm it. I believe the trend is going to be toward bringing food closer to the people. We do not need factory farming that is so prone to careless standards to keep hunger away.

Yet, that gets to the other question here. This operation was local to someone, was it not. Is there any inherent connection between food safety and local? I believe so, believe so for a few reasons. First of all, eating local as an exercise tends to (should) bring you closer to your food providers. There is implicit trust between say me and my friend Farmer Vicki of Genesis Growers. She's not gonna let me down by cutting corners on food safety. There is the issue of transparency that I mentioned last week. Visit your local food. Moreover, the worst in processing operations try to hide themselves. Better to keep the eater from knowing how they do things, and what I mean about doing includes not just food safety but some of the environmental practices of some of our big guys. Eating local does not equal food safety, but eating local stands for food safety, it stands for land stewardship, it stands for real food. It stands for meat that will not be recalled.

Winter's Just a Market Away - From the Trench's

Market Report

Robin was nice enough to provide a little insider report from last Saturday's Winter Market

The Winter Farmers Market at Epiphany Episcopal Church this past Saturday was quite lively. Epiphany is, to say the least, off the beaten path. It's located near a gentrifying area, and is neighbors with several union halls. There's nothing going on for several blocks on a weekend day; very little foot traffic. It's a beautiful church with a progressive and innovative minister (Rev. Meigan Cameron), but a very small congregation, so not a large built-in constituency for the markets. Markets there have tended to be small (number of customers), and this one was no exception, but as our word has spread and our range of products has widened, I'm finding that those who do attend this market at Epiphany have made the trip there from all over Chicago--sometimes through snowstorms and freezing weather--specifically to support the farmers, to buy locally, to find organic and other sustainably grown foods.

We generally have anywhere from two to eight growers/producers in attendance at our markets with their products. But in recent weeks, I've realized that some vendors can't or won't make the trip to the market (for a lot of understandable reasons), so in order to provide a wide variety of products and in particular to get fresh, local produce to meet the growing demand, I've been making connections with local growers and cooperatives and have been procuring their products (tilapia, fresh lettuce and herbs, mushrooms, cheeses, etc.) and bringing them to market--to a very appreciative clientele. Though I've educated myself as much as possible about the products I bring, the savvy shoppers at these markets have questions about the growing and processing methods, and it's frustrating that I can't always answer to their satisfaction.

There's no substitute for having the grower there to respond directly, but it's just not always possible. My hope is that the success of these Winter Farmers Markets this season will encourage other growers and producers to plan for an extended season and participate next season. I hope you'll consider attending one or more of the remaining markets this season (ending March 30). Let's get the word out that "if we build it, they (the customers) will come" to encourage more vendors to sign on for next year. Be sure to let the vendors who do come know how much you appreciate their presence. And buy generously! For a list of the remaining markets this season, go to www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M 19510. If you have any questions or would like to be put on my email list for reminders of the markets with pre-ordering info and a list of products represented that week, email me robininwinter AT aol.com. I look forward to seeing you there!--Robin Schirmer, Chicago Area Market Coordinator for Churches' Center for Land & People

Winter's Just a Market Away - Extra, Extra

Wait, There's More

Barely a minute after the ink's dried on the last post, I get an e-mail from Robin on new stuff at tomorrow's market in Chicago (see below):

*Organic lettuce, kale, and chard
*Two kinds of basil (both organic)
*Other organic herbs: sage, oregano, parsley, cilantro, and dill
*Five kinds of mushrooms: buttons, portabello, cremini, shitake, and oyster
*Onions: red, yellow, and shallots
*Arugula, cress, and pea shoots

Winter's Just a Market Away - In a Day - Market Reminder

Fair Trade + Farmers Market Saturday, February 16 ~ 10am to 2pm
Epiphany Episcopal Church, 201 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago (Corner of Ashland & Adams)



Here's some idea of what the market should look like.

For details of what should be there, see this post or this post. Also, for some good word on the meat vendor, Arnold Farms, see here.

Local as We Wanna Be

Make Pizza

Pizza, yes pizza again, but before I get into the pizza let me tell you about dinner on Tuesday night. It exemplified local, winter eating, in Chicagoland. Something old, something new, something frozen and something...argh, I wished I garnished our salads with Maytag blue. In other words, a mix of stuff from storage, stuff preserved, and stuff still growing.

To wit: take about ten fingerling potatoes from the attic; quarter, douse with homemade rosemary oil (local green house rosemary) and roast at 400o. Those will take about forty-five minutes, enough time to prepare the rest of dinner. Take a portion of bacon off your Nueske slab (every localvore has a slab of Nueske bacon laying around, if not they should!) and cube. Render the fat in a cast iron pan, reserve the crispy parts for later. Dice a keeper red onion and sweat in the bacon grease. Add a package of thawed asparagus spears. Cook long enough to beat six or eight or more eggs in a bowel. Add eggs, with bacon, to pan. A bit of shredded local Fontina cheese would not hurt (it did not hurt us). The pan should be at medium heat or less. Let the eggs cook just enough to firm up the bottoms. Then stick in the oven. The eggs and potatoes should be ready at the same time (roughly). Serve with green salad.

OK, getting back to the pizza. Pizza again. Grammy night. While others might call in, our family was fortunate enough to have it made in. Something to eat in front of the TV until Amy Winehouse would or would not destruct. (Just for the record, who is Ray-Ray?)






I cannot figure out if these are our most local pizzas yet. On one hand, the tomatoes for the sauce came from Italy; on the other hand, the crusts were made entirely of Wisconsin wheat, a mixture of hard and soft wheat. The top pizza uses hand made mozzarella from Caputo's Cheese of Melrose Park, the bottom is potato and shredded Fontina (local).

My wife was a bit concerned that the wheat flour would be too grainy for the pizzas. It turned out to be the opposite, at least on the bottom pizza. The heartier wheat really set up the potatoes. These fingerlings, the La Ratte we got in Wisconsin are about the most potato-y potato out there. If I remember my old high school chemistry right, I would say they had a much higher molarity count of potato molecules. Which, I think I am saying means, there was a hell of a large amount of potato flavor crammed into these potatoes. It needed the balance of a strong crust.

Tonight's local mushrooms with local pasta, tomorrow's cholent with short ribs from our cow. It's good to be a localvore.

What's Local @ Whole Foods, River Forest

Something Lucky For Lunches

The kidz lunches are a small chink in our eat local armour. While they're happy with Nueske ham sammys, I'm not always keen on paying that much for lunch meat. So, the ham or turkey I pack them away with, let alone the peanut butter, is seldom local. I am, however, determined (as I have said before), to not let a phoney whittled down "baby" carrot grace their impressionable lips. I have this vow, while also trying each day, to pack away something veg in their lunch. One localvore solution is sprouts or sprouty things.

Sprouts/microgreens are available enough. The winter markets around the Chicago area have them, the Thursday Geneva market has them, Madison has them, Irv and Shelly have them, and...and, now Whole Foods in River Forest has them. Last night I found about three varieties of sprouts grown by Chicago Indoor Garden, an urban agriculture venture. I picked up a pack of sunflower shoots--which really taste like sunflower, not something vaguely chlorophyllesque.

I guess finding something local for the veg portion of lunch is not the hard part for most parents. I'm guessing it's having the kidz happy to munch on a handful of sprouts in front of their friends come lunch time. I guess I'm a lucky Dad.

Today's Must Read

The Phil Vettel Game

Monica Eng's been on a roll of late, going on a chowathon with the famous chefs, major profile done in Gourmet. Today, her and Phil Vettel team up in the CTrib to tell the bittersweet tale of a Chef with big fans but small resources. Registration required but very much worth it.

Order Local

Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks

Last week someone put a comment on the blog about Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks, a kinda Peapod for readers of Michael Pollan. I did not publish the comment for a few days because the comment bordered on spam or at least free advertising (hint: cut me in!). Then, I thought, well, this site is all about getting the good word out, helping everyone eat local, if this Fresh Pick thing is a resource, why squelch it. And a funny thing happened along the way. I made an order.

I'll reserve more posting until my goods actually arrive on Saturday. In the meantime, I've updated the What's In Season list to include items that a localvore can obtain at Fresh Picks.

Eat Local Cheese

Local Cheesemaker at Marion Street Cheese This Saturday (2/16)

Prairie Fruit Farms makes some of the best goat cheeses that I know. I am especially keen on their Huckleberry Blue [ed., can you lay off the especially keens?]. Come meet farmer and cheesemaker Leslie Cooperbrand this weekend.

From a recent e-mail:

Hello Friends of Marion Street Cheese Market,

Cabin fever, you say? We have a perfect solution.

This coming Saturday, February 16, artisan cheesemaker Leslie Cooperband of Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign, IL will be paying a visit to Marion Street Cheese Market.

Leslie will arrive around 2:00pm and she will spend a couple hours visiting with our customers. Of course we'll be sampling plenty of great cheeses from Prairie Fruits Farm, and we'll be pouring several perfectly paired wines for you to sample with her cheese.

You will be able to ask Leslie questions about cheesemaking and what it's like to operate a sustainable goat, fruit and vegetable farm in central Illinois. We even have Praire Fruits Farm honey available at the market right now, and it is wonderful!

This should be a fun afternoon of eating cheese and tasting wine, with plenty of discussion on cheesemaking, organic and sustainable farming, and how to best enjoy all the delicious cheese from Prairie Fruits Farm.

We hope you can join us!

To learn more about Prairie Fruits Farm and their organic and sustainable farmstead, you can visit their website at the following link: http://www.prairiefruits.com/

Why Eat Local

People Want Safe Food

You can't see those words in the online version of today's CTrib editorial, but it's there on paper. The CTrib uses a decision by Trader Joe's to cut back on sole source Chinese foods as an excuse to remind us that food may not be as safe as we think (and want).

And those consumers are reacting with their pocketbooks. Those who can afford to do so are looking local for everything from baby building blocks to apple cider.

A regulatory system, assets subject to tort decisions, these may be reasons that economists cite as why consumers find local foods more comforting. How 'bout transparency, the chance to know the source, even visit the farm. Whether you take comfort in Big Brother or the little farmer, there are mechanisms that ensure that local food is safer.

Food safety, just another reason to eat local.

Keeping My Vie On It

New Vie Menu Posted*

I'm especially keen on what's happening at Vie as I have reservations for this weekend. The menu's here; especially interesting are the turkey liver mouse and the root veg salad with house made ranch dressing. One of my favorite things about Chef Virant's repertoire is how he is constantly digging into our culinary heritage, and by heritage I don't mean some idealized world of prairie cooking. I mean pages of recipes of things we've all eaten over our years. Old foods made with better ingredients and intense preparation, my idea of modern cooking.

*Posted a few days ago, but obsessive Vie following limited by being away from home.

Year Round Local

Inventory Update

Hopefully, to be blogged, the VI family braved horribly awful weather (swaying across the other lane after hitting black ice is scary, but watching a car on the other side of the Expressway just totally lose control, that's really scary) to buy local in Madison, Wisconsin. Our purchase included La Ratte fingerling potatoes, which may indeed be the best tasting fingerling and heirloom apples ("Odessa calls May apples...").

Here's the updated inventory.

Eat Local Meat

Arnold Farm Endorsement

Helge at Drive Thru puts in the good word for Arnold Farm of Western Illinois. You can get this meat for yourself at any of the winter markets mentioned below.

Winter's Just a Market Away

Mark Your Calender - UPDATE ON LOCATION!

I have yet to post about my visit to the Winter Market in Oak Park last week. Needless to say, it was great, great, great. Here's info on the next such market.

Fair Trade + Farmers Market Saturday, February 16 ~ 10am to 2pm
Epiphany Episcopal Church, http://www.epiphany-chicago.org/
201 S. Ashland Ave. (Corner of Ashland & Adams) CHICAGO

Free admission ~ open to the public

The Fair Trade + Farmers Market will feature
Beef, both grass-fed and grain-fed, all hormone-free*
Pork, grass-fed and hormone-free*
Chicken & turkey, pastured and hormone-free*
Tilapia, farm-raised in Illinois without exposure to mercury
Cheese
Infused vinegars & dried herbs
Honey
Fresh greens & herbs
Yogurt
Apple & pear butters
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Chocolate-covered fruit
Soaps, salves & spa products
Jams & preserves
Wool batting for quilts & comforters
Mattress toppers & comforters
Popcorn
Raw Icelandic wool
Pet soaps & pet beds
A variety of organic milled flours
Wool yarn & knitted items
Maple & sorghum syrups
Fair trade coffee, tea & chocolate
Olive oil from the Palestinian region
Handmade note cards & writing papers
Organic wool stuffed animals
CSA subscriptions for weekly produce this summer
Beautiful baked goods from Fraternite Notre Dame and Sweets by Carolyn
And much, much more
*For best selection, consider pre-ordering; e-mail me at Vitalinfo AT AOL for a form.


Support these local farm producers, eat locally, and shrink your carbon footprint by purchasing food and other local items that haven’t traveled thousands of miles. Quantities of some products are limited, so shop early!

Local As We Wanna Be

Pizza Again

Last week my wife discovered her inner pizzaiola. I did not take pictures last night, but if anything the pizza was more delicious. No, we did not jet over to Ann Arbor to pick up fresh mozzarella. It was not so much the toppings: River Valley Mushrooms on one, smoked mozzarella topped with salad on the other. It was the crust. Just a bit more time in the oven. The crusts crisped more, in a good way. An ideal platform for what is local in the fridge. I'm looking forward to next week's tweaks.

Eat Local Fish

The Phil Vettel Game

There's a fine line between advocacy and reporting in the CTrib's At Play section. It's not that Phil Vettel is above a little push and shove. I've seen him use his space to seek improvement in Chicago's eating. Maybe today's piece on codish fish and chips represents a state of affairs he's happy with. Maybe.

Atlantic cod is the preferred fish because it's an inexpensive fish that's moist, flaky and sturdy enough for the deep-fryer. Just as important, cod has a very mild flavor. "A lot of people who think of themselves as non-fish eaters will still eat fish and chips," says chef Dirk Flanigan, who sells a lot of fish and chips at the Michigan Avenue gastropub The Gage. "That's what people are looking for." The trouble is, overfishing of cod has become a serious issue. Many chefs take care to buy cod from countries that avoid overfishing; Iceland is considered progressive on that score, and so Flanigan and many other chefs feature Icelandic cod (not a separate species, just Atlantic cod caught in Icelandic waters). Some local chefs have turned to less-overfished species, such as hake, haddock or pollock, members of the cod family whose populations aren't considered to be as endangered. Creative chefs will employ halibut, tilapia and walleye -- but these more expensive fish kick up the prices. "I was thinking one day I'd do mahi-mahi, the next day St. Pierre," says Flanigan, "but getting someone to pay $25 for fish and chips would be hard."

Phil hits on the problems with the cod, tasteless and scarce. He recognizes a solution in more expensive fish, but he fails to mention the best solution. Local fish.

There was a time, in the greater Midwest that fish n' chips, at least Friday fish fries, meant one fish, perch. These days perch still swim away in our Great Lakes, but the commercial fishing in many of the Great Lakes states is next to morbid. Still, lake perch is out there. More importantly, there's efforts to farm raise perch, and what I've tried so far, from has been pretty darn good (I've long been impressed with Growing Power's operations, but read the linked article to really be impressed). Let's pine for more perch in our fish fries.

Think of all impacts of ocean caught cod. Sure, not all cod stocks are decimated, but so many are. Beyond that, there's the impact of the miles and miles that these fish travel back and fourth from boats to shores to markets to markets to our restaurants. All that for a product tauted for its "very mild flavor". It's not that perch is fishy. It's no herring. It is, however, sweet and distinct and with a flavor that will soon addict. Ditch the cod.

Don't get me started on the chips.

Did You Know

Topics That May or May Not Show Up

• The best paczki's I've tried were at Oak Park Bakery. Make a note for next year.
• Pasticceria Natalina has justifiably got a lot of renown since its opening last year, but what about Giuseppe, who recently took over the operations at Claudio Bakery in Elmwood Park (7308 North Avenue). His products may not be as fancy. He does bake up some great breads, especially the classic Sicilian bread called malfada.
• There's such a thing as local shrimp in the Midwest. And do you know Eric Villegas. When we were in Michigan a couple of weeks ago we found Villegas's great celebration of Michigan foods (Fork in the Road: a book/PBS series). We also learned about the shrimp farm in Okemos, Michigan.
• Cassie's not selling Michigan shrimps yet at her new store, Green Grocer, but hopefully she will soon. She's hell bent on local, quizzing her potential suppliers for her new market. All ready she has a great stock of Michigan beans, local beet chips (worth the visit alone), Bennison's bread, one of my favorites, meat, eggs, Tomato Mountain products...
• Like Cassie, Robin Winters did not just talk about local. Inspired by a few events, she pretty much single handily; OK with Tony of Scotch Hill Farms, she's brought local to the Chicago area while the farmer's markets hibernate.
• I'm willing to buy a non-local cheese if (only?) it's as good and as special as Jasper Hill Farms Constant Bliss, as close as possible to true Brie in the USA.
• At one time, Maywood had a Cuban community. Today, a bodega called Oriente is one reminder. Another is the cafe, El Prado (612 Lake). It's like eating in Senora's home. You order what she has each day. Which more often than not consists of flat breasts of chicken/beef with tons of garlic and onions or something long cooked and on the side, plantains, yucca and the necessary beans/rice. Boliche is a braised round roast stuffed with ham, a bit on the touch side. Carne asada is not steak but another form of stew, with potatoes. Garbanzo soup is emblematic of her touch.

What's In Season Now, Chicagoland - February

New Vital Information Feature

To those eating local, you should/could find these foods available this month:

Updated 2/13/08
Beef, lamb, chicken, pork - Winter markets; farm direct, Internet/Freshpicks.com
Grains - Winter markets, farm direct
Eggs - Winter markets, farm direct, grocery, Freshpicks.com
Farm raised tilapia - Winter markets
Farm raised rainbow trout - Grocery
Great Lakes fish - pike, whitefish, pearch, white bass, lake trout, carp - Grocery, speciality stores
Microgreens, sprouts and related - Winter markets, Freshpicks.com
Lettuces - Winter markets, farm direct, Freshpicks.com
Arugula - Winter markets, farm direct, Freshpicks.com
Carrots - Winter markets, farm direct, Freshpicks.com
Cabbage - Winter markets, Freshpicks.com
Potatoes - Winter markets, farm direct, grocery, Freshpicks.com
Apples - Winter markets, farm direct, grocery
Herbs - Winter markets, farm direct, Freshpicks.com
Mushrooms - Winter markets, Grocery, Freshpicks.com
Onions - Winter markets, farm direct, grocery
Burdock root - Freshpicks.com
Horseradish - Freshpicks.com

Inventory Update

Here.

Lula's - The Restaurant I Just Cannot Seem To Like

Tried Again

We try to be a Monday through Friday local-a-eatin' family (reserving eating out for the weekends). We were pretty set for Friday, having all the local corned beef (Vienna, local at least in production), turnips, red potatoes, parsnips, and cabbage needed for a nice boiled dinner. A combination of things including the snow put a kibosh on our plans. But I still wanted to eat local. Vie was a bit more money than I wanted to spend. Lula's.

It was one of those dinners that during it, neither my wife nor I did much complaining. For one thing, the kidz seemed very happy with their food; for another, since we could not get a read on each other, we did not want to appear to spoil the other's experience. You know. If you both hate it, crap away, but if she likes it, she may feel bad if you start trashing. It was not until the next day that I realized she disliked it about as much as me, and she's not nearly as predisposed to dislike Lula's as me. For her, it was more the service, a bit of the food, me it was mostly the food, some of the service. Bottom line, food on the banal side, service on the inept side.

We shared all: duck liver pate with a bit (and I mean bit) of blackberry preserves and black kale soup for starters; some type of pasta (the menu featured about four pastas whose names I did not recognize) with goat and a "24 hour" lamb shoulder with beans and greens. Let's take the last first. I expected 24 hour cooked lamb shoulder to be one of those, the French have a name for it, eat with a spoon, kinda dishes. Nope, it was hardly soft, rich, unctuous, any of the things the dish implied. Both the goat pasta and the kale soup were excessively bland. The soup, I could taste some cream, some type of acid, but pretty much no kale. The pate was, well excessively smooth, soft. The problem, it worked less as a mousse than it did as a pate.

Service, my wife was mostly bothered by how the staff constantly reached across our table to grab plates. Yeah, that bothered me, but what bothered me more was when I tried to quiz a bit on the actual local. I got a general answer that they used local organic. When I pressed, what was local, what farms, etc. I got a well, there's City Farms, and...and that was about it. No real explanation of what was actually local on the menu. At least if I'm gonna eat non-local food, I want to eat more tasty food.

What's Local, Last Day of January, Geneva, IL

Local Superstore

I've justified the money I've spent on eating local by noting it's my hobby. A hobbyist has no (no) problem taking the hour ride, in the snow, from Oak Park to Geneva, to sample a winter market.The Geneva Winter Market is housed in a building that includes an Amish inspired restaurant, a deli counter, a freezer filled with local meat, and an outstanding cheese store called Curds and Whey. The totality of the shops made the hobby that much more palatable.

The farmers market part was snug but useful. Believe me, a localvore will take any vegetable this time of year. Both of those cabbages pictured came home with us. We also picked up a box of micro greens. We left the carrots and potatoes for others. Besides those things, from an un-named Wisconsin farm (or at least a farm whose name I cannot remember); there were hoop house greens grown by Erehwon Farm. Everything was being sold in its planters, but the planters could be returned for a refund. The selection yesterday included pea shoots, sunflower shoots, a mix that included baby mustard and arugula and cilantro. We purchased the last. Other local material included eggs, syrups (maple and sorghum) and several forms of Wisconsin wheat.

Around the corner from the farmer's market nook--think the dining room in a 19th century farm house, there was the meat market and the cheese store. The owner of Inglenook is of Amish heritage, and the deli sells several Amish products from Pennsylvania. Rob, whose cheeses we were sampling and buying urged us to try the ham being sold. Technically, these items are beyond our local paradise (even as expansive as we define our foodshed), but the products are surely local in spirit. And so damn good. The ham had a strong smoke, like Wisconsin hams, but also it had a salty tang not that far from say a Kentucky ham. We could not resist a pound. Likewise, we could not resist a chicken from Farm Direct Black Angus Farms. The freezer case by the meat counter also included Black Angus steaks, roasts and burgers. Besides the beef and chicken, the Inglenook freezer included lamb from Mint Creek Farm.

Vegetables, grains, eggs, syrups, meats, a localvore could really stock up. Save room, however, for the cheeses. The Curds and Whey cheese stock is as well stocked as any cheese stand I know. Rob's passionate and extraordinarily knowledgeable. His stock is not wholly focused on local cheeses, but it is almost entirely focused on artisinal and farmhouse cheeses. As such, he had several local cheeses such as Bleu Mont Dairy's overly flavorful bandaged cheddar that we love. He raved about some Wisconsin farm butters, so we bought some of that too. Overall, it was a worthwhile visit to Geneva.

The complex, at Inglenook Pantry, is at 11 N. 5th Street, about a block north of State Street, in Geneva, IL.

Food is Not Forever

Beet It

Getting some carrots out for the kidz lunch today I spied some fuzzy white. Drat. The bag of beets, about 1/3rd of our beet inventory, in the kitchen fridge was horribly moldy.

What Was Local in Ann Arbor

Signs of Ann Arbor Farmer's Market - January 19, 2007

Wanna know how cold it was. Too frigid for apples. One farmer stood in the cold; when a hearty customer arrived, she would bang on the truck door. Her partner, with the better end of the deal, would pass along a bag from the stash. Cold.



















How cold. Cold enough that we bought 3 bison meat patties outta sympathy.

The Ann Arbor Farmer's Market runs year round. On a very cold day in early January, 2008, there were five vendors. Two selling apple and apple based products, one with eggs, one with bison and one with lettuce grown in a hoop house.

The Ann Arbor Farmer's Market is at 315 Detroit Street. It can be a bit tricky to get as the streets in the Kerrytown section of Ann Arbor diverge from the greater grid of the city; plus there are several one way streets. It's a prime foodie zone, not just because five vendors will brave bitter cold, but there's also Zingerman's, Sparrow Meat, which is a great source for Michigan dried beans as well as dry aged meat--we picked up a 3 month aged porterhouse for $7.99/lb, a goddamn steal; and Tracklement's, which is not local in source, but local in production, and perhaps the premier smoker of salmon, both hot and cold smoked, in the USA.

Sunrise Sunset

What a difference a month or so makes. It seems like only yesterday I was making her a tofurkey sandwich (perhaps local as soy is so prevalent around here); to last night, when she's sopping up the drippings from the pork chops (Wisconsin) with the remaining polenta (Indiana cornmeal).

Winter Market Details

So Much to Blog

Zingermans, Ann Arbor Farmer's Market, 5 courses of beef at Hai Yen, Wife's award, Mom's bagels, America's Farmer's Market, etc., etc., etc. Might as well go with the most current. Robin Winter nicely provided me the names of the farmers/vendors at the forthcoming winter markets. She does warn that some farmers might not be there in person, but her and her team are working hard to have the goods there regardless.

I've put my comments on the vendors in italics.

Scotch Hill Farm*, Brodhead, WI (goats' milk soap and CSA subscriptions) - Regulars at the Oak Park Market, quality produce, I always find myself buying something from them.

Ted's Organic Grains, DeKalb, IL (a variety of milled flours, meals, and grains) - Don't know, but we are always, always looking for sources of local grains.

Natural Beauty by Margie, Chicago, IL (natural beauty products) - not really what I need

Herbally Yours, Willow Springs, IL (infused vinegars and dried herbs) - Jim's a great guy; I wish he still could sell his mustards and horseradishes.

Arnold Farm, Elizabeth, IL (pastured poultry and grass-fed beef and pork) - Don't know this particular farm. Personally, the VI family is fine on meat, but we adore all local sources of meat.

AquaRanch, Flanagan, IL (natural farm-raised tilapia and organic lettuce, kale, and herbs) [these are grown aquaponically, which is aquaculture + hydroponics, an amazing process in which the fish provide the nitrogren source for the produce, so it doesn't need to be added chemically] - I'd get some fish if I did not have plans on Saturday. I'd rather lettuce, kale, etc., grown in the ground, in hoop houses, then hydroponically. While hydro looks great (really great), I find it tends to the bland side. Still, I'd much (much) rather have local hydroponic than Cali. I'll buy a lot.

Mount Hope School Farm, Mount Hope, IL (popcorn)- We still have locally grown popcorn from our foray to Indiana this summer.

Seedling Fruit, South Haven, MI (apple and pear butters) - Higher quality Michigan fruit, preserved. We have at least some of their stuff stocked away; on the other hand, we have so much jellies, we have a moratorium on this kinda stuff.

River Valley Ranch, Burlington, WI (fresh mushrooms, several varieties) - We've been happy customers of their stands at Green City and Madison. Looking forward to buying.

Sugar River Dairy, Monticello, WI (yogurt in several flavors)- Don't know, sounds cool.

Edelweiss Creamery, Monticello, WI (cheddar and gouda)- Don't know, sounds cool.

Ropp Jersey Cheese, Normal, IL (a variety of Jersey cheeses)- Don't know, sounds cool (especially).

Local As We Wanna Be

Make Pizza!

There are certain staples of the localvore's kitchen. Dishes to use the odds and ends of a CSA box or this week's special buy. Eggs are a standby, a lot of things around can be folded in. Pasta serves the same purpose. Add pizza to the list. We had fresh mozzarella picked up at Zingerman's a few days earlier. It needed a showcase. Pizza!

My wife used a Mark Bittman crust recipe, not too complicated and not needing an extended rise time. As I say, it was all about the Zingy mozz, some of the best I've ever tried. Just mozzarella would be a little plain. The first pizza was garnished with the not-so-local Condiment Queen tapenade; the second pizza had the more appropriate base of pesto from local basil, local garlic and imported pecorino.

We are already planing our next foray to Michigan.

Winter Farmer Markets - Oak Park, Chicago

Stock Up

Remember the post about winter farmer's markets in the Chicago area. A little birdy put something in my in box yesterday to remind us about markets this Saturday. See here for details.

According to the e-mail, the following will be available at the markets:

*Both Farmers Markets**
will feature most or all of the following:*

· Tilapia (farm-raised in Illinois free of antibiotics, mercury,
herbicides, hormones, pesticides and steroids)

· Cheese & yogurt, both in a variety of flavors

· Honey in a variety of flavors

· Organic lettuce, kale & herbs

· Organic micro-greens, including baby arugula (rocket)

· Organic baby red potatoes

· Fresh mushrooms (several varieties)

· Popcorn

· Apple and pear butters

· Goats’ milk soaps in heavenly scents & fun shapes

· Pet products

· Bath & body products

· Infused vinegars & dried herbs

· Organic milled flours, several varieties

· Wool yarn & woolen goods

· Maple & sorghum syrups

· Beautiful fruit tarts & cakes by the Sisters of Fraternite
Notre Dame

· Fair trade coffee

· Fair trade organic olive oil from the Palestinian region

· Opportunities to learn about CSAs (community supported
agriculture) and purchase your subscription for this summer

· And much, much more!

Meat & poultry will be available in Oak Park only.
*Quantities of some products are limited, so shop early!*

Look's cool!

PS: I'm trying to find the names of the farmers/vendors.

Inventory Update

See here.

What's Local at Costco - Bucktown

Local's Where You Find It

As my late Mother-in-Law would say, we did a numba at the Chicago Costco today. Amazing how a bunch of $15 bottles of wine can add up. As always, we're on the lookout for all things local. And a localvore can always find something.

Of course, Wisconsin cheeses; the kidz love the convenience of sliced Tillmook cheddar, but I held strong and purchased some Organic Creamery sharp cheddar instead. We found a 10 lb bag of Wisconsin red potatoes (luckily we're a boiled potato lovin' family) and a 10 lb bag of red delicious apples from Minnesota (luckily we're an apple lovin' family). To burnish our local street cred, we snickered at the grown in a test-tube baby bell peppers.

What's Local at Whole Foods

In the Valley of the Shadow of Corporate Food Location

The relatively new Whole Foods located in Northbrook at the intersection of Techny and Willow is nearly surrounded by facilities of Kraft Food. Planned? Anyways, needing to do some shopping and looking for a quick bite on the way home from Northbrook Court, we stopped there last night.

First of all, let me confess that I transgressed big time. Of all the foods for sale including buffalo shrimps, "smoked" brisket, tired panini, and Asian noodle bowls (at least), nothing quite appealed. So I went with a standard, salad bar. What could be more non-local. And I sure paid a price. Tasteless trayf. Still, any trip to Whole Foods is a trip to see how they are holding to their commitment to sell local.

It's not that Chicago area Whole Foods are local-free. There's always Amish milk from Iowa; good Wisconsin cheeses like those from Antigo or Brunkow's great spreads; even locally made pasta, but when I hear local, I think foremost of fruits and vegetables. In that vein, in the look on the bright side vein, Whole Foods was not barren. They were selling, last night, not one, but two types of Michigan apples. For the Whole Foods-ish price of $1.99/lb, they had heavily waxed McIntoshes and more natural looking Fuji. We bought four of the latter just to show our support.

In turn for my support, Whole Foods, how 'bout you doing this for me (I know you read my blog). Start buying salad mixes produced locally, in hoop houses--try Growing Power. Don't tell me you cannot find local potatoes, the local wholesaler has them. What I really want is for someone to pack away and store, at better conditions than can be had at a suburban home, turnips, beets, rutabagas, etc. Be my root cellar and I will pay your prices. And while I'm at it, local ham is all the rage, why are you not selling it?

What's local around you?

Eat Local Eggs

Some Help

On this blog I've tried to encourage the eating of local mostly by showing that it can be done, and also showing how pleasurable it can be. What I want to do more, in 2008, is be a bit more specific.

I linked to Hat Hammond's post the other day on local eggs because of the way it glorified the product (and not the least the nice pics and nice prose). I realized afterwards that readers would not want just to be tempted, to get a vicarious thrill. They'd want local eggs too. In the thread, Hammond mentions that Marion Street Cheese in Oak Park had local, farm eggs. I mention a few other egg options.

During the farmer's market season, it's possible to find eggs, at least in some markets--I know it's possible at Green City, Oak Park and Evanston. What about now. Well, you can try this site, which has a listing of egg producers in Illinois. Terragusta, on Addison, used to sell eggs from Country Cottage, a farm in Illinois; I'm not sure that they do now as I have not been there in ages. The Country Cottage web site lists one store in Chicago that sells their eggs.

The Wettstein's bring stuff to Oak Park's Buzz Cafe about once a month, and they usually bring eggs. Ann Fisher usually posts when they will show on LTHForum.

Has anyone been to the Geneva Winter Market (today and all Thursdays)? I imagine they have an egg vendor. Information on other winter markets can be found here.

What's Local (about Now) in Michigan

Prelude

Here's an eat local conundrum. If a Chicagoan, running low of local foods, jets off to Los Angeles to hit the Santa Monica Farmers Market, considered one of the best markets in the USA, and one in full bloom now as in summer, buys a bunch of stuff, is he eating local?

To eat local in the winter, in a northern zone like Chicago, one must rely on stored food or farmers that take extraordinary means to coax food. Our stored food dwindles; we can only get so much from Farmer Vicki. With the kidz off of school for two days, we hit the trail looking for local. We did not get as far as Santa Monica. What made more sense, we'd go to Michigan.

Most of Michigan is more than 100 miles from my bungalow, but the family and I do not limit our localness to 100 miles. We count the whole state of Michigan from its tartest cherries at the tip to the abundance of Zingerman goat cheeses at the other end of the mitt as part of our local. Like Wisconsin, who we also include in its entirety, Michigan is a state with an abundant local food culture. I guess when the key food crop of your home state is high fructose corn syrup it helps to look afield. Our plan included the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, the above mentioned Zingerman's, and Detroit's Eastern Market. On the way to Michigan, we hoped to finally hit the American Countryside Farmer's Market in Elkhart.

We really hoped to find some roots, especially rutabaga, which we have none, as well as more beets, more carrots are always useful, perhaps some celery root; we'd be even happy with more turnips. Stored, winter cabbage would be especially cool. After four days on the road, we found none of that. We did come back with some local foods (and had quite a few good meals too).

What's Local in Martha's Vineyard

NYTimes On the Case - "On Martha’s Vineyard, Using Scallops as Currency"

Even in January, her hours in the kitchen have a purpose. Sitting in the bright oak post-and-beam room built by her husband, Richard Osnoss, a carpenter, Ms. Buhrman explained that she tries to eat only food raised on Martha’s Vineyard and to go down island to the grocery store in Vineyard Haven as little as possible...“You can buy heirloom tomatoes in the winter from God knows where and they don’t taste anything like the ones from Caitlin’s farm on Middle Road in Chilmark.” The contrast between summer produce at its peak and what is available off season drives Ms. Buhrman to find new ways of putting up summer fruits and vegetables. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

It's a good article (link, but reg. req.) with a couple of good winter recipes--although I quibble that a recipe includes Vidalia or sweet onions, a VERY NOT winter product. What I don't quite quibble about the article, but what makes me quibbly [ed. quibbly?] is the whole ruralness of the scene. What I mean is that I greatly admire and appreciate stories like this, but there is a distinct difference between eating local as part of a farming community and eating local in a suburban community like Oak Park. I'm not jealous per se, not frustrated per se, just, well, quibbley.

Eat Local Eggs

David the Hat Hammond Testifies

I can do no worse on this blog than to crib from pieces like this, Hammond's excellent tribute to local, farm eggs he is getting from Farmer Vicki's Genesis Growers. Needless to say, in a hopeless act of me-tooism, we get our eggs also from Farmer Vicki.

Drink Local Vodka

DiVine


From Gaper's Block:

DiVine Vodka Reception @ Brasserie Jo
Head to Brasserie Jo tonight from 5-8pm for an hors d'oeuvres reception sponsored by DiVine vodka, a Michigan-based distiller. Cost is $25 for food (which will be made with DiVine vodka) and cocktails; call 312-595-0800 to reserve your spot.

I like eating local. Sure, I want to reduce my food miles; I like keeping money in the (relatively) local economy, and I like the fact I can actually visit the factory. But mostly, I'm parochial about my food. I root for my team. Maybe not all local vodkas taste good. I know of three: DiVine, North Shore Distillery and Death's Door. I've only tried the first two. Needless to say, I like drinking local. Don't just believe me, see what Chicago Mag has to say (pdf). DiVine is made from grapes, and yes there is a grapiness to the vodka (in a good way).

I cannot make the event tomorrow. I will enjoy some DiVine vodka.

Blog Updates

I've finally gotten around to updating my blog roll, adding some good eat local resources as well as a few of my favorite places. In addition, I've added a section for background information. This section is for those who have picked up the quest to eat local in the middle of the adventure.

The Inventory

Lettuce + Potatoes + Apples = Happy Localvore

Updated 2/11/08
I recorded our inventory of local foods on December 20, 2007. Since that date, we have tried to eat all our meals at home using solely our local ingredients (but for our standard exceptions such as olive oil, spices, etc.). The moderating force against our inventory is that we eat out a lot still. My wife and I will go out for some lunches, and at least a few times each weekend, the family visits some restaurant. Plus, we took a winter holiday and a just completed a road trip to Michigan--to be reported as I have time. We eat local, but we are not totally local.

I have copied what I reported back in December. Changes made before today are in CAPS. New changes are in italics.

Meat and egg supplies remain strong, we have increased our supply of locally grown dry beans, increased our supplies of locally grown grains, and increased our supply of locally produced cheeses.

Cranberries - about twelve packages - HAVE NOT TOUCHED, HOPEFULLY THE CRANBERRIES REMAIN EDIBLE - fingers crossed
Pie pumpkins - maybe 4 - STILL VIABLE - NO CHANGE - fingers crossed
Celery - 2 bunches - SEVERAL STALKS, BUT IT'S GETTING SOFT - really soft
Herbs - ROSEMARY AND SORREL - NO CHANGE/SEE BELOW - have used some rosemary
Winter squash - plenty including acorn, delicata, turban and butternut - MEDIUM STOCK - NO CHANGE - No change
Keeper onions - GOOD STOCK - NO CHANGE - See below/obtained 3 lbs
Sweet potatoes - GOOD STOCK - NO CHANGE - Low stock, had to toss several moldy
Garlic - about 25 heads - VERY GOOD STOCK - NO CHANGE - No change
Cabbage 1 whole/1 half - WHOLE HEAD REMAINS, SOME BROWNING - SEE BELOW
Sunchokes - UNCHANGED - No Change
Carrots - LOW STOCK - NO CHANGE - Dwindling
Parsnips LOW STOCK - NO CHANGE - No change
Beets - LOW STOCK - TOSSED SOME - No change
Turnips - MEDIUM STOCK - NO CHANGE - No change
Potatoes - SOME CONSUMED, SOME TOSSED - OBTAINED 1 LB OF RED; OBTAINED 10 LB OF RED - VERY GOOD STOCK - SEE BELOW - See below/obtained 5 lbs
Apples - SOME CONSUMED - OBTAINED 20+ POUNDS INCLUDING GRANNY SMITH, IDA RED; VERY GOOD STOCK - SEE BELOW - See below/Obtained 3 lbs

ADDITIONS SINCE 1/24/08
Lettuce - 3 bags of romaine - 1 remaining
Cabbage - 2 heads - No change
Herbs - parsley, cilantro - No change
Microgreens - 1/2 left
Peashoots - No change
Potatoes - 10lbs, red - No change/obtained 5 lbs (used some of the newest)
Apples - red delicious, fuji - Consumed many/obtained 3 lbs
Mushrooms - baby portobello, mixed oyster/shitake - Consumed all/obtained 1 lb shitake & 1 lb oyster (cultivated)

Other Additions since 2/9/08
Lettuce - 5 bags mixed greens
Grains - hard wheat, soft wheat, wheat berries (consumed some)
Celery root - 2 lbs

OTHER SUBTRACTIONS
From the freezer: broccoli, cauliflower, peas, ASPARAGUS, greens - freezer stocks remain good