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?