Filed under: Uncategorized
this summer, i made it to 18 farmers markets. next year, i hope to get to the 14 i missed. but until then, i thought i’d make a top ten of the best things i found at the farmers markets this year. to keep me occupied during the barren, cold winter (can you tell i’m a summer person?), i think i may try to go to some of the wonderful international markets around chicago as well as some bakeries that i’ve held off on visiting for this very purpose. let’s see how much weight i gain!
top ten farmers market finds – 2009
10. seedling farm strawberries including fraises des boises at lincoln square farmers market
9. chanterelle mushrooms at hyde park farmers market
8. nichols farm apples at lincoln park farmers market
7. pretzel bread from labriola at daley plaza market
6. pasta puttana or bennison’s bakery at green city market
5. garlic varieties at independence park farmers market
4. mini doughnuts at north center farmers market
3. black dog gelato at logan square farmers market
2. mirai corn at southport farmers market
1. peas (english, snap, sugar) at prudential plaza market in june
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: garlic soup, independence park, pear tart, recipes, stamper cheese, tamales
farmers market season has now ended in chicago (other than green city of course and now i hear logan square may stay open indoors?). i know, it’s sad. but before i said goodbye, i went to the independence park farmers market. i didn’t even know that independence park existed, but quickly found out what a gem the park and it’s neighborhood association are. it was likely one of the best farmers markets i’ve been to all year. some highlights include a vendor solely selling different varieties of garlic. there was a home-roasted coffee vendor (stiver’s coffee). an organic grains vendor (plapp family organics). a tamale vendor (elena’s tamales). several baked goods stands that i’ve only seen at this farmers market. an artisanal cheese stand (stamper cheese company) from wisconsin. this was the dreamboat of all farmers markets and i tried to take advantage while i could. my sister and i bought several heads of garlic and the garlic people gave us a recipe for a garlic soup. of course, i had to try it.
we also bought some pears for a dessert to accompany the soup. i ended up making a caramelized pear tart with some leftover puff pastry i had in the freezer. it turned out really well! here’s the recipe for the garlic soup, which i highly recommend, unless you have to talk to strangers in the 12 hours after eating the soup. i’ve also included the pear tart recipe below. bon appetit!
gourmet variety garlic soup
ingredients:
26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 c vegetable stock (recipe calls for chicken stock but i substituted veggie stock for my veg hubby)
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 c finely grated parmeggiano reggiano
4 lemon wedges
4 slices of bread (any kind)
1/2 c gruyere cheese
directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees f. place 26 unpeeled garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. add 2 tblsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 mins. cool. squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. transfer cloves to small bowl. melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 mins. add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 mins. add stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 mins. i used immersion blender to puree soup at this point until it was smooth, but you can use blender and work in batches until you have it all pureed if you don’t have an immersion blender. return soup to saucepan if using blender and bring to simmer. season with salt and pepper. (can be prepared one day ahead. cover and refrigerate. rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally. ) divide grated cheese among four bowls and ladle soup over. squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve. i served this with slices of bread, topped the bread with gruyere cheese and broiled for a few mins in the oven.
caramelized pear tarts with cardamom cream
ingredients:
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-oz package), thawed
2 firm-ripe pears, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored
1 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 c plus 1 tblsp granulated sugar
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1/2 c chilled heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
directions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Roll out pastry into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out 4 (5-inch) rounds by tracing around an inverted plate or bowl with tip of a small sharp knife. Prick pastry rounds all over with a fork and transfer to baking sheet. Bake until rounds are puffed and golden, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on baking sheet on a rack.
While pastry bakes, toss pear halves with lemon juice in a bowl. Cook 1/2 cup granulated sugar and a pinch of salt in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, swirling skillet (to help sugar melt evenly), until caramel is deep golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter with a wooden spoon (mixture will bubble vigorously). When bubbling begins to subside, immediately add pear halves, cut sides down, and cook over moderately low heat, covered, turning over once, until pears are tender when pierced with a small sharp knife, about 13 minutes total. Remove from heat.
Beat cream, cardamom, and remaining tablespoon granulated sugar in a bowl with a whisk or an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks.
Put each pastry round on a small plate. Spoon some of caramel sauce onto center of each round and top with a pear half, cut side down. Serve with cardamom cream on the side.
independence park farmers market
location: West Irving Park Road and Springfield Avenue
hours: saturdays, 9 am to 1 pm thru oct 11
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: apple cider sorbet, butternut squash, greens, hyde park farmers market, recipes, south shore farmers market, south side
sometimes i get stuck in my northwest-side-of-chicago bubble and forget what a different world it can be south of roosevelt. last month, i visited two farmers markets on the south shore. i was reminded that as nice as it is to have so many farmers markets nearby on the north side, this exercise in trying to visit as many markets as possible has really shown me so much more about chicago.
my first south side attempt was to the lawndale farmers market. my handy guide said that this market wouldn’t end until the october 15 but there were no stands to be found anywhere in the vicinity of ogden and central park ave. so, i moved on.
next stop – south shore farmers market on jeffery blvd. this trip turned out to be a cultural experience in and of itself. this was not your typical farmers markets full of yuppies or hippies. it was a market to provide affordable produce to people in the area. they were giant bags of potatoes and apples and greens of every kind… mustard green, chard, collard greens, turnip greens, beet greens. in hindsight i wish i would have picked up a few kinds to do a green tasting or something, but i left with a single butternut squash for a meal i was making for my parents who were in town that weekend. maybe next year i’ll learn. i will, however, share the recipe i made for the dinner with my parents because it’s a great fall dish that i’ve made several times. it’s a little time consuming for a salad, but it’s hearty and has always been a crowd pleaser. i can’t take credit for the recipe… it’s from gourmet and it’s delicious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Warm-Pumpkin-Salad-with-Polenta-and-Candied-Pumpkin-Seeds-105581
the next day, i went with my dear friend, anitra, to the hyde park farmers market which stood in stark contrast to the south shore market. this had so many high-quality, artisanal booths. it gave me so many ideas for dishes to try. there were tons of apples and apple cider, beautiful eggplant varieties (see pics below), a mushroom vendor with oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, trumpets and many others. there were also several bakeries that made wonderful pastries and breads. i left with a jug of apple cider also for dinner with my parents. i was on a kick to make apple cider sorbet that tastes as good as black dog’s, so this would be my first attempt. it turned out pretty well and was super easy… but of course, not nearly as flavorful as black dog’s version. below is the recipe i used.
visiting a few of the south side farmers markets was well worth the trip. if you’re looking for cheap, fresh produce go to the south shore market and for high-end, artisanal produce, hyde park is fabulous.
apple cider sorbet
ingredients:
6 cups unpasteurized apple cider
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons strained fresh lemon juice
directions:
in a large saucepan combine the cider, the sugar, and a pinch of salt and boil the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced to about 4 cups. stir in the lemon juice, strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and chill it, covered, until it is cold. Freeze the mixture in an ice-cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
South Shore Farmers Market
location: 7045 S. Jeffery Blvd.
hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, June thru October
Hyde Park Farmers Market
location: S. Harper Ave. & E. 52nd Pl.
hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, June thru October
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: apple cider, black dog, cipollina, fiore's deli, gelato, logan square, malted vanilla, mexican hot chocolate, piccolo, provenance
a couple of weekends ago i went to the logan square farmers market, one of the better farmers markets in chicago. every vendor brings only high quality produce and goods. you can easily figure out what is in season when you go to this market.
well, on this particular trip, i stumbled upon the black dog gelato booth. i know it’s a little late in the year to be talking about frozen treats but this is worth knowing about. in fact, i’ve decided to devote this entire post to black dog. it’s that good. i have to admit, having lived in san francisco where there are ice cream shops like bi-rite creamery and now humphrey slocombe, i’ve been a little disappointed with the frozen offerings in chicago. until now.
at the farmers market, black dog was serving apple cider sorbet (to die for), malted vanilla and mexican hot chocolate. later in the week, i went to cipollina in wicker park, and they had black dog on their menu. this time, the flavors included strawberry balsamic, goat cheese cashew caramel, and sesame olive oil (i think). it’s one thing to take on these wacky combinations in an ice cream, but it’s quite another to actually make them taste good.
apparently black dog gelato is also sold at other chicago retailers (see list below) so when farmers market season is over, i can still get my fix.
black dog gelato retailers:
– cipollina
– provenance
– piccolo
– fiore’s deli
logan square farmers market
sundays, 10 am to 3 pm
3107 w. logan blvd.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: edgewater, leek and potato soup, lincoln park, nichols farm, pears, recipes
after a hiatus due to wedding planning, wedding and honeymoon, i’m now in full-force farmers market mode. especially now that there’s less than a month left in the season!
this past weekend i went to two farmers markets. the first was the edgewater farmers market. i actually forgot that i had been here before and was bummed because this is probably my least favorite of all the farmers markets. it’s really small, which is fine as long as the quality holds up, but in this case it’s not true. the produce is fine but it’s really expensive. there’s one booth that sells heirloom tomatoes for $5/lb which is unheard of even at farmers markets. they aren’t very friendly either which makes me feel okay about ragging on them, although i won’t name names. there aren’t any particularly good or interesting bakers either. there are other farmers markets somewhat nearby (north center, lincoln square or lincoln park for instance) that are much more worth your while. i did, however, pick up some leeks and made a very tasty leek and potato soup (potage parmentier) courtesy of julia child (i’m on a huge kick right now!). i made a few changes to the recipe below because it seemed that the soup would be way too thin made the way she suggested.
leek and potato soup
ingredients
1 lb. peeled potatoes, diced
1 lb. thinly sliced leeks
2 quarts water
1 tblsp salt
4-6 tblsp whipping cream
2 tblsp minced chives
directions
simmer the vegetables, water and salt together, partially covered for 40 mins until the vegetables are tender. mash the vegetables with a fork or through a food mill for a finer soup. set aside uncovered until just before serving, then reheat to the simmer. off heat and just before serving, stir in the cream by sponnfuls. pour into soup bowls and decorate with chives.
the second market we went to this weekend was the lincoln park farmers market, not to be confused with green city. in contrast to edgewater, this one was great and really got me in the mood for fall. it was the largest nichols farm stand i’ve ever come across. they had so many kinds of potatoes and apples, it was crazy (see pics below)! i picked up some pumpkins on a stick… no really, that’s their name, some free range eggs and some beautiful pears that we ate last night with cheddar as an appetizer. i’m now ready for all the football, chillier weather and leaves changing that seem to be forced upon us.
nichols farm selection of potatoes... all different kinds!
edgewater green market
saturday through october, 7 am to 1 pm
6034 n. broadway
lincoln park farmers market
saturdays through october, 7 am to 2 pm
lincoln park high school parking lot
armitage ave. & orchard st.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: donuts, element bars, ellis farms, kohlrabi, mirai, northcenter, peaches, plums, recipes, southport, squash, sweet corn, sweet tooth, twin garden farms, yellow plums
after a bit of a hiatus due to wedding-related activities and travel, i tried to make up for lost time by going to two farmers markets this past saturday. after all, if i’m going to make it to all of them this summer, i need to do get down to business. i first went to the northcenter market and then the southport market. they were both such good reminders of what i love about farmers markets: finding unexpected produce or farm fresh products that you’d never find in a grocery store.
the northcenter market is fairly small but the options are good. my first stop was to the ellis farms booth for some stone fruit. i thought it might be nice to get a few peaches or a nectarine, but instead i found a yellow plum! it’s super juicy and a little sweeter than your average purple-y red plum.
i did also pick up some nectarines for one of my favorite summer time salads, introduced to me by my friend carOline and compliments of real simple magazine. all you need is mozzarella, fresh basil, nectarines, olive oil and salt. you cut up the nectarines and mozzarella into 1-inch cubes. tear the basil and combine all three ingredients. then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. so fresh and tasty and a great substitute for your typical caprese salad. i’ve brought it to many a picnic.
another unexpected and slightly less healthy treat at northcenter was a mini donut vendor called ‘sweet tooth.’ they make donuts to order. they are cakey and delicious and you can get them drizzled with chocolate or powdered sugar. they have this amazing little donut maker that was a huge hit with the kids and sadly, me.
one other vendor i wanted to mention from the north center… element bars. it’s a local company that makes custom protein and energy bars made out of all natural and mainly local ingredients. you can make your own bar or they have some of the top sellers pre-made. delish!
moving on to southport. i got here right about when they closed that day (note: they close at noon), but it was well worth the trip. i walked up to the first, and frankly, one of the only vendors there… twin garden farms. i quickly grabbed some kohlrabi with the thought of making a slaw, as well as some summer squash. as i went to pay for my finds, the guy at the booth told me he’d give me an ear of corn to try for free. here comes the strange part… he started shucking it and told me to try a bite right then and there. no, the corn was not cooked. i bit into it and it was some of the sweetest, juiciest corn i’d ever tried. it was a hybrid corn from japan called mirai. apparently, these guys love it so much that they made t-shirts. i am almost inspired to do the same! corn should be in season for the next month, so if you have the opportunity to try mirai, it will probably be some of the best corn you’ve ever had. btw – i went to the twin gardens website and the caption says ‘where we do sweet corn right.’ they said it! man, i love farmers markets.
northcenter farmers market
dates: every saturday from 7 am to 3 pm
location:
Northcenter Town Square
4100 N. Damen
Chicago, IL 60618
southport green market
dates: every saturday from 8 am to 12 noon
location
Blaine School
1420 W. Grace St.
Chicago, IL 60657
http://www.southportgreenmarket.com/Welcome.html
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blueberries, cheese fondue, daley plaza, fruit pizza, lehman's orchard, pretzel bread, raspberries, recipes
perhaps it was that i arrived at this farmers market around noon, but i was disappointed that there weren’t more vendors. i thought it would be the largest of the downtown farmers markets. apparently not. but, i still picked up some interesting and delicious items and it’s great resource to have in the middle of so many people’s working radius.
much to my dismay, what i got at this market will reveal how long it took me to actually write this entry. i went to this farmers market in early july so i can’t speak to what they have in market currently, but back then, my trip was successful. i knew i wanted to get blueberries and raspberries for a stars and stripes fruit pizza in honor of our nation’s birth. i headed to lehman’s orchard where they had the best deal since i needed a lot of fruit. it was the perfect time for berries, so this worked out well. while it’s a little late for a fourth of july fruit pizza, perhaps you can make this for labor day with the stars/stripes theme. or, you can use other fruit and it can just be a nice summer dessert. the recipe i used was makeshift due to a shortage of sugar cookie dough in the grocery store on the fourth of july, so i’ll spare sharing it with you. but if you do find sugar cookie dough in the store (or a good recipe for a sheet sugar cookie), all you have to do is mix some confectioner’s sugar and cream cheese together as frosting and pile on the fruit. easy!
after picking up the fruit, i spotted pretzel bread from labriola baking co. and was sucked in. i. love. pretzel bread. i had no idea what i was going to do with it, but on impulse i bought it. i knew i wanted to eat it for dinner that night because it wouldn’t be as wonderful and soft the next day. while it’s not summer-y at all really, i kept thinking about how good it would be with a cheddar fondue. so, i also picked up some broccoli and cheddar cheese, also from the farmers market. i happened to have the gruyere and other ingredients at home. the recipe is from rachel ray… it’s quick, easy and when served with a salad, it’s a great meal for those vegetarians you know.
ingredients:
2 1/2 cups, shredded sharp cheddar,
1/4 to 1/3 pound, 4 to 6 ounces, gruyere, shredded
1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup German lager beer
1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
a few drops hot sauce
a few drops worcestershire sauce
directions:
combine cheeses in a bowl with flour. add beer to a small pot and bring up to a bubble over medium heat. reduce the heat to simmer and add cheese in handfuls. stir constantly, melting the cheese in batches. stir in a figure-eight pattern with wooden spoon. when the cheese has been incorporated fully, stir in the mustard, hot sauce and worcestershire sauce. transfer fondue to warm fondue pot.
daley plaza farmers market
dates: every thursday from 7 am to 3 pm
Location
Daley Plaza
50 W. Washington
Chicago, IL 60602
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cherries, currants, eli's, gooseberries, recipes, wright college
in my quest to visit every farmers market in chicago, i’ve stumbled across a couple that are less fruitful (literally) than others. unfortunately, the dunning-eli’s/wright college farmers market was in this category. it is almost more of a craft fair with homemade soaps and jewelry than it is a farmers market. however, since the market is so close to eli’s (famous for cheesecake) and their cooking facility, the eli’s booth could create more elaborate fare than at your typical farmers market.
also, nichols farms represents, so the trip ended up worthwhile for me. they had an amazing assortment of berries and fruit. i got caught up in the excitement and came home with two kinds of cherries, two kinds of currants and gooseberries. gooseberries kind of taste like grapes but are more tart. i didn’t really know what to do with any of these items (other than the cherries), so i packed them up with me on my trip the following day to visit friends in minneapolis. my friends were equally as perplexed when i showed up with gooseberries. we decided to cook at home one of the nights, so i thought i’d contribute by making a gooseberry tart for dessert. i didn’t have enough gooseberries for an entire pie and my friend only had muffin tins, so i made little tarts in the muffin pan and added some of the currants i had. i think the crust turned out better than the filling, but i served it with ice cream (makes everything better) and they were actually edible. i’ve included a link to the recipe from food network below in case you’re adventurous but i would definitely recommend making this in large tart format and using all gooseberries. the currants were just too tart.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gooseberry-tart-recipe/index.html
i forgot to take a picture of the end result, so you’ll just have to try gooseberries yourself! and if you happen to be near wright college on a thursday, here are the details for the farmers market:
dunning-eli’s/wright college farmers market
time: every thursday from 7 am to 2 pm
location
eli’s cheesecake co. parking lot
montrose & forest preserve ave.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cheese, cherries, division street, ravinia, strawberries, sugar snap peas
being new to chicago, i hadn’t been to ravinia until recently but now i can’t get enough. it combines some of my favorite things… being outdoors, listening to music, drinking wine and last but not least, eating picnic food.
for this trip to ravinia, i decided to make a visit to the division street farmers market for supplies. this market is nothing compared to the green city market which is just blocks away, but it did just fine in providing what i needed on this occasion. there was a cheese booth where we got some delicious manchego, mozzarella and aged cheddar, all of which was made in wisconsin. we also scored a baguette that was nice and crusty, as well as strawberries, sugar snap peas and cherries.
there’s no recipe to go along with this entry, but it still was one of my favorite meals this summer. if you have an occasion for a picnic, farmers markets such as the one on division are perfectly suited!
division street farmers market
time: every saturday from 7 am to 2 pm
location: on division, between state and clark
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cabbage, fraises des bois, gyoza, lincoln square, mushrooms, recipes
i went to the lincoln square market with the goal of getting the main ingredients for gyoza (japanese dumplings typically filled with pork and cabbage).
now a word on where i got the inspiration for this dish…. the splendid table. if you’re not familiar with this radio show, go to splendidtable.org. you can download podcasts of each episode for free. if you like food and eating, you’ll love this show. i’m obsessed with it. during one of the more recent shows, someone called in asking the host, lynne rosetto kasper, what to use in gyoza if you’re a vegetarian since they are typically made with pork. of course, LRK came through with not one idea but a multitude of filling options, one of which was making the gyoza with mushrooms. because mushrooms have umami, they can taste like meat at times. since i live with a vegetarian and needed something for dinner that night, this sounded perfect.
the lincoln square market did not disappoint me in my search for gyoza ingredients. i found cremini mushrooms (shiitake probably would have been better but these worked just fine), cabbage and green onions. i took pieces of a couple of recipes i found online and patched them together (see below). i had most of the other ingredients at home other than the gyoza wrappers which required a trip to whole foods. it was a little tricky to close up the wrappers and make them look like they do in japanese restaurants but otherwise they were fairly simple and tasted great.
gyoza couldn’t be the only component for our meal, so i used the 2/3 of the cabbage that wasn’t part of the gyoza for a side dish (recipe courtesy of susie and barb morawitz!). i set the oven to 400 and got out some aluminum foil. on the foil, i cut up the cabbage and an onion into 1/8ths, cut up a half a stick of butter, drizzled on teriyaki sauce and sprinkled with sea salt. i wrapped the foil up tightly and put it in the oven for about 30 mins. you can also do this on the grill.
i also have to mention one other thing that i found at the lincoln square farmers market which made the trip a complete success… fraises des bois strawberries (from seedling farms). after hearing about these gems on an episode of the splendid table, i’ve been looking for them at every farmers market and specialty grocery i’ve been to for the past six months. they are tiny and much more complex in flavor than you’re average grocery store strawberry. we had ice cream topped with them for dessert that same night. this is why i love farmers markets!! you’ll also notice in the picture of my finds that i walked away with a lovely strawberry pastry from delightful pastries… oops!
mushroom and cabbage gyoza
preparation:
melt the butter over medium heat and add the mushrooms, ginger and garlic for a few minutes. When the mushrooms are almost done cooking, add the scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil, stirring well to combine. allow to cook for one or two more minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
combine this mixture as well as cabbage, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well by hands. place a teaspoonful of filling in a gyoza wrapper and put water along the edge of the wrapper by fingers. make a semicircle, gathering the front side of the wrapper and sealing the top. heat oil in a frying pan. put gyoza in the pan and fry on high heat until the bottoms become brown. turn down the heat to low. add 1/4 cup water in the pan. cover the pan and steam the gyoza on low heat until the water is gone.
dipping sauce:
ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce
juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 scallion, minced
1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
Madelyn goes to market 