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
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: downtown, peas, recipes, strawberries, strawberry shortcake, three-pea stir fry
let’s face it. this blog would not be possible if i had a job right now (oh, and was without a really supportive fiance who helps me sustain my farmers market habit!). many of the markets are during the work week and in neighborhoods where most chicagoans live, not work. however there are four weekday farmers markets conveniently located in the confines of the loop to sate working folks’ appetite for farm fresh food. this is part one of a thrilling four-part series on downtown farmers markets.
before visiting any downtown markets, my expectations were that they a) would be smaller, b) would likely be limited in what they offer and c) may not have the best produce around because of their smaller size.
the first one i went to was the prudential plaza market and while it is smaller (only about 9 booths) and limited in offerings, this was certainly a case of quality over quantity. it is tucked back a bit on beaubien court which is at lake street on the east side of michigan. my strategy at every farmers market is to casually scope out the goods at each booth first and then decide where to purchase. this was a little more difficult at prudential plaza since i was the only person there at 9 am but it will always hold a special place in my heart because it is where i discovered a newfound love for peas.
this was a few weeks ago so i think peas may be on their way out by now, but a guy at one of the booths (wish i could remember the name!) told me to try an english pea right out of the pod and i was astounded by how good it was and how different it tasted from the frozen peas i’ve eaten (and despised) in the past. they also had sugar snap peas and snow peas. i bought a pint of all three, knowing that i’d enjoy them even if i just ate them raw.
at that same producer, they had some of the first strawberries of the season and several different varieties. i must note that having been to several other farmers markets, most strawberry producers only offer one generic kind of strawberry labeled ‘michigan’, so this is place was special. i chose a pint of jewels (that’s the name of the variety). i also grabbed some wisconsin manchego and greens (see picture below) but i decided to devote dinner that night to peas and strawberries. not together of course.
i found a recipe on epicurious.com for a three-pea stir-fry, adapted it a bit for using fresh english peas instead of frozen peas and served it with rice so it could be filling enough for a main course. turns out, the peas were almost as good cooked as they are raw.
i also can rarely go without dessert, so i pulled out the good ol’ tartine bakery cookbook and found a recipe for strawberry shortcake with berry-caramel sauce. they say to make their own whip cream, but that was one too many steps for me, so i just used store-bought ice cream instead.
both recipes are below. enjoy!
oh, and if you work anywhere near the michigan and lake area, i would highly recommend this farmers market. it’s well worth the trip on your lunch break!
hours: every tuesday through october from 7am to 3 pm
location: prudential building plaza at lake street and beaubien court
- three pea stir-fry with white rice
- ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 6 oz sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 6 oz snow peas, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup shelled english peas
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 cup white rice
preparation
cook rice according to package instructions . in the meantime, heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. add sugar snaps and snow peas and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. add fresh peas and stir-fry until hot, about 1 minute. remove from heat, then stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. sprinkle with sesame seeds and season with salt.
strawberry shortcake with berry-caramel sauce and ice cream
ingredients – biscuits
2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
1/4 cup heavy cream for brushing tops
2 tbsp sugar for topping
ingredients – berry-caramel sauce
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 vanilla bean
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp light corn syrup
3/4 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup strawberries
2 pints strawberries
preparation
preheat oven to 425 and butter a baking sheet.
sift the flour and baking powder together into a mixing bowl. add the sugar and salt. cut the butter into 1/2-inch cues and scatter the cubes over the dry ingredients. using 2 knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients (i know, it’s a pain to do it by hand versus with an electric mixer, but tartine recommends it and i’ve found that shortcake and scone recipes work better if you mix them by hand). you want to end up with a coarse mixture with pea-sized lumps of butter visible. make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cream. gently mix the dough together wiht a wooden spoon or your hands but don’t overmix. it should look a bit shaggy at this point. turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and pat into a smooth ball. dust the top with flour and roll out gently about 1 inch thick. Using a 4-inch round cookie cutter (or a glass), cut out as many circles as possible. gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out add’l circles. place the circles on the prepared sheet pan. brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with the sugar. bake the biscuits until the tops are golden, 10 to 12 mins. to test for doneness, gently split a biscuit on the side to see if the dough has cooked all the way through. let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
while the biscuits are baking and cooling, make the caramel sauce. pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the cream. place over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm. in a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. remove from heat. carefully and slowly add the cream to the sugar syrup. the mixture will boil vigorously at first. let the mixture simmer down and then whisk until smooth. add the lemon juice. let cool for about 10 minutes. cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add them to the caramel one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. once butter is mixed in, add 1/2 cup of the strawberries. place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have exuded their juices and the caramel has reduced a bit, about 10 mins. remove the sauce from the heat and let stand until warm.
to assemble the shortcakes, split the biscuits horizontally and put the bases, cut side up, on individual plates. add a scoop of ice cream and divide the remaining the 2 pints of strawberries evenly among the bases, spooning them on top. top the berries evenly with the warm sauce. put the tops on, cut side down. serve immediately.
