Beating the Rain at a Saturday Market
New in season: full-sized zucchini; plus this week's farmers market schedule
Farmers Market Sweep
The weather radar on Saturday morning showed some serious rain approaching, so I dashed down to Green City Market in Lincoln Park and sped around like it was the farmers market version of television’s Supermarket Sweep. As you can see, I can buy a lot of food in a very short period of time.
And I beat the rain home by a couple of minutes.
The big new crop news is in the lower right: Iron Creek Farm (La Porte, Indiana) had the first full-grown zucchini I’ve seen this year, so I snagged some. Summer squash is incredibly versatile and I use it a lot, simply sautéed or roasted or in more complicated recipes, when it’s in season. If you are one of those gardeners whose zucchini plants overachieve and you don’t know what to do with it all, let me know. Happy to take it off your hands.
The rest of haul (clockwise from the zucchini): Japanese eggplant from Froggy Meadow Farm (Beloit, Wisconsin), which I’ve already converted into this week’s baba ghanoush; full-sized carrots from Tomato Mountain (Brooklyn, Wisconsin); cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); red raspberries, strawberries, sweet cherries and asparagus from Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan); pork shoulder roast and bratwurst from Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan); flat-leaf parsley and a ginormous head of green leaf lettuce from Wholesome Harvest (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin); and heirloom tomatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois).
Want some gorgeous local food like this to prepare for your holiday weekend (you know you do)? This week’s Chicago region farmers market schedule is below.