Busy Weekend No Excuse for Missing Markets
Plus, the menu for next Sunday's woman-chef-driven Tigray fundraiser
Snow in June?
No, even in Chicago, is doesn’t snow in June. But the cottonwood trees have been super productive in churning out pollen, and when they are, it can create the strange illusion that you’ve been caught in a snow squall on an 80 degree day. This accumulation on Saturday was near our apartment in Lakeview.
Gaze at Menu for Next Sunday’s Tigray Fundraiser
Last week I shared the news about A Night of Hope, a tasting event to raise funds to help children displaced by a civil war in the Ethiopian province of Tigray. Today I’m happy to share the amazing menu created by Tigist Reda — the Tigray native who is chef/owner of Demera Ethiopian Restaurant — and five other leading woman chefs from our area.
The event will be held next Sunday (June 11) starting at 4 p.m., at the Guild Row events space in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood (3130 N. Rockwell St.). And here are the delectable items that will greet you if you attend.
RECEPTION MENU
Chef Sarah Stegner
Prairie Grass Cafe
Nichols Farm and Orchard Early Glow strawberry salad, burrata Pugliese & balsamic vinegar, basil, toasted pine nuts
Chef Margaret Pak
Thattu Restaurant
Beet puffs: Puff pastry filled with roasted red beets
Chef Christine Cikowski
Honey Butter Fried Chicken
Candied jalapeno pimento cheese dip
Chef Diana Davila
Mi Tocaya Antojeria
Peanut butter lengua with radish, Jamaica onions and epazote
DINNER MENU
Chef Tigist Reda
Demera Ethiopian Restaurant
Family Style
Vegan
Misir wot (spicy red lentils), Gomen (collard greens), Kik Alicha (yellow peas), Tikle gomen (chopped cabbage and carrots)
Meats
Doro wot (stewed chicken in berbere sauce), Awaze tibs (sauteed tender beef with onions, tomatoes, jalapenos garlic and rosemary), Yebeg Alicha (Stewed bone in lamb with turmeric, cardamom, garlic) Yeasa leb leb (sauteed tilapia with onions, tomatoes, jalapenos garlic and rosemary)
Served in injera. Gluten-free option
DESSERT
Sandra Holl
Floriole bakery
Rhubarb raspberry almond cake
The event will benefit the International Society for Better Health Access (ISBHA) non-profit that is providing Tigray children with quality education, empowering young minds to overcome adversity and build a brighter future. And it is a follow-up to the Chicago Chefs Cook fundraiser last September, inspired by Tigist, that provides proceeds for Health Professionals Network for Tigray last September.
Too Busy for Markets? Not Local Food Forum
It’s been a heck of a busy weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, I attended two excellent chef panels associated with the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony being held Monday night here in Chicago, one on Food Access & Sustainable Communities and the other, titled Who’s Watching the Kids, produced by The Abundance Setting, the local non-profit that works to promote better and more family-friendly working conditions for women in the culinary industry. I’ll need a couple of days to unpack all the great content from these panels into articles.
Then this Sunday morning, I attended a marvelous brunch saluting the James Beard Awards nominees put on by the Niman Ranch meat company. I’ll have a roundup of this event later this week too.
Would these events stop this Market Maven from making his appointed weekend rounds? That’s a nope.
Before heading down to the Loop on Saturday, I swung by The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, which with the addition of more seasonal vendors has expanded its space in the Lincoln Park High School parking lot.
Then I walked to Green City Market in Lincoln Park before heading home. Photos of the huge turnouts from their Saturday markets may be getting a little redundant, so I skipped it this time.
So my combined market haul, seen above (from left), radishes, asparagus and spring onions from Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan), strawberries from Stover’s Farm (Berrien Springs, Michigan), a bavette steak from Cut Once (Chicago); eggs from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan); and ground pork and bacon from Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan).
Oh, and I forgot to take these items out of my bag before I put the rest of the items away, so they get their own special presentation: heirloom tomatoes from Compean & Sons (Huntington, Indiana) and kimchi from Pickled Prince (Chicago).
What’s up this week? Check out tomorrow’s newsletter for your weekly regional farmers market schedule, with the last big surge of seasonal openings.