Fluffball Bird Season Has Arrived
There aren’t many things that would knock a Saturday farmers market visit out of the lead of Local Food Forum, but this is one of them: my first gosling sighting of 2024.
It was what I hoped for when I decided to get off the 151 bus about a mile short of Green City Market in Lincoln Park. The timing for the first baby geese at beautiful North Pond varies from year to year, so there was no guarantee. But as I walked along the shore, there were Mother (and Father) Goose tending a brood of fluffy yellow newborns.
There will undoubtedly be a lot more to come over the next weeks. I like to say that Chicago is never at risk of a goose shortage. These were the only ones I saw today, but I also only visited the west side of the pond. I’ll make sure to circumnavigate on the next trip.
There are more photos below, but first, a reminder about Monday’s Farmers Market webinar and what’s up at the markets on the last weekend before the May openings surge.
Our next Local Food Forum’s “Better” Dialogues webinar takes place in just TWO (!) days (Monday, April 29) at 7 p.m. central. And what a lineup!
Join me… co-host Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe… farmers market legend Laura Avery (36 years at the Santa Monica Farmers Market)… and regional local food heroes Matthew Ruffi of Link Up Illinois and Uptown Farmers Market… Janelle St. John of Growing Home Inc… Kyle Jacobson of Jacobson Family Farms… and Alex Finn of Finn’s Ranch.
All this, and it’s free. Click the button to register.
Rhubarb Joins the Spring Produce Parade
As you can see in the photo of the stand of Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan) at Green City Market’s last April session of the season, rhubarb has entered the early spring produce derby. We are in the thick of asparagus season. And ramps, the year’s earliest outdoor crop, are still going, though their season is very short, so get them while you can.
In contrast to last Saturday’s biting chill, the weather gave a warm welcome to this week’s market, with shirtsleeves (and shorts) abounding.
There are several superb local bakeries that sell at Green City and other local markets. I am giving a shoutout here to Dorothy’s Bistro, a restaurant on the west end of the Logan Square neighborhood that sells its specialty breads at the market.
I thoroughly enjoyed the loaf of black rye sourdough I purchased at last week’s market. To mix things up, today I bought the sourdough miche. Can’t wait to cut into it, it looks beautiful.
You can see from the market haul photo that I was a busy boy. From left, a sampler of Ellis Family Farms’ storage Honeycrisp apples (there wasn’t room on the counter for all five pounds); the sourdough from Dorothy’s Bistro; spinach from Nichols Farm & Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); lettuce from Flatwater Farms (Buchanan, Michigan); cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Kankakee, Illinois); baby kale, a new favorite, from Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois); asparagus from Ellis; bone-in chicken breasts from Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan); and chicken backs for making bone broth from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan).
I also got a delivery order from my friend Tracey Vowell at Three Sisters Garden (Kankakee, Illinois). From left, there are horseradish leaves (great on sandwiches and in salads); Italian parsley; Cherokee sweet mint and peppermint (I consume a lot of mint tea this time of year); massive green garlic; some of the best popcorn you’ll ever pop; and shelled pecans from Tracey’s family’s tree free in Tennessee.