Doing It Like a Druid on Farmers Market Week
Plus, this month's Buy Fresh Buy Local article is about... farmers markets!
Do It Like a Druid
Since its National Farmers Market Week, I’m trying to hit multiple markets. Today brought a visit to SOAR Farmers Market in downtown Chicago (SOAR stands for Streeterville Organization of Active Residents). It is one of our favorites, very convenient to our Lakeview residence, with a neighborhood ambiance even though it is located near the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile.
We’re pretty well stocked and I need to save room for subsequent market visits this week, so the photo above is my modest market haul. This, however, gave us room for being creative (i.e. playing with our food). So Barb stood the bell peppers on end then topped them perpendicularly with a zucchini.
Ta-da… Veggie Stonehenge!
Forgive us, this is the kind of thing that happens when your life revolves around fresh, locally produced food.
For the record, from left we have zucchini from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois); tofu scrambles from Phoenix Bean Tofu (Chicago); and from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois) the first mostly (but not completely) red bell peppers of the year, SunGold tomatoes and a melon.
The melons so far this year have been delicious. I sighted my first watermelon of the year but decided to go with the smaller cantaloupe… this time.
Nichols’ bell pepper bin. You can practically eat the rainbow with just bell peppers this time of year.
There seem to be more apple varieties at every visit to a Nichols farmers market stand.
Where next? Tomorrow I’ll be spending part of the day at Ravinia Farmers Market for their 45th anniversary celebration and Taste of Ravinia Festival. Thanks to market manager Ed Kugler for sharing the event schedule below.
Where to on Thursday? Not sure yet but I’ll try to get somewhere.
And the grand finale to National Farmers Market week on Saturday? It will be something completely different — and it will make a great story.
And This Month’s Buy Fresh Buy Local Article is About…
Congrats to those of you who guessed farmers markets. The article, timed to National Farmers Market Week, focuses on two physical markets in the far southern part of Illinois — Farmer’s Market of Carbondale and Marion Farmers Market — and the innovative LEAF Food Hub, an online farmers market serving six counties way downstate.
Says Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois:
August is THE month to visit a local farm market!
This year’s National Farmers Market Week is August 6-12, and Illinois Farmers Market Association joins markets from across the country in celebrating the positive impacts farmers markets have. Farmers markets provide access to delicious, nutritious locally produced food, support local producers, and help sustain and build resilient local food economies.
To mark Farmers Market Week, our monthly Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois article highlights three markets near the southern end of Illinois: The Farmer's Market of Carbondale; Marion Farmer's Market; and LEAF Food Hub, an online farmers market serving the region.
We’re going to be bringing food trivia back on a regular basis soon, so let’s get a head start. The LEAF in LEAF Food Hub stands for:
a) League of Environmental Activism Fans
b) Little Egypt Alliance of Farmers
c) Leaders in Ecologically Amazing Food
d) Let’s Eat Alternative Foods
The answer is below the adorable photo of our cat Hobbes.
In the Jungle, The Mighty Jungle
In his head, he is a ferocious lion lying in wait in the jungle underbrush for his prey to get close. In real life, he’s a house cat and the prey is us, preparing to escort him out of the plant before he does any damage.
Hobbes is currently napping to try to forget his disappointment.
And the Answer is…
The answer to the LEAF question above is b) Little Egypt Alliance of Farmers. This designation of Southern Illinois as Little Egypt stems from the city of Cairo, the once-booming river city at Illinois’ tip that is spelled like Egypt’s capital (but pronounced KAY-row).