Lincoln Parka
Forecast chill arrived just in time for many markets' last outdoor session of season
The Cold Never Bothered Us Anyway
The meteorologists had this rather abrupt change in seasons nailed. While Chicagoland baked in well above average temperatures for most of next weekend, the anticipated cold front moved through overnight into Saturday morning, plunging us right past sweater weather to parka weather.
That didn’t prevent a good-sized crowd from showing up at Green City Market’s flagship Lincoln Park location. Green City is one of a very small handful of regional markets that will stay open until the Saturday before Thanksgiving at both Lincoln Park and its West Loop location (though their Wednesday morning market at Lincoln Park is now done for the year).
But as you’ll see in the much-shorter regional farmers market schedule below, for most of our area’s markets it’s wait til next year.
One treat for the hardy shoppers was an appearance by farm-to-table chef Jason Hammel, who signed copies of his The Lula Cafe Cookbook. You can read Jason’s thoughtful commentary about his experiences, food, and Chicago’s generous culinary community by clicking these links to the new Local Food Forum website.
Along with being the largest diversified produce farm in the region, Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois) has the largest variety of artisanal and heirloom apples. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I came across this Winecrisp variety, which was developed just in 1990. What caught my eye was that it is a hybrid of Cox’s Orange Pippin (one of my favorite apples), Rome, Jonathan, Winesap, and “many more.”
A lot going on there. I bought some and I’ll let you know what I think.
There was a rather long wait for the 151 bus, so I took a short stroll through the south end of Lincoln Park. That’s good old Ben Franklin, with a backdrop of pretty fall foliage.
We have a lot of food in the house, so here’s my moderate-sized haul: carrots from Tomato Mountain (Brooklyn, Wisconsin); two pounds of ground beef from Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan); cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); and those Winecrisp apples from Nichols.
I’ve Got My Chili to Keep Me Warm
Chili is a treat all year round, but its warming qualities make it one in the pantheon of chilly-weather comfort foods.
I made my first batch of the season on Friday, using ground beef from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan). This one is based on a recipe by Ali Slagle in NYT Cooking, and it’s just delicious. There’s a link to the recipe below.
As most of you know, recipes are suggestions, not commandments, and I made a couple of adaptations. There were no peppers in the recipe, so I added four diced nadapeno, a variety of jalapeno that doesn’t have the spicy genes. And because Barb isn’t a spicehead like I am, I used half the recipe’s recommended chili powder (I have plenty of hot sauces I can add to my bowls if I need a little more zip).
I ask for readers to share recipes and mostly hear crickets, but for the love of Pete, someone out there must have a chili recipe about which you’re really proud? If you’d like me to share it with the world, ping me.
This Week’s (Much Shorter) Market Schedule
Tuesday, October 31
Lincoln Square Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., Lincoln & Leland Aves., Chicago
SOAR Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 226 E. Chicago Ave.
Wednesday, November 1
Uptown Farmers Market, 2:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Sunnyside Mall (betw. Magnolia & Beacon), Chicago
Friday, November 3
St. Charles Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, 307 Cedar Ave.
Saturday, November 4
Downtown Evanston Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., University Place and Oak Ave.
Grayslake Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 201 Center St.
Green City Market Lincoln Park, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1817 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park, Chicago
Green City Market West Loop, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mary Bartelme Park, 115\ S. Sangamon St.
Naperville Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., 200 E. 5th Ave.
Plant Chicago Mini-Market, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 4459 S. Marshfield Ave., Chicago
The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2001 N. Orchard, Chicago
Woodstock INDOOR Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., McHenry County Fairgrounds
Sunday, November 5
INDOOR Farmers Market at the Dole, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 401 Country Club Rd., Crystal Lake
Skokie Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 5127 Oakton St.
Hobbes’ World and Welcome to It
Do cats dream of flying? I don’t know, but here’s Hobbes in Supercat mode, with his forelegs extended in front of him.
Hobbes would make a good cat model, don’t you think? He’s a handsome boy.
I’ll try to write up one or two veg chili recipes for you