Local Food Spring Officially Arrives
This pretty much defines why Local Food Forum is your essential source for what’s in season in Chicago’s local foodshed: I dare you to find another publication where the arrival of ramps is treated as breaking news.
Those beauties in the photo above were at the stand of Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan) at Green City Market in Lincoln Park this morning; I also had a ramp sighting at Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan) during my walkaround.
[Note: Green City Market is open until 1 p.m. today if you want to see if they still have ramps available.]
If you are reading this newsletter, you almost surely know about the historic association of Chicago and ramps, the foraged alliums with an oniony flavor. These plants grew prolifically when the place where we now live was swampy, and the residents were American Indian tribes. So prolifically that they became known as “chicagoua” (there are alternative spellings), which became transliterated to Chicago.
There is disagreement among historians about the definition of chicagoua. Some say it’s just “wild onion,” while others say it means “stinky onion.” I favor stinky onion because it’s kind of cool.
Anyway, when the local farmers market season started in early May, I used to describe the arrival of Michigan’s prolific asparagus as the official opening of spring. But now that Green City and a handful of other markets are open in April, it is the ramp that defines the start of our local produce season.
Happy spring, you all!
One of the fun things about becoming a maven of locally farmed food is that there’s always something to learn. I do not believe I’d ever seen scallion flowers until a couple of weeks ago, when I bought a bunch that were capped by buds from Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois). Today, those flowers are fully open, and probably the prettiest onion you’re going to see.
The flowers are edible, of course.
My haul (from left): Mick Klug Farm ramps; onions and radish chips (a new item) from Froggy Meadow Farm in Beloit, Wisconsin; scallions, French Breakfast radishes and romaine lettuce from Jacobson Family Farms; rainbow carrots and (amazingly delicious) Gold Rush apples from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); cookies from organic flour vendor Brian Severson Farms (Dwight, Illinois); and tofu salads from Phoenix Bean (Chicago).
As I bounce around our area’s farmers markets this year, I will be introducing vendors who are new to the markets (or at least to me). Meet the nice people from Kajers Greens in North Judson, Indiana.
And making their return to Green City Market after a year away is Theo’s Plant-Based, a Chicago-based company that makes beet jerky snacks in three yummy flavors. And yes, that’s not a typo: The jerky is made from beets.
Here co-founders Theo Mourad and Aaron Brodkey wait on a customer. Regular readers probably know I do contract work for Naturally Chicago, the trade association for our region’s Natural Products industry, and Theo’s is a finalist in the organization’s Pitch Slam to be held the afternoon of Wednesday, May 3 at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. Click below to learn more about the event.
How do you cook and eat Ramps?