local food

Buying Local Food

Most folks are very aware of their local Farmers Market. Are there other ways you've discovered local food and how to get it? I like to go to the U-pick farms. I get it fresh, skip the middle person, and support my favorite farms this way. How about you?

The Chicago area has Farmers Markets that attract huge crowds getting away from Jewel/Dominic's high prices. My favorite is Oak Park's Farmers Market (to the west of Chicago) that features, besides a great selection of vegetables, fruits and specialties. The specialties, like Pickled Asparagus, are superb. The market is near the Hemingway House and Museum and it's nice to spend the day (OK half a day) enjoying Oak Park's hospitality. The markets highlight local farmers and growers although it never occurred to me to ask where the vendors are from. So I'll have a new mission. (due to content limits I'll post a continuation)

(continued) My garden continues to supply my wife with tomatoes, carrots, beets, snow & sugar snap peas, lettuce and green beans. Saves us money and offers us peace of mind that the food we eat is safe and chemical free.Last Sunday we had venison stew featuring green beans, sugar snaps and carrots with fresh salad. For dessert she made bannanna Split Pie with Vanilla pudding Graham Cracker crust topped with Strawberries, whipped topping and drizzled with hot fudge. Sounds deadly but everything, including the topping, were all low fat and fat free. She also made Monday's Borsht with garden beets. Delicious! How's your kitchen faring this summer? Anything special or new?

It's all kinda new! Last year I had 2 beds, this year I put in 4. I used to grow my own food years ago, and I'm back at it now that my kids are older. For the first time ever I'm growing brussel sprouts and butternut squash. Actually, AverageBetty turned me on to butternut squash...it's now my new favorite squash (sorry Acorn!). My walla walla onions are just about ready to pull out. Now I'm starting to think about what to put in for Fall. Anyone planting for Fall yet? If so, what?

Hello, Hello!

I'm Winterfield and I live in Chicago. I'm an urban gardener and my wife is a cook. I feel sort of... weird being the only one here for now but I expect that will change soon. Thank you for the invitation. I have two large raised areas in my yard. One is for flowers and the other is the Kitchen Garden. This year I'm practicing square foot gardening (without chemicals) and have been pleased with the results so far. My wife and I are Polish and have a running joke about my "collective." My wife is the cook and she makes good use of the fruits of our collective. Again, for the tenth year in a row I was allowed to stay on the farm another year. (whew!) I hope everyone's summer garden and kitchen is productive and delicious. So, has anyone tried something new lately?

Hello, Hello winterfield! I have heard about square foot gardening...Glad to hear you are getting some good results! I have 4 raised beds growing this year, but I'm still waiting for the results. We had unusually cool weather, and summer didn't really kick in until a few weeks ago! Do you have any fruit trees? We planted 2 figs this past winter and I'm looking forward to the little figs ripening. What's ready to pick/eat in your garden? ~Rebecca

Hi Rebecca, I'm still finding my sea legs at Veoh and I'm not sure if this is the right place to reply. No I don't have fruit trees- not enough space. I have a rather small garden space-wise, but I found that small spaces doesn't mean a small harvest. My Kitchen Garden has supplied us with plenty of Mesclun lettuce. I mixed it up with a spicy blend and a sweet blend that's been cut down three times now. That section is next to the Cilantro. We use a lot of Cilantro so I have two crops growing, the second was stated almost four weeks after the first so besides greens I have an abundance of seed or coriander. I also had my first harvest of Detroit Beets. My wife made a delicious Borscht and she's making a horse radish with the balance of the first crop. The second is about 3 weeks off. In addition our herbs have been productive and tasty. I'm growing Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Sweet Basil and Mint- all potted- and am thinking about looking into making incense.

Wow, winterfield! That's awesome. Sounds like you're getting lots from your space, and you are both being very creative with the results. The incense idea sounds fascinating. I don't remember seeing herb scented ones before. Is it common?

Yes. We used to order incense from Airs. They have sticks and solids made from cedar, sage, lemon grass, and vetiver (a scented grass-like plant, our favorite.) By the way, what part of the country are you living? I'm a Chicago transplanted native, originally from California. Our growing season (at least mine) varies. My yard is enclosed with privacy fences which creates a micro-climate about 5-10 degrees warmer than the official temperature, so some do well and others find it too hot.

I"m in the Portland, OR, area. Great climate, pretty much mild year-round. It freezes in the Winter, but for not too long. Yes, it rains, but it brings out the green in everything! The summers are gorgeous! It's a dry heat, similar to CA (I lived in the Bay Area for 20 years), not at all humid in the Midwest (where I grew up). Never thought about how fencing might make a garden hotter. Makes sense. I think my raised bed are 'hotter' due to being enclosed.