Yesterday morning I went back to the Lincoln Square farmers’ market. The farmers’ market is fun for everyone. In the photo above: spot the hipster, spot the kids, the elderly, the middle-aged. My bag felt extra heavy so I weighed it when I got home. 13 pounds! Ouch. Good thing I took the bus.
I wanted to note that these are my favorite vendors:
- Seedling Fruit, South Haven, MI :: Great fruit, esp. berries
- River Valley Kitchen, Burlington, WI :: All sorts of mushrooms
- Lange’s Farm, Elwood, IL :: Excellent variety of high-quality vegetables
- Dotson’s Farm, Linwood, IL :: Good selection of herb plants
This is what I bought at the farmers’ market:
- cherries
- raspberries
- blueberries
- 5 ears of corn
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 beets (A lady saw my beets and asked me how to prepare them. I said “I don’t know! I have to go home and look it up online!”)
- green beans
- tomatoes
- 4 portobello tops (I want to make these)
- portobello salsa with cilantro & key lime
- 4 free cta rides courtesy of Swedish Covenant Hospital (they were handing them out at the nearby Western Brown Line stop and just kept giving me more)
tina // Jul 23, 2008 at 9:04 am
this stuff looks so great. i live about a block from there and it is so frustrating to me that they have it on tuesday. as i walk by on my way to work i’m so sad. really wish they had it on the weekend.
oh and beets are super easy to prepare. just wrap them in foil and throw them in the oven. cook until you can easily stick a knife in them. it’s much easier to get the peel off after they have been cooked. be careful though because they do stain. my favorite way to eat them is to just sprinkle them with balsamic while they are still warm, although they are great in salads and such too. enjoy!
RachelleB // Jul 23, 2008 at 10:26 am
tina – thanks for the beet tips! I have always loved beets but I don’t know that I’ve ever had fresh ones. Well, maybe in restaurants, but not at home, so I’m interested to experiment. I love them plain or in salads. I’ll have to try with the balsamic. I love a beets & goat cheese salad too.
Any time estimate on how long it will take them to cook til you can stick a knife in? Otherwise I’ll be opening the oven every 5 mins.
tina // Jul 23, 2008 at 12:24 pm
oh yes, beets with goat cheese is excellent! the timing will really depend on the size of your beets (i can’t quite tell from the photo) but if they are about medium sized it seems to usually take 45 minutes or so. if they are different sizes the time for each can vary widely. i usually start checking on them at about 30 minutes. sometimes small ones will be done by then.
all this talk of beets is making me crave them! my brother in law grows them in his garden in michigan and i’m hoping he’ll have some ready for me when i’m there this weekend.
i hope yours turn out delicious!
RachelleB // Jul 24, 2008 at 7:15 am
stay tuned. im sure ill post about beet adventures.