There’s something hopeful about asparagus season. It means things are growing again. Things we can eat. And these days, I’ll grab hold of any bit of hope I can find. In-season asparagus is something special. When you get it soon after it’s harvested, it’s sweet and mild and so much better than the stuff that’s …
Asparagus
I always look forward to the time that the outdoor farmers markets start up. Though to be honest, the first few weeks are always a little disappointingly scant on the fruits and vegetables. Spring in the upper midwest isn’t quite the most bountiful season for produce. It’s mostly ramps, spring garlic and onions, the odd …
When I hear the words quinoa cake, I’m skeptical. They sound so earnest. So healthful. And sort of like they would be a pain in the ass to make. If I hadn’t tasted these at a chef demonstration by John Chiakulas of Beatrix at the Green City Market and discovered first hand just how freaking delicious …
The Green City Market is finally back outside, which means my Wednesday mornings are occupied with shopping for local produce. It’s been a late spring rendering the early markets a little more sparse than usual. The first week there were almost more storage apples and overwintered potatoes and frozen berries and pickles and preserves than new crops …
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish dazed spring approaches– William Carlos Williams, “Spring and All” Spring comes to Chicago in fits and starts. We swing from freezing temperatures to upward of 70-degrees and back again, sometimes within the same day. The sun teases us into thinking we barely need jackets, but the wind off the lake reminds …