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Think Local, Cook Local
June 10, 2008

It’s been raining so hard here lately, it feels miserable outside. Whenever it rains, I think how happy the farmers must be to have their crops watered by Mother Nature. Farming is such hard work, and so often our farmers are taken for granted. We expand our cities to overrun their land without regard for the care they put in to growing the things that feed us.

Rhubarb at Green City Market

We love the farmers and their markets. At our restaurants, as I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, we can’t wait for the season to open. I thought I’d take a minute to tell you about some of our favorite markets, farmers and organizations, and hopefully pique your interest in participating/supporting those in your area along the way. 

A big favorite in Chicago is the Chicago Green City Market. It is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Their mission statement is “to improve the availability of a diverse range of high quality foods; to connect local producers and farmers to chefs, restaurateurs, food organizations and the public; and to support small family farms and promote a healthier society through education and appreciation for local, fresh, sustainably raised produce and products.” 

The Green City Market plays host to several of our favorite farms. David and Susan Cleverdon run Kinnikinnick Farm, a 40-acre certified organic market garden located in northern Illinois, approximately 80 miles northwest of Chicago, very close to the border of Wisconsin. David has been farming their land for 11 years and produces

Spearmint at Green City Market

mostly vegetables like arugula, baby lettuce mix, Italian cooking greens, chicories, heirloom tomatoes, squash, beets, garlic and shell beans. Currently we are buying McCullar’s onions from them. McCullar’s onions are an heirloom walking onion. They are better raw—so sweet and delicious. We use them in our Chopped Salad at Osteria di Tramonto.

Henry’s Farm is another favorite of ours. Henry farms down near the Bloomington/Peoria area [in Central Illinois] and describes his farming practice as “more than organic.” He explains this in a book he wrote titled Organic Matters.  Henry developed his passion for farming by spending many years traveling through Israel, Nepal and Japan. In his travels, he found that remote villages in these “third-world” countries provided better food than in middle-class United States. This led him to start an organic vegetable farm back on his family’s farmland in the early 1990s.

Thyme at Green City Market

There are a couple of organizations I’d like to mention that support farmers: The Land Connection and Home Grown Wisconsin. The Land Connection is a non-profit organization that helps preserve farmland from development. They train farmers to use the land. People interested in purchasing from farmers directly can use Farm Direct, which provides a directory of locally grown and locally sold foods.

Home Grown Wisconsin is comprised of 25 farms in southeastern and south central Wisconsin that formed a cooperative in 1996. All the farms in this program are certified organic and have adopted sustainable practices to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment. These farms share the same farming and eating philosophies and have worked together to develop an order and delivery system that gets food from the farm to restaurants in less than a day.

Morels at Green City Market

I’ve included a couple of photos that were taken at the Green City Market this week. There’s a photo of spearmint, which is from Theresa’s Farm.  They grow all types of herbs and berries, lots of “weird” stuff, things you won’t find anywhere else. They have a lot of heirloom varieties of herbs. There’s also a photo of rhubarb and crunchy French breakfast radishes. You’ll find these sprinkled all over our Osteria menus. The last two photos are of thyme, from Kinnikinnick Farms, and morel mushrooms. Morel mushrooms, in my estimation, need absolutely no introduction at all—they definitely can stand on their own. 

Hope to see you at the market!

Posted by Rick Tramonto on June 10, 2008 | Comments (1)