Seasonal

After a crazy week and an extremely delayed flight last night, I finally made it back to Omaha, NE to visit my family for the holiday weekend. We started off the morning with a trip to the Benson Farmers Market, where I had my first shot of fresh wheatgrass juice and a taste of sunflower sprouts! The wheatgrass had a sweet honey after-taste, which was a pleasant surprise! Click here for more information about wheatgrass.

One vendor at the market was selling sunflower sprouts, which I’ll admit, I had never seen/heard of people selling before. Apparently they clip the sprouts of the sunflower after about 6 weeks of growth and sell them to mix in with salads or toss in a juicer. I had the opportunity to sample one – the little green leaves and stem had a slightly nutty flavor to them similar to sunflower seeds, it was delicious!

Sunflower greens or sprouts are considered to be a super food because they contain protein, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin E, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. I will have to be on the lookout for these little guys at the farmers markets in Chicago! I eventually came home from the market with garlic, green onions, and Chinese spinach (more on this later) in hand; all to use tomorrow at the July 4th barbeque!

After the farmers market it was time to harvest some mulberries. Every summer wild mulberries grow in my neighborhood, and this year the crop was quite abundant! I ended up picking about a quart of them! In addition to using them on top of my breakfast cereal and in smoothies I think the plan is to either bake some into muffins or a pie this year!

Mulberries grow wild throughout the United States and are often overlooked when it comes to summertime berries. Like blackberries and raspberries, mulberries are packed with nutrients and provide numerous health benefits. Mulberries are a great source of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B, iron, fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.

Mulberries contain antioxidants that help lower cholesterol, aid in treating digestive problems, and help to prevent cancer, blood clots, and diabetes. If you have a wild mulberry tree in your neighborhood, harvest the berries between May and July and reap the great benefits mother nature has to offer us!

sources: image 1, image 2

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Tonight I grilled some steak and veggie kabobs outside while enjoying the rest of this weekend’s beautiful weather! I was able to get out to the pool for a bit this afternoon, went for a 7 mile run along Lake Michigan in the blazing heat, and then made kabobs to grill for dinner!

Kabobs are so easy, you can put just about anything you have available in your kitchen on a kabob stick! Last night I marinated 2 lbs of steak in Lawry’s Steak and Chop Marinade with Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper and a half a pound of salmon with La Choy Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce and Marinade. I cut up one red pepper, one green pepper, a sweet yellow onion, and a pineapple. I also mixed the mini tri-colored potatoes from the Pilsen Farmers Market I went to last week with olive oil and salt-free seasoning to use as well! I mixed and matched my favorite ingredients and viola; a simple and easy dinner to throw on the grill while relaxing on a Sunday evening!

Kabob ideas:

• Steak, green pepper, red pepper, onion, and potatoes
• Salmon, pineapple, and onion (be sure to use large pieces of salmon as it tends to fall apart on the grill easily!)
• Chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil
• Be creative! Anything goes with kabobs!

I grilled a lot of kabobs; I will definitely be taking them to work for lunch all week! Now back to school work to prepare for a busy week! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend!

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This morning I rode my bike down to the Pilsen Chicago Farmer’s Market on 18th and Halsted. This community market was much smaller than the Green City Market that I went to last weekend. Nevertheless they had great vendors and produce!

I came home with tomatoes, zucchini, fresh basil (since my windowsill herb garden is taking forever to grow!), peaches, mini tri-colored potatoes, and purplette onions. I was actually looking for standard red onions, but since no vendors had them, I went with purplette onions. Purplette onions look like mini red onions with a stalk similar to green onions. I’m not quite sure how to describe their taste, but its sort of a mixture between red, white, and green onions combined; quite delicious!

I made some fresh tomato salsa with some of my purchases for a healthy afternoon snack!

Ingredients:

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 purplette onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
• juice from 1/2 lime
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to bring out all of the flavors. Serve with tortilla chips or atop your favorite Mexican dish! I made chips with some left over tortillas from last night so as not to waste them (I hate wasting food!).

Tonight I’m making ribs on the grill with corn on the cob and baked beans; can’t wait! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

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Unfortunately the weather here in Chicago has been rainy and gloomy all weekend! But that didn’t stop me from going to the Green City Market farmer’s market for the first time this summer yesterday morning! Located at the south end of Lincoln park between Clark and Stockton Drive, Green City Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7am-1pm. Green City Market has over 55 vendors and proudly supports local, fresh, and sustainably raised farm products.

I had heard nothing but great things about Green City Market so I rode my bike to Lincoln Park to check it out yesterday morning! The weather held up on my way out there and I came home with a few goodies!

I bought organic strawberries, a loaf of Honey Oat bread from Bennison’s Bakery, a family run bakery in Evaston, IL and Brun-uusto Baked  Cheese with Garlic from Brunkow’s Cheese in Darlington, Wisconsin. Brun-Uusto cheese is extremely unique. It is a version of Juustalepia, a variety of cheese from Sweden and Finland whose name translates to “bread cheese”. The cheese is baked to form a tasty crust similar to toasted bread and is best enjoyed cut up into cubes and grilled on a skillet or outdoor grill to bring out it’s rich buttery flavor. At Green City Market, vendors grill multiple Brunn-uusto cheese flavors including Jalepeno, Garlic, and Original; all of which are tough to resist!

Towards the end of my visit to the farmers market the clouds rolled in and rain began to pour down, leaving me without and umbrella and completely drenched. I was not about to ride home in the rain so I walked around in search of a place to have some breakfast and came across Perennial, a local brunch stop on Lincoln Avenue. Located right across the street from Green City Market, Perennial is dedicated to using local and sustainable produce whenever possible.

After drying off and warming up with a hot cup of coffee ordered French Toast; an almond baguette topped with apples, lemon ginger, and creme fraishe.

My boyfriend Will went with the Strawberry Pancakes; pancakes with Cap’n Crunch strudel with vanilla milk custard. Both dishes were delicious, but I much preferred the French toast over the pancakes! Perennial was such a fun place to stop on a Saturday morning; the contemporary atmosphere was bustling and the food was incredible! I may have to make this a permanent stop whenever I go to Green City Market!

Luckily the ran let up just long enough for me to bike home! However I don’t think the weather is going to be much better today.

Have you been to any farmer’s markets yet this summer? Check out our Top 5 Farmer’s Market Tips to help you on your next trip!

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It has been about a month and a half since I planted my windowsill herb garden so I thought I would give you guys an update as to how things are growing. My herbs are growing slowly but surely. March and April have been pretty cloudy in Chicago, and my window only gets direct sunlight during the morning hours before noon. Nevertheless things are growing, and you can actually start to see the herb leaves forming!

Cilantro

Basil

Oregano

Flat Leaf Parsley

Pray for some more sunlight for my babies to grow!

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