A Spring Thing

Ramps are in season.  It's a short season so get them while you can.  Make pesto and pasta sauce, omelets and pizza, pickle them, freeze ramp butter.  So many options, so little time!  

What are ramps, you say?    Allium Tricoccum.  Wild leeks.  And, a few sources say, the reason for the name "Chicago".  The Potawatami word for Wild Onions (also skunk, but I choose to ignore that variation) is Checagou.  Apparently, ramps were plentiful and the are had a distinct - but pleasantly garlicky oniony 'aroma'.

Food Trucks Rule

A culinary revolution has hit Chicago: Food Trucks.

I have to admit, I wasn't all that excited about them when I first heard about them. Really, who wants to go running around chasing a truck for food. It's one thing when you are a kid and it's an Ice Cream Truck; it's another thing when you're not a kid anymore.

But now the trucks are congregating at various places to offer people a buffet, so to say, of fun food. They were using terms like Food Truck Summit, Food Truck Flash Mob, and Food Truck Mash Up originally. But now they are using more creative names like Waggin Wednesday (where some of the profits go to canine related causes) and Truckin' Thursday.

Theme Day: Green

Today is Theme Day on City Daily Photo and the theme, voted on by the CDP members, is GREEN.

Here are all things green from my farmers markets this past week: Cucumber, Fava Beans, Garlic Scapes, Kohlrabi, Mustard Greens, Sugar Snap Peas, Basil, Marjoram, Sage, Tarragon.

So many shades, so many flavors, so good.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Ramp-a-liciously Spring

OK. Forget what the weather is like, now it is really Spring because Ramps are in season. Ramps are a wonderfully earthy cross between garlic and an onion and are the first green edible item to emerge after the long dark winter days of root vegetables (really, how many ways can you make potatoes, carrots, and onions). Seasonal eaters REJOICE!

Ramps may also be responsible for the name of this city. You see, the Potawatami word for wild onion (also skunk, but we choose to ignore that translation) is Checagou. Apparently the area had a lively crop of ramps "back in the day", giving the area a distinctive fragrance.

Happy Spring!

Another Year ... Another Cupcake Shop ... Another Line

Hmmm...

A long line.

What could people be waiting in line for?

What else? Yet another cupcake shop.

The cupcake obsession continues in Chicago.

Cookies for Santa

Gotta leave some cookies for Santa tonight!

The Intersection of OOH and AAH

A Truck at an Intersection + A Line of People = The Cupcake Truck

Now followers of this blog already know that Chicago has some kind of obsession with cupcakes (see this post or this post). So when I was walking down Wabash and saw a truck with a line of people by it, I had a feeling it might be the cupcake truck I'd been hearing about. Apparently, they post on Facebook and Twitter where they will be and wait for the people to arrive.

If you bake, frost and tweet it, they will come

Cupcake Options

Devil in Disguise, No Plain Jane, PB&C,

Mocha Me Smile, The Curious George, The McDreamy,

CinnaHoneyStreusel, Smore Me Over, Great Pumpkin Patch

Tempting Treats

I guess I should have tried one to see what the fuss is about but I was already in the middle of a large pumpkin spice latte and was a little concerned about sugar overload.

What's In Season?

Ramps! Although the season is almost over as it only lasts a few short weeks. Ramps are a cross between onions and garlic. They are the first "green" produce item that grows in the Spring -and all seasonal eaters rejoice because it means the dark days of onions and potatoes are over. Also, ramps may have give the city of Chicago its name. The Potawatami Indian word for Ramps (or wild onions) is Checagou. Apparently the area was rather "fragrant" with the aroma of wild onions back in the day.

Anyway, the season is short so enjoy them while you can or make them into pesto (as the ingredients in this photo are about to become) and enjoy them in the winter --- when all us seasonal eaters have available is potatoes, onions, root vegetables and anything we were lucky to have frozen during farmers market season.

Revolutionary

A new local brewery/restaurant opened up over in Logan Square recently called Revolution Brewing Company. It has fun and flavorful food (Bacon Popcorn, Cheddar Ale Soup, Sweet Potato Cakes, to name a few of the lighter menu items) and a nice selection of house craft beers and "guest taps".

The decor is interesting as well. The bulbs in the chandelier, shown here, are beer bottles with glass blown rounded bottoms.

Don't Grocery Shop When You Are Hungry

A certain organic-focused grocery store built a brand new store in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. It opened over the summer but I hadn't visited it yet. It is so large, they give you a little map as a guide to finding your way.


There's a wine bar ...

... and a diner-style restaurant ...
There's a food court and a sushi bar as well. I got so distracted looking at all the different mini-restaurants that I forgot to buy the olive oil that I went to get.

What's in Season?

Leave it those Nichols guys to get all artistic with the way they stack the sweet corn at the Green City Market. One of the guys said that it was supposed to entice people over to their stand. When I told him that I felt guilty buying the corn since it ruined up the design, he said he was going to go mess up the stack. I certainly didn't feel guilty buying the corn after getting it home and seeing the beautiful gold and white kernals (this is bi-color corn). And it's very sweet!

What's in Season?

Sometime in the last week, the farmers' markets burst into rainbows. This is just a small sample of my options at the markets.

I love how the colors of produce change with the seasons. In early Spring, there's a lot of green (asparagus, leeks, spinach, lettuce, young garlic). Later in Spring, a little color starts creeping in with radishes, rhubarb and strawberries. Then Summer hits and the colors go wild. A lot of the farmers grow heirloom varieties so we get things like purple carrots, blue potatoes and yellow beets.

The berries are starting to come in, too, now: blueberries, cherries, raspberries. Those are more difficult to take a photo of, though. They seem to disappear before I get my camera set-up. ;)

What's in Season?

Strawberries!

Actually they've been at the farmers' markets for about two weeks now. But they are just getting sweeter as the season progresses. There are almost 100 common strawberry varieties and probably more hybrid varieties. Each have their own flavor, season, and shape. The farmers are all great about letting you know which ones are sweet and which ones are tart, all you have to do is ask.

It's great to have fruit back at the markets. Soon we'll have blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Can't wait!

What's in Season?

The Farmers' Markets are in season now. I'm lucky, between the Green City Market and the City of Chicago Farmers Markets, I can go to a market for fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese, and baked goods every day except Monday and Friday. It's still early so the fruit is still a little ways off. But after months of root vegetables, we're being rewarded with asparagus, morel mushrooms, and leeks galore (a perfect springtime feast). We get both green and purple asparagus (purple is a little sweeter) and I love it steamed, grilled, and just raw.