Tag Archives: farmer’s market

Peck of Purple Peppers

Posted on October 8, 2009 | 2 Comments

People, it is getting cold outside. And the sun is dipping way too close to the horizon during my commute home. In less than a month it will be pitch black when I arrive at my doorstep around 6 p.m.

Knowing that I won’t be able to see ANYTHING during my commute for the next six months, I am stocking up on imagery of growing stuff while I still can. These are from my bus stop on Wacker Drive yesterday.

Tiny purple peppers. Soon to be replaced by evergreens in the planters along the drive.

Reminds me of Monsoon Wedding. These marigolds are living their last days, and will be replaced by piles of snow soon enough.

Let this one burn into your retinas, people. Enjoy the blooms before they go.

If you are looking for me today, I will be at Daley Plaza, crying into a pile of Honeycrisp apples. Maybe I will buy some pumpkin whoopie pies from the Amish stand to ease my pain. And maybe some cider. And a caramel apple. And some peanut brittle.

On second thought, who am I kidding? Cold weather means food galore. I will trade my blossoms for butter. My sunlight for the oven light. Who needs the warmth of summer when you can have pie? Yes, I will be thrilled when spring is here again. I will once again flip out when I see the first sprout. But for now, I think I am ready to say my goodbyes.

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged Daily Picture, fall, farmer's market, flowers, goodbye summer, marigolds, photography, purple peppers, wacker drive planters, whoopie pies

Purple Cauliflower and a Laundry Monster

Posted on October 5, 2009 | 3 Comments

Yes, that is an actual variety of purple cauliflower. I didn’t Photoshop it. If I had, there would be googly eyes on it.

So you may have noticed there is quite a bit of color going on here. The farmer’s market is in its last weeks before shutting down for the season. It is hard to be sad though when there is still so much going on at each stand. Honeycrisps, concord grapes, red peppers, squash, and pumpkins. It is like the Mardi Gra of vegetables. One last hurrah before a quiet season.

Porpus is a big fan of fall/winter. Hibernation is her specialty.

Not just a disturbing amount of laundry to fold. It is a cat cave as well. Look closely.

Now that you made it through the cat photos, you get a reward. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

Another great thing about the season change is that it brings fantastic crispy-snuggle-up-warm-and-cozy-sleeping weather. It is perfect for spooning–pets, loved ones, or pillows–although it kind of sucks to get out of bed on a chilly morning. And for some reason I am totally congested when I wake up. Gross. Hence the lemon, honey, cayenne and hot water drink. It does wonders. Trust me. Cleans you out and is kind of addicting. I make them every morning, and coffee is a dark and distant memory at this point.

Speaking of spooning, one of my recent daily happinesses doesn’t even involve me. A couple of my friends have recently found new companions to cozy up with. I am pleased as punch that they will be very warm this winter. Yay for them! They deserve the best. <3

p.s. For those of you who are upset about the masthead, it is coming.

p.p.s. Who are all you people? Are you lurking without commenting? I think you are. It’s alright. I do it too. But don’t be afraid to say hello sometime.

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged cat, cooler weather, Daily Picture, fall, farmer's market, gourds, honey lemon cayenne pepper drink, laundry, photography, purple cauliflower, squash, stuff on my cat

Apologies to Summer

Posted on September 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

I feel bad about jumping the gun on Fall excitement. Amber reminded me to enjoy what we have right now. And that picture of me in the parka with the duck face makes me cold.

Then there was last Thursday’s farmer’s market on Daley Plaza. Summer, this is where I really started to regret wishing for fall. Because the produce is so ridiculously abundant, that they have stopped trying to contain it in cute,tidy bushel baskets. They are likely just backing up dump-trucks full of locally grown goodness and depositing GIGANTIC HEAPS OF AWESOMENESS under the various seller’s tents.

The huge pile of multi-colored fresh peppers made me want to do this:

Weeeeee!

Jumping into a pile of ripe edibles in public is frowned upon. So I restrained myself. But look how lovely they are:

Peppers! And baby Vidalia onions! These roast up into a perfect marriage that would pair nicely with some italian sausage.

What's this?

Disapproving Squirrel has been let out of his lengthy timeout. He was allowed to play in the onion patch, but his attitude clearly needs a bit more adjustment. He didn't show proper excitement for the peppers, so was not allowed near them.

Sunflowers that look like saffron-colored marigolds. They are so heavy that their necks are slumped. Such a strange posture for a really happy looking flower.

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged Daily Picture, fall, farmer's market, food, onions, peppers, photography, squirrel, summer, sunflowers

I Can Die Happy Now

Posted on July 17, 2009 | 3 Comments

The tomatoes have arrived at the farmer’s market. I have been waiting since the end of last year’s tomato season for this day. They aren’t in full take-over mode yet—filling every booth with mounds of ripe red mountains of plump summery goodness—but they have definitely made their grand entrance.

I went to the market with my office mate, Jess. We were ecstatic when the bustling crowds parted to reveal a red-and-white checkered table full of the red gems or summer that we have been waiting for. We ran with our elbows out to the pile of goodies and began squeezing the tomatoes in order to collect the perfect bounty.

I wanted to wait until I got home to bite into one of these. I had big plans to slice it up, salt it and eat it while sitting on my sunny porch and listening to Janis Joplin sing Summertime. This is all well and good in my ideal summer world, but my will power is well…powerless in the presence of a farmer’s market tomato. I ate it at the office, within an hour of its purchase. I ate it like an apple while sitting at my desk, checking email and waiting for the server to save my files. It was still pretty awesome.

Other Summer happenings at the market include the arrival of many buckets of sunflowers. People go nuts over these. I dare you to find someone on their lunch hour holding a bunch of sunflowers that isn't beaming.

Wax and Burgandy beans from the market. Didn't realize that they turn green when cooked. Weird.

Wax and Burgundy beans from the market. I didn't realize that the Burgundy beans turn green when cooked. Weird.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged burgandy beans, Daily Picture, farmer's market, happy, photography, summer, sunflowers, tomatoes

Currants and Miss Lippy’s Lunch Hour

Posted on July 10, 2009 | 1 Comment

Currants.

They look better than they taste.

The farmer’s market at lunch is always fun. Generally, I wander around alone, but I had company yesterday, which is always nice. Generally, people find excuses not to leave the building at lunch. This is weird to me.

People need to take more lunch breaks. Eating at your desk is not good. Not good for you or the project you are working on. Especially if you are a designer, you need to step away and come back with fresh eyes. Even if you pack a lunch…get out. GET OUT! Seriously. Get. Out.

If I ever own a business, I will kick everyone out and then lock the doors for an hour starting at noon. Even in the rain and snow. Do you remember the scene from Billy Madison where Miss Lippy sends the kids out for dodge ball hour so she can be alone…with craft paste and interpretive dance to sitar music? That is about right. Later in the afternoon, after nap time, we will have cupcakes. Who’s with me?

This post was supposed to be about all the friends in my life that are on a path to greatness…but that didn’t really happen. I will try harder next time.

I am off to Mary Poppins on Broadway in Chicago! Woot!

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged currants, Daily Picture, farmer's market, friends, lunch, miss lippy

I Always Feel Like…Somebody’s Watching Me

Posted on June 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

well, hello. we are so tiny. we heard that we were potatoes, but could easily be mistaken for grapes or radishes.

well, hello. we are so very tiny. we are potatoes, but could easily be mistaken for grapes or radishes.

hmmm. kind of creeped out now. something tells me that we aren't getting out of here alive.

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged Daily Picture, farmer's market, googly eyes, photography, potatoes

Peonies Gone Wild

Posted on June 5, 2009 | Leave a comment

I should really be getting ready for work, but I want to post some of the peony madness that took over the farmer’s market yesterday. There were so many DPH’s from yesterday, that I need to do this in a couple posts I think. Stay tuned for cats-gone-wild over rosemary. Thursday was a million times better than Wednesday. Clearly.

I am usually in love with all the fresh veggies at the market, but yesterday, the hundreds of peonies stole my heart.

There were probably 5 different growers selling this uber-girly flower. Some in bunches, some by the stem, some in buckets. People were ravenous.

Just when I thought it was all over with, I turned the corner on my way home and saw these in my neighbors yard. I will post my own bouquet when the blossoms pop open into their fluffy tutus.

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Posted in Daily Picture

Tagged Daily Picture, farmer's market, happiness, peonies, photography, pink flowers

Farmer’s Market!

Posted on May 25, 2009 | 1 Comment

I am way behind on my posts. Let’s see…Thursday was great because it was basically Friday. And during lunchtime I got to go to the Daley Plaza Farmer’s Market! It just opened, so most of the produce is limited to asparagus, mushrooms, and potatoes. There were a ton of herb starters, flowers, and veggie plants for those lucky enough to have a garden. I had to stop myself from climbing onto this basil and rolling around.

Oh yes, the bakery stands were tempting as always.

I fell in love with these ugly teeny tiny taters. I bought a few of each color for roasting.

Here is my bounty.

Oh my.

Roasting pan pre-oven. How pretty.

The final product. Just olive oil, butter, rosemary, italian herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. The purple potatoes were HEAVEN.

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Posted in Chicago, Cooking/Baking, Daily Picture

Tagged basil, Chicago, chives, Daily Picture, daley plaza, farmer's market, fingerling potatoes, food, googly eyes, mushrooms, photography, roasted potatoes

Proof That I Am Not Trying to Kill My Husband

Posted on March 12, 2009 | 5 Comments

Exhibit A...Look! It isn't macaroni infused with butter, cheese and death.

Most of the food posts that I have put up on Megagood paint a picture of indulgent and unhealthy eating. I have to confess that we eat vegetables almost every night at dinner. And most days, our lunches consist of whole grains, lean turkey, and the occasional Boca burger. One cannot live on butter alone. But you can certainly add a bit of butter to brussels sprouts.

The vegetables featured in these shots are currently my favorites. The only thing that would make them better is if they were from the farmer’s market or my garden. Neither of which exist at the moment.

Cauliflower is fricken amazing. It absorbs any flavor you want it to, AND it can replace starches like pasta or potatoes but still satisfy. It is the comfort food of the vegetable world.

Cauliflower is amazing. It absorbs any flavor you want it to, AND it can replace starches like pasta or potatoes but still satisfy. It is the comfort food of the vegetable world.

If these were my Grandma's beans from her garden, they would be more "furry" and probably taste even 400% better. We used to eat loads of them with all the cousins in the summer. We sang "Eat your beans and you can go to Dairy Queen" to the tune of a Sonic the Hedgehog boss fight.

We don’t just eat these for health reasons. We eat them because of deliciousness. It is all about the preparation. Over-cooking is the worst thing you can do to the flavor and texture of veggies. Also, buying foods that were designed to look pretty and travel vast distances to get to your grocery store can also destroy flavor and nutrition. If you are interested in any of this, you HAVE to read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. One of my favorite food books—informative and entertaining. It will change the way you think about food.