Hi- I got there around noon, and I told somebody that was working at Nichol's tent that I felt sorry for her, and she said that it was even worse when they first opened up, because it was a lot windier then. I was pressed for time too, but it was just as well, as it was definitely cold there. The only farmers I made purchases from were Nichols and Henry. I did go inside for a second, but I decided that I did not want to pay $6 for a half gallon of organic apple cider.

Nichols were already starting to load up their truck when I got there, and so it took me a while to find what I was looking for, and I did not realize that they had bags of spinach until somebody went through the stacked bins trying to find me some red russian kale.

Did Henry have any mesclan? If he did it was all gone by the time I got there. I got a bag of carrots and a bag of Japanese turnips from him though. I know his sister is going to be at one of the December farmer's markets at the ecology center, but I am not sure if Henry is. Nichols told me that they are going to be at the ecology center this winter.

Hi- The indoor farmer's market at the Evanston Ecology center is going to start up again this Saturday 12/7. Henry Brockman is going to be there this Saturday, but due to the cold weather expected this Saturday, he will be inside, which means he will only get one table. He is holding another bulk purchase sale, but you only get the discount if you put in an order by noon tomorrow, by sending him an email. He is selling beets, japanese turnips, carrots and leeks in bulk, and a few other things He is also having a really good sale on #2 carrots and potatoes, which are going to be 10 pounds for $7, if you advance order, and all his stuff is certified organic. Henry is also going to have kale sweet potatoes, cabbage, winter squash and chinese cabbage, but that stuff is not going to be on sale Here is a link for what he is bringing.

http://www.blog.brockmanfamilyfarming.c ... arket.html

Hope this helps, Nancy

The Indoor Farmer's Market is going to take place again this Saturday 11/22. from 9::00am-1:00pm at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston on Sherman Avenue next to the Best Western. There are usually three or four farmer's that set up a tent outside, including Nichols and Henry, and the rest of the farmer's are inside the church. Henry Brockman has some deals on veggies if you buy in bulk. Some of the veggies he has on special are potatoes, turnips and beets. I feel sorry for the people that are going have to work outside during the cold weather.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals is having this Saturday, it is asked that you email Henry with your order by noon on Thursday Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- Did anybody go to the market in Evanston at the church today? I could not make it there until 12:15, and so everything was picked over, and I just got the parsnips, turnips and potatoes that I ordered from Henry, and then I bought some leeks and garlic from Nichols. Normally I would have bought a lot of greens, but due to the extremely cold weather we have been having, the only greens I saw there were some kale that Nichols was selling for $4 a pound. I passed on that. Henry said that all his spinach, lettuce and bok choy got done in by the 10 days where it never got above freezing. I was going to buy a few carrots too, and Henry was out of them when I got there, and Nichols wanted $3 a pound for theirs, and when I first got there they were $4 a pound. It seems like the only veggies that were remotely reasonable were the root vegetables, such as turnips, beets and potatoes. At least it was a lot warmer than it was last Saturday. The indoor farmer's market will be starting up again at the Evanston ecology center on December 6th. Hope this helps, Nancy

Moetchandon and I ran into EvA and Cabbagehead there, so LTH was represented. We got several squashes, burdock, romanesco broccoli, macoun apples, and both red and sweet potatoes. It was a good start on our Thanksgiving shopping. Caveny Farms was also there, distributing turkeys, but we ordered our heritage turkey from Homestead Meats.

Homestead Meats
1305 Chicago Ave
Evanston

nr706 wrote:Moetchandon and I ran into EvA and Cabbagehead there, so LTH was represented. We got several squashes, burdock, and both red and sweet potatoes. It was a good start on our Thanksgiving shopping. Caveny Farms was also there, distributing turkeys, but we ordered our heritage turkey from Homestead Meats.

Homestead Meats
1305 Chicago Ave
Evanston

It was nice to see nr706 and Moetchandon today. Cabbagehead and I had ordered ahead from Henry 10 lbs each of potatoes and rutabagas, both for our Thanksgiving. We picked up some apples, onions, and purple cauliflower from Nichols, some mushrooms and shallots from River Valley, and, after an unsolicited testimonial from another shopper, some jalapeno creamed honey from Patz Maple & Honey. We also had to grab an apple-pear cider jug from J.W. Morelock and Girls (my favorite name of all the market purveyors). The warmer weather made shopping in the parking lot outside the church far more pleasant than it would have been during the last frigid week. There were vendors in the church's basement and first floor as well. A nice scene.

Hi- I was not able to make it there until 12:20, and maybe that is partly why the pickings were so slim. By the time I got there all the people in the basement had left.By the time I got there, I did not see any purple cauliflower, and Henry's carrots were gone. You must really like rutabaga. 10 pounds of that is a lot. I maybe go through 1 or two a year.

NFriday wrote:You must really like rutabaga. 10 pounds of that is a lot. I maybe go through 1 or two a year.

More than half of these will be made into puréed rutabagas topped with crispy shallots for the 18 people having Thanksgiving dinner at my house. The fresh farmer's market rutabagas are rather different from the huge, waxed globes one sees in the grocery store. They are smaller and more root-shaped, more delicate in taste, and unwaxed. I've only roasted them this season, but I expect that when I boil them for this recipe they will cook faster than the grocery store ones.

We do, indeed, like rutabagas.

EvA,

I just received a request yesterday for rutabagas. I think I will give your linked recipe a shot.

Thanks!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:EvA,

I just received a request yesterday for rutabagas. I think I will give your linked recipe a shot.

Thanks!

Regards,

Enjoy. Even non-turnip eaters like this. Make lots of crispy shallots.

The Indoor Farmer's Market at Emmanuel Lutheran church is going to take place tomorrow 11/21 starting at 8:00. I got an email from Henry's farm that they are coming again. They are setting up outside as usual, but due to the inclement weather, they are going to have a heater in their tent. They are bringing lots of kale, and some mesclun. They are also bringing a small amount of broccoli, carrots, turnips and beets, as well as lots of potatoes and sweet potatoes. I have to go to a dress rehearsal Saturday morning in Glenview, which probably will not end until 11:45, and so I hope that there is still some mesclun, potatoes, leeks, parsnips turnips and some greens left by the time I get there at 12:15. I am also going to try to get a stalk of brussel sprouts too while I am there. Somebody mentioned on another thread here that they have been eating Chinese broccoli a lot lately. I have been buying Chinese broccoli from both Henry and Green Acres the last month. As long as you cut off the ends of the stalks, they are okay to use in stir fries along with the leaves. I really like Chinese broccoli, and hopefully Green Acres will still have some left when I get their tomorrow. Nichols are going to be outside there tomorrow too, and there are going to be some farmers inside as well. BTW-Henry's helpers are not going to any of the indoor farmer's markets at the ecology center in December like they did last year. Henry and his wife should be finishing up their sabbatical in Japan in a few weeks. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I went there today, but I did not get there until 12:30, and when I went to Henry's tent, all they had left was potatoes garlic and sunchokes and not much else. I asked if they had any greens, and they said that they sold out of greens early today. I ended up getting lots of greens and some turnips and potatoes at Nichols. I also purchased 15 heads of garlic there for $10. I love their Italian garlic. I also got two bags of assorted lettuce at one of the organic stalls. I can never remember their name, but it was the folks who had the organic cider for $6 a half gallon. They had just lowered the price on the mixed lettuce to $3 a bag or two for $5. Was Green Acres there today? I was going to buy some Chinese broccoli from them, but I did not see them. I noticed that Emmanuel Lutheran is going to have a farmer's market at the church 2x times a month through April. The first one will take place on December 5th. This surprised me, because the indoor farmer's market is going to start on 12/5, and I am not sure if there are enough farmer's to cover both markets, as well as enough customers. Nichols told me a few weeks ago, that they are going to be at the ecology center every two weeks. Maybe they are going to sell also at Emmanuel. Hope this helps, Nancy

I was there a good chunk of the time. My wife was manning the Tomato Mountain Organic Farm tent, which was, lucky for her, actually a table inside--last your this market was on a gorgeous day if I remember, oh to live in Chicagoland. That bad weather seemed to have little effect on the local locavores. My wife sold out on all the carrots she had and nearly all the spinach she had. When I went shopping, I bought 3 kinds of sweet potatoes fro Henry's Farm, two Asian types and one traditional (or Southern, I guess one person's traditional is another's exotic!). I also got delicata squash from Lake Breeze Organics, some parsley from the guy who grow indoors in Evanston, and romesco from Nichols. I was hoping there'd be some laggard peppers but no luck. Still, there was tons of stuff and tons of proof that the eat local season should not generally close at Halloween.

The winter market duty this year in Evanston is kinda being split between Ecology Center, where there's been a market the last 2 years and Immanuel Church. From what I heard yesterday, a fair amount of the vendors will do both markets. That's what Tomato Mountain is doing--the Condiment Queen should have spinach and carrots all winter. I ran into Chef Sarah Stegner yesterday, who is a member at Immanuel Lutheran. She told me that she is going to run the cafe for the market this winter, so that's another reason to get out and support the farmers who are supporting your efforts to continue to eat local.

Hi- When I left Evanston at 8:30 to go to my dress rehearsal in Glenview, the weather was not that bad in Evanston, and you could actually see some grass. There was a lot more snow in Glenview. It did not start snowing like crazy in Evanston until about the time I got to the church at 12:30, and so I am sure there were lots more customers there at 9:00 than there were at 12:30. When I got there, Morlock's were taking off in their truck. It sounds like most of Henry's stuff sold out the first couple of hours. By the time I got there, the only farmer that had lots of greens was Nichols, and so I spent most of my money there. I did buy two bags of lettuce from Lake Breeze, and they had just lowered the price on the bags to 2/$5. I did see your wife's lettuce. It looked like she had two bags left, but I decided that I had enough greens.

I noticed that the city of Evanston is taking over management of the market at the ecology center. Two years ago they had a heated shed behind the ecology center so they could handle more vendors, but apparently there was not any funding for it last year, since it never appeared.