Eat locally--Berwyn Farmers' Market opens today

I was heading down to the Y in Berwyn when I saw signs for a farmers' market at 33rd and Grove. Since there's never any question of which will win out when the question is exercise or food, I of course drove right by the Y and found the market.

I was skeptical when I saw tomatoes at this stand
and originally passed it by. But I came back later figuring there was a good chance that at least the scallions and radishes were local and quizzed the seller. He said the produce came from Fox River Grove, and the tomatoes were from greenhouses. I asked him if that applied to the strawberries as well, but he didn't fall for my trick and said oh no, they were from far southern Illinois, the first of the season.

Now the strawberries aren't the best I've ever had, but you can smell them from five feet away and they are so much better than any of the California berries I've bought lately that they almost brought tears to my eyes. Besides the strawberries, scallions, and radishes, they also had lettuce, spinach, sugar snaps, shallots, and rhubarb.

I also had a long chat with Suma, once a doctor in Egypt,
who bakes middle eastern goodies in a friend's bakery and brings them to farmers' markets. She also makes her own pickles and giardinara--with olive oil she imports from the West Bank; packages up dried beans and spices, some of which she imports, some of which she grows organically in her own garden; and makes hummus, tabouili, and baba gannoush.



So far I've only tried the wonderfully chewy flatbread made with a feta-type cheese. Terrific. I'd edit to add more when I've tried more. But I wanted to get this posted while those of you in the western burbs who are desperate for fresh produce can get to Berwyn before the market closes.

And yes, I did go to the Y, fortified, on my way back home.

Wow!

I wish I knew about this earlier

I am especially interested in the pickles!

Thanks for alerting us locals to this event (which I'm assuming is weekly?) -- always good to have another local farmer's market.

Hammond

Vital Information wrote:

I am especially interested in the pickles!

This was the only pickle I bought--cabbage and carrot. Salty and only mildly sour. Potentially addictive.

And David, yes, it appears that it's going to be weekly, 8-noon Saturdays.

Thanks again Ann!

I'm not saying this is a market that's gonna drag me away from Oak Park on Saturdays, but to paraphase Woody Allen, even a small farmer's market is enjoyable and (worth it ).

I got some nice looking Michigan asparagus, some early downstate strawberries (thank god for eating local), and a bunch of stuff from the Middle-Eastern Woman including a zuchini dip, a cucumber dip, and the giardinara. The pickles as shown above, were sadly gone.

There was another woman with nice looking canned stuff, but I could not get myself to go for her VERY high prices--$12 for a quart of pickled tomatoes...

Anyways, thanks again for the heads up.