Midtown Farmer's Market

Midtown Farmer's Market:

Being a local-only market, the Midtown Farmer's Market sells in-season foods grown by local farmers from within a 50-mile radius of the market.

Many foods are sold including summer squash, green beans, sweet peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, sweet corn, red onions, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, apples, lima beans, freshly-roasted coffee, honey, eggs, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, habanero peppers, fresh flowers, cauliflower, radishes, broccoli, spinach, beets, fresh herbs, pumpkins, cookies, breads, and rolls.

Location:
In the parking lot across from Nicholson Hardware in Rockford's Midtown District, on Second Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Streets (near Lung Fung, Valkommen Plaza, and Commercial Printing of Rockford.

Hours:
Every Friday from May 21 - October 15, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.

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Lena Farmers Market

Features locally-grown fruits and vegetables!

Location:
Downtown Lena Parking Lot

Days Open:
May 30 to October 10, 2009
Saturday
8:00 am - 11:00 am

Contact Info:
Nikki Keltner
815-599-3524
815-232-9006
nkeltner@illinois.edu

DIY: Ease the Burn of a Sunburn

Ever spending several hours out gardening and realize (too late, alas) that you've overdone it? Have you come inside from a pleasant outdoor afternoon only to realize that you're as red as a lobster? And twice as cranky? Well, that happened to me over the weekend.

As I came in from a pleasant afternoon, I noticed the deep dusky red of my shoulders, upper arms and chest. Ouch! But before I completely resigned myself to a week of discomfort and sleepless nights, my eyes alit on my aloe. Now, I have a big pot of aloe and normally it just stands around looking good.

However yesterday I decided to see if aloe works as well on sunburns as it does regular burns.

I quickly sliced off a couple of stalks, butterflied them and coated my upper body with aloe juice. I was able to coat most of the burns, missing only a few spots on the back of my neck.

The verdict? It worked! Although I'm still red, I have very little or no discomfort on the skin that was coated in aloe. In fact, the only area that's tender are those spots on the back of my neck that I missed in the first place.

The moral of the story? Aloe is a wonderful plant. It thrives in benign neglect and it repays the favor of occasional watering with wondrous relief!

Video: Homemade Pesticide

Growing Home

Harry Rhodes
1325 S. Wabash #205
Chicago, Cook County, IL 60605

Growing Home's Les Brown Memorial Farm in Marseilles, IL has 10 acres of total land, with about 3.5 acres in cultivation. This land was acquired from the federal government as federal surplus property. The mission of Growing Home is to provide job training for homeless and low-income people and create employment opportunities within the context of an organic agriculture business. Growing Home also operates a 1/2 acre urban farm at the Su Casa Catholic Worker on the south side of Chicago. Growing Home is very active in advocating for urban agriculture in Chicago.

http://www.growinghomeinc.org/


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Recipe: Roasted Asparagus Four Ways!

Nothing captures the essence of springtime like tender, fresh asparagus.  Asparagus grows wild in many parts of the United States and can often be found minding its own business by the side of roads and interstates!  It's one of the easiest and tastiest ways to starting 'eating wild'.  The recipe below is a simple and delicous way to serve this marvelous little gem.  The spears taste great with the standard recipe, but pesto or hollandaise sauce provides an intriguing twist.  Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

2 bunches of asparagus, preferably thick trimmed and pelled if needed

2 tbsp dry white wine or dry vermouth

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  In a large shallow baking pan toss together the asparagus, wine, salt and pepper to taste and olive oil until the asparagus spears are evenly coated.

Roast the asparagus until the spears are browned in spots and are just tender-crisp, about 10 minutes. Do not overcook.

Transfer the asparagus to a platter and drizzle with the lemond juice to taste. Serve at once or try the following variations:

with Shaved Parmesan

Drizzle the hot roasted aparaa=gus with lemon juice as directed, then, using a cheese shaver or paring knife shave -2 oz of Parmesan, Romano or dry Jack cheese over the asparagus.

with Pesto

Omit the lemon juice. Toss the hot roasted asparagus with 1-2 tbsp pesto or to taste.  Serve at once.

with Hollandaise

Drizzle the hot roasted asparagus with lemon juice as directed,then serve it with hollandaise sauce.

Orangeville Farmers Market

Orangeville Farmers Market

What:
Open to all farmers/vendors, no cost, first-come, first serve for space. Seasonal produce, crafts, baked goods.

Where:
EWING ST AT W HIGH RD
ORANGEVILLE, IL 61060

When:
Saturdays July 4 to October 10, 2009
8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Contact Info:
Cindy Rackow
815-789-3113
crackow@rampcil.org


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