Come the darkest days of winter, Terra Brockman will still be enjoying the robust flavors of summer. That’s because the Downstate Congerville resident smartly remembers that summer may be glorious, but the season also is fleeting. She acts today to feed herself well months from now.
It’s an important but often forgotten lesson for the first day of summer when the warm days seem as limitless as the bounty from the land.
cross Illinois, farm fields are green with life. Farmers markets and stores are bursting with all kinds of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Mostly, the cooler weather crops are in right now. But expect the glorious vegetables of summer–the tomatoes, the corn, the eggplant, the zucchini–to be ready by mid- to late-July.
“revel in the abundance,” said Brockman, executive director of The Land Connection, an organization devoted to saving farmland, making helping farmers grow more foods for the table.
The sheer abundance of summer may be daunting for some, especially those facing the prospect of finding uses for a baseball bat-sized zucchini. But Brockman encourages consumers not to get tripped up by the possibilities or the choices.
“This may be a time when you go to a farmers market or a store and instead of being overwhelmed by it, let your body talk to you about what it needs,” she said. “Revel in the variety; buy three or four kinds of heirloom tomatoes. Try heirloom cucumbers, squashes, sweet corn.”
Like most cooks this time of year, Brockman isn’t interested in messing around in the kitchen too much. She tries to do as little as possible to the produce she brings home to keep the taste in focus.
And flavor is what sets local, seasonal produce apart.
“They [local farmers] don’t grow for transport but for taste, and they harvest at peak ripeness for eating,” said Mari Coyne, who works as a farm forager, a post jointly funded and supervised by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Chicago Green City Market, to root out farmers willing to feed Chicago’s growing demand for local products.
One such farmer is Marty Travis, who grows more than 500 varieties of vegetables at his Spence Farm in Fairbury in central Illinois.
“It’s ridiculous for us to be spending money shipping food across the country when in Illinois we have some of the best soil,” he said.
Give credit to the prairie, said David Onstad, an associate professor in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Over tens of thousands of years, he said, the grassland grew, died and built up the richness of the soil. Today, the patches of prairie left in Illinois are like jewels to be carefully preserved, but the gift of the prairie to the soil can still be tasted in the food.
“You can’t get better stuff than in Illinois in July and August,” Brockman said. “I have customers who go to California in the summer, or to Europe, and they feel the produce they can get from Illinois’ farmers markets in the summer is unparalleled.”
Capitalizing on that flavor now to yield culinary dividends in the winter is what Brockman tells customers buying her vegetables at the Evanston farmers market.
“Putting things up for many people brings back images of their mothers or grandmothers in a hot, steaming kitchen with all those canning jars,” she said. “There’s an easier way to do it. You can freeze. You can go through the rigmarole of putting up in jars, but a lot of us don’t have the time.”
She cuts tomatoes into big chunks, packs them into freezer bags and freezes them. Spinach and other greens get the same treatment but are blanched first, she said. Fresh basil is pureed into a paste with olive oil and salt, then spooned into ice cube trays or cleaned yogurt containers. Freeze this “proto-pesto” solid, then remove the cubes and pack them in freezer bags. Then just thaw and add freshly grated cheese, nuts and garlic right before serving to keep the pesto bright and flavorful.
“It’s easier than you think and fun,” said Coyne of preserving food. “Expand your palate. Eating is sensual.”
OUT ON THE FARM
Couple follows a deep connection to the land
They met at a Wisconsin farmers market and fell in love as they worked the field rows. Now, eight years and three children later, Matt and Peg Sheaffer are discovering that life down on the farm can include living in suburbia too.
“It kind of dawned on us we’re living among our customers,” said Peg Sheaffer, who moved to north suburban Grayslake from rural East Troy, Wis., just more than two years ago. “We’re getting immediate feedback on things. . . . We’re learning what people like and don’t like and how we can do things better.”
The couple operate Sandhill Organics LLC at Prairie Crossing, the so-called “conservation community” straddling the border of Grayslake and Libertyville about 40 miles north of Chicago. They grow and supply certified organic vegetables and cut flowers to families participating in the farm’s community supported agriculture program. About 200 families are taking part in the program this summer, putting up money so the vegetables get grown, then receiving boxes of produce in return. The Sheaffers also sell their wares directly to consumers at the farm as well as farmers markets in Oak Park and Deerfield.
In some ways, the Sheaffers are offering something else: a direct connection to the land.
“It’s hard to overestimate how much people love to come to the farm and walk around,” Peg Sheaffer said. “They like to taste, touch and smell. They’re overwhelmed by it sometimes.”
Easy to understand why. A working farm, no matter how tidy and organized, can seem somewhat ungainly, even a bit raw, amid the tidy homes and well-manicured lawns of the surrounding subdivisions. Yet a farm can pack an emotional wallop by bringing people back to their roots, to the fundamental, timeless cycle of the seasons.
The Sheaffers lease 40 acres and have six full-time employees during the season, which runs from the beginning of April through mid-December.
Their property already was a certified organic farmstead when they arrived in 2004, allowing the Sheaffers to avoid the lengthy process of having the property approved as organic. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t work to do. The ground is moisture-prone, Matt Sheaffer said, so they mound up earth to provide raised beds for the plants.
The Sheaffers grow about 40 vegetables, including 36 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Some of the plants are grown in open fields while others are raised in large, plastic-covered Quonset-shaped “hoop” frames.
Both found themselves called to farming while in college. Matt majored in environmental science and Spanish. “I took a job at an organic farm in the summer of 1998 and never looked back,” he said.
Peg got plugged into organic farming while studying history and Spanish. “My parents thought I was out of my gourd for a couple of years,” she said, smiling. “My mother said, ‘Your grandmother is rolling over in her grave.’ She [the grandmother] was a classic farm girl who couldn’t wait to get off the farm.”
The Sheaffers’ twin 6-month-old daughters, Ruby and Laurel, aren’t old enough yet to make a choice, but their 3-year-old son, Avery, already thrills at the farming life.
“His first word was ‘tractor,’ ” Peg Sheaffer said. “He loves being a farm kid, there’s no other way to put it.”
Sandhill Organics is located at 32140 N. Harris Rd., Grayslake (847-548-4030 or sandhillorganics.com).
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Summer is served
Summer’s bounty will be on the menu at “From Morning Market to Evening Table,” on Sunday at May Street Market, 1132 W. Grand Ave. A multi-course dinner, prepared by chef-owner Alex Cheswick, will incorporate produce from Chicago’s Green City Market. Dishes include chilled yellow watermelon soup with mint sorbet, and flatiron steak and buffalo sausage with apricot and chanterelle mushroom polenta. The meal will be paired with wines from The Artisan Cellar.
Abby Mandel, founder and president of Green City Market, will discuss the importance of using seasonal produce.
The event will begin with a 5 p.m. reception; dinner is at 5:45 p.m. Cost is $59 for ChicaGourmets members; $69 for non-members. The price includes tax and tip. For reservations, contact the restaurant, 312-421-5547, or ChicaGourmets, 708-383-7543 or visit chicagourmets.org.
– Chicago’s Green City Market offers a guide to freezing summer produce in the seasonal recipes section of its Web site, chicagogreencitymarket.org. Information on ways to preserve the summer’s harvest by canning, freezing, dry curing, smoking, pickling, jam- and jellymaking is available at the Web site of the University of Illinois Extension Solution Series, www.solutions.uiuc.edu.
Buying locally
Consumers hungry for fresh local produce have a number of venues to turn to.
– A listing of city and suburban farmers markets is available at chicagotribune.com/farmers.
– Information about the Green City Market, its participating farmers and events, can be found online at chicagogreencitymarket.org.
– Information on farmers markets operated by the City of Chicago can be obtained online at cityofchicago.org/specialevents.
– Farm Direct is an online (illinoisfarmdirect.org) directory of 600 Illinois growers and processors and 200 farmers markets.
– The Web site, familyfarmed.org, includes a listing of farms in seven Midwestern states, a number of which are certified organic.
–B.D
More useful sites
– “Watch Your Garden Grow” (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/index.html) traces a vegetable’s life.
– “Harvesting Fruits” (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fresh/fruit.html) performs a similar function with fruits.
– Raspberries also have an Extension Web page of their own (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/raspberries).
Summer’s bounty
The University of Illinois Extension provides the following useful information on selecting, storing and cooking summer fruits and vegetables.
– APRICOTS: Should be slightly soft and golden yellow. They keep up to three weeks under refrigeration.
– BLACKBERRIES: Should be soft and sweet. Blackberries will keep for several days if handled carefully and stored in a cool place.
– BLUEBERRIES: A fully ripe blueberry will be uniform in color. Store in a cool place.
– CHERRIES: Sweet cherries become firm when ripe, and sour cherries part easily from the stem.
– CORN: Ears should be full and blunt at the tip with tightly folded green husks. Refrigerate in perforated plastic bags for one or two days. Husk just prior to cooking.
– CUCUMBERS: Fresh cucumbers are dull green in color. Store for up to three days in the refrigerator in loose or perforated plastic bags.
– CURRANTS: For eating out of hand, currants should be completely ripe and picked just before eating. For making jam and jelly, however, use currants when they are firm but not fully ripe.
– EGGPLANT: Size is not always an indication of maturity in eggplants. To test, hold the eggplant in your palm and gently press it with your thumb. If the flesh presses in but bounces back, it is ready. Wrap eggplants in plastic and store for one to two days in the refrigerator.
– GREEN BEANS: Select beans with firm, crisp and fully elongated pods. Fresh beans can be stored, unwashed, in plastic bags in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator for up to three days. Wash beans just before preparation. Tiny immature green beans may be served raw in fresh salads; mature green beans should be cooked or blanched before eating.
– OKRA: Choose young pods, about two to three inches long. Refrigerate unwashed, dry okra pods in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in perforated plastic bags. Okra will keep for only two or three days.
– PEACHES: The skin of yellow-fleshed varieties ripens to an orange tint on the tree. Store in a brown paper bag to soften, then refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to five days, according to “The New Food Lover’s Companion.”
– BELL OR CHILI PEPPERS: Wash peppers just before using them. Peppers, both sweet and hot, are delicious raw, grilled or added to cooked preparations. Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to a week, according to “The New Food Lover’s Companion.”
– PLUMS: With blue or purple varieties, the color changes from green to dark blue or purple. In other varieties, the color proceeds from a yellowish-green to yellow or red. As the color deepens the flesh becomes slightly soft, especially at the tip end. Fruit that is going to be cooked or preserved can be slightly underripe. Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to four days, according to “The New Food Lover’s Companion.”
– POTATOES: Should be firm and free of soft spots. For best results, store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation. Do not refrigerate. Cold temperatures convert starch to sugar, giving potatoes an uncharacteristic sweet taste. Potatoes can be stored for a week or two at room temperature with good results. If potatoes start to sprout but are still firm, they can be eaten; remove the sprouts. Potatoes with green skin have been exposed to too much light. Peel the green parts away. All potatoes should be cooked or placed in water immediately after peeling to prevent discoloration.
– RASPBERRIES: Ripe berries should be handled as little as possible and refrigerated for two days if not used immediately.
– SUMMER SQUASH AND ZUCCHINI: To store summer squash and zucchini, place the vegetables unwashed in plastic bags and store for two to three days in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Wash them just before preparation.
– TOMATOES: Should be firm and fully colored. Store tomatoes at room temperature for two to three days, away from direct sunlight until ready to use (sunlight hastens ripening). Refrigerate only extra-ripe tomatoes and those cut open. To ripen tomatoes, place them in a paper bag, stem end up. Punch several holes all around the bag and fold the top over. They may take one to five days to ripen. Check progress daily.
– WATERMELON: Look for melons that are very heavy and have a hard rind. The underside of the watermelon should be creamy yellow. Once picked, uncut watermelon can be stored for about two weeks at room temperature. Tightly cover cut pieces in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for two to three days.
The flavors of summer
Zucchini and goat cheese tartlet with black olive tapenade oil
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
This recipe comes from chef Bruce Sherman of Chicago’s North Pond Restaurant, who serves it as a hearty appetizer. Commercially prepared puff pastry sheets are sold in the freezer section of most supermarkets.
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 yellow onions, halved, thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1 log (5 ounces) fresh goat cheese
1 bunch fresh basil, 4 small clusters of leaves reserved for garnish, remaining leaves thinly sliced
1 sheet (about 8.7 ounces) puff pastry, thawed
2 each: zucchini, yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
4 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Olive tapenade:
6 anchovy fillets
3/4 cup cured black olives, pitted
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup each: extra-virgin olive oil, drained capers
1 tablespoon Cognac
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet; add onions and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn golden brown, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, mix the goat cheese in a medium bowl with a mixer on slow speed to soften. Add basil shreds, 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Beat until the cheese is thoroughly mixed with the seasonings; set aside.
3. Roll pastry on floured board to a thickness of 1/8-inch; prick all over with a fork. Cut into 4- to 5-inch circles. Place, holes down, on parchment paper-lined baking sheet; set aside.
4. Heat large non-stick skillet over high flame; add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add enough sliced zucchini to just cover bottom of pan; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook to slightly wilt, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a napkin-lined plate to cool; repeat with remaining zucchini and the yellow squash.
5. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl; brush the mixture over the outer third of each pastry circle. Spoon a thin layer of the caramelized onions into the center of each pastry circle, leaving a 1/8-inch border around the edge. Overlap slices of zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes to form circles over the onions. Scatter dollops of goat cheese mixture on top. Drizzle tarts with remaining tablespoon of the olive oil. Bake until pastry is browned, about 8-10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, puree tapenade ingredients in a blender. Serve warm tarts on plates surrounded by thin band of tapenade; garnish with reserved basil leaves.
Nutrition information per serving (with 2 tablespoons of tapenade):
753 calories, 72% of calories from fat, 61 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 39 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein, 926 mg sodium, 5 g fiber
Warm eggplant, mozzarella and pesto sandwich
Preparation time: 18 minutes
Cooking time: 16 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
This recipe, adapted from Annie Wayte’s “Keep It Seasonal,” calls for ciabatta or focaccia but any sturdy bread will work. The eggplant can be grilled or pan-fried. A version of Genoese pesto sauce is used here but Wayte encourages you to devise your own style.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1 medium eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
4 pieces focaccia or 4 ciabatta rolls
8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
1 recipe pesto, recipe follows
1. Prepare a grill or grill pan. Combine the olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Brush the eggplant slices lightly with the mixture. Reserve any leftover oil for smearing on the bread. Grill the eggplant, turning, until golden and tender, about 3-4 minutes per side; set aside.
2. Cut the bread in half horizontally. Layer the eggplant and mozzarella slices on one half of each sandwich. Finish with a generous spoonful of pesto; place the other half of the bread on top. Brush the outside of the bread with any remaining olive oil; place sandwiches on the grill. Press sandwiches with a spatula; cook until they are golden brown on both sides and the mozzarella has started to soften and melt, about 4 minutes. Cut in half.
Nutrition information per serving:
809 calories, 57% of calories from fat, 51 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 47 mg cholesterol, 70 g carbohydrates, 21 g protein, 901 mg sodium, 10 g fiber
Pesto
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Yield: 1/4 cup
This recipe is from “Keep It Seasonal,” by Annie Wayte. She makes her pesto by hand using a mortar and pestle, but it can be made in a food processor. The pesto will keep two to three days in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/8 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat; add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring, until they turn golden brown, about 2 minutes; set aside to cool.
2. Mash the garlic in a mortar and pestle with salt and pepper. Add the basil; pound until evenly crushed. Add the toasted pine nuts, grinding to a fairly smooth mixture. Slowly add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stirring constantly. Stir in the cheese. Taste; adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
89 calories, 88% of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 112 mg sodium, 0.5 g fiber
Yellow tomato lemon grass soup
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Chilling time: 8 hours
Yield: 4 servings
This dish, from Alexander Cheswick of May Street Market restaurant in Chicago, tastes best if allowed to sit refrigerated overnight.
9 stalks lemon grass, about 7 ounces
3 pounds yellow tomatoes, cored, chopped
2 shallots, minced
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 piece (1/2-inch long) ginger root, peeled, minced
1 tablespoon butter
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon each: sea salt, sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the lemon grass stalks in an open plastic bag; pound the stalks with a hammer or heavy-bottomed saucepan to break up the strands.
2. Stir together the lemon grass, yellow tomatoes, shallots, vegetable broth, coconut milk, olive oil, ginger root, butter, lemon zest and juice in a roasting pan or Dutch oven; transfer to the oven. Bake until tomatoes are softened and flavors have come together, about 40 minutes; set aside to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove the lemon grass stalks; reserve.
3. Puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the soup to the pan; heat to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in salt, sugar and pepper; return the lemon grass stalks to the soup. Refrigerate the soup, covered, at least 8 hours. Heat the soup over medium-low heat, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
195 calories, 47% of calories from fat, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 24 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 1,185 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Blackberry and nectarine crisp
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
This recipe from “The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market Cookbook” was inspired by a dessert served at Foreign Cinema, a San Francisco restaurant. Authors Christopher Hirsheimer and Peggy Knickerbocker think the topping is so good they suggest you double the recipe for it and freeze the extra. “Then, when you bring home summer fruit, you are just a few tosses away from an easy, delicious summer dessert,” they write. Serve with ice cream or creme fraiche.
Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon each: salt, ground cinnamon
1/2 stick plus 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
Filling:
1 pint blackberries
4 nectarines, pitted, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. For the topping, stir together the flour, nuts, brown and granulated sugars, salt and cinnamon. Add the butter, working into the flour mixture with your fingers. Alternatively, combine the dry ingredients in a food processor; process briefly to mix. Add the butter, pulsing until a crumbly texture forms.
2. For the filling, combine the berries, nectarines, flour, brown sugar and vinegar in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly. Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased gratin dish or baking dish just large enough to hold the fruit in a double layer. Sprinkle evenly with topping.
3. Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, turning the dish 180 degrees once or twice during the baking, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or let cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition information per serving:
360 calories, 38% of calories from fat, 16 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 52 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 58 mg sodium, 5 g fiber
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ON THE WEB: For the first article in our four-part-series, go to chicagotribune.com/seasons.
