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My July 4th Farmers Market Visit Was Just... Peachy!
- Bob Benenson
- 8 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Continuing the trend of crops starting early, the first peaches and apricots
Oh, well, this isn't one of those rare years when sweet corn hits the Chicago region farmers markets by the 4th of July. (It's coming soon.) But ooh, la, la, the peach season — which typically begins around this time of year — did not disappoint.
The 4th falling on Saturday this year, I visited Green City Market in Lincoln Park to pay my patriotic tribute to our awesome local farmers. Those peaches above made their season debut at the stand of Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan).
Iron Creek Farm (La Porte, Indiana) rolled out their first organic peaches of the year.
Hillside Orchards (Berrien Springs, Michigan) also had peaches (in the background of the above photo), but they also had their first apricots of the season.
The same farm had the first summer apples I've seen this year. The Lodi apples in the photo — like most summer apples — are far more tart than sweet — but as their sign says, that makes them great for sweetened recipes such as pie or applesauce.
I spied these first-of-season okra at the stand of Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois). I feel a gumbo coming on...
As the stand of Frillman Farms (also in Berrien Springs, Michigan) underscored, peak season is just a explosion of colors.
That provides the beauty as shoppers navigated around the beastly rains that accompanied the past week's heat wave, including overnight downpour that preceded the market. A reflecting pond (sans algae)?
My market haul (from left): SunGold cherry tomatoes from Wholesome Harvest (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin); apricots from Hillside Orchards; strawberries and asparagus (yep, still hanging in for now), along with those irresistible peaches from Ellis); chicken wings from Finn's Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan); Red Mars onions and green beans from Nichols; cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin).
I'll continue my corn search at markets this week.
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