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Fourth of July has been declared "Food Independence Day"
Posted 7/1/2010 10:18pm by Leslie Cooperband or Wes Jarrell.
I opened our local newspaper today (actually it was yesterday's paper--we're kinda busy around here) to the food section and low and behold, an article about eating locally. In fact, an organization called "Kitchen Gardeners International" has declared "food independence for July 4th." You can go to their website: www.foodIndependenceDay.org to find out what they're up to and to share your plans for eating locally over the holiday weekend. What a perfect idea! Eating locally isn't just about experiencing foods at the peak of their freshness and flavor; it's also about freeing ourselves from foods grown far away using practices that we know very little about. So, as you begin to plan your local food independence day feast, don't forget the cheeses to accent your barbeque meats or salads or your fireworks gazing picnic menu.
This week, we are attending three farmers' markets: Urbana, Green City Market and Oak Park. I will be in Urbana this Saturday. Cesar, our Green City Market cheesemonger extraordinaire, is out of town this weekend, but we've got Xian (another Pastoral Artisan Cheese person) manning our booth there. If you're in Chicago this weekend, please stop by our stand at Green City and say hi to Xian. Adam, our Oak Park cheesemonger (also extraordinaire), will be offering you the following selection of cheeses:
Fresh chevre---the usual trio of plain, herbs de Provence and cracked pepper.
Angel Food-our goat milk brie style cheese
Little Bloom on the Prairie-our goat milk camembert style cheese (gooey exterior and pasty core)
Ewe Bloom-a soft ripened sheep milk cheese with white and blue molds on the rind. Try this cheese melted on a bun with a burger.
Roxanne-a raw sheep milk brebis (pyrenees style) cheese; aged 2 months. Semi-hard texture, very buttery and fruity flavor. Great slicing cheese.
Moonglo-a raw goat milk tomme style cheese aged 3.5 months. The rind is washed with "tea" made from pear leaves from our orchard. Nice semi-hard texture with nutty flavor. Also great for slicing.
Last but not least--we're bringing back our "Pear Capri" - a blue and white mold ripened goat cheese aged 2-3 weeks. These little pears have a "woodsy" blue exterior and ivory white creamy interior that melts in your mouth. Dazzle your friends and family over the holiday weekend by serving these little gems with fresh berries or a quick berry compote. They are a bargain at $2 each.
Here's to a deliciously INDEPENDENT food fiesta.
Farm Dinner this weekend: For those of you attending our farm dinner this Saturday "Backyard Barbeque" rest assured that you will be fulfilling the declaration of food independence by partaking in five courses of all locally grown foods. The weather should be perfect, so we will be dining outside. If you haven't seen the menu yet, you can view it at our website: www.prairiefruits.com under "Dinners on the Farm and then "Dinner Descriptions and Make Reservations." We look forward to hosting you!
This week, we are attending three farmers' markets: Urbana, Green City Market and Oak Park. I will be in Urbana this Saturday. Cesar, our Green City Market cheesemonger extraordinaire, is out of town this weekend, but we've got Xian (another Pastoral Artisan Cheese person) manning our booth there. If you're in Chicago this weekend, please stop by our stand at Green City and say hi to Xian. Adam, our Oak Park cheesemonger (also extraordinaire), will be offering you the following selection of cheeses:
Fresh chevre---the usual trio of plain, herbs de Provence and cracked pepper.
Angel Food-our goat milk brie style cheese
Little Bloom on the Prairie-our goat milk camembert style cheese (gooey exterior and pasty core)
Ewe Bloom-a soft ripened sheep milk cheese with white and blue molds on the rind. Try this cheese melted on a bun with a burger.
Roxanne-a raw sheep milk brebis (pyrenees style) cheese; aged 2 months. Semi-hard texture, very buttery and fruity flavor. Great slicing cheese.
Moonglo-a raw goat milk tomme style cheese aged 3.5 months. The rind is washed with "tea" made from pear leaves from our orchard. Nice semi-hard texture with nutty flavor. Also great for slicing.
Last but not least--we're bringing back our "Pear Capri" - a blue and white mold ripened goat cheese aged 2-3 weeks. These little pears have a "woodsy" blue exterior and ivory white creamy interior that melts in your mouth. Dazzle your friends and family over the holiday weekend by serving these little gems with fresh berries or a quick berry compote. They are a bargain at $2 each.
Here's to a deliciously INDEPENDENT food fiesta.
Farm Dinner this weekend: For those of you attending our farm dinner this Saturday "Backyard Barbeque" rest assured that you will be fulfilling the declaration of food independence by partaking in five courses of all locally grown foods. The weather should be perfect, so we will be dining outside. If you haven't seen the menu yet, you can view it at our website: www.prairiefruits.com under "Dinners on the Farm and then "Dinner Descriptions and Make Reservations." We look forward to hosting you!
