Being green.....

Last Wednesday, after reading about the forty something weekly farmer's markets in Chicago, I headed out to the grand daddy of them all, the Green City Market, held up in Lincoln Park. I entered the address into the RTA trip planner and it told me exactly what buses to take. I left about 7:30am and by 8:00 was enjoying a beautiful spread of local and sustainable harvests. Oh my goodness was it pretty! So many different colors of tomatoes, fat blueberries, greens galore and homemade breads and sauces and desserts. The people there were equally colorful--moms with stroller tykes, older folks, suits on their way to work, overwhelmed newcomers (me), dog walkers with beautiful dogs (almost all were big dogs BTW---and I petted each one!). I circled the whole thing twice before getting a game plan. I ended up with blueberries, fresh( not dried) pasta, fresh shelled peas, one pound ground beef, portabella spaghetti sauce, and a non-dairy berry smoothie for my breakfast! I would have gotten more, but I ran out of cash! It was great to talk with the farmers themselves--they're pride was obvious and they couldn't have been more helpful. It was also quite a "community"---I got the feeling the customers and the vendors were all regulars---they all seemed to know one another and were asking after each other. I suppose, this might have been what it was like before the big superstores.....kinda nice...

I also found a small indoor farmers market between the apartment and Sarah's ballet. Great place to stop for items to fill out dinner. They also referred me to the Pastoral Cheese shop, and they fixed me up with some shavings of parmesan when I realized that I didn't own a grater here and couldn't grate their wedges. Super nice folks...

Funny to think that in the heart of the city I have access to all this wonderful, healthy food with more choices than in Atlanta! And, I get to walk to it!