Home Again

It was a very long three week run in Minnesota. The good news for Minnesota Big Bowl fans is the new menu is up and running. Our tired team of chefs returned home Friday evening so we could participate in opening day of the Chicago Green City Market.

We sampled 400 pieces of our new Vegetarian Vegetable Summer Roll with Michigan Asparagus. It also gave me an opportunity to connect with farmers, establish new contacts for the future, and check out what’s growing for the season ahead. David Cleverdon of Kinnikinnick Farms is organically raising chickens for eggs and meat. I purchased a dozen eggs for my home. They were collected the day before market and had the brightest yolks I have ever seen! Now, if he could only produce enough for Big Bowl. Mick Klug sent me home with a sample of his purple passion asparagus. Like many purple colored vegetables, it changes to green when cooked. The fat spears are tender down to the base and without the stringiness often found in thicker green spears. Look for green and purple asparagus from Mick on the Chicago area stir fry bars. Growing Home, a relative new comer to the Chicago Market, had beautiful Rainbow Chard. Growing Home started in 1992 as a program to help homeless and previously incarcerated individuals enter the workforce. We hope to include their organically grown produce as the season progresses.

Visit growinghomeinc.org to learn more or donate to their programs. Visit Kinnikinnick Farms, Klug Farms, and Green Acres Farms at the Green City Markets on Wednesday and Saturday in Lincoln Park.

Visit a Chicago Big Bowl this week and let us cook for you as we roll out the new menu.