The Naperville Farmers' Market

Every week this summer, Greg and I have tried to take Nick to one of the local farmers' markets. This week we went back to Naperville for one of our favorite ones. The Naperville Farmers' Market is in the parking lot for the 5th Avenue Train Station, and runs on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. Our biggest complaint is that it ends at noon.

Some of them have plenty of vendors but few farmers, but this one seemed to have plenty of produce as well as other kinds of food. They must have strict criteria for vendors, because we didn't see any wacky stuff for sale, only the traditional farmers' market stuff: produce, herbs, fresh flowers, meat, seafood, cheeses, baked goods, and some specialty food products, like salsas and olive oils. There was a very nice selection, and we actually ran out of cash since we found so many things we liked.

Since we visit farmers' markets often, we have noticed a disturbing trend at places like Downers Grove and Plainfield--rather than produce and homemade food products, some vendors are selling things like tupperware, purses, and even clothes. These farmers' markets end up being more like craft fairs. Not this one--in Naperville, the farmers' market is very similar to ones that you would see in Europe. Here is a picture of Nick posing in front of the cucumbers.

Today it was incredibly steamy and sunny, so we kept Nick well hydrated and in the shade as much as possible. He was having fun checking out the ladies and waving at every baby or child he saw. Greg stuck to only "checking out" the produce, and he picked out some nice carrots and mushrooms.

We ended up with quite a haul, and will be feasting tonight. I think my favorite purchase was the fresh peaches, which Greg needed for the white sangria. I used the potatoes he is picking out below to go with our bison burgers with portabello mushrooms. (Plus, a salad and some fresh green beans. Yum.)

While I am interested in local and organic produce, I am in no way naive about the realities of farmers' markets. I know that unless food says it is organically grown, it probably isn't. But the farmers who sell at farmers' markets are often small farmers who use less pesticides, and I feel better buying from local farmers when I can. The vendors at this market clearly labeled their products and told the buyers where each item was from. I do tend to frequent the local farmers over those selling, for example, tomatoes from Kentucky. I also made a point to buy some organic potatoes from the one farmer who was selling organic produce.

So here is our haul.

Total spent? We brought $60 in cash, and all of it was gone. However, Greg bought some extravagent crab meat that cost $26, so that was half of our money right there. Tomorrow he's going to make a fancy crab cake dish from his new Bobby Flay cookbook, and I told him that for $26, they'd better be the best darned crab cakes we've ever had. I will report back about that.

Oh, and we also bought Nick a delicious scone that was eaten long before the picture was taken. I can tell you that the portabella mushrooms were divine tonight, sauteed in a little bit of butter with some of the garlic.

Munching on Apples and Daddy's Poulet Roti

Yup, somebody likes apples. My mother-in-law brought us Panera on Saturday, and I was good and got the apple instead of the potato chips. However, Nick decided that he was going to take custody of the apple for his own amusement. I guess we all figured he was just playing with it.

Nope, he was eating it, and enjoying every bite, apparently. I didn't know a 1-year-old could eat an apple the regular way. We'd always given it to him in little tiny chunks. I suppose I won't trust him with whole apples anymore. Not bad, though, for a little guy with only five teeth.

He's looking at me like, "Mom, what's the big deal? It's just an apple."

Amazing what five teeth can do. Nearly six, since he's teething. Plus Nicholas has a horrible cold, poor guy.  He's coughing pretty bad, but the doctor said it sounded like just a cold.  At least we're all eating pretty healthy. One of my really "unique" resolutions is to eat healthier food. We've been doing pretty well. I've been writing everything I eat down in a little book, and I did four elliptical trainer workouts and two pilates workouts last week. I'm trying to have reasonable expectations for myself.

Greg cooked a delicious dinner for us tonight. I got him a few fancy cookbooks for Christmas, and he used the French one to make Poulet Roti. It looked scrumptious and tasted even better. Nick was trying to grab it before it was even carved. Doesn't this chicken look awesome? I am very lucky to have a guy who can cook. Greg served the chicken on a platter with fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage. We also had fresh asparagus and baked red potatoes. My tummy is very happy, and the meal was pretty good for me, too. Nick sure loved it.

You'll notice in the background of that picture of Greg and Nick one of my neuroses. on the fridge another way I am trying to keep up with those darned resolutions. I do a list of lunches and dinners for each week, so that I don't buy too much food. It keeps us eating healthy and prevents me from stocking the fridge like a natural disaster is coming.

I hope the list helps keep me out of the grocery store. If I don't have a specific plan, I end up hitting the grocery store a couple of times a week, and every time I go in there I buy other random things. I've been pretty bad, at times, about having a fully stocked fridge. When I was in my early 20s, I went through a couple of years where I lived off Ramen and canned pork and beans. Since then, I feel like I need to keep the fridge full "just in case." The list is the only way I keep track and make sure there's enough to eat but not too much. It's a silly paranoia, I know, but I feel more comfortable knowing I could live off the food in my kitchen for weeks.