Pick produce to music at Chicago 2016 farmers’ market kickoff

English: Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) with vari...
English: Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) with variously colored stems on sale at an outdoor farmers’ market in Rochester, Minnesota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you love shopping at farmers’ markets? I remember my first visit years ago – my imagination was so fired up that I was expecting home-grown tomatoes even though it was June! If you haven’t tried it yet, this is the year to start treating yourself. You can even celebrate the opening of the season by attending a “garden” party complete with music at Daly Plaza next Thursday, May 12 from 11:30 to 3 pm.

You’re probably not going to save money shopping at a farmers’ market, but you’ll get to choose from fresh-from-the-earth, often organically grown produce and know that you’re supporting local growers. Well, as local as possible. This is Chicago, after all. You’ll find farmers from downstate Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin and a few closer. At least you’ll know they don’t have to pick their produce unripe so it will travel well in a truck for thousands of miles

Spring brings options like green onions, young greens like Swiss chard, arugula and spinach, garlic scapes (check out this spinach/garlic scape soup recipe) and more.  A great time to top up your vitamin K levels… Here’s a full list of by-the-day-of-the-week farmers’ markets in Chicago 2016.