Geneva Green Market: Geneva, Illinois - A Local Food Green Farmers Market

Be a part of the “Localvore Thanksgiving Challenge“, and get your locally grown ingredients for your favorite recipes at the Geneva Green Market – Thanksgiving Festival on Sunday, November 23, 2008. The Geneva Green Market makes it easy for you to prepare a feast that is 100% locally grown and produced. The Thanksgiving Festival is a wonderful alternative to a trip to the grocery store. Not only can you find everything you need for Thanksgiving, but local artisans will be selling beautifully crafted and socially responsible Christmas and hostess gifts.

Betsy Sanchez will be baking Walnut Cranberry Linzer Tarts, Pumpkin Pecan Tarts, Pumpkin Cake Roll, Swedish Cardamom Rolls (Bullar), Swedish Cardamom Braids (Pulla), Butter Braids, Biscotti for purchase.

The Location is at Inglenook Pantry, 11 North 5th Street, Geneva IL 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Localvore Brunch will be served with the farmers’ products from 9:30 to 2 p.m., so you can make Thanksgiving shopping an afternoon experience for the whole family.

If there is a particular ingredient that you are looking for, you can make a request by 1 p.m. at the Geneva Winter Market on Saturday, November 15th. Call to pre-order pies and make brunch reservations at 630-377-0373.

You can pre-order a Heritage Bourbon Red Turkey from Caveny Farm Heritage poultry at www.cavenyfarm.com. They will be available for pick-up at the Thanksgiving Festival; also local artisans will be selling their wears.  Klean Kanteens, $15.50-$20.00 will be for sale from Dianne Peterson’s wood toys and silks.

Local Wines

Little Traveler is your destination for some interesting and tasty wines to complement your holiday table.  We will have available for tasting a tart and refreshing Cranberry Wine and a soft delicately sweet Pear Wine from Lynfred Winery in Roselle, Illinois and from August Hill in Utica, Illinois.
We will also have available for sampling Traminette, similar to a Gewurtztraminer and Trapolino, a light bodied red served slightly chilled.  For those of you that lean towards a sweeter varietal, we will have their Sweet Catawba, remincsent of citrus and fruit candy.  It is just about time to warm up the Glogg and we will be bring along Glunz Family Winery’s Glogg, from Grayslake, Illinos…..perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness to warm you up on these cold winter nights.

Because we are only tasting these at the Geneva Green Market Thanksgiving Festival,  The Little Traveler is offering a $5.00 discount coupon good for your purchase of a bottle wine at The Little Traveler during November 24 - November 26, 2008 so you can enjoy these libations during your Thanksgiving Feasts and beyond.

Meet the Local Author – Book signing - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Talk Turkey to Me”, by Renee Ferguson,
“Now coming to a town near you”, by Gina Olszowski

If you are wondering where to get locally grown food in the winter, look no further than Geneva, IL!

Geneva Winter Market will be open Saturday, November 8 and 15 and will be held every Saturday after November 29 Until December 20. from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. (Thanksgiving Festival held on Sunday, November 23, 2008) at the Inglenook Pantry, 11 North 5th Street. There will be an assortment of winter vegetables, herbs, apples, mushrooms, eggs, cheese, milk and various kinds of meat on a weekly basis. It will then start up again, after the holidays.

Heritage Prairie Market is an indoor market that is open all year, it has longer, daily hours providing the benefits of locally grown and produced foods.

Store Hours
Monday to Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am to 4:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Phone us at 630 443 8253
or email us at info [at] hpmfarm [dot] com

Heritage Prairie Market is located just west of Randall Road
on Highway 38.
2N308 Brundige Road
Elburn Illinois 60119

There are Winter Farmers’ Markets & Meals sponsored by Churches’ center for Land and People (CCLP) in Chicago held by at various churches dedicated to provide a space for local farmers to sell their produce. This website http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M19510 gives a list of when and where the markets will be held from week to week.

In Chicago, the Green City Market takes place each Wednesday and Saturday from 8 am-1 pm at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 Cannon Drive). They plan on changing their location in January. To stay posted checkout http://www.chicagogreencitymarket.org

The Dane County Farmers’ Market is held in Madison, Wisconsin year round. For the exact times and place visit http://dcfm.org/wandw.asp

Niche Restaurant will be hosting a Chef’s Collaborative Dinner benefiting the Geneva Green Market, NFP on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. call for reservation 630.262.1000

Chef Jeremy Lycan, along with Kevin Bozis from the Spice House and Matt Lennert from Moveable Feast will prepare a six course meal paired with wine for $125 inclusive of tax and gratuity. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Chef’s Demonstrations held weekly at the Geneva Green Market.

All three of these chefs have participated in the Geneva Green Market’s Chef demos.  We would like to thank them in contribution towards the maintenance the Chef’s demos for next year.

To all the Chefs and cooks who contributed their time and talents in creating the demonstration, we thank you. These talented individuals added so much to educational aspect of the Geneva Green Market, NFP.

Support the Chef’s Collaborative Dinner
When : Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Where: Niche Restaurant
14 South Third Street
Geneva, IL
Six course meal paired with wine
cost: $125 inclusive of tax and gratuity - limited seating
Call to make your reservation:  630.262.1000

What do you get when you combine the fabulous style and artisan flare of Moveable Feast with a glorious summertime evening surrounded by the sights, songs and fragrances of the Heritage Prairie Farm gardens? A supper club experience you won’t want to miss!

The menu:

• Peppery arugula & potato soup with soft pretzel “croutons
• Shredded beet spread served with homemade crackers
• Grilled sausages, roasted onions, & fennel with cranberry jalepeno jam
• Tangy autumn greens with roasted squash, honeyed walnuts, dried cherries & blue cheese in a cider dressing
• Roasted apple sauce
• Hearty dark breads & Bron’s Bees honey butter
• Cranberry pumpkin bread pudding with carmel sauce & whipped cream garnished with carmel corn

When: Thursday October 16
Where: Heritage Prairie Farm
2N308 Brundige Road, Elburn, IL 60119
Time: 6:30 PM reception, dinner at 7:00 PM
BYOB:  Fresh apple cider will be served. Feel free to bring your favorite beverage to enjoy.
Price: $60 per ticket or $55 per ticket when paying for 4 or more tickets

A credit card number holds your reservation. Payment due at time of dinner. Tax and gratuity not included. Arrangements will be made for inclement weather. Limited seating is available so make your reservation today by calling (630) 443-8253.

Come shop for your Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, pick up pre-ordered grass fed turkeys from Caveny Farms and crafts that make great Christmas gifts. There will be locally grown, organic food and craft vendors.

Enjoy a locavore brunch before or after you shop!

Sunday, November 23, 2008
Hosted by Inglenook Pantry
11 N 5th Street
Geneva, IL 60134

Thanksgiving Market: 9:00 a.m. thru 3:00 p.m. Localvore Brunch served 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Note: We are also still looking for craft vendors. If you would like to participate in this market contact Karen at (630) 208-9321.

Rediscover Thrift That Made America at Garfield Farm Museum’s Harvest Days

Making do and prospering are traditional values that are reflected at Garfield Farm Museum’s Harvest Days on Sunday October 5 from 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.  As the economic lifestyle of America is changing, now is the time to teach children the traditional values of thrift and saving for tomorrow. Harvest Days at Garfield Farm Museum demonstrates the basic concepts of conserving one’s resources to prepare for the future.

Harvest Days features historic household and farm skill demonstrations reflecting the economic reality of 1840s Illinois. Hard work and success went hand in hand and the flailing and winnowing of wheat is just such an example. This demonstration is just one part of the entire process of making a living on an 1840s Illinois farm. Wheat was the main cash crop and to prepare it for market, the kernels had to be knocked from the stalks, separated from the leaves or chaff before it could be bagged and sent to the grist mill or to the Chicago Port. Visitors to Harvest Days can try their hand at striking a stack of wheat with a flail, an attached stick and club, and discover how much work it took to produce enough flour for just one loaf of bread.

Pigs were raised for Read More…

Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products.

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become “members” (”shareholders” or “subscribers”) of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. A CSA season typically runs from late spring through early fall. The number of CSAs in the United States was estimated at 50 in 1990, and has since grown to over 2000.

Here in Geneva Illinois, and the Fox Valley, we have many choices with CSAs. Some continue into the fall.

Erehwon Farms:
Seven weeks of wonderful fall produce such as winter squash, pie pumpkins, carrots, radishes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, parsnips, tatsoi, Read More…

Fresh at the Market:
beets, blackberries, fall flowers, greens, heirlooms (portland), honey crisps, lamb, macintosh apples, peppers, pork, potatoes, raspberries, squash (summer), squash (winter), sweet corn, swiss chard… and much more!

Chef’s Demo:
Chef Jeremy Lycan of Niche

Kids Corner:
Homemade applesauce
Dianne Peterson - talking about water … will have stainless steel water bottles for sale from Klean Kanteen

Special Guest:
Dave Coulter - Arborist for the city of Geneva
If you have question on Ash Borer in Geneva check out the city’s info
http://www.geneva.il.us/BulletinBoard/emeraldashborer.htm

Winner of the Wine and Local food basket:
B.J. German of Geneva

What:
A Festival of Information & Ideas for Sustainable Living, Building a Sustainable Community

When:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where:
Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin (three miles west of Randall on Highland Ave)
39W830 Highland Avenue
Elgin, IL 60124

---

The fifth annual Prairie Fest held is a one day celebration of sustainable living. Workshops, presentations, exhibits, and interactions are free to the community.  This Prairie Fest Community Conference promises to give attendees valuable and practical information on living a low impact sustainable lifestyle.  It features professionals, practitioners, authors, and civic official who give attendees the opportunity to explore the many practical ways that we can live more sustainably.  Green City is the central theme of this year’s Prairie Fest. The name points to the larger challenges of creating a “Green City” in which we all live and thrive sustainably.

Fest with positive steps to take and resources to help them learn to live
more sustainably. There can be no sustainable community without all of us learning to live sustainably.
Thom Thomas, Presenter - 9 to 11

Moderated by Elgin City Council Member Dave Kaptain, panelists include:
Elgin Mayor Ed Schock, City Planner Tom Armstrong, Green Architect Keelan Kaiser, Read More…

What:
Building a Spiritual Green Connection

When:
Thursday, September 25, 2008
7:00 pm

Where:
Batavia Congregational Church (across from the library on Rt 31)
21 S Batavia Ave
Batavia, IL 60510

---

The Spiritual Green Connection of the Fox Valley encourages people of faith to attend an event, “Building a Spiritual Green Connection,” that will inspire and give them the tools to become better stewards of the earth.  The Reverend Clare Butterfield, executive director of Faith in Place in Chicago and dedicated to helping congregations in these efforts, will be the guest speaker.  Excerpts from the new documentary, “Renewal,” will be shown in which faith-based organizations, dedicated to living out their convictions in the midst of ecological crises, are featured.  A discussion will follow.