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

Chefs and localvores have long been singing the praises of farm-fresh eggs and most can’t imagine having any other then free-range from the farm. Ask a chef and a localvore what makes them loyal to farm fresh eggs you’d probably get two different answers.  Chefs tend to favor the texture, freshness and richness of golden hues. Where a localvore might initially focus more on how the eggs were raised. The chickens are outdoors in the pasture where they are free to roam at their leisure, get all the sunshine they want. As well as freely forage for there own food of grasses, worms and insects, all while enjoying the breezes of the season.

Most farmers that raise free-range chickens have movable pens or houses for their chickens. These “pastures” are moved from place to place giving the chickens fresh grazing areas on a regular basis. With this set up, the chickens will have some protection from predators.  What about antibiotics and hormones you ask? Antibiotic-free means that the chickens were never fed antibiotics at anytime in their life.  Chickens do not need antibiotics to grow and be healthy. Chickens raise their own resistance by being a their natural environment. Farmers focus on good husbandry (breeding and caring for farm animals ) practices such as sanitation. All chickens are hormone-free. Despite numerous marketing and labeling statements by many egg producers, hormones have not been used in the poultry industry for over 50 years. So whether you see a carton of eggs that have “hormone-free” on it or not be assured that the the eggs are hormone-free. Read more

Brine recipe: http://www.moveablefeastgeneva.com/menus/TurkeyBrine.pdf

For more information go to Moveable Feast.

Who: Terra Brockman, Author
What: Book Signing
When: Saturday, December 19th 2009
Where: Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry, 11 N 5th St Geneva IL 60134

Terra Brockman was raised in central Illinois, where four generations of her family have farmed. Terra’s younger brother, Henry, grows 650 varieties of vegetables on about 12 acres (between Peoria and Bloomington). There, he and his family with apprentices have bucked the traditional agribusiness conventional wisdom by farming in a way that’s sensible, sustainable and focused on producing healthy, nutritious food that doesn’t damage the land.

Terra Brockman tells the story of her family and their life on the farm in the form of a year-long memoir that takes the reader through each season of life on the farm.

For more information about Terra Brockman or her book, please visit her website at www.terrabrockman.com

Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry
11 N 5th St
Geneva IL 60134
630-377-0373
http://www.genevagreenmarket.org/directions

What: Slow Food Harvest Potluck &  Fresh, The Movie

When: Sunday, November 15th; 4:00 -- 6:30pm

Where: Country Garden Cuisine 3n369 Lafox Rd, Campton Hills, IL 60175-7636  

Celebrate the foods of fall and join Slow Food City’s Edge for a harvest potluck supper and screening of the movie FRESH!

Please bring your favorite slow food inspired entree or side dish to share with your friends and neighbors. Fresh, the movie celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision of our food and our planets future. Fresh addresses an ethos that has been sweeping the nation and is a call to action America has been waiting for.

We invite you to learn more about Slow Food City’s Edge, share good food with your neighbors, and understand the importance of eating healthier, locally grown food and how you can participate in this movement.

***In the spirit of Slow Food, please bring your own flatware, plates and cups.
More info at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/88203

Cost: $7.50 -- Covers  refreshments and dessert (to be provided by Inglenook Pantry).

This year the Geneva Green Market, NFP is having a localvore essay contest to accompany the Localvore Thanksgiving Challenge. To participate one must strive to come as close to eating 100% locally grown food for your Thanksgiving meal as possible. To participate, write a 250-word essay, discussing the experience of purchasing local ingredients as well as eating the meal itself.

The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate for the Community Winter Market, and their essay will be published in the GGM, NFP’s newsletter. Email your essays to genevagreenmarket [at] gmail [dot] com by 12/1/09.

This year’s Thanksgiving Localvore Challenge has three turkey vendor options. To place your order either sign up at the Geneva Green Market or contact the vendors directly. Bourbon Reds are $5 per pound,  the Broad Breasted Whites are $4 per pound and the Black Spanish breed $6 per pound.

R Family Farm

R Family Farm
Poplar Grove, IL 61065
815.519.4341 – Cindee
cjrobinson0217 [at] msn [dot] com

• Broad Breasted White Turkeys $4 a lb
  
• Bourbon Red $5/lb
• Delivery Charge to the Community Winter Market, Geneva,  IL.  $1 per pound ($15 maximum) or you can pick up at the R-Family Farm’s Open house, Poplar Grove.
  

R Family Farm raises Broad Breasted White and Bourbon Red Turkeys. Cornish Cross Broilers, and assorted chickens for eggs, goats for milk and meat, and Berkshire pigs.  All of the animals are raised out on pasture, as nature intended.  We also grind and mix our own feed here on the farm.  Each set of animals has their own “mix”.  The chickens and turkeys get raosted soybeans, flax, kelp, a probiotic, and other good things.  The broilers and turkeys are raised in hoop houses to keep them safe from foxes.  The hoop houses are moved every day to fresh grass.

Bourbon Red turkeys are a heritage breed and are excellent in taste. The Bourbons are a very slow growing bird and take 26-28 weeks to reach full growth and will reach up to 14 pounds.

The Broad Breasted White Turkeys are very fast growing and only take 16 to 18 weeks to be ready to eat.  They grow 12 to 30 pounds.  We use NO hormones,  No steroids, and NO antibiotic in any of our feed!  The turkeys are processed at an Amish federally inspected facility.

Hasselmann Family Farm

www.hasselmannfamilyfarm.com
Milledgeville, Illinois
815.493.8630 – Scott
hasselmannfarm [at] gmail [dot] com

Family run farm located in beautiful northwestern, Illinois near the town of Lanark, two hours northwest of Chicago. As fourth generation farmers, they raise Berkshire hogs, Milking Shorthorn cattle, Suffolk sheep, Moscovy ducks, chickens, goats, and Broad Breasted White turkeys.

All their livestock and produce is raised outdoors on pasture in harmony with the natural environment. Their pigs can be pigs and play in the mud and their chickens can be chickens and scratch in the soil.

• The Broad Breasted Whites are $4 per pound
• Delivery Charge to the Community Winter Market, Geneva,  IL.  $1 per pound ($15 maximum)

Grandma’s Farm Fresh Eggs

Sugar Grove, IL 60554
630-466-4616 – Bonnie/Paul
grandmasfarmfresheggs [at] yahoo [dot] com

Grandma’s Farm Fresh Eggs will also be selling turkeys. Our family primarily raises chicken eggs, turkey eggs, quail eggs - all are allowed on pasture or fed hay and grains when not on pasture. Talk to them directly at their booth at the Geneva Green Market to find out more information or via email.

• Black Spanish Heritage Breed $6 a lb includes delivery to the Community Winter Market

Matt Lennert from Moveable Feast in Geneva, IL demonstrates how to make ‘Green Potato Salad’ at Thursday’s “Geneva Green Market.” Swiss Chard and Provence Kale fuse together in fresh pesto & chopped whole greens make this refreshing, scrumptious Summer potato salad. Click here!

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

The Geneva Green Market, the area’s only Farmers Market requiring all produce and products be locally grown within a 200-mile radius of Geneva IL, is kicking off their second season on Thursday, June 26 at their permanent location along the west side of the Fox River at 75 N. River Lane in Geneva from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join us for opening ceremonial plantings at 9:00 a.m. with Geneva officials and friends, followed by cooking demonstrations and more…

Visitors will see familiar faces from last year and some new vendors as well. Products include field-fresh, minimally processed, sustainably grown, produce ranging from vegetables, herbs and fruits to meats and dairy products and more!

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE

• 7:00 a.m. Market Opens
  9:00 a.m. Local City Officials and Dignitaries to Participate in Planting Ceremony of the Geneva Green Market
  9:30 a.m. James Beard Award Nominee, Chef Jeremy Lycan’s Cooking Demonstration with Locally Grown Food
  10:30 a.m. Kid’s Corner – Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom
  11:30 a.m. Chef Jeremy Lycan’s Cooking Demonstration with Locally Grown Food

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:

• 9:00 a.m. The Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom & Traveling Science Center
  9:00 – 11:00 p.m. Guided Tours of River Park
  12:00 p.m. The Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom & Traveling Science Center

Parking is plentiful, and the weekly Geneva Green Market is located one block east of Route 31 and one block north of Route 38. For more information, please contact Karen Stark – email us here!

• Locally-grown food does not cause as much pollution (global warming) due to less travel time.
• Keeping family farms alive keeps rural landscape alive, supporting less urban sprawl.
• Spending your money where you live keeps your community thriving.
• As a tourist looking for local flavor, this makes your visit more authentic. If you come to the Fox Valley area, you’ll want to taste what we grow.
• Geneva is particularly blessed with a booming community of small farms and food producers. Try our seasonal produce.
• Think of the health and safety of you and your family. Small, local farms are less likely to use hormones and more likely to raise grass fed or free-range animals, and organically grown vegetables.
• If you know your farmer, you know where to ask questions; the shorter the route from the farm to your table (at home or in a restaurant), the more knowledge you have at hand, and the more flavor you have on your plate.