Photos from First Evening Farmers Market

Here are some photos of the first Illinois Products Farmers' Market, held on Thursday (June 26).

Here's the entrance to the Commodities Pavilion. As you can see, it's open air but also under a roof, so there's shade if the sun is out and protection if it's raining!

Baked goods from the Bluestem Bake Shop in Elkhart, Illinois (20 miles NNE of Springfield). They looked very good, but I resisted the temptation and didn't buy anything.

Located near Pana, Illinois (45 miles SE of Springfield), Midwest Meats processes beef and pork from a trio of farms. I gave in to temptation and bought a package of 4 butterfly pork chops.

The Live Springs Berries and Produce stand is why we often go to the farmers market more than once a week. No, it's not for the tomatoes, the cucumbers, or the squash, although I'm sure they're good. It's for the strawberries! (Of course, I picked an angle for this photo from which the strawberries are scarcely visible!) They are located near Chandlerville, IL (45 miles NW of Springfield).

These are why the Live Springs Berries and Produce booth is always so busy this time of year! Forget the tomatoes, the cucumbers, or the squash; give us the strawberries! Later in the year, it will be the sweet corn, but for now it's the strawberries!

In addition to the fresh produce, you could also buy wine, as well as sample Ropp Jersey Cheese. I'm not really a wine drinker, so I didn't try any. This is apparently operated by the Illinois Grape Growers & Vintners Association. (No, I didn't know there was such a thing, either.)

This is Ropp Jersey Cheese from Normal, Illinois (70 miles NE of Springfield). Although I like cheese, I'm not a huge fan, but my wife definitely is. I did pick up a package of their Tomato Basil Garlic Cheddar. That sounded too good to pass up! I'll let you know later this weekend how it tastes.

Incidentally, I asked about butter (because I am a huge fan of butter) and was told that they are going to try producing some butter this winter. If I understood correctly, they'll be making Swiss cheese this winter, and as a byproduct of doing that they'll get sweet whey (remember Little Miss Muffett's curds and whey?), which they'll then use to make butter. They aren't really advertising it yet because they don't know how much they'll have. You (probably) heard it here first!

Shoemaker's Kilbourne Melons (and more) from Kilbourne, Illinois (45 miles NW of Springfield). Those onions sure look good, don't they?

Bear Creek Farm & Ranch is located near Palmer, Illinois (35 miles SSE of Springfield). I bought eggs from them last weekend, because I had forgotten to get some from the James Family Farm. (I still feel vaguely guilty about that. Sorry, Andrea!)

Suttill's Gardens are in Springfield, IL.... Hey! They're really local! Specifically, they're at 2201 Groth Street (in southeastern Springfield). Springfield Photos has some photos from a visit to Suttill's Gardens. I've never been there, but I do know that their booth at the downtown farmers market is always extremely busy, just as it was here!

The Lazy T is located in Dawson, Illinois (12 miles ENE of Springfield). In addition to their main web site, they also have a blog.

Hey! It's Kathy! We've bought Kathy's Kitchen stuff for months now (usually from the grocery store), but had never actually met Kathy! Her kitchen is located in Virginia, Illinois (35 miles WNW of Springfield). I picked up 2 jars of salsa (one "Mild Hot", the other "Mexican"). I'll let you know how they taste.

A cooking demonstration by Jananne Finck with the University of Illinois Extension was about to begin here just about the time I had to leave.

There was a camera crew there, but I didn't see any obvious TV station logo, so I don't know whether they were filming for a news program or for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

When I took this picture, they were having the food vendor repeatedly present the food through the window, so that they could get the perfect take. It would be nice if I could ask people to "do that again" so that I could get the perfect photo! (I make up for low quality by increasing the quantity!)

So that was the debut of the Illinois Products Farmers' Market! It seemed to have gone pretty well. I'm hoping that this encourages them to try a winter farmers market!

Comments

[Shelley Thomas]

Hi Neighbor!

I was searching for other locavores in the area and found you! I'm just seeing how the in's and out's are going for you. Looks like you've got a great farmer's market! Ours is small but nice. (I'm in Logan County). Feel free to stop by my blog and compare notes... the link is above!
(I'm reposting this because it didn't seem to stick)

[Wally Hartshorn]

Hi, Shelley! After I saw your comment, I quickly added Logan County Locavores to my Google Reader subscriptions. I'll be keeping an eye on your blog and stealing as much good information as you can provide!