Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

Articles Sections >> Arts + Words Bars + Clubs Dating Festivals Fitness Food Lifestyle Music Theater Travel + Tourism Who's Who > View All Ask Centerstage Cheap Thrills Green Thumb Weekend Warrior

Julia gives thanks for the autumn bounty by checking out fresh options from local growers.

Monday Nov 20, 2006.     By Julia Steinberger

Lifestyle Feed

I've never known much about the oddly-shaped squashes and curious roots that start replacing summer's bright-colored fruits come October. They seemed daunting to prepare and sure weren't the things I ate as a kid. But eating seasonally is important, both from a holistic perspective (different seasons make your body want different nutrients) and an environmental one (food that's in season doesn't need to travel cross-country to get to your plate), so I wanted to give it my best shot. I figured there were few times as good as Thanksgiving season to learn to appreciate the winter harvest.

Lucky for me, Green City Market stays open into the cold months, so the fun of booth-hopping for my groceries doesn't have to end with the close of strawberry season. The market sets up shop in the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Wednesdays and Saturdays through the third week in December. While my bike and backpack sufficed in summertime, this time I brought the car. Squashes and roots make a heavier haul, it was freezing out and the lot across from the museum is free to market shoppers (a note to my wussy self...when I finally invest in one of those cool saddlebags for the back of my bike, I'm going to bundle up and give pedaling a shot).

First things first: I needed something to sustain myself through the shopping. I wrapped my chilly fingers around a paper cup of spicy Oaxacan soy hot chocolate, dispensed from a huge plastic thermos at the Bleeding Heart Bakery booth. With the creamy-chocolaty-peppery goodness warming me from the inside out, I went exploring, with the goal of finding at least three new things to try out that week. Here's how I did:

Cylindra beets, $3 for a box: Ever since swigging a glass of pink sherbet punch as a kid, only to discover it was actually pureed borscht, I've been wary of beets, but I liked this skinny, finger-length heirloom variety. They cook up very sweet and mild, and their skinny shape also makes them ideal for tossing in my juicer.

Asian pears, $3 for four: I bought a bag or two in late summer, but it seems like they've just hit peak season. Crunchy like apples but with rich pear texture and flavor, these are juicier and sweeter than ever.

Kohlrabi, $1 for one: The coolest-looking of the bunch. The bulby, royal-purple root is topped with purple stems and dark green leaves, and the whole thing is good to eat. Use the leaves like any other greens, and the root can be eaten raw or cooked. Its texture and taste is crisp and earthy like a radish, which makes it good for slicing into salads.

Japanese sweet potatoes, $2 for a pound: These mammoth potatoes have red-brown skins, so I thought I was buying regular sweet potatoes. But when I cut them, they were white, and practically tender enough to eat raw. Cooked, they're sublimely light, creamy and sweet, like no potato I've ever had. I subbed them for regular white potatoes in my favorite minestrone recipe, and the result was the best-tasting batch I've ever made.

The rest of my stash included staples: cheese, eggs, kale, onions, garlic, carrots and apples. After a week of taste-testing my new finds, I found that winter foods are totally easy to cook with, easy to experiment with and really tasty. Their rich colors put me in the mood for the season, and the just-picked flavors are far more satisfying than food that's been factory-canned or riding a semi.

Want to try?

This minestrone soup is one of my favorite autumn treats. The almost stew-like recipe is so hearty that even after I split the batch with my cooking buddy, the half I took home lasted through a week's worth of lunches. It's also ridiculously healthy, with almost nothing in it but veggies.

1 large onion, chopped
6-10 cloves garlic, diced (I use almost the whole head)
4 cups kale, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-4 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 large potatoes, chopped (I like sweet potatoes or the Japanese version mentioned above)
2-3 cups of cooked or canned beans (kidney, borlotti, white or a mix)
½ to 1 lb shaped pasta

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a big pot, and toss in all the vegetables. Sautee 10 minutes, until they cook down a bit, then add the beans and about two quarts of water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Bring water back up to a boil, add the pasta to the soup, and cook until pasta is tender.

After four greener-than-average college years as a co-op dweller-turned-aspiring-permaculturist, Julia Steinberger finds it hard not to feel guilty about her one-bedroom apartment, daily commute and indulgence in the occasional dollar burger. She'd like to dream that she could live in a tent/treehouse/rabbit hole, but the truth is, she'd rather stay in the city while doing her best to leave a lighter footprint on the earth. You can contact her here.