Spoon Magazine Spring 2021

Spring 2021

Farm to Table WITH Campfire Recipes

No oven? No problem. p. 12

The History of the Evanston Farmers' Market

Discover the story behind a community staple. p. 30

Eating Dirt

It’s more common than you think. p. 36 PHOTO BY ZOE MALIN

Farmers’ Market Snapshots

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Chicago Area Farmers’ Markets Northbrook Farmers Market

Winnetka Farmers’ Market

Evanston Farmers’ Market

Skokie Farmers’ Market

Lincoln Square Farmers Market

Green City Market West Humboldt Park City Market Daley Plaza City Market

Garfield Ridge Farmer’s Market

Englewood City Market

Bronzeville City Market

Pullman City Market

= Farmers’ Market

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te ur favori o y s ’ t a h W ket find? r a m ’ s r e farm

Presidents Tessa Kauppila & Sophie Kobylinski

tuber roses

VICE PRESIDENT PRINT EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTORS ONLINE EDITOR PHOTO DIRECTOR TREASURER PUBLISHING ASSISTANT BUSINESS DIRECTOR EVENTS DIRECTOR SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Grace Jaeger Zoe Malin wisconsin cheese curds Alisa Gao & Talia Schulhof Princie Kim Lucy Jung Courtney McClelland Celine Macura Eden Hirschfield Zoe Dockser Dani Allen focaccia from Seylou Bakery

WRITERS Leah Zeuss, Sammi Tapper, Sara Frank, Ava Carter, Kexin Wang, Pranavi Ahuja, Caroline Labow, Shray Vaidya, Ella DeBode, Olivia Demetriades, Allison Rhee, Nixie Strazza, Sarah Kate Padon

éclairs

DESIGNERS Cammi Tirico, Kelsie Yu, Gretchen Raedle, Isabelle Hauf-Pisoni, Hannah Hall, Quynh-Nhi Tran, Meghna Jain, Isabel Gitten, Maren Kranking

PHOTOGRAPHERS Katy Kim, Christina Chen, Camille Bilodeau, Chloe Krugel, Amy Choi, Ishika Vanwari, Kelsey Carroll

BUSINESS RELATIONS truffle salami

Skylar Scharer, Dayna Rapkin, SooMin Lee, Isabelle Kenagy, Avery Hirschfield, Ploen Voraprukpisut, Betsy Winick, Maya Mahoney, Angela Lee, Steph Markowitz, Lily Yan, Elizabeth Farassat, Annie Bandler, Maddie Morse, Nina Petrouski, Kate Fawcett, Izzy Riback, Chiara Dorsi

EVENTS Vik Nandigama, Charlotte Newman, Caroline Milgram, Maddie Malueg, Shea Randall, Abigail Coneeny, Naomi Aisen fresh michigan cherries Madison Donley, Olivia Corderi, Julia Moore, Sarah McGrath, Margot Present, Caroline Bercu, Jordyn Lemer, Taylor Doyle, Sofie Kennedy, Lexi Levy, Cameron Freeman

SOCIAL MEDIA

2021

Spoon Magazine is an extension of Spoon University, an online campus food community founded by Northwestern alumni Sarah Adler and Mackenzie Barth. nu.spoonuniversity.com

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from the editor

I

look forward to opening day at the Downtown Evanston Farmers’ Market every spring. It marks an awakening of sorts — after a long, dark, cold Midwestern winter,

people come out of hibernation and gather together for the first time in months. Vendors’ tables boast colorful flowers, fresh produce and warm pastries, and customers fill their bags until they’re overflowing. Joy fills the air.

It’s a feeling I’ve treasured during the past year of wearing masks, social distancing and virtual interaction.

When it came time to decide on a theme for our Spring 2021 magazine, Spoon unanimously settled on the Farm to Table Issue. We want to tell stories of growth, rebirth and community as we begin to return to some degree of normalcy this year. We look to farms and gardens — and the people who tend to them — for hope. They remind us that even when the world feels like it stops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants are flourishing.

To us, farm to table is more than just a phrase restaurants add to their menus, and its meaning extends beyond cooking with produce grown in a garden. Farm to table is a reciprocal relationship between people and food, human and Earth. It prompts us to stop and appreciate what we’re eating, who grew it and where it came from.

Welcome to the Farm to Table Issue. We hope it puts a smile on your face and leaves you hungry for more.

Never forks, Zoe Malin Print Editor

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Starter

How to Re-Grow Produce From Kitchen Scraps Turning scraps into salad just takes a little patience.

By Tessa Kauppila Designed by Meghna Jain

One of the easiest ways to reduce food waste is by regrowing fruits and vegetables in a few simple steps. With time and a little patience, your windowsill will bear a garden’s worth of fresh produce. Here are five kitchen scraps you can give a second life.

Romaine L

ettuce + Celery

With leafy vegetable s like rom an inch o aine and f the plan celery, cu t’s base (t t off abou toss). Set he part y t it in a sha o u would no llow dish with wate rmally cut side u r until th p and fill e veggie sc the dish ½ inch of rap is cov water). P e red halfw lace the d ay (about refresh th ish on a su e water re a nny wind gularly. O o fer the pla wsill and nce you se nt into so e new gro il. Cover wth, tran to keep th the roots se top of th a n d base, m e veggie sc you’ll hav aking sure rap expose e new cru d. Soon e nchy gree nough, ns.

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Green On

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Place them en onions. end of gre e th p part ff o 1 inch ping the to Cut about water, kee f o ch they will in e in a ½ ace wher sp a in s root down n e onio supply er. Place th h the water above wat and refres t gh ions li n n o su e nty of d as th receive ple hat you nee w ff s, fennel o ek m le ri days. T bles, like ta ge ve every few lb u er b n. grow. Oth ilar fashio continue to wn in a sim ro g e b n ca grass, and lemon

Starter

Avocado

Begin by washing an d drying an avocado pit well. Then, stick three toothpicks int o it, about one-third of the way down fro m the pointed end. Ne xt, place the pit over a glass. Add water un til it covers the botto m half of the pit and ref resh the water often .

Once the pit grows roots and a sprout -which will be after about two to six we eks -- move it to a conta iner with soil. Be sur e to keep the top half of the pit above the soil. Water it frequen tly and, once it’s big enough, plant the beginning of your avocado tree outside . With a lot of patie nce -- I’m talking a few years worth -- and the right climate conditio ns, it could bear fru it.

Beets + Turnips Cut the top ½ inch off of a beet or turnip and place it in a saucer of shallow water cut side down. Fresh greens will appear after a few weeks. Harvest these leaves and add them to salads, sautés and wraps. Continue this process and always have a supply of fresh greens on hand.

Sweet Potato There are a lot of uses for sweet potatoes in the kitchen, from fries to pies to casseroles. Grow your own by immersing the sweet potato in water, suspending the top half using toothpicks. The rooting end, or the side that tapers, should be the half immersed. After a few weeks, sprouts will begin to grow from the top and roots from the bottom. Once the sprouts are about 5 inches long, twist them off and place them in a jar of water. When the sprouts grow their own roots -- several inches in length -plant them in soil and water regularly.

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Starter

The Future of

Farming The simple economics of organic, diversified farms

By Sophie Kobylinski Design and illustrations by Maren Kranking

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I

ndustrial agriculture has overrun the world.

Every year, millions of acres of natural land are demolished to make room for the massproduction of crops and livestock. In the United States, 99 percent of farm animals spend their lives confined in factory farms. Yearly, these systems subject 10 billion animals to torturous conditions, decrease the quality of the produce and meat we consume and threaten the health of our planet. Left unchecked by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), factory farming continues to grow.

A few trailblazers are dissatisfied with these grave statistics. They hope to change the course of modern agriculture through sustainable, diversified and organic farming systems.

One such pioneer, Harry Carr, left the manufacturing sector to establish a pasture farm, Mint Creek Farm, in Ford County, Illinois.

“Seeing the way agriculture happened in large industrial farms in the Midwest was kind of depressing.

I kept getting sprayed with chemicals as I would go past on my bike,” Carr said.

Determined to try another way of raising animals and crops, Carr left his job to build what he described as “a model farm.” He aimed to prove the benefits and

Starter

feasibility of an ethical and sustainable farm system.

Organic pasture-based farms like Mint Creek operate on a rotational basis, allowing animals to graze on perennial plants throughout the farm. As opposed to feedlots and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) used by factory farms, the pasture system promotes biodiversity and land fertility through a symbiotic relationship between plants and animals. Livestock graze on a variety of perennials in rotational pastures, and in return, fertilize the plants with their waste.

“The plants grow better than if they weren’t grazed at all,” Carr said.

The environmental costs of factory farms are only increasing. The burning of fossil fuels globally to cultivate animal feed crops is estimated to release 41 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Almost half of the world’s topsoil is gone, with the rest projected to be depleted in the next 60 years. It takes 1,000 years to generate 3 inches of topsoil. Time is running out.

The costs of factory farming extend beyond the immense environmental toll. As a result of a cheap grain diet, animals at factory farms have improper nutrition.

Their meat is filled with omega-6 fatty acids that deplete our metabolism of omega-3s, which are responsible for lowering the risk of human cardiovascular diseases.

“The idea that eating meat contributes to the high incidents of heart problems in this country is quite

“At what point do we make a turn in terms of our systems thinking and realize that what we’re doing doesn’t work and we needn’t keep doing it?”

real because something along 95 percent of the beef and lamb that we eat has been finished in a CAFO,” Carr said.

As resources are depleted and the environmental toll of factory farming becomes more apparent, we must adapt our methods of farming. By developing sustainable systems of diversified plants and animal grazing, we can help our world thrive. Carr thinks changing systems thinking — a type of problem solving that considers all the parts that make up a system like farming — will help us move in the right direction.

Carr looks forward to the day when regenerative agriculture becomes widespread and factory farms are no longer tolerated by the USDA. “At what point do we make a turn in terms of our systems thinking and realize that what we’re doing doesn’t work and we needn’t keep doing it?” Carr said.

By feeding livestock naturally growing grass, pasture farmers prevent the destruction of topsoil and the release of carbon that occurs through the mass-production of grain used to feed animals in factory farms.

“The animals are healthier, the environment is healthier, the air quality is healthier, and we don’t have all that soil erosion of raising the animals in confinement,” Carr said.

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5 Starter

things chefs consider when crafting a farm-to-table menu What it takes to keep things fresh in the kitchen.

By Tessa Kauppila Designed by Gretchen Raedle

There’s a lot that goes into curating a restaurant’s menu.

But when working with seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients, there are a few more considerations restaurateurs keep in mind.

Let the ingredients inform the menu

1

Seasonality is nonnegotiable

Most restaurants that boast a farm-to-table menu operate strictly within seasons, with few exceptions.

Menus have to be updated frequently based on the local produce that’s available at a given time, which chefs are informed of on a weekly basis. At The Spoke & Bird in Pilsen and the South Loop, some items even change every few days, like their seasonal tartine made with smaller quantities of special local produce.

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For Ethan Pikas, co-owner and executive chef of Cellar Door Provisions in Logan Square, it’s important to find a presentation technique that best suits the produce for each dish on his rotating weekly menu.

“I might already have a traditional dish in mind that I want to do a spin on, but I always let the ingredients inform what we serve rather than impose a structure on those ingredients,” Pikas said.

At Wood in Boystown, there is a focus on peak season, local produce and house-butchered meats from responsible Illinois suppliers. Executive Chef Devin Kreller is moved by farmers’ bounties.

This is evident in his thoughts on ramps, a wild onion native to the Chicagoland area.

“I see the menu and the plating of the food as a piece of art,” Kreller said. “The plate and your mind is a blank canvas and the inspiration should be this farmer’s beautiful foraged ramps that are only available for a couple of weeks. How many ways can I feature them in different dishes to get people excited about them?”

Flight

4 3 Keep the community in mind

Sourcing from local farmers is one way to support communities and build relationships between small restaurants and small farms.

“One of the main reasons we started The Spoke & Bird was to work with and support local food systems,” Alicia Bird, co-owner, said.

Bird primarily works with farms in the Midwest, specifically Chicago urban farms, and feels a responsibility to the farmers to showcase their harvests in the best possible light on her menu.

“These local farms are small families of multiple generations, so supporting that community is super important,” Kreller said. “It’s low margins for them so they have to be pretty passionate about what they do, much like ourselves, to provide us with all the beautiful produce and meats we get from them.”

Minimize waste, maximize taste

When working with produce-forward menus, the window for maximum quality and peak freshness is brief. To combat waste and implement eco-conscious practices, Pikas turns what might be tossed into elements that ground dishes, like misos, vinegars and lacto-fermented foods. Other chefs, like Debbie Gold of Evanston’s Found Kitchen, opt for canning and pickling, allowing produce to transcend seasons.

At Farmhouse Evanston, a craft tavern that serves Midwest comfort food, Executive Chef Garrett VanBergen acknowledges that produce is often imperfect, and sometimes, even downright ugly.

“You expect to have uglier produce because it’s not genetically modified, but it’s all very edible and very flavorful,” VanBergen said. “You may just have to peel the parsnips more, or scrub them down and spend a little more preparation on cutting.”

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Be flexible

It’s important to create a dish with loose expectations, and to be open to modifications or a total rewrite.

Chef Gold expressed the process as a balancing act.

“It’s important not to work too much with the food that you lose the essential flavor of it,” Gold said.

2021 PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SPOKE & BIRD, WOOD AND FARMHOUSE EVANSTON

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Appetizer

Campfire Cooking

Nothing beats gathering around a campfire in the summer as the warm weather extends into the night. Whether you’re glamping, getting rugged or just enjoying some fresh air, your meals don’t have to be limited to roasting hot dogs and s’mores. If you’re looking for adventure beyond the outdoors, here are two recipes that will turn your idea of traditional campfire cuisine upside down.

Written and designed by Isabel Gitten

campfire cones nacho bake Ingredients: 1 8-oz. bag of tortilla chips 2 cups shredded taco cheese 1/2 cup sliced black olives 1/4 cup sliced green onions 1 sliced jalapeño 1 chopped avocado 1 chopped tomato 1 tbsp. oil 1 lime, sliced in two Cilantro, for garnish Directions: 1. Coat the bottom of a pie tin or skillet with oil.

2. Layer half the chips on the bottom of the dish.

3. Layer half of the cheese, olives, green onions and tomato on top of the chips.

4. Layer the rest of the chips on top, followed by the cheese, olives, green onions and tomato.

5. Top the dish with jalapeño, avocado and cilantro.

Cover it with tin foil and cook on top of the campfire for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

6. Once the nachos are done cooking, remove them from the fire and serve with lime wedges

p: Spoon ti te vori fa r u o y Add uces dipping sa sour d n a a ls like sa cream to ent the complem h dis .

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Ingredients: Ice cream cones Mini marshmallows Semi-sweet chocolate chips Reese’s peanut butter cups (optional) Caramel sauce (optional) Chopped bananas and strawberries (optional) Directions: 1. Stuff your cone with all of the ingredients and then fully cover your cone with tinfoil.

2. Place the wrapped cone over the campfire for 3 to 5 minutes.

3. After you remove the cone from the campfire, allow it to cool. Then, unwrap the cone and enjoy.

Spo Poke t on tip: he cone w top of the it to allo h a skewer w evenly it to roast on all sides.

Using keeps the skewer you aw the fla ay from me.

PHOTOS BY ISABEL GITTEN

Appetizer

Crispy Garlicky Pan-Fried Brussels Sprouts

By Lucy Jung Designed by Gretchen Raedle

INGREDIENTS 15 to 20 Brussels sprouts 2 cloves of garlic Half a lemon (1.5 tbsp of juice) Salt, pepper and red chili flakes to taste 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Parmesan cheese

1. Thoroughly wash the Brussels sprouts and slice them into halves or quarters. If they’re cut too big, they won’t cook properly. If they’re cut too small, they might begin to disintegrate during the cooking process. Find a happy medium depending on the original size of your Brussels sprouts. After you cut them, set them aside.

2. Wash the garlic cloves and finely dice them. You can also thinly slice the garlic, if you prefer.

Additionally, cut the lemon in half.

3. Heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. After about a minute or so, throw in the garlic and stir.

4. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the Brussels sprouts. Stir and coat them with the olive oil. Continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

Did you hate Brussels sprouts as a kid? Were you the person who tossed them aside during dinner only to be chastised by your mom about your picky eating? Clearly your 8-year-old self hasn’t tried these crispy garlicky pan-fried Brussels sprouts. They go with practically any dinner dish (or lunch, or even breakfast to be honest).

After a few bites of this side, you won’t remember that you once despised Brussels sprouts.

5. Next, season the sprouts with salt, pepper and red chili flakes. Generously squeeze the juice from half a lemon on to the Brussels sprouts.

6. Continue cooking the sprouts over medium heat. If you prefer a softer Brussels sprout, place a lid on top of the pan for a minute to accelerate the cooking process.

Cook until you can easily put a fork through them. If you prefer crunchy Brussels sprouts, do not cover them. Contiue cooking until they turn golden-brown.

7. When they’re done cooking, serve the Brussels sprouts with your choice of protein. If you’d like, grate parmesan cheese on top.

Spoon tip: You will be able to tell the difference between a raw Brussels sprout and the final product just by taking a quick glance at it.

An uncooked sprout is a lighter green color, while a cooked sprout is glossy and darker in color.

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Appetizer

Asparagus, Parmesan and Tomatoes,

!

Y M OH

Three recipes centered around three in-season ingredients during the warmest months of the year.

By Zoe Dockser Designed by Maren Kranking

O

n a sunny spring or summer day, I find myself yearning for asparagus, parmesan cheese and tomatoes. I think about trips to the farmers' market and my father’s garden, as well as my family’s love for food and cooking. This season, grab a few fresh ingredients and people you want to share a homemade meal with before making these recipes.

Pappardelle with Fresh Asparagus And Cherry Tomato Sauce 1 8-oz. box of rigatoni pasta 3 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil 1 pint of cherry tomatoes 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 cup of frozen or cooked peas 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 2 tbsp. of fresh chopped basil Salt and pepper to taste 1. Boil a large pot of salted water over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta, but be sure to save a small cup of pasta water. Set the pasta aside.

2. Next, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic clove and the cherry tomatoes. Cover the pan and cook the ingredients over low heat until the tomatoes burst.

3. In a separate pan, sauté the cut asparagus and add the peas.

4. Once the cherry tomatoes burst, add the pasta into the saucepan and stir. Add the sautéed vegetables and two pads of butter. Use the pasta water to thin everything out if needed.

5. Add grated parmesan cheese and basil, as well as salt and pepper, to taste.

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PHOTOS BY ZOE DOCKSER

Spring Bruschetta Duo CLASSIC BRUSCHETTA

Garlic 1 slice of bread A handful of cherry tomatoes 2 garlic cloves Basil Salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste Balsamic vinegar 1. Toast the bread and then rub with garlic.

2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or fourths (depending on their size). Place them in a bowl with roughly chopped basil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to taste.

3. Roughly dice the garlic cloves. Heat the olive oil over a medium flame and add the garlic. Cook until it’s fragrant and starts to brown.

4. Pour the hot oil over the tomato mixture and it let sit for a minute. Spoon the mixture on to the toast. Garnish with parmesan cheese before serving.

Appetizer

ASPARAGUS BRUSCHETTA

Garlic 1 slice of bread 1 egg 5 to 6 stalks of asparagus 1. Sauté, grill, steam or boil the asparagus until it’s tender.

2. Toast the bread and then rub with garlic.

3. Fry the egg with salt and pepper until the white is firm and the yolk is runny.

4. Top the toast with the asparagus, fried egg and parmesan cheese.

Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi 1 trimmed zucchini 1/2 bunch of trimmed asparagus 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp. lemon juice Shaved parmesan cheese to garnish A small handful of fresh mint and basil Salt and pepper to taste 1. Shave the asparagus very thinly on the diagonal and shave the zucchini in long thin strips. Toss the two veggies together and place on a serving plate.

2. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisk together and drizzle over the asparagus and zucchini. Toss the ingredients together.

3. Garnish with sliced cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan, mint and basil.

PHOTOS BY ZOE DOCKSTER

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Appetizer

Charcuterie Board 101

Everything you should know before crafting an immaculate charcuterie board.

By Naomi Aisen Designed by Meghna Jain

Spoon tip: Charcuterie boards are my favorite crowd-pleasing appetizer. You can scour your pantry for individual snacks and combine them into a beautifully crafted platter. In the world of charcuterie boards, the possibilities are endless. There are no wrong ingredients and charcuterie boards can be made with a sweet or savory theme.

While there are beautiful wood and marble charcuterie boards out there, searching for one isn’t worth the stress. Use what you have! Ultimately, it’s about the ingredients on the board that make their way into your stomach. Here’s how to craft the best charcuterie board at home.

For any food group on your board, include a variety. For example, choose different types of crackers with various seasonings.

1 Step one: Think bowls Think of bowls as stylistic landmarks on your charcuterie board. They provide a good “roadmap” for how you will layout all the ingredients. Bowls are sturdy and you can lean chips or veggies against them. Fill small bowls with spreads, dips or nuts. Some of my favorite dips for a veggie charcuterie board include hummus (bonus if you make your own), pesto or artichoke dip. For sweet charcuterie boards, you can add jam, peanut butter, chocolate spread or cookie butter to pair with fruit or cookies.

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Spoon tip: Place toothpicks in a little jar to make it easy for your guests to grab their snacks.

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AISE

1

Spoon tip: When plating crackers, cheese or meats, try to lay each slice in the same direction and on top of the previous one. Show off your plating skills and give yourself time to craft a work of art.

And, always include cheese knives in cheese wedges for easy slicing.

Appetizer

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Spoon tip: Carefully cut fruits like apples or bananas into even slices and pre-cut the stems off your strawberries.

A large vine of grapes or a bundle of strawberries can help you lay out trickier ingredients like crackers.

Step three: Don’t overlook final touches The distinction between great and amazing charcuterie boards are the final touches. These are smaller ingredients that can be sprinkled into the crevices or on top of the main ingredients. For cheese and meat boards, place some marcona almonds, pistachios, dried fruit or wasabi peas on top. For dessert boards, chocolate chips, chocolate covered almonds or smaller fruit like golden berries and blueberries do the trick.

Overall, what makes your charcuterie board stand out is adding your favorite unique snacks. Don’t stress about the details. After all, charcuterie boards are sure to be delicious and meant to be devoured.

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Spoon tip: Include brightly colored ingredients!

For example, grapes always pop.

2

2 Step two: Substance AND style The substance of your board will depend on the charcuterie vibe you’re going for. If your charcuterie board is an appetizer, meat, cheese and hearty veggies should fill the majority of the board. For an after-dinner charcuterie board, think about fruit, cookies and chocolate desserts.

As you decide on your favorite cold-cuts and cheese, make sure you include a variety.

Moreover, think about placing ingredients in a way that’s convenient for guests to grab.

Drape cold cuts in an accessible fashion, too.

Some ideas for sweet charcuterie boards include strawberries, bananas and other berries (they’re great for dipping into spreads). As far as sweets, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels and wafers are easy to grab and munch on.

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Entree

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PHOTO BY ANDREW BURTON

Entree

A cco rd i n g t o M a x L a M a n n a ,

‘Food is a gift” A pizza boy turned vegan chef teaches people across the world about plant-based eating.

By Nixie Strazza Designed by Talia Schulhof

B

roccoli stem pesto launched Max La Manna into internet stardom.

A former pizza boy turned zerowaste, vegan cookbook author and chef, La Manna shares innovative recipes with his followers to help them add more plants to their plates. He also teaches them about the environmental benefits of a vegan diet.

La Manna uses Instagram and TikTok to connect with followers. And a BBC special and live Q&A with Miley Cyrus have only added to his success.

La Manna’s philosophy is simple: Food is a gift. Food is not only necessary for survival.

It’s also a form of self-expression.

La Manna’s father is a chef, and he grew up tending to a backyard vegetable garden.

Both cultivated his early adoration for cooking. Planting, harvesting and learning to make sauce from fresh tomatoes made mealtime the focal point of La Manna’s French-Italian household.

In his early twenties, international travel introduced La Manna to the world of veganism, and sparked his exploration of a healthy diet. To La Manna, being vegan just made sense. Each meal became an opportunity to challenge his creativity and nourish his mind, body and soul.

Across the world, veganism is gaining popularity. La Manna said “more people are welcoming the idea of eating more plants,” even in the United States, which is home to hamburgers, casseroles and fried chicken.

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Entree

The three main pillars of veganism are health, animal rights and environmental sustainability. La Manna said becoming knowledgeable about each has influenced many Americans to cut meat out of their diets entirely. Widespread climate change discussions have also prompted greater awareness of zero-waste living and people’s individual impact on the planet. Of course, the adoption of and increased familiarity with these ideas have been aided by social media influencers and campaigns, too.

La Manna said wasted food isn’t just money down the drain. It’s also wasted water, resources, energy, packaging, labor and production. His mission centers around smashing stereotypes about a low-waste, vegan diet being difficult, and he wants to teach people how to cut down their carbon footprint.

La Manna’s colorful Instagram page features everything from pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to banana peel pulled pork, along with tips on how to regrow veggies from food scraps. His kitchen serves as a blank canvas for culinary curiosity and delicious inspiration. His emphasis on food as a gift shines through in every video or photo he posts as well.

La Manna said it only takes one ingredient to make a change. Choose one food and do everything you can to use it in its entirety before it goes bad.

This is the first step to more conscious eating and cooking. According to La Manna, food is an opportunity to express your love: Why waste any of it?

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PHOTO BY BEN CROCKER

Entree

Earth-friendly practices you can adopt in the kitchen, according to La Manna

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

La Manna said the freezer is your best friend. Take leafy greens out of their packaging and put a portion in the freezer to give them a longer shelf life.

Pour milk into ice cube trays for easy smoothie making before it spoils.

Cut a loaf of bread in half and freeze some to eat at a later date. If you forget to freeze the bread, stale pieces can serve as a tasty topping for mac and cheese or a base for french toast.

Potatoes, which should be kept in a cool, dark place, have endless potential in soups, sides and shepherd’s pie.

Donating,

pickling

and

preserving

items in your kitchen are additional sustainable habits you can add to your everyday life.

For those leaning toward a plantbased and low waste diet, La Manna recommended keeping lemons, peanut butter, high-quality olive oil, fresh herbs and your favorite salt on hand. These versatile ingredients have the power to

7.

elevate any dish.

Vegan pantry staples include legumes, beans, grains and pasta, all of which La Manna described as a base for a nourishing meal.

PHOTO BY MAX LA MANNA

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Urban farms are on the rise in Chicago and around the world, providing fresh produce and growing resilience in underserved communities.

By Cammi Tirico Designed by Alisa Gao 2021

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mong Chicago’s skyscrapers, tomatoes and carrots are sprouting from rooftops. The practice of growing fresh produce in the city has taken root, and urban farms are on the rise.

In cities across the country, communities have come together to grow crops on vacant lots and rooftops. The practice of urban farming brings fresh fruit and vegetables to areas that typically lack access to these items. But, produce is far from the only thing grown. Urban farming may also serve as a beacon of hope, a second chance, a lush spot of green amidst the city’s hard, grey cityscape.

Growing Home, a Chicago-based nonprofit urban farm and social enterprise group, has done exactly that. What started as a nonprofit in the late 1990s has developed into a fully functioning urban farm with four acres of land and a job training program. Since expanding in 2002, Growing Home has distributed over half a million pounds of fresh produce to people in need. More than 500 people have also graduated and found full-time employment after completing its program.

“It’s not just about learning to write a resume and it’s not just learning about the farm. It’s about the personal changes that we make and how we turn those into motivation,” Megan Morrison, marketing communications coordinator at Growing Home, said.

Growing Home’s community training program highlights both of the nonprofit’s goals: farms and futures. Those enrolled in the program spend half their time working at urban farms and the other half learning about everything from emotional intelligence to environmental impact. The participants — which Growing Home calls production assistants — use the program as a turning point in their lives.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GROWING HOME

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“People are taking it upon themselves to grow and to take that next step in their professional and personal journey,” Morrison said. “Some people are interested in farming, and some people aren’t. Regardless, they are taking that next step for themselves and for their family. [They are] working through those different barriers and turning them into hope.”

Based out of Englewood, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, the population Growing Home serves directly reflects the community: predominantly people of color and people living under the poverty line. Food insecurity in communities like these is extremely high.

This trend, however, is not uncommon. Many urban areas fall victim to a lack of access to food, especially a lack of fresh food. Low income zip codes and predominantly Black zip codes have 25 percent and 50 percent fewer supermarkets, respectively, compared to the national average, according to The Grocery Gap. These are the exact issues urban farms are working to address.

“Our goal since day one has been to bring fresh, healthy and affordable food into the communities we serve,” Morrison said. “Everything we do is about serving the community, working with the community

and working with our residents and neighbors. This past year really showed that.”

Like many parts of the food industry, urban farms’ standard practices were disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic.

With the inability to continue in-person work and the closure of farmers' markets, Growing Home knew fresh food was increasingly inaccessible for many community members. To rectify this, it donated its first three harvests of the year, bringing food door-to-door to residents free of charge. Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has donated over 36,000 pounds of produce.

“We are here to serve the community in the best way we can. We’re here to give back,” Morrison said. “We’re excited and proud to be here with our neighbors who come to our farmstand, who are excited about our produce, who come through our employment training program and who inspire us.”

Urban farms are an integral part of communities, and Growing Home is no exception. The organization prioritizes meeting residents where they are. For example, the farmstand in Englewood is in part funded by its Green City Market, and it charges Englewood residents half price.

Ensuring people have access to food has remained a priority throughout the pandemic. Growing Home’s hard work doesn’t go unnoticed by residents. “[Growing home] is not just a farm,” Debra Thompson, a Growing Home community partner, said. “It’s a community. It’s a neighbor.”

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Entrees

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Entrees

The Future of Sampling The days of nibbling on free bites of food might be way beyond us.

By Princie Kim Designed by S. Kelsie Yu

O

ver a year ago, baskets of berries and containers filled with chunks of apples on toothpicks decorated the grounds of farmers' markets for shoppers to take. But since the coronavirus pandemic, sampling has transformed from a norm to a rarity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of getting Covid-19 from handling and consuming food from a third party is very low. However, for operational safety, CDC guidelines recommend suspending food sampling, and most foodrelated businesses have followed suit.

For its 2020 season, the Evanston Farmers' Market did not allow any consumption of food on site. Myra Gorman, manager of the market, said, “One of the reasons why we stopped sampling wasn’t because of sanitation, because all of my vendors

have to have a hand washing station in their tent now. It was more about congregating.”

Before the pandemic, vendors were fond of the congregation that sampling encouraged. It was a useful marketing tool to draw more shoppers to their tents. Diane Joseph, owner of Sheekar Delights, an artisanal baklava stand at the Evanston Farmers' Market, relied on sampling as a way to introduce people to her desserts.

“Sampling was actually very, very big for me because baklava is a dessert that not everybody is familiar with,” Joseph said. “It was very important to me to make sure that people are tasting the different flavors and get to familiarize themselves with it.”

So when sampling was banned, Joseph thought the change might negatively affect her business.

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Entrees

“I think as people, we’ve started realizing that this is not going to come back.

They’re just not expecting it anymore.”

- Myra Gorman

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According to Gorman, most vendors were expecting 2020 to be their worst year yet. With so many restrictions and rules to follow, they thought nobody would come out to the market. However, almost every vendor at the Evanston Farmers' Market ended up having its most successful year.

“I had one of my best years at the market without samples,” said Joseph. “Actually, it ended up being a silent blessing. It definitely weeded out the grazers and just was really bringing in the people who were serious about my products and the quality they have.”

Halfway through the market season last year, Gorman asked all the farmers and vendors if they wanted her to talk to the Evanston Health Department about bringing sampling back. To her surprise, Gorman said, “One hundred percent of them said absolutely not.” Vendors saw that their sales were as good, if not better, without sampling.

“It’s a lot less work for them. The constant cutting and sampling. They just didn’t want it,” Gorman said.

Running her baklava tent by herself, Joseph found that not having to offer samples streamlined sales.

“Pre-pandemic, I was literally handing them out to people, and

that was time consuming,” Joseph said. “I would be constantly making sure I had enough and making sure everything’s clean.”

No sampling also encouraged more camaraderie between farmers and customers. Since shoppers don’t have the ability to touch or taste produce, they take more time to ask questions and learn about fruit and vegetable varieties.

“It actually makes our farmers talk more to the customers. A lot of times, our farmers are pretty quiet.

They’re in the field all day long by themselves, so it really makes them come out of their shell,” Gorman said.

Outside of farmers markets, owners of other food businesses like ice cream shops have also enjoyed no sampling. Before the pandemic, Sebastian Koziura, owner of the Evanston-based Argentianian gelato store Frio Gelato, had to set a limit of three samples per guest because customers would take too long ordering.

“If I’m not busy at all, I’ll let you sample as much as you want, you know, I like showing my products,” Koziura said. “We have a lot of unique flavors, which I understand people trying to sample those, but then the sampling ends up holding

Entrees

up the line. And then the other downside is the amount of spoons that we throw away. It’s kind of ridiculous.”

If he could, Koziura would have no samples at Frio Gelato after the pandemic. But because sampling drives so much traffic to his shop, he feels the need to bring it back.

Though she won’t completely rule it out for the future, for now, Joseph has no plans to bring samples back to her baklava tent. According to Gorman, farmers seem to be on the same page, too.

“As a community, I think we’ve all come to see sampling eliminated everywhere,” Gorman said. “You don’t see sampling at the grocery stores. You don’t see sampling at Costco. I think as people, we’ve started realizing that this is not going to come back. They’re just not expecting it anymore.”

PHOTOS BY ALISA GAO AND TALIA SCHULHOF

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HISTORIC

ROOTS BEGINNINGS

The story behind the Evanston Farmers’ Market and how the event continues to honor its founder’s legacy.

Written and designed by Hannah Hall

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In 1975,

Evanston resident Harriet Friedlander longed for a genuine food community. She was tired of unhealthy options and misleading marketing in grocery stores. Wanting to meet a group of people who felt the same, she decided to create her own.

Friedlander rolled up her sleeves, led with ambition and gathered her four closest friends. She founded the Evanston Farmers’ Market, which is celebrating its 46th season this year.

From the summer of 1975 to 2016, Friedlander never missed a Saturday morning at the market. Until 2016, Friedlander rode her bike with her husband to the market and took over an hour to chat with vendors. In November 2020, Friedlander, 89, passed away. But her work continues to inspire customers and vendors alike, and will always be recognized as a gift to the Evanston community.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Friedlander moved to San Francisco in 1956. There, she experienced the innovative world of food markets and access to real, healthy ingredients. She moved to Evanston with her husband in 1965 where they raised their two sons, Gus and Charlie Friedlander. Set in the backdrop of the 1970s Women’s Movement, the end of the Vietnam War and the first Earth Day in 1970, her desire for fresh produce only grew in response.

“The times were right for the market,” Gus Friedlander, Friedlander’s oldest son, said.

Friedlander rooted her farmers’ market venture in research. She visited markets in Michigan and Wisconsin to collect data about the characteristics that contributed to their success. When she gathered enough information, Friedlander pitched her proposal to the Evanston City Council, where it passed.

The market was originally located in the area between Benson Avenue, Clark Street and Elgin Road, and it operated from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every Saturday from July to November. Farmers could purchase a $17 permit and sell for the entire 17-week season. They were restricted to selling fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, berries, bee products, sugar, syrup, eggs, trees, shrubs and cut flowers.

Fresh sunflowers and cacti for sale during the 2020 and 2021 Evanston Farmers’ Market seasons.

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archives from the

FIRST MARKET Archives courtesy of the Friedlander family. The poster is from the summer of 1975 and features the original location of the market. Below the poster is a photo of Friedlander’s article published in Organic Gardening and Farming.

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the founder

HARRIET FRIEDLANDER On July 12, 1975, the first Evanston Farmers’ Market commenced in the rain. The seven attending farmers still showed up, ready and eager to sell. “Then an amazing thing happened. People started coming from everywhere,” remarked Friedlander in a 1976 article she wrote for Organic Gardening and Farming magazine.

Umbrellas bobbed above the crowd of customers from Chicago and Evanston, and most farmers sold out of their products by 10:00 a.m.

In the following weeks, farmers from Illinois, Michigan and Indiana traveled to the Evanston Farmers’ Market. Even with the expansion, Harriet’s main priority remained the farmers and their produce.

“The spirit of the market is great because it’s nothing more than what it is,” Charlie Friedlander, Friedlander’s youngest son, said.

The market relied on pure transparency, just how his mom imagined it.

Myra Gorman, market manager since 2012, has preserved Friedlander’s legacy. Since starting her leadership role, Gorman has aimed to position the market as a Saturday morning destination.

Her addition of interactive education programs — including the children’s Spud Club and live chef demonstrations — call on customers to appreciate their regional food chain and what each farmer brings to the table. From the seeds to the hands that pick the ripe produce, each product tells a story.

Community has always been at the heart of the Evanston Farmers’ Market, which is now located at University Avenue and Oak Street behind the Hilton Garden Inn.

Newcomers Jon and Mary Beth Mulholland, who own the flavored pasta company Pasta Pappone, participated in their first market season in 2020.

Mary Beth Mulholland said the Evanston Farmers’ Market has always had a reputation for being a strong community.

“In the Evanston atmosphere, you get a direct relationship with the customer,” Mulholland said. “We love being part of people’s tables and kitchens.”

Smits Farms, which began selling at the market in 2011, treasures customers’ loyalty. Their focus on herbs, plants and vegetables encourages customers to start their own gardens, just like Friedlander did.

“There could be a tornado and they’re still going to support your family farm,” Kayla Biegel, manager at Smits Farm, said.

For example, one customer, known as “the chive guy” by Smits's staff, purchases freshly cut chives every week.

While the Evanston Farmers’ Market has found a way to thrive during the coronavirus pandemic, Gorman looks forward to the day when it can enjoy post-Covid freedoms. She would love to throw a party at the market to celebrate the grace, safety and perseverance farmers and customers have shown throughout the past year. But in the meantime, it’s certain that every Saturday, Friedlander’s legacy is bundled into each ripe tomato and stalk of asparagus sold.

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EATING EASY:

Starter

HOW TALIA KOREN FOUNDED WORKWEEK LUNCH Talia Koren grew a fledgling online business and made it a staple in the intuitive eating community.

By Olivia Demetriades Designed by Isabelle Hauf In 2016, Talia Koren founded Workweek Lunch as a side hustle when her coworkers started commenting on her meal-prepped lunches. She has since turned it into a weekly meal plan subscription with thousands of monthly subscribers, almost 500,000 Instagram followers and a cookbook in the works. I sat down virtually to talk with Koren, who told me about her journey into meal prep, intuitive eating and creating her business.

Q: While so many meal plan services focus on calorie counting and specific diets, yours isn’t geared toward dieting. How do you differentiate your subscription program from others?

A: In the beginning, I thought weight loss was a positive side effect of meal prep. Eventually I realized that focusing on weight loss overcomplicates health.

If you just focus on variety, we get plenty of health benefits without cutting calories or judging the success of healthy eating on weight loss. Even though I probably could make more money if I catered to the weight loss crowd, it doesn’t matter.

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Desserts

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your upcoming cookbook?

A: The cookbook is 60 recipes that are just lunches. It’s focused on meals that you can pack for work or eat at home. They’re a little bit more difficult than what’s in the program, a little bit elevated. I believe it’s more fun when you have a cookbook if the recipes are more challenging.

Q: How do you constantly find inspiration for new recipes?

A: My team has so many lists of ideas, and most of them come from our amazing members. Our goal is to take any recipe and put the meal prep spin on it.

We focus on taking family favorites and making them meal prep-friendly or leftover-friendly so you can make them for the whole week. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of ideas.

Q: What are some of the advantages of meal prepping for college students?

A: In college, the biggest thing is time. Making nourishing foods accessible is so important, because when you’re studying and working a job and going to classes, a bag of chips or pretzels is not going to cut it. Meal prep makes those meals easy and fast.

You open your fridge and there’s your home-cooked meal. Dining hall plans can also be really expensive.

If you have access to a kitchen, you can keep it simple.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I was all about making cupcakes in college in the dorm kitchen. If I could do that, I could have made meals, too.

“

We focus on taking family favorites and making them meal prep-friendly or leftoverfriendly so you can make them for the whole week.

”

Q: What are some of your funniest cooking fails?

A: I am not a natural cook. I don’t think anyone is born knowing how to cook. When I was a senior in college, my best friend had to supervise me while making pasta. For one of the first meals I prepped, I made shrimp and I didn’t even take the shells off the shrimp. There’s plenty of mistakes along the way.

Q: Do you have any tips for college students who want to learn how to cook?

A: My biggest tip would be to use really simple recipes. Don’t go crazy with spices; you can get really far with salt and pepper. As you get more comfortable with pans and cooking in the oven, then you can play with some flavors and use more spices, and be more creative.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TALIA KOREN

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Desserts

e P r e o A p l y e h E a ting W

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PHOTO BY KATY KIM

Desserts

It’s more common than you think.

By Eden Hirschfield Designed by Quynh-Nhi Tran

E

very year since 2011, Justin Fornal has invited a few hundred guests to dinner. On several occasions, he has served them ice cream and pie filled with milk, sugar and dirt.

Yes, you read that correctly. No, this isn’t like that scene from The Help. Unlike Octavia Spencer’s boss, guests at Fornal’s dinner knew exactly what type of pie they were eating.

Geophagia is the intentional practice of eating earth or soil-like substances such as clay. It’s characterized as both a cultural behavior and a form of pica, which is a psychological disorder that involves compulsively eating non-food items. For Fornal, who is an author, athlete, “cultural detective” and host of the TV series “Unexplained and Unexplored,” sampling clay and dirt is a part of researching traditional food sources on his adventures. His annual Bronx Pipe Smoking Society Dinner Party draws hundreds who desire new culinary experiences.

“All the dirt tastes different: chalky, salty, minerally, rusty,” he said. “The clays can be flat and mouth drying, but creamy.”

Fornal has collected edible dirt and clay from Haiti, Tanzania, Mexico and several other locations across the globe. He has never gotten sick from eating dirt, and isn’t concerned about that possibility.

As far as benefits go, one Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on the phenomenon

of pregnant women craving dirt suggests that soil is full of minerals that could boost a mother’s immune system and support fetal development. But, this study also states that “no clear evidence supports a biologic benefit to geophagy.”

While Fornal seems confident in his dirt-eating habits, Elizabeth Limberakis, a pediatric nurse practitioner in Vernon Hills, Illinois, said she would not encourage anyone to eat dirt, as doing so could cause a spike in levels of lead or other toxins in the body.

“It’s pretty common for us to see kids in office who have eaten dirt,” she said. “They’re usually fine, but we still run tests to make sure they’re okay.”

As someone who definitely needed a few of those tests as a child, I won’t act like I’m above eating dirt.

Even now. Clearly, it’s a part of our society, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if one day, eating dirt is trendy. Ten years ago, I would’ve laughed at you for suggesting that we would drink liquidated tree seeds, yet here I am ordering almond milk at Starbucks every day. Besides, if you think toxins and health risks are the issue, have you read the ingredients on a Twinkie?

Smoked a cigarette? Layed on the beach without sunscreen?

Welcome to America. People are eating dirt. Why? Because they want to. You do you, sister.

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Desserts

To All The Food We’ve Spoon seniors share their favorite Evanston eats and memories from their time at Northwestern.

Grace Tessa Jaeger

Kauppila

Favorite Evanston eatery: Cross-Rhodes Favorite food memory: Late night walks to Andy’s before it closed... and endless cups of cereal at Sargent Dining Hall.

Don’t graduate without trying: Sargent Dining Hall’s hot cookie bar

Favorite Evanston eatery: Hewn Favorite food memory: Making a point to go to the Downtown Evanston Farmers’ Market every Saturday with friends.

Don’t graduate without trying: Backlot’s Oatmeal Cookie Latte and Hewn’s Almond Croissant

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L

Loved

Desserts

Before...

Courtney Ella DeBode Favorite Evanston eatery: Soulwich Favorite food memory: My first date with my boyfriend freshman year at Soulwich.

Don’t graduate without trying: Soulwich’s Indonesian Ginger BBQ Seitan Sandwich

McClelland

Chloe

Krugel Favorite Evanston eatery: Cupitol, Pono Ono and Kansaku

Favorite Evanston eatery: Bat 17 Favorite food memory: Chili’s Happy Hour has been a transformative part of my Northwestern experience. I’ve gone with so many different friends and I always have the best time.

Favorite food memory: Weekend brunch at Cupitol and MidKitchen.

Don’t graduate without trying: Newport Coffee House’s Chai Latte

Don’t graduate without trying: Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza

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