Food Theme

So far, a few of my posts have revolved around food and since I'm hungry at the moment :), I thought I would add to that theme. I like to both cook food and go out to eat.. the main idea being to eat great food! That doesn't always mean gourmet or expensive and it certainly doesn't always mean healthy! hehe. It does mean anything that is above mediocre, though. And there is a lot of mediocre food out there- don't settle for it! :) I might have to do a series on some of my favorite restaurants in Chicago in the coming weeks...

This time of year (another good thing about summer) is great for getting fresh fruits and vegetables. I had never really realized how much better fruits and vegetables are in season until I was introduced to the concept. I know- it probably makes sense to everyone else in the world :), but having bought everything at the supermarket in a big city my whole life, where everything was generally available all the time, it's not really apparent when certain produce is in season. Even now, I don't really know when certain things are in season, but I'm getting better! :)

I've grown tomatoes the last few years, and it really is unbelievable to me how much better home-grown tomatoes are than those you buy at the supermarket. I'm not so sure how the tomatoes will fare this year since we are trying with plants grown from seedlings. Farmer's Markets are great for fresh produce, too (without the work of gardening!), and did you know they have them all over the place? I used to frequent one in the north suburbs when I lived up there, but I just found this handy farmer's market search website where you can locate one near you. I'm going to make it a priority to get over to the one I found near us in Downers Grove!