Where do I start!  First I love going to any farmers’ market and Evanston’s in North Suburban Chicago is one of the best.  The variety of organic vegetables, herbs, fruit, cheese, fresh eggs, and butter… flowers, plants, breads, and so much more is not typical of the smaller markets around.  It starts earlier than most of the others in our area and runs later.

Kit and I (aka “Market Girls’) usually leave around 7am and start our shopping.  Today, although there were dark clouds and some rain, we ventured out to get our basics.  We are both fans of Chef Cedric White’s homemade cookies.  They come in butter, strawberry butter, chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal.  If you are not there early you’ll probably miss getting them as they fly out of the booth.  I snagged the last strawberry butter cookies today.  The strawberries called Wendy Berries are so sweet and perfect I cannot stop eating them.  They look as if they are overripe but take a bite and you’ll want one bunch to snack on and one to bring home.  Stover’s Farms makes a great snack mix of dried cranberries, walnuts, cherries, and raisins that I buy to have in my car as a “pick me up” when gardening for clients.  I purchased the Blossom honey, a creamed version that is spreadable and not heated to clear.  It can be used the same way as standard honey but the creaminess is wonderful.  As a treat to myself I purchased a gorgeous bouquet of lupines and peonies.  They have a wonderful vendor that makes bouquets for you with a great selection of seasonal flowers to choose from.  I brought home shallots, fresh thyme, radishes, green onions, arugula, and fresh apple cider, along with my cookies, honey, strawberries, dried fruit snacks, and flowers.  The rain let up for our shopping and I’m home now trying to figure out what I will make with my market finds.

Next Saturday make it an early morning and try shopping at the Evanston’s Farmers Market.