What's Ahead This Week

Saturday was a perfect market day, sunny and a little breezy to keep the heat at bay. With the music of violinist Robert Sanders playing, shoppers strolled through the aisles looking for their favorites and some new items to try as well.

What's in at the market this week?

That's a question we hear a lot at the Welcome Booth.  

In a few weeks we will start to see the temperatures rise and more produce at the market now that the fields are growing in our area.

The Morton Grove Farmers' Market is a local market, so the growing season is from April through October. Many shoppers are used to walking into a store and getting almost any kind of vegetable or fruit you can think of, but here at our local market we get back to the natural rhythms of the season and start with greens, asparagus, rhubarb, onions and other green vegetables that thrive in the cooler spring months.

The market favorites were strawberries, asparagus,  meats for the grill, and plants for the garden. The market vendor of the week, Dipped, sold out of their chocolate covered cookies and pretzels! They will not be there this coming week, so we are thinking people were stocking up on their chocolate fix.

We talked with the vendors and asked what they would have next week, here is a sneak peek at just some of what our shoppers can put on their grocery list:

• Strawberries, cherries, rhubarb
• Tomatoes (beefsteak, roma, cherry)
• Asparagus, green onions, beets
• Green and red lettuce, Romaine lettuce
• Pea pods, sugar snap peas
• Basil, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, parsley, sage, lavendar, mint
• Red velvet doughnuts, apple pie slices, croissants, macaroons, chocolate chip cookies, plus blueberry, carrot and banana muffins
• Rasberry Bellavitano (parmesan cheese soaked in rasberry ale), cheese curds
• Bacon cheddar burgers, brats, free range eggs

This coming Saturday, June 25 will be Morton Grove Day at the market.

There will be a wide range of community groups participating with information and activities for market visitors ages one to 101. The Community Relations Commission will be sponsoring a bouncy house and a balloon artist. Musician Steve Justman returns again to his roots for this repeat performance to celebrate Morton Grove. The Morton Grove Historical Museum will be on hand with an interactive booth.

Remember to stop by the Market Welcome Booth to enter the weekly drawing for a basket of market goodies. While there, you can pick up the recipe of the week card, and look for the recipe signs at various farmers and sellers to pick up your ingredients. This week's recipe is Steak Salad.

We are also accepting donations for the , so as you shop at the market, pick up a few extra loaves of bread, heads of lettuce or pint of strawberries for those in our community that are having a tough time making ends meet. Drop off your donation at the Welcome Booth and a food pantry volunteer will deliver them the same day.

See you between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 8930 Waukegan Road next to the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.