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Adam's Heirlooms - A Farmer's Market Education

9/30/2022

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The number of heirloom variety growers at the Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market has grown in the last few years, but one of those I have always kept my eye on is Adam’s Heirlooms, who frequently had vegetable varieties on the table that I never saw before that day. One weekend, I happened to stop by and see two words that excite an avid cook: Berkshire Pork.

Berkshire hogs originally hail from England, and in many cooking circles, they are considered some of the best available to a modern cook. They may not be Iberico pigs, but this variety of hog is talked about nearly as often as their Spanish, acorn eating relatives. I had to stop. I had to buy, and I learned a lot from the folks at the stand.
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One of the Berkshire pork products they offered that day was an Irish Cut Bacon, something I had somehow never heard of before. It skirts the line by including two cuts at once, a little of the belly along the loin to give you the best of both worlds. The Irish bacon has been the foundation of every breakfast I cooked for myself this week, from as simple as a plate of bacon and eggs to a bacon infused frittata.  I also walked away with a package of sausage and a product known as pullet eggs.

Pullet eggs so rarely make it to the market because many farmers prize them for their own. These eggs are the earliest eggs laid by chickens, often within the first four weeks of a hen’s egg laying career. They’re so small that they are more comparable to a quail egg than a chicken egg.

The comparison picture I took from the top down really does not do the size difference much justice. The egg on the bottom right is one of the pullet eggs, much rounder than the top left.


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While most of my energy was focused on the animal husbandry portion of their offerings, the varieties of peppers and other vegetables on the other end of their stand remained peculiar and unusual compared to the other vendors at the market that morning.  I will be back to investigate those further during the final farmer’s market as hot sauce preparations begin several weeks late in the Eating Normal House.

Of note, you can access their website to pre-order what interests you most and pick it up at the Market this weekend. They have home delivery in the Manitowoc area if that is more your speed. I can only wish for a home delivery in Green Bay in the fast approaching off season.
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Revolution Market's Oktoberfest 2021

10/24/2021

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Fall arrived in a rush this past week, and with it came the cool mornings I have been waiting for for weeks now. I woke up on Saturday morning ready to face the day and the inaugural Oktoberfest over at Revolution Market. The staff and vendors at Revolution have been some of my greatest supporters, hitting that like button for me at many opportunities. Who would I be if I didn’t set aside the time to visit an event that showed so much promise and brought together so many great vendors from across our Green Bay Community?

This event also presented itself as an opportunity to fill up my entire fridge with local goods where I have mostly stopped myself at my limit at the morning farmer’s markets for the last few weeks. We love the resident vendors of Revolution Market, and I was very excited to meet some new folks at Oktoberfest.

Some of these vendors we’ll discuss in their own separate articles as we spent a lot of time with them during the event, and their food deserves their own highlights. I had no idea what to expect when I showed up at the lot. The interior of Revolution was too small in my head to fit every single vendor that their facebook marketing promised, so I figured there would be parking lot spill over.

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Brews, Bistros, and Bonfires at the Botanical Gardens 2021

9/22/2021

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One cool September evening, my husband let me know we were lucky enough to get tickets to the sold out event at the botanical gardens here in town. We’ve talked for awhile now about taking a nice saturday afternoon to visit the location for the first time, but this fell into our lap. With some trepidation, I agreed to go. I like being able to plan a little farther ahead than six hours!


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Day One: Eating All Local

4/17/2021

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Morning comes, and the grocery order of the day before is safely stored in my refrigerator. The sheer amount of produce and meat that came from local sources is somewhat hard to believe even after a delicious spring and summer farmer’s market season with other vendors in Green Bay. Produce with Purpose Farm has a strong variety available for the time of year, and access to humanely raised and butchered meats propelled them up the list of my favorite places to shop in the last month. It only made sense that I would eventually set up a farm box pick up, and here we are using it as a challenge opportunity.

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1 Week All Local Cooking Challenge

4/10/2021

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Hi folks, long time no write. It’s been a hell of a few months. My health is still not quite where I want to be, but I’m very excited about a challenge I issued for myself starting Thursday, April 15th with a big farm box from Produce with Purpose over at Revolution Market in Green Bay. I’ve debated for a long time if I should start picking up with them weekly after several pleasant in person visits and their new delivery service through Eat Street, and I woke up on a Sunday morning with a fresh idea: let’s cook and eat local only for one whole week starting with them.

And trust me, I know I’ve been screaming on the rooftops about how much I love this place. It might even be getting annoying. I really believe in what they’re doing over there in trying to make these kinds of goods accessible throughout the year. Home delivery, farm boxes, daily vendor hours. It’s dedication, and I’m dedicated to it. It’s a mission I believe in, and to try to live it a little bit more myself, here’s what I’m doing.

My husband and I try to stick to a $100.00 grocery budget a week, which I will surpass slightly buying local meat for our meals. I’m okay with a little extra money out the door to eat local. We’ve got a few weeks in our area before the farmer’s markets start opening and more and more vendors start selling. If this little challenge works out, we will continue to spend nearly every cent of our grocery budget on our local growers and producers.

Here are my rules:
  • The majority of what we eat each day needs to come from this grocery box
    • Dipping into the pantry to supplement is okay
    • Frozen meats from earlier in the year also okay
  • Leftovers count for a meal the following day
    • Nothing wrong with cooking big
  • I will be baking with the Organic Artisan Blend Bread Flour i bought
    • I recently revived Quaran-Tina, AKA my lockdown sourdough, she needs friends
  • Try new things
    • I’ve never had swiss chard or ramps, time to play!

If this sounds like something you want to try yourself, Produce with Purpose is open for box building until 7 am on Tuesday each week to give them time to gather up what you order. Green Bay and Fox Valley locals have got some time to figure out what they want if you want to do this with me.

Visit their Barn2Door ordering website here if you’re interested.

Below is a list of what I personally ordered for the coming week, and if I come out of a recipe particularly proud, I’ll post it for you to try!

  • Buttercase Cheese
  • Honeycrisp Apples
  • Carrots
  • Crimini Mushrooms
  • Organic Chicken Eggs
  • Baby Swiss Chard
  • Russet Potatoes
  • Fingerling Potatoes
  • 1 Baguette
  • Organic Artisan Blend Bread Flour
  • Dozen Duck Eggs
  • German Butterball Potatoes
  • Flatleaf Parsley
  • Rck’s Foraged Pizza Pizza Kit
  • Scallions
  • 3lb Onion Mix
  • Green Garlic
  • Ramps
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Broccolini
  • King Trumpet Mushrooms
  • Chicken Wings
  • Bacon from Roskums
  • Pork Spare Ribs
  • Beef Knuckle Bones-- For Stock


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Produce With Purpose & Revolution Market

3/14/2021

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Sunday, March 7th, my husband and I went out on a whim to a little building on Holmgren Way that I've watched from a distance for the better part of a year now. Crippled by closures this time last year, Revolution Market got off to a slow start while they prepared to welcome vendors into their space. Those restrictions are gone. Vendors are in their stalls, and Sundays are for Produce with Purpose as one of the only vendors on site during the weekend.

We didn't know what to expect when we arrived. Google Maps told us the whole building was closed, but Facebook told us better. Signs outside let us know that someone was indeed on site and selling. That someone was Rick from Produce with Purpose, holding down the fort at his indoor farmer's market with product availability across the board.

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Green Bay Restaurant News: 12/4/20

12/4/2020

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The Exchange Coffee, Mercantile, and Eatery - Winter Menu

The Exchange started their Winter menu 12/1/20. Those lovely pumpkin flavors have passed into memory, but that doesn’t mean their offerings are any less good. Check out the new menu and order for pickup or delivery!

Luna Cafe and Roastery, Bellevue Location - New Menu 

Luna also started a new menu at the beginning of the month with some tasty looking breakfast favorites.

Copper State Brewing Co - Brew Decks Available

2021 Brew Decks from Venture Wisconsin are now available at Copper State, but many other town breweries will have these available this week as well. Check out your favorites for an interesting 2021 keepsake. We’re picking one up soon too!

Lox, Stock, ‘n Bagel - Weekly Specials

Been a bit since we talked about one of our local breakfast favs, and in the spirits of a bunch of coffee and breakfast favs also on the list this week, we wanted to remind you that Lox, Stock, ‘n Bagel have a different specials menu every week from their bakery that you can check out on their Facebook page. Different Scones and Different Muffins every single day!

Hinterland Brewery - Igloos are Up

Hinterland has set up outdoor seating with those igloo things we’ve all seen on the internet lately. Cozy and warm and socially distant.

Main Street Bourbon Room - Wednesday half off Apps during Happy Hour 4-6 PM

What it says in the header: Half off shared plates during happy hour on Wednesdays with MSBR so long as you dine at the bar. If you’re brave enough to eat inside, it’s a great deal!

Mr. Brews Taphouse: Bellevue - Slider Flights available, Also Igloos

Slider flights started this week, and Mr. Brews Taphouse also set up igloos last week if you’d like to find another place to eat outside and among people you aren’t afraid to sit in a tiny plastic, heated container with.

Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe and Monzu Bakery - Envelope Sales

Both Uncle Mike’s and Monzu, two of our fav bakeries in town, have started their holiday envelopes which MAY contain sales and giveaways on their items, but you can’t open them til after Christmas. What a fun promo!

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