Pleasant House

1. Stuffed lamb hearts from Mint Creek Farm. I continue to cook my way through the various parts of Mint Creek Farm’s lamb. Last week was the tongue, this week the hearts. Any guesses as to what this week’s organ(s) will be?

stuffed lamb hearts wrapped in bacon

stuffed lamb hearts with red and green flowering mustard greens

2. Peach ice cream. This is really a double whammy. Peaches are in season, and that’s something to celebrate. Having a machine that spins a blade at more than 2000 rpm to create incredible ice cream is pretty exciting as well.

peach ice cream

3. Mint and honey iced tea from Heritage Prairie Market Farm. I’ve been to this farm in the western suburbs and have seen where the mint and honey comes from. It’s nice to be able to taste it in a refreshing iced beverage after bicycling in the hot sun to the farm’s booth at the Green City Market.

Heritage Prairie Market Farm stand at Green City Market

4. Corn season! This is the Midwest, so we get pretty excited about corn around here. I haven’t tasted the absolute best the season has to offer yet, but nonetheless, there is some good sweet corn to be had. Experiment with your favorite interpretation of the Mexican street food known as elotes. Or just eat it off the cob like a maniac.

corn eater

5. The idea of a year-round farmers and artisan market in Chicago. Gapers Block.com posted a piece in which someone proposed that the city lease the vacant old Chicago Post Office (up for auction) to startup companies for free. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to create a world-class, year-round marketplace filled with local farm stands, butchers, cheesemongers, and offshoots of favorite market-driven restaurants.

6. Farm eggs with fresh herbs. Sounds pretty simple, and it is. But when you are used to the commodity versions of these things, the sight and taste of their farm-fresh and homegrown counterparts can blow your mind.

scrambled auracana eggs with garden herbs

7. White nectarines with olive oil and lavender salt. This flavor medley shared the plate with the aforementioned eggs and herbs, but it is worthy of its own slot. Sweet, salty, and aromatic.

white nectarine slices with lavender salt

8. Pulque in the can. I remember reading something about this a couple of months ago. I  discovered it at Whole Foods yesterday in the produce department next to the healthy drinks. If I had opened it in the car I could have been arrested because it has 6% alcohol by volume. I’ll tell you, a can of pulque is not worth jail time; it tastes like something you might actually make in jail. I’m not ready to give up on it yet as I haven’t tried the flavored versions.

pulque, por que?!

9. Ratatouille. Not the movie, the real dish. Lots of people have zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, basil, thyme, and tomatoes bursting out of their gardens this time of the year, and ratatouille is the perfect recipe for using them up.

the raw materials of ratatouille

cooked ratatouille

10. Mezcal margarita. Like pulque, also from the agave family, only this one is much tastier. Mezcal is smoky and complex, and doesn’t get as much attention as it should. It makes for a margarita with depth and is at its best when served neat.

mezcal