Farmers and chefs, can’t live with ‘em, can’t… In this Sky Full of Bacon I look at the question of whether quality, sustainable agriculture can scale up to meet the needs of our modern food system by talking to a bigtime Chicago chef and one of the local, organic farmers he buys from.

Sky Full of Bacon 15: Big Chef Small Farmer from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

How to watch it:

Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD above, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 15 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Mark Mendez is chef of one of Chicago’s largest restaurants, and certainly the biggest restaurant with any kind of commitment to organic and local foods, Carnivale. David Cleverdon of Kinnikinnick Farm near Clarendon, Illinois is one of the many farmers who supplies Carnivale with high quality, organic produce. I talk to the two of them to get a sense of how chefs and farmers are both trying to work their way toward a system that supports better food and forms of farming— and deal with the challenges imposed on them by the realities of the other guy’s business. It’s a literally down-to-earth look at the issues too often discussed mainly at the 10,000-foot level in books and documentaries about the industrial food system.

With the irony that this podcast (delayed for over a month by heavy rains that prevented planting, and thus shooting of planting, at Kinnikinnick Farm) became notorious for to me, I finished it just as Mark Mendez announced that he would be leaving Carnivale in August. It may be tempting to read some signs of dissatisfaction into what he talks about here, and certainly you can sense that he was increasingly interested in running a smaller, more chef-driven restaurant, but for me the real story remains how restaurants like Carnivale and chefs like Mark are helping nudge the food system toward better ways of working, even when many would consider it just too big to even be able to care about such issues.

Here’s Carnivale’s site, and here’s Mark’s own blog; there’s not a lot there but this is a nice post about some of the same issues he talks about in the video. And in terms of previous Mendez-Media, Helen Rosner did this slideshow last year of Mendez showing you what to buy at the Green City Market— including Kinickinnick arugula.

Here’s Kinnikinnick’s site. You can buy their products at the Green City Market and the Evanston Farmer’s Market.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon

Sky Full of Bacon #14: The Last Days of Kugelis
Sky Full of Bacon Short: Making Illegal Cheese
Sky Full of Bacon #13: Pie As a Lifestyle
Sky Full of Bacon Short: Edzo’s Burger Shop
Sky Full of Bacon #12: In the Land of Whitefish
Sky Full of Bacon #11: A Better Fish
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Chicago’s Healthy Food was the oldest Lithuanian restaurant in the world when it closed in late 2009. I was on hand for the last days of this legendary South Side restaurant, one of the last survivors of a once-flourishing ethnic group in Chicago, to talk to the owner, staff and customers as they said Goodbye, Kugelis.

How to watch it:

Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 14 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 14: The Last Days of Kugelis from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

The history of Lithuanians in Chicago is the history of the twentieth century— from immigration and work in the Chicago stockyards in the early years of the century, to the racial tensions of the 1960s and, ultimately, assimilation in the suburbs. One of the last examples of Lithuanian Chicago closed in late 2009: Healthy Food, a 71-year-old restaurant serving good hearty Eastern European food in the Bridgeport neighborhood. I was at Healthy Food during its last few days, talking to owner Gina Santoski about her life in the restaurant (which her parents bought in 1960) and to the staff and customers who made it one of Chicago’s classic old neighborhood spots. And, for the first and only time, I captured on video the complete making of Healthy Food’s signature dish, kugelis— according to Gina, she never let other journalists shoot the full process, because she was concerned that the traditional ways of making it would attract unwanted Health Department attention; but since she was closing anyway, she let me shoot it all. The video runs 15 and a half minutes.

I reviewed a visit to what is now the city of Chicago’s only remaining Lithuanian restaurant here.

Here and here are some LTHForum posts about the decline of the Marquette Park Lithuanian neighborhood in the past decade, and mentions of surviving Lithuanian stores and restaurants in the suburbs. (Probably the newest and most accommodating to visitors is Grand Duke’s, near Toyota Park in Summit.)

Another Lithuanian enclave that has disappeared in the last few years was around 47th St.; I visited Baltic Bakery during this LTHForum event in 2006, and Julia’s Lithuanian during the Chowhound Westernathon in 2003.  (Both are now gone.) The map showing where Chicago ethnic enclaves were around the time Healthy Food Lithuanian opened can be seen here; it actually predates Healthy Food by more than a decade (1926), so compare it to this one from 1940, which shows Marquette Park as the new destination for Lithuanians seeking to own their own homes. Interestingly, though, there’s no mention of Lithuanian food at all in John Drury’s 1931 Dining in Chicago, the primary source for information on Chicago ethnic dining of that era.

One of the things I’m happiest about in this video is that I was able to use authentic Lithuanian music of extremely high quality in it. I found the Lithuanian folk ensemble Sutaras online and contacted their music director, Antanas Fokas, and told him about my intention to help educate Chicago about our Lithuanian heritage. He gave me permission to use several cuts by Sutaras; I highly recommend checking out their recordings at their site.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon

Sky Full of Bacon Short: Making Illegal Cheese
Sky Full of Bacon #13: Pie As a Lifestyle
Sky Full of Bacon Short: Edzo’s Burger Shop
Sky Full of Bacon #12: In the Land of Whitefish
Sky Full of Bacon #11: A Better Fish
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Audio documentarian David Hammond started doing a piece on the growing (but commercially illegal) trend of raw milk cheese, for WBEZ’s Worldview. Then he invited me along to shoot the process— making this the first multimedia event in audio, video and camembert.

First, watch my 8-1/2 minute video about making cheese with amateur cheesemaker Coleen Graham. Then listen to Worldview on Monday, February 22 as David explores the issues involved in raw milk cheesemaking and reveals the results of a taste test to determine if cheese-eaters (including myself) can tell the difference. UPDATE: The radio piece is here.

Sky Full of Bacon Short: Making Illegal Cheese from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

Note: the question was raised in an earlier post why Coleen is referring to raw milk itself being illegal to sell in the state of Illinois when in fact it’s not. The reality is that it’s legal to sell if customers bring their own containers (so the farm is not a bottling operation) and transfers it to those containers themselves, and as long as the farm does not advertise the availability of raw milk to the public. (See here for more information.) My guess is that in casual conversation, Coleen regards these conditions as discouraging any practical form of commercial raw milk trade so completely that it is, in effect, illegal.

How to watch it:
Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Making Illegal Cheese in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon

Sky Full of Bacon #13: Pie As a Lifestyle
Sky Full of Bacon Short: Edzo’s Burger Shop
Sky Full of Bacon #12: In the Land of Whitefish
Sky Full of Bacon #11: A Better Fish
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Pie is more than just dessert— it conjures up a whole range of emotions and imagery. In this podcast, I explore the iconic American food with a popular Chicago piemaker, Paula Haney of Hoosier Mama.

How to watch it:

Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 13 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 13: Pie As a Lifestyle from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

Chicagoans flock to Paula Haney’s pie shop Hoosier Mama for great pies made the old-fashioned way, with natural and local ingredients and by hand. She’s also helped call attention to the midwest’s heritage with this icon dessert, by reviving 19th and early 20th century pie recipes like Hoosier Sugar Cream pie and using regional specialties such as persimmons. See how the pies get made in a tiny storefront, find out why there’s an entire category of historic pie called “desperation pie,” and pick up some pointers for your own piemaking from the pros in her shop in this Sky Full of Bacon podcast, which runs about 16 minutes.

Here’s Hoosier Mama’s site.

Paula talked more about midwestern pie traditions at a Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance program (where I also spoke).

Here’s Nancie McDermott’s site.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon

Sky Full of Bacon Short: Edzo’s Burger Shop
Sky Full of Bacon #12: In the Land of Whitefish
Sky Full of Bacon #11: A Better Fish
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Eddie Lakin, a former fine dining chef turned burger guy, talks about how to make the perfect old school burger and fries a few weeks after the opening of his hotly anticipated Edzo’s Burger Shop in Evanston, in this 7-1/2 minute short produced for the Chicago Reader. Read more here.

Edzo’s Burger Shop from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

How to watch it:
Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Edzo’s Burger Shop in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

It may not be the deadliest catch, but come with me as I go on a whitefish boat to catch one of the classic fishes of Great Lakes dining, and explore the history and prospects for this very local and sustainable fish.

How to watch it:

Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 12 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 12: In the Land of Whitefish from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

True Great Lakes whitefish are one of the classics of midwestern dining— and a local and sustainable choice to boot. In the second of my two-part exploration of fish and sustainability, I go on a Lake Michigan whitefish boat to see how they’re fished, talk with the family that runs a fifth-generation, 130-year-old Wisconsin fishery, and talk to chefs and fish sellers (including a 92-year-old “retired” fish seller who still comes in to work every day) about what makes these fish special—if, sometimes, a hard sell to diners looking for the latest thing. It runs 19:54; be sure to also watch the first in this series, A Better Fish.

Here’s Susie Q Fish Co.’s site.

Here’s Robert’s Fish Market founder Robert Schuffler’s gefilte fish recipe:

Here’s a nice video I found about very local fish in Montauk, New York.

And be sure to read Art Jackson (SFOB #7)’s observations in the comments section.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon

Sky Full of Bacon #11: A Better Fish
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

“The always enlightening podcast Sky Full of Bacon… So much of the seafood discussion is difficult for consumers to navigate but this 22-minute video offers a clear perspective on what happy seafood is out there.” —Serious Eats

Eat more fish, eat less fish… dive into the confusing world of fish today and see for yourself how fish gets to your table and how chefs are exploring new and more sustainable choices.

How to watch it:

NEW! Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 11 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 11: A Better Fish from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

You hear a lot about fish these days— about eating it for your health, about overfishing and the health of the oceans, about farmed vs. wild. In this Sky Full of Bacon video podcast, I dive deep into the world of fish as it meets us at the dinner table. I go on a tour of one of the country’s largest fish distributors, to see how they move through thousands of pounds of fresh fish a week, and talk with sales rep Carl Galvan, who’s passionate about getting his chef clients to look past the standard menu fishes and explore new and more sustainable options. And I talk to chefs, fish sellers and experts from Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium about sustainability, and some exciting projects that offer promise for a future that still has fish in it. It runs 22 minutes, and it’s the first of a two-part exploration of fish issues that will conclude next month with my trip on a Lake Michigan whitefish boat.

Here’s Supreme Lobster’s website (Carl’s market report is linked on the main page), and you too can follow Carl’s Twitter feed here.

Here’s the website for Cleanfish, the sustainable fish broker I talk to. In the video Cleanfish’s Alisha Lumea mainly talks about their farmed fish projects, but one of their wild projects is just now coming into season— Nunavut Arctic Char from an Inuit community in far northern Canada. Read about it and watch Cleanfish’s own video here, and follow them on Twitter here for lots of sustainable fish news.

Here’s the Shedd’s Right Bite program.

Of course, there’s a lot of stuff about overfishing out there. Here’s a documentary about it that’s in theaters right now, and here’s a good piece from The Atlantic’s current issue that suggests a market solution to it.

Here’s my post about the meal at Taxim that included eating black cod liver; Philip Foss of Lockwood also posted about cooking with it here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon
Sky Full of Bacon #10: Prosciutto di Iowa
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Can food as good as Europe’s best come from the midwest? Go inside the Italian-style prosciuttificio of La Quercia in Norwalk, Iowa, and see for yourself.

How to watch it:

NEW! Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 10 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 10: Prosciutto di Iowa from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

Here’s an example of a local food from the midwest that’s not just good for a local product, but as good as any of its kind on earth. Since it first hit the market in 2005-6, the prosciutto made by La Quercia has been hailed in rhapsodic terms by top chefs and food writers (as you’ll see and hear from three of Chicago’s top chefs). Herb and Kathy Eckhouse set out to make a truly world-class product—and to do it in accordance with their principles about being environmentally responsible and humane toward the pigs they use. In this Sky Full of Bacon podcast, we tour the prosciuttificio south of Des Moines to see how state-of-the-art technology simulates the traditional Italian way of making prosciutto, and we hear the Eckhouses talk about how they got started, how they’ve built a business in line with their principles, and about getting Iowa farmers to adopt the ancient practice of raising pigs on acorns for the best hams.

Bonus Audio Podcast

I conducted a long and thoughtful interview with the Eckhouses, only a small part of which could fit into the video. So I’ve condensed the highlights of it into a 44-minute audio podcast which goes into greater depth into such issues as starting and marketing an artisanal food business, and how their prosciutto fits into the local food movement. It’s an interesting conversation that expands on much of what’s in the video; you can listen to it below, or go here, or listen to it at iTunes here.

La Quercia’s website is here. I highly, highly recommend the organic prosciutto. It costs more, but it’s worth the extra.

Here’s Jeffrey Steingarten’s December 2006 piece from Vogue, referenced in the video. (You have to register to read the whole thing.)

Here’s a NY Times piece which came out right after I first contacted them— I thought for sure they’d be too busy for me after that, but thankfully not. (You glimpse it on the wall in the video.)

Here’s a piece by, who else, Mike Sula in the Reader a couple of years ago on their guanciale.

Here’s a piece (which was Beard-nominated) on Russ Kremer, one of the two farmers Kathy’s talking about at the end when she says if she had to be a pig, this is where she’d want to be one. (The other is Jude Becker, who is the “Jude” Brian Huston of The Publican refers to offhand in Sky Full of Bacon #5, incidentally. It’s a small world of good, humane pork.)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon
Sky Full of Bacon #9: Raccoon Stories
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

Here’s a slice of small-town America… served next to a heaping plate of an unusual meat. Sky Full of Bacon takes you to the 82nd Annual Coon Feed at the American Legion post in Delafield, Wisconsin.

How to watch it:

NEW! Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 9 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 09: Raccoon Stories from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

Since the 1920s, the American Legion Post in Delafield, Wisconsin has hosted a raccoon dinner to support its youth sports programs. Even as the World War II vets who run it get older and the town itself becomes a suburb of Milwaukee, the spirit of the old Delafield— a place where you hunted for your supper, the town barber was the center of all the activity, and Al Capone was an occasional visitor— lives on in the stories of the folks preparing the 82nd Annual Coon Feed… and in the hearty welcome they give old friends and strangers (with video cameras) alike. Plus a special guest appearance by a celebrity chef, who tells us his own story about cooking Delafield coon. It’s 18 and a half minutes of a midwest that’s fast disappearing, but still knows how to have a good time on a Saturday night.

Here’s the site for the American Legion post in Delafield—so you can watch for next year’s coon feed and make your travel plans.

Here and here are Cathy Lambrecht’s posts about past Coon Feeds at LTHForum, and this links to stories of the celebrity chef referenced above (I’d watch the video first, though). Monica Eng at the Chi-Trib also brought raccoon into the same place here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Sky Full of Bacon
Sky Full of Bacon #8: Pear-Shaped World
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.

“The always superb Sky Full of Bacon video podcast from Chicago’s Michael Gebert serves up a tour of Oriana Kruszewski’s orchard which contains Asian pears, paw paws and black walnuts trees. Kruszewski’s knowledge, enthusiasm and perseverance is inspiring.” —HomegrownEvolution.com

Ever wonder about the farmers who grow and sell the produce at your local farmer’s market?  In this Sky Full of Bacon podcast, we meet Oriana, the Asian pear lady at Chicago’s Green City Market, and travel to her orchard in western Illinois.  She may not look like your typical midwestern farmer, but her challenges (from weather to pests) and her joy at making things grow are universal.

How to watch it:

NEW! Fastest high quality: hit play to watch in HD below, or go to Vimeo and watch it in HD. (Recommended)
Highest quality but slow download in your browser: Episode 8 in Quicktime.
Highest quality but slowish download in iTunes: play directly on your computer in iTunes (no iPod needed), by clicking here. (To play in iTunes once downloaded, hit Play on the episode you want, then double click on the tiny window it starts playing in to make it bigger.)
Highest quality, most convenient: subscribe in iTunes by clicking here and then clicking Subscribe; each new episode will download when you’re not looking and be ready to play whenever you want, plus you’ll never miss an episode!
Want to show it on your site? Go to the Vimeo page and click on the Embed button to get the code. Blanket permission is granted; for tips on resizing the movie, go here.

Sky Full of Bacon 08: Pear Shaped World from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

Here’s another podcast shot while things were still growing, to help keep your spirits up through the long winter!  If you visit Green City Market in the fall, you’ve probably seen Oriana Kruszewski showing off whatever interesting thing she happens to have picked that week along with her trademark Asian pears— paw paws, persimmons, watercress, Asian herbs, ground cherries.  Oriana has some 500 pear trees at her farm near Galena; I visited her in October as the freeze was approaching and she was picking the last of her fruit for storage.  She’s always interesting to talk to and I think you’ll enjoy the chance to see what all lies behind the produce you buy at a farmer’s market.

For more information about Green City Market, go here. And as you may know, another fruit vendor at Green City had an entire blog about his experiences.

Mike Sula wrote about Oriana a couple of years ago; he fills in more of her personal history.

Josephine at LTHForum first posted about Oriana’s black walnuts in this thread; be sure to read Pdaane’s post about black walnuts in his Wisconsin home town.  (I’m in there too, eventually.)

Here’s a tart I’ve made a couple of times for Christmas using Oriana’s black walnuts:

____________________________________________________________________________________________
About Sky Full of Bacon
Sky Full of Bacon #7: Eat This City
Sky Full of Bacon #6: There Will Be Pork (pt. 2)
Sky Full of Bacon #5: There Will Be Pork (pt. 1)
Sky Full of Bacon #4: A Head’s Tale
Sky Full of Bacon #3: The Last Brisket Show
Sky Full of Bacon #2: Duck School
Sky Full of Bacon #1: How Local Can You Go?

Please feel free to comment here or to email me here.