National Eat Local Day – On Zoom, September 22

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The goal of National Eat Local Day on September 22, says co-founders Sarah Stegner and Cindy Kurman is:

  • To raise awareness of the importance of supporting our local sustainable farms
  • Direct money into the local agricultural economy
  • Have restaurants offer a locally sourced meal
  • Have home cooks prepare a locally sourced meal and post a photo of it on social media with the hashtag #nationaleatlocalday
  • Donate to local organizations that support farms
Bill Kurtis with Bill’s Bees Honey

Save the Zoom Link:  https://zoom.us/j/98612924924

Join Prairie Grass Cafe chef Sarah Stegner and restaurant public relations consultant Cindy Kurman, this Tuesday, September 22 at 2 p.m. on a Zoom call celebrating National Eat Local Day (NELD), a day to encourage restaurants and people cooking at home to prepare and serve a complete meal created with locally grown ingredients.  

The Zoom will include a special video presentation by Bill Kurtis, featuring Bill’s Bees and will be moderated by chef and restaurant consultant Jared Batson.

We have committed ourselves on our property to be good stewards of land including creating a pollinator attraction zone, both by restoring dormant prairies, and planting the flowers they favor.  We set up three hives six years ago, and lucky enough to reap the healthy honey our happy bees produce in two harvests every year,” said Donna LaPietra, Bill’s wife and partner. “You can taste the medicinal sweetness drawn from the prairie plants.”

Local restaurants offering locally sourced meals on Tuesday include The Dearborn, Frontera Grill, and Prairie Grass Cafe. See menus below.

Everyone is invited to join in. The zoom class is free-of-charge.

“Our goal is to raise awareness that supporting our local sustainable farms is really important,” said multiple James Beard Award-winning Chef Sarah Stegner, co-founder of National Eat Local Day.

“It is even more important this year due to the coronavirus pandemic since many of our local sustainable farms have relied on restaurants for the majority of their sales. The restaurant industry has been hard hit by this year’s pandemic leaving chefs and farmers without income.  We hope that home cooks will step up to help keep these farms running by purchasing directly from a farmer or shopping at a local farmers Market.

National Eat Local Day was created by Stegner and public relations restaurant  consultant Cindy Kurman, who believe that setting aside September 22 every year to remind people to focus on the importance of local sustainable farms and to help increase the flow of local sustainable food to our tables.  

“It is important to direct attention to these farms which have become very important to our maintaining an environmentally friendly food supply chain,” said Kurman. “But it’s not just about the environment, it’s also about the exceptional quality of these ingredients, that are produced by farmers who are passionate that Americans eat great tasting, healthy food.”
 

A steadily growing number of restaurants throughout the United States procure their ingredients from local sustainable farms for two reasons: First, these ingredients taste wonderful, since they are harvested at their peak seasonal freshness. Secondly, restaurateurs increasingly consider that using local ingredients is the responsible thing to do for their guests’ health and for the environment. 

Stegner’s restaurant, Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Illinois, that she co-owns with Chef George Bumbaris, has been highlighting locally sourced sustainable food for more than 16 years and has built a very strong following of appreciative food enthusiasts. To help out during the pandemic period, since April, Prairie Grass Cafe, has been a pickup point for people to receive the produce from farmers that they previously ordered on line direct from the farm.  

National Eat Local Day is a focal point in which we are asking chefs to highlight a locally sourced meal. 

“We are asking the general public to buy direct from farmers in their area; prepare a meal and share what they have done on social media using the hashtag #nationaleatlocalday.”

Make a big deal and celebrate the bounty of the season with your friends and family while social distancing on September 22nd.  

Representing some Chicago Area Restaurants Celebrating National Eat Local Day with Specials – We are honored to have these restaurants supporting  the local farm economy.


449 North Clark Street
Chicago IL 60654 312-334-1434

Queso Fundido



Cherry Pie
Grilled Chicken, Crema de Flores

CLASSIC QUESO FUNDIDO Samuel’s artisan jack cheese, garlicky roasted peppers from Nichols Farm, homemade chorizo from Gunthorp Farms pork, heirloom corn tortillas

GRILLED CHICKEN, CREMA DE FLORES Grilled Gunthorp Farms chicken breast, Spence Farms squash blossom crema, Nichols Farm grill-roasted tatume squash, Spence Farm mashed potatoes

CHERRY-PEAR CRISP Seedling Farm fruit with oat crumble and homemade Mexican vanilla ice cream

The Dearborn Tavern

145 North Dearborn St., Chicago IL 60602,312-384-1242

Roasted Catalpa Grove Lamb Chops

Roasted Werp Farms heirloom carrots, Werp Farms eggplant mousse, Nichols Farms arugula salad, Hidden Springs Creamery sheep feta, autumn spiced lamb croquette, natural lamb jus

WERP FARMS: a family run farm in Buckley, MI owned by Mike and Tina Werp, they specialize in lettuces and vegetables, microgreens, herbs and flowers. They grow custom sized vegetables and microgreens for their customers and chefs.

CATALPA GROVE FARM: a family operated farm in Dwight, IL, owned and operated by Trent and Jackie Sparrow. They specialize in Goat, Lamb and Berkshire pork, they also offer heirloom vegetables and goat milk soap.

NICHOLS FARM: founded in 1978, and currently run by 3 generations of Nichols family, located in Merango, IL. Nichols farms specializes in Apples, regular and heirloom vegetables, fruits, and canned products

HIDDEN SPRINGS CREAMERY: a sheep milk dairy farm in Westby, WI, owned and operated by Brenda Jensen and her husband. They specialize is all types of sheep milk cheese and have won multiple awards for their wash wind cheeses.

NICHOLS FARM: BEETS, POTATOES The Nichols Farm & Orchard story began in 1978 with Lloyd and Doreen Nichols’ backyard garden and currently run by 3 generations of Nichols family, located in Merango, IL. Nichols farms specializes in Apples, regular and heirloom vegetables, fruits, and canned products.

Prairie Grass Cafe

601 Skokie Boulevard
Northbrook, IL 60062
847-205-4433

Marinated Beet Salad

BEET RECIPE

By Sarah Stegner

1 lb beets
1/2 cup apple juice
3/4 cup honey
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Pinch of Sea Salt
Fresh Thyme sprigs (2-3)
2-3 ripe plums
1/4 cup goat cheese (fresh Capriole Farm)
1/4 cup Chopped toasted pecans

Cook the beets in boiling salted water until they are tender.  Time may vary depending on the size of the beets. (If you are cooking along with me put the beets to boil 20 minutes prior to our zoom call.)

Remove the beets from the heat and run cold water over them until you can handle them.  Use a towel and rub the skin off the beets. 

Cut them in to bit size pieces.   Mix the apple juice, honey, and apple cider vinegar together with a pinch of salt & fresh thyme.   Marinate an hour or overnight.

To assemble the salad life the beets out of the marinade place the beets on the plate, slice the ripe plums and put them
With the beets.  Sprinkle the goat cheese and pecans over the top.  

For more information, visit nationaleatlocalday.com or send an email to National Eat Local Day.

Please follow on Facebook at facebook.com/nationaleatlocalday; on Twitter at twitter.com/natleatlocalday.com Instagram at Instagram.com/nationaleatlocalday and Pinterest at Pinterest.com. Use the hashtag #nationaleatlocalday on all posts.

Sarah Stegner
Cindy Kurman

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