Image from Andrew Huff

Cinnamon Cooper wrote a great article for Gapers Block on this geometrically satiating vegetable, romanesco. Check it out for a handful of good recipes.

I love finding vegetables that I’ve never seen, then figuring out how to cook them. Sometimes the abundant farmer’s markets around Chicago offer interesting breeds of veggies, but there are two produce markets where you can find interesting and fresh produce year round. The first is Stanley’s. Stanley’s is centrally located on North Avenue, just east of the Kennedy. My favorite thing about this place is the olive oil selection. They have vats of it steeping with various flavors – garlic, basil, ect. You get a bottle and fill it up yourself. Stanley’s is great, but if I can ever go out of my way, I go to Caputos. I frequent the one on Lake Street in Addison, but there are a handful of these scattered throughout the suburbs. Last winter, I was making Limoncello, and I found lucious and large lemons on sale for 10 for $1. The quality always seems to be better than what Jewel or Dominick’s offers, but for about a quarter of the price. They also have a near infamous deli with any kind of meat that you could desire.

Where do you guys shop for produce and things?