20+ Awesome Summer Decor Ideas With Rustic Farmhouse Style To Try Asap

1 min read

I start making regular jaunts to the Farmers Market in late May. The market soothes my impatience after a winter of eating and working with forcibly ripened fruits and vegetables. As soon as the weather starts to warm and the air carries the smell of growing things again. I begin to anticipate summer’s exquisite flavors. In the late spring, as the market gears up, I can find- among other things- wild ramp, morels and the first pencil thin asparagus at the Farmer’s Market. When the tiny sweet strawberries of western Wisconsin arrive. I know we are well on our way to the full-blown bounty of summer.

I find myself prodding and sniffing the countless shapes and sizes of the deep red and golden heirloom tomatoes. Sweet and musty smelling melons strain on my plastic shopping bag like cannonballs. The market air is filled with the aromas of basil, kohlrabi, fennel, gan-lai, baby bok choy, peaches, blackberries and all the substances I, and anyone who cooks (or eats for that matter), has been waitng for.

The Farmer’s Market- not unlike the crowded Marktplatz outside Orchestra Hall during Sommerfest- is a testament to Minnesota’s love of summer and its rich culinary pleasures. Whether I’m enjoying a char-grilled bratwurst savored to the strains of Mozart on the plaza or an elegant meal comprised of all my Farmer’s Market finds, food is the ultimate celebration of summer. I know I wasn’t alone in thinking this way, and I was curious to know to know how other chefs, compatriots in the business, felt about summer and it’s all too short palette of ingredients.

The Dakota Bar and Grill has long been known for both it’s premiere spot on the Twin Cities jazz scene as well as Ken Goff’s unique locally inspired cuisine. When I asked Ken about the summer foods he looks forward to he gave me an answer in keeping with his unique style. “After the first locally grown chives and sorrel, I look for Fava beans”, he said. I found this to be a curious answer and quite unusual for a Midwestern chef. This lima bean like legume is more commonly associated with Middle Eastern cuisine. Ken looks forward to a local product grown for him by farmer Ulrich Blocher. Fava beans aren’t as starchy tasting as lima’s and surprisingly, they do go well with a good Chianti. Ken uses these fresh fava beans in a Vegetable Chowder. He simmers them, along with sweet corn and smoked trout, to be served alone as a soup or sometimes as a sauce with broiled Walleye.