HarvesTime Foods

If you’re looking for a holiday appetizer that’s as festive as it is tasty, look no further than this Christmas tree cheese platter. It’s an appetizer that’s customizable, easy to put together, and fun for the whole family! 🎄

We love Boar’s Head gouda for cheese boards, but you can also use any cheeses that you and your family prefer in this recipe from Munchkin Time.

https://www.munchkintime.com/christmas-tree-cheese-platter-recipe/

Christmas Tree Cheese Platter Recipe Christmas Tree Cheese Plater - cheese and cracker Christmas tree platter creates a festive vibe and serves as a beautiful Christmas appetizer.

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and holiday snacks. Follow along this week as we are share some holiday recipe appetizer ideas that feature one of our favorite ingredients: cheese 🧀

Try making this incredible whipped feta with cranberry compote with our rich and creamy authentic Bulgarian feta. If you’ve never tried Bulgarian feta, you are in for a treat! Recipe from Kale Me Maybe.

https://www.kalememaybe.com/kalememaybe/2020/12/1/holiday-whipped-feta-with-cranberry-compote

Guarantee yourself a white Christmas by making and baking these delicious peppermint snowballs by Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods! We love the minty fresh topping ❄️

https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/peppermint-snowballs

Which part of the gingerbread man do you eat first? According to Dr. Alan Hurst, your first bite reveals your personality:

😀 Head: natural-born leader
💪Right arm: skeptical and pessimistic
💪Left arm: creative and extroverted
🦵Leg: sensitive, enjoy the company of others

Whip up a batch of these gingerbread cookies by King Arthur Baking Company and watch your friends and family take the test!

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/gingerbread-cookies-recipe

Gingerbread Cookies This molasses-dark, ginger-and-spice flavored cookie is perfect for gingerbread men. We roll it a bit thicker than usual, to give the gingerbread cookies just a hint of chew.

Did you know that the peanut butter blossom cookies were invented for the 1957 Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest? Now they are a holiday classic!

We like to get creative by swapping out the Hershey’s kisses for different types of chocolatey goodness.

https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/peanut-blossoms/b5de97ec-9e31-4303-8cb7-9484b5e4e86b

📸: Pillsbury

🔔We’ll be ringing in December by sharing our favorite Christmas cookie recipes from flour experts like Pillsbury, King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill, Gold Medal, Ceresota and Five Roses all week long

According to the FDA, homemade cookies can be stored 2-3 weeks at room temp or up to 2 months in the fridge, so it’s time to start baking! 🍪

What are your go-to Christmas cookie recipes? Please share in the comments ⬇️

If you’re looking for creative ways to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers, we’ve got you covered–just sign up for our newsletter!

The upcoming issues are packed full of recipe ideas for Thanksgiving Day, as well as delicious dishes you can create from all the leftovers (like this incredible homemade turkey pot pie)👇 from The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a10833/leftover-turkey-pot-pie-recipe/

Have Leftover Turkey? Use It to Bake This Glorious Pot Pie If you run out of turkey, use chicken! 😉

These leftover turkey storage tips will help keep your leftovers fresh (and safe to eat!) longer:

🍗Split leftover meat into smaller portions
🍗Store in shallow, covered containers so that the meat cools more quickly
🍗Refrigerate or freeze within 2 hours of cooking
🍗Eat leftovers within 4 days

Wishing you a warm and heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving, from our HarvesTime Foods family to yours. We are SO thankful for each and every one of YOU: our wonderful customers, suppliers, and community members!

As I am starting my turkeys and geese to marinade, I am always reminded of how grateful I am to have the best customers in the world.

There are a lot of big things that are happening in the world that are beyond our control, but they do affect us all. These occupy a lot of our attention, but it is the Lawrence Ave. construction this year that has had the biggest effect on you, and I just cannot thank you enough for coming to HarvesTime Foods to shop.

Each day brings another little surprise that we need to adjust to until the project is complete and you have been there with us every step of the way.

THANK YOU!!

Chris Dallas

We will be closing early tomorrow Thursday at 4 PM for Thanksgiving to be with our turkeys (oops, we mean families)!

If you’re looking for something thoughtful to give your Thanksgiving host, we recommend Chocolove chocolate bars, Village Batch Honey, or WBC sodas. All of these sweet treats are sure to bring a smile and support local businesses!

HarvesTime Pro Tip: Take your stuffing recipe up a notch by adding sausage!

Did you know that we make our own homemade sausage? Try our Italian sausage, Greek mountain sausage “Loukaniko,” Mexican Chorizo, and more, made fresh in-house!

What’s your favorite veggie recipe or way to enjoy cooked greens?

Please share in the comments and help us make Thanksgiving healthier! ⬇️

Last call for fresh whole turkeys! 🦃

Today is the last day to place your order for a delicious free range, antibiotic-free turkey from Ferndale Market.

Turkeys go fast, so don’t wait to get one in the store! We can only guarantee your turkey if you order it

Call 773-989-4400 to order your turkey and check it off your list! ✅

📸: Ferndale Market

Fun facts about Brussels sprouts!

🥬They are incredibly healthy, packed with vitamins C, K, and A, along with fiber and antioxidants

🥬They are named after the capital of Belgium

🥬Possibly the cutest vegetable, they look like mini cabbages

🥬They can be roasted, steamed, boiled, sautéed, or air fried

What’s the secret ingredient that keeps green beans crisp and bright green even after cooking? Ice! 🧊

How to blanch green beans:
1. Trim the stem ends of the beans
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil
3. Add a pinch of kosher salt
5. Add green beans
6. Cook 2-5 min (if you will cook the beans more after blanching) or 5-7 min until tender-crisp
7. While beans are cooking, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice When beans are done, use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer them to the ice bath. This stops the cooking process and keeps your beans looking bright and snappy!
8. Leave the beans in the ice bath for 2-3 minutes, then remove
9. To serve, toss green beans with butter and lemon juice, sauté with garlic, or add to a green bean casserole!

Want some delicious ideas for healthy, green, vegetable-based sides this Thanksgiving? Follow along as we share some of our favorites this week. We think that one of the most underrated dishes in a Thanksgiving meal is the greens!

Thanksgiving just got easier! Our Great Big Turkey Tip List is up and ready to use. Find info on how to order a fresh, free-range turkey from the independent family farmers at Ferndale Market (order and pickup through HarvesTime Foods), plus our top tips on safety handling instructions, how to thaw a turkey, how to dry brine a turkey, turkey calculator, how to cook a turkey, turkey recipes, AND how to carve a turkey. Get all the answers to your turkey FAQs in one place!

https://harvestimefoods.com/1933/the-great-turkey-tip-list-from-harvestime-foods/

Not sure which turkey recipe to follow this Thanksgiving?

The Ferndale Market family farm has been raising free-range turkeys for over 80 years—we say that makes them turkey experts!

To learn from the best, check out Ferndale Market’s turkey tips for oven, slow cooking, grilling, deep frying, and more.

https://ferndalemarket.com/turkey/cooking/

Along with raising free-range, antibiotic-free turkeys on their family farm, Ferndale Market also mentors partner farms to raise turkeys following their practices

By sharing knowledge, Ferndale Market creates new opportunities for fellow independent family farmers

Support local farmers this Thanksgiving and order your fresh whole Ferndale Market turkey from Harvest Foods today! Call 773-989-4400

📸: Ferndale Market

Can we vote for all four?? Good luck!

Why oh why do sweet potatoes sometimes get called yams???

According to the Library of Congress, the first sweet potatoes on the US market had a firm texture. When softer varieties eventually became available, growers called the new, soft sweet potatoes “yams” to differentiate them from the firm type.

Here’s the problem: yams are actually a completely different type of root vegetable 🙃

No wonder people get confused!

What makes sweet potatoes taste so sweet?

When a sweet potato is heated during cooking, an enzyme inside gets activated⚡

This enzyme, called amylase, breaks down the starch in the sweet potato and converts it to maltose, a type of simple sugar that is only about ⅓ as sweet as table sugar.

That’s more than sweet enough for us! 😋

It’s the moment of truth…

💡Sweet potatoes and yams are actually two very different foods.

Sweet potatoes are very common here in the US and are a typical Thanksgiving food. They are usually rosy or reddish brown on the outside and bright orange on the inside. Their skin is thin and their flesh is creamy, soft and sweet when cooked.

Yams are much harder to find in the US. They are white on the inside and dark brown on the outside. Their skin is thick and bark-like. Their flesh is starchy, dry, and not at all sweet… not exactly something you’d want to put marshmallows on.

Surprised?

Most people agree that turkey is the star of the Thanksgiving table 🌟

That’s why we are proud to offer fresh free-range turkeys from Ferndale Market

All Ferndale Market turkeys are raised naturally without the use of antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. They enjoy clean air, fresh grass, and even more space than required for organic turkeys

Order your fresh whole turkey today! 773-989-4400

📸: Ferndale Market

HarvesTime Foods An affordable neighborhood grocery store where foodies, chefs and grandmothers meet their everyday sh

It's officially Thanksgiving season, and there's one big question on everyone's mind 🤔

What’s the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

(Or are they secretly the same thing?)

Share your answer in the comments… and hey, no cheating!

We’ll settle the debate once and for all later this week.

Did you know that potatoes were the first vegetable grown in space?? These “quantum tubers” were first successfully cultivated aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1995. Potatoes were specifically selected as the first vegetable to attempt to grow in space due to their ability to thrive in extremely adverse environments and their excellent nutritional value.

We just LOVE our neighborhood. Let the festivities begin!

How to keep your potatoes fresh for months 🥔

Store your potatoes in a cool, dark place (ideally between 45-50 degrees F) in a breathable sack or container like a burlap sack or cardboard box. Store them away from onions, garlic, and apples, as these foods give off ethylene gas, which makes potatoes spoil more quickly.

When it comes to potatoes, we like variety! Each kind of potato has its own unique flavor profile and texture which make them each great for different dishes. Find Idaho Gold potatoes, purple, white, red, yellow potatoes, and more in the store today. Not sure which kind works best with your dish? Ask a HarvesTime Foods team member, we’re happy to help!

Which color of potato is your favorite? 🥔 Share in the comments below! 👇

Get ready to eat, drink, and wear stretchy pants… it’s time for our Thanksgiving Countdown! 🦃

Each week we’ll be celebrating one of our favorite Thanksgiving foods with fun facts, cooking tips, and tasty recipes 🤤

We are huge fans of root veggies here at HarvesTime Foods, so we’re going to kick things off with the ultimate classic: potatoes! Stay tuned…

🥔

Happy Halloween! Today is the last day to enter our scary good giveaway
Enjoy some monstrously delicious, locally brewed coffee and you could win a free ffeine tumbler or brü hoodie!

Enter to win by purchasing any ffeine or brü product at HarvesTime OR by sharing or tagging a friend in one of our giveaway posts before the clock strikes midnight in Chicago🎃

Don’t miss out on this spooky opportunity to enjoy top-notch coffee, win free swag, and support local Chicago coffee roasters who really know what they're brewing… It’s a win-win!

The lucky winners of the giveaway will be chosen at random tomorrow, November 1, 2023, and posted on our socials later this week. Stay tuned!

Something wicked this way comes... the end of our amazing Halloween giveaway! 🦇

This is the last week to grab your chance to win a FREE brü hoodie or ffeine tumbler. Come by HarvesTime Foods and pick up any local brü or ffeine coffee product OR tag a friend in the comments of any of our giveaway posts by October 31 to enter + be eligible to win!

This is a great way to support local Chicago coffee roasters, take your java experience to the next level, and have a chance at winning some free swag. It’s a win-win!
Enter if you dare…🎃

Have you ever sipped a single-origin coffee? It’s a sensorial experience that makes your day a little bit dreamier and a lot more delicious ✨
Nobody understands this better than , a local Chicago company that focuses on “trusting the sight, smell and sound” of the beans during the roasting process
Ready to treat your taste buds and enjoy a caffeine boost after your late-night hauntings this Halloween season?

Pick up any brü product at HarvesTime Foods between now and October 31 and you’ll get an extra spooky bonus: a chance to win a free brü hoodie!

As the days get shorter, make the most of your mornings by indulging in a tasty local brew!

Chicago’s has a passion for roasting that will change your coffee experience forever. You’ll fall in love with the layers of flavor they carefully coax out of each bean.

Plus, every time you buy a brü product at HarvesTime Foods between now and Halloween, you’ll be entered to win a free brü hoodie so you can stay roasty and toasty
For an extra chance to win, share this post or tag a friend!