Friday, January 7, 2011

A Place to Share

I am thrilled to announce the beginning of the very first blog for Heritage Prairie Farm! Our blog will be a great place to share the inside coming and goings of the staff, a place to share  inspiration, and a message place for our customers and CSA members.
My name is Katie Drum, and I am the Store Manager at the farm. Going on 4 months of  employment, I still pinch myself every day that this is my job. I love looking out the store window and seeing an expansion of  trees and fields, a charming old barn, and some of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen. This is shopping the way it should be. There’s a wonderful time in the afternoon, as the sun is setting, that the light filters through the windows, refracting amber through all the jars of honey lined up on the sill.  

Honey, in my opinion, should always be in a state of illumination. 
As I get to know the farm better, I am also getting to know some of the restaurants we supply to and supplied to in the past.  I was thrilled to hear that two were some of  my favorite Chicago-land restaurants,  Lula CafĂ© and Prasino. My husband and I actually joined a couple of friends  at the new Prasino, located in downtown St. Charles, IL for New Years Eve.
Prasino, is Greek for "green." Which is perfectly appropriate since this restaurant specializes in everything green. The place oozes  eco-chic: table tops and floors incorporate reclaimed wood, light fixtures crafted out of recycled bottles and corrugated cardboard, and an energy efficient kitchen down to eco-friendly cleaning products. They also support and promote organic agriculture, local growers, and artisanal food producers, like us. Prasino has used both our honey and micro greens on their decadent menu. Here are some of the items we enjoyed off the unique, New Years Eve menu at Prasino, created by Chef Scott Halverson:

We started with toasted goat cheese,  sauteed forest mushrooms, persimmons, microgreens, and truffle honey.  My husband went crazy for this dish, and begged me to recreate it at home.


For our main course, I enjoyed a Hawaiian tuna tartare with wasabi tabiko, avocado, spicy mayo, sweet soy, and sesame cracker.
Jason tried something new, choosing the Niman Ranch beef carpaccio, radishes, arugula, and chive drizzled with Banyuls Vinaigrette.  


At my request, we ordered chocolate gooey butter cake topped with creme fraiche caramel, bananas foster, and vanilla gelato.  I still want more! 


It was a wonderful evening and a great way to ring in the new year.  I highly recommend eating at either their St. Charles or LaGrange location.  They are also opening a third location soon in Bucktown/Wicker Park sometime Spring 2011.


Prasino
51 S. 1st Street
St. Charles, IL 60174
630-908-5200


Prasino
93 S. LaGrange Avenue
LaGrange, IL 60525
708-469-7058

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