Tag: Farm

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About that App…(and How to Find Southern Illinois Info)

Once upon a time, there was a free app that correlated with info on A Slice of Southern Illinois. Eventually, with the original app development company, it became too difficult too keep up with changing requirements for common app stores. So, I disabled the app–for now. I would eventually like to create a new one, but I am taking my time to jump into that process. 

Meanwhile, I still have pages accessible through the menu on this website for annual events, local  food  things to see, and more. I try to update these from time to time, but they are not likely going to be as current as the Facebook page.

As many of you know by now, my health is somewhat of a rollercoaster ride since covid did a number on me. (Yes, Long Haul Covid is a real thing, and I don’t wish it on anyone!) I am also doing some jewelry-making and crafting  now that are actually therapeutic for me. When possible, I participate in farmer’s markets and other venues. However, I have to do a lot of prioritizing and “energy budgeting”  for my health. With that being said, knocking myself out to keep the events page current as well as other changes can’t be my priority at this time. There is only so much energy, and after the whole near death/ventilator experience, I have a new perspective. Living life is a priority.

SO, I am attempting to make it easier to search on the A Slice of Southern Illinois Facebook Page. Hopefully, a series of hashtag terms (below) will help you to find info by town or type within Southern Illinois. It won’t be perfect (brain fog is real too,) and I may forget obvious hashtags and miss some things, but it’s a start. Even if no one else uses them, it will help me…

This is the link to the A Slice of Southern Illinois Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/asliceofSoIL?mibextid=ZbWKwL

This is how you use hashtags in the search bar to seek info or types of posts:

If you are seeking info on a Southern Illinois town, try searching the A Slice of Southern Illinois Facebook Page with a hashtag. (Example: #Carbondale )

The hashtags below are to seek out posts with the types of info listed:

SIbreweries breweries

SIclosures closings

SIcares good deeds, service and volunteer opportunities, good news

SIcoffee coffee

SIentertainment entertainment

SIevents regional events

SIeventvenue event venues

SIfurbabies pet related

#SIhistory regional history

SIkids for children

SIlodging local cabins, B&B’s, etc.

SImarket Farmer’s Markets & locally made products

SIshopslocal locally owned shops & businesses

SItastes restaurants, food trucks, food-related

SItea tea

SIthingstosee things to see in our region

SIweather weather-related post

SIwineries wineries

WatermelonFalls (by A Slice of Southern Illinois) handmade jewelry, upcycles, & giftables

These search terms are currently pinned in a post on the A Slice of Southern Illinois Facebook Page. It is always a work in progress…

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Straight from the Patch

Strawberry season has arrived in Southern Illinois. Blueberries, lavender, and other fresh edible treats will soon follow. Peonies are blooming, and Zinnia and sunflower fields will likely be ready in the future months for gorgeous bouquets. Don’t forget that there is even a gourmet mushroom farm.

As a kid, my parents took us to pick strawberries almost every spring. I remember my grandma going with us when I was really little. We often went to a spot near Farina. Of course, being kids, my brother and I probably looked forward to stopping in at Frontier Village on the way home for those huge, colorful, lollipops almost as we did being in the berry patch.

We also made memorable road trips to Blueberry Hill at Cobden. I don’t know that he is still there, but there was a really cool older gentleman named Moses that directed people to the right areas to pick blueberries. One of my aunts joined us for the adventure one year, and a neighbor friend came along another year. It was a fun event. Of course, we would drive around in the country and through the forest to see plenty of other sites in the area.

My mom would use some of the berries in a wonderful, no-bake blueberry cheesecake… We also made trips throughout Southern Illinois to pick blackberries, apples, and peaches. My parents would prep and freeze many of these fruits to use in the winter months. My parents canned and froze many things. Between these trips and our large garden, our deep freeze and a pantry closet in our guest room, we had a pretty good food supply on hand.

Listed below is a sampling of the many Southern Illinois Orchards, Patches, and Farms. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. Please be aware that due to COVID-19 precautions, places that previously offered U-Pick Opportunities may be unable to do so at this time. They may still have some wonderful, fresh treats already picked for purchase.

PLEASE contact each and/or check social media posts to see hours and if appointments are necessary as schedules may fluctuate before showing up to be sure they are open and not sold out of product.

We will continue to share posts from Southern Illinois farms, orchards, and farm stands, and farmer’s markets as we see them on the A Slice of Southern Illinois Facebook page. When possible, links to contact info for them will be in the “Shop Local: Farmer’s Markets, Stores, & Stands” section of the ASOSI app as well as this website.

ALTO PASS

Rendleman Orchards https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Fruit—Vegetable-Store/Flamm-Orchards-140416935995156/

BELLEVILLE

Eckert’s Country Store & Farm, https://www.eckerts.com/belleville-farm

BUMCOMBE

Hallsberry Farms https://www.facebook.com/Hallsberry-Farms-607311662746573/

CARLYLE

McConauchie Manor Farm http://mcmanor.com/

CENTRALIA

Schwartz Farms http://www.schwartzfruitfarm.com/m/

COBDEN

Bass Farms https://www.facebook.com/Bass-Farms-312520605832167/

Blue Berry Hill Farm https://www.facebook.com/Blueberry-Hill-Frm-145088728847265/

Flamm Orchards https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Fruit—Vegetable-Store/Flamm-Orchards-140416935995156/

Shawnee Hills Lavender https://shawneehillslavender.com/

COLLINSVILLE

The Donahue’s Sunshine Farm https://www.facebook.com/donahuesunshinefarm/

DIX

Schwartz Farms http://www.schwartzfruitfarm.com/m/

KELL

Sager Farms https://www.facebook.com/Sager-Farms-1338423922880064/

HARRISBURG

Peony Hills Farm https://peonyhillfarm.com/

MAKANDA

Flyway Family Farm https://www.facebook.com/FlywayFamilyFarm/

MILLSTADT

Eckert’s Country Store & Farm https://www.eckerts.com/

MURPHYSBORO

McLaughlin Strawberry Farm https://www.facebook.com/MclaughlinStrawberryFarm/

SIMS

Freelands Strawberries and Vegetables https://www.facebook.com/FreelandsStrawberries/

ST. JACOB

Demange Farm https://www.facebook.com/demangefamilyfarms/

Strackeljahn Farms https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strackeljahn-Farms/126200920766900

WATERLOO

Stuckmeyers Plants & Produce http://www.stuckmeyer-illinois.com/

WILLOW HILL

Rising Sun Family Farm https://www.facebook.com/Rising-Sun-Family-Farm-663357053748679

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Root Beer, Llamas, and Wine: A Fair September Day

The first Saturday in September was a bit warm and humid, but still a pretty nice day at the Du Quoin State Fair. I spent quite a bit of time in the Exhibit Hall looking at the different entries from all over Southern Illinois–produce, quilts, artwork, photography, cakes, and pies.

I spent even more time checking out all of the yummy things made in Southern Illinois and enjoyed meeting and talking with so many of the people and their products. Did you know that there is a Wabash Valley Wine Trail? Road Trip!

The Southern Illinois Beekeeping Association was on site with local honey and products made with it, such as Big Muddy Root Beer.

Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch had a demonstration going as well as some of their fleece products. The little pumpkins were adorable…

Devil’s Breath Chile Company had some wonderful samples. They of course make some hot products, but the beef I sampled was a milder option with quite a nice balance of flavor.

Reinneck Ranch Inc. of Mascoutah also had samples and some wonderful products on hand.

There was fresh produce on site, and even the guys from Crown Brew were available to serve decadent coffee concoctions.

The BBQ Popcorn that Uncle Joe’s from Ina has started making was very tasty.

Aunt Jenny’s Fudge had samples. I tried the chocolate praline. O.M.Y! (Oh. My. Yum!)

Louie’s Seasonings, as in those used at the historic Louie’s P & R in Herrin, were available as well as Kuntry Kettle apple butters.

Excel Bottling from Breeze, responsible for the regional favorite Ski, provided samples of soft drinks.

Stanley’s Italian Style Beef Seasoning from Harrisburg had samples of Italian beef. Mr. Stanley was kind enough to pose for the camera.

There was so much delicous-smelling fair food to choose from when it was time to eat. I chose a local food truck with a cause that hit close to home. A bit of online research revealed that Fight Like a Girl was created by Du Quoin’s Marcy Robinson and her husband Les in memory of her sister, Kristina Stacey.

The ribbon fries with cheese were awesome!

I walked through the midway, but after recently spending months fighting nausea during chemo, I passed on any rides. While my kids and their friends enjoyed the midway action, I took a LOT of photos. Imagine that…

The ever-popular “Free Bird” was observed in its natural habitat. Ok, perhaps it wasn’t the original band singing the song, but this band was pretty darn good. The guy singing had a great voice.

After many decades, people still gather at this iconic structure to eat and perhaps rest a bit at the tables. As I’m still trying to rebuild my energy from this past year, I rested often. I was thankful for every bench and picnic table at the fairgrounds!

Livestock and dairy shows are still part of the fair’s backbone. I was sad that I missed the dairy goat show (this girl showed dairy goats for 11 years in 4-H. Tonti Broken Arrow Carpris, my family’s farmette as a kid, was a proud member of the Southern Illinois Dairy Goat Association…) but did see some cows. Horses also make up an important part of the fair. Unfortunately, I did not make it to see the stables this year.

Above: The grandstand in the background of the children’s area. I empathized with all parents pushing double strollers and wagons as I remembered the days when Mija and Mijo were energetic toddlers… At least it wasn’t muddy. That always added to the resistance workout.

Below: The midway as photographed from its North end. It seems the kids have now graduated to this side of the food vendor area.

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TOSI Challenge: Flat Iron Steak Sandwich & Fries

Individual flat iron steaks from Dierks Farms and fresh sourdough bread baked by Scratch Brewing Company, both of Ava, were among groceries I got this past Saturday at the Carbondale Community Farmer’s Market. This pair of ingredients seemed like a great starting point for a TOSI (Taste Of Southern Illinois) Challenge creation.

For the steaks, I used a quick marinade of Ponzu, grapeseed oil, salt, pepper and a few drops of red wine vinegar. Then I applied some Cactus Pete’s Ultimate Steak House Rub, made in Buckner, that I found at Arnold’s Market in Carbondale.

I grilled thick slices of the sourdough bread in a bit of butter on my George Foreman grill. I also grilled some onions and sweet mini pepper strips with a few shiitake mushrooms from Fly Away Family Farms of Makanda. Each side of bread was smeared with basil pesto. After grilling the steaks and allowing them to rest for the juices to redistribute, they were sliced against the grain. I added a slice of Swiss cheese for flavor.

The oven fries were pretty simple but tasty. I cut scrubbed Russett potatoes into thick fries and coated them with grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and paprika before baking in a single layer at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, turning once. For the fry dipping sauce, I mixed a bit of mayonnaise with ketchup and added some chopped fresh herbs. I used basil and parsley from my kitchen window with some dill from All Seasons Farm of Cobden. The ivrn fries were the perfect compliment to the flat iron steak sandwich.