Winter in Chicago

I've been becoming more locavore-conscious, but I still love things like red quinoa, avocados, and oranges. Some of the local/Midwest food I've been enjoying during this long Chicago winter: (heirloom) acorn squash (roasted with olive oil is amazing), potatos, and apples from Michigan. I've been getting most of my local stuff, which is so beautiful, not in a fake pristine way, but in a natural, scarred way, at The Dill Pickle Co-Op, which recently opened. Chicago really needed a food co-op!
Potatos and apples - the two pommes in French. The How To Bake A Potato website gave me a great tip: coating the potato with oil before baking, which gives it a wonderful, delicious skin. Or I grate a potato right into a cast iron skillet for some fast hash browns, or make potato soup with kale (which I'll be making for the cyber banquet). Why do kale and potatos go so well together? These potato/kale enchiladas are one of the most amazing things I've ever made. I've been cutting an apple in half every morning, using the AM half for my winter breakfast of oatmeal, and then using the PM half to put in my soygurt with raw agave nectar. Yum.
Even though I've been enjoying winter and winter food, I'm looking forward to the first local-food-signs of Spring - garlic scapes and ramps. My sister once stir fried garlic scapes with olive oil and white wine, served them over pasta, and I was forever changed.