Midwest Fest
~ John ~
Two weekends ago we bolted out of bed, at the crack of dawn, and hit the road to Madison, Wisconsin. We went to the nation’s largest, all-produce, farmer’s market. Normally this trek takes about 3 hours, however since we were so excited and early, it only took 2.25 hours.
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Even though the weather was a little gray and wet there were several folks walking through the state capital grounds. The UW Badgers were having a home game and that fed the traffic volume.
The square surrounding the capital building had plenty of Midwest produce, chili peppers, artesian bread and squeaky cheese curds. It was refreshing to see so many folks carrying bags of fresh produce that would end up at the family table later that day/week.
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We bought extra delicious sweet corn and tomatoes and Mary made corn fritters with thick slices of tomatoes and a lime aioli (recipe follows).
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Monroe, WI:
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After the Madison farmer’s market we headed southwest to Monroe. Like most people, we cut out articles from the Sunday travel section specific to our geographical area and plan a future trip. We cut out a section on WI cheese last year and even took out the Rand McNally road atlas map and flagged the towns in the article, then we set it in the idea bin and ……waited.
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We stopped in Monroe because of Baumgartner’s cheese deli/bar. We ate some brats and a reuben sandwich and learned a little local lore from the bartender, but we weren’t daring enough to try the Limburger cheese. The beer on tap was from the New Glarus Brewery, Spotted Cow. It has a great crispy lager taste but it’s cloudy due to the fact that they tip their hat to the local farmer by adding corn to the brewing process. It is only available in WI so if you come across some in your travels through WI, pick-up a six-pack.
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Corny Corn Fritters
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In large mixing bowl combine:
1/2 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Corn Kernels
Stir and set aside.
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In another bowl stir to combine:
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
Combine both dry and wet ingredients and stir just to combine. Do not over-mix.
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Heat a large non-stick frying pan and drizzle a little oil in and drop fritter batter in by the tablespoon. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side or until a nice golden brown.
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Lime Aioli
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1/3 Cup Light Mayo
2-3 Tbsp Lime Juice
1-2 tsp minced Garlic
Whisk and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Serve fritters stacked with thick slices of tomato and some fresh basil leaves, then top each stack with the Lime Aioli.
What a FUN sojourn! Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL!
I absolutely LOVE corn fritters.
Zetta used to make them many long years ago.
I’ll be trying these with corn meal AND fresh corn. (Great new snack idea!)
Oh Wisconsin my LOVE! I love love love it there — and I also love love love a Spotted Cow. I hope your trip was wonderful!
Sounds like fun! And corn fritters…heaven!
great trip,the picture are so beautiful!and the corn fritters are delicious!
Love corn, love beer, love cheese, love lime – time to drive to Wisconsin!
Great fritters! The market photos are lovely.
Love the corn fritters…I want some! That looks like a fantastic farmer’s market also…beautiful pictures.
ooooooh! I want to go! I am always jealous ofthe farmer’s markets in the rest of the country, so jealous!
Oh, this looks like so much fun! I would love to go to something like this and stroll around. What a great day. And corn fritters
I don’t think you can go wrong withe corn fritters and beer, ever! Looks like a glorious day!
Believe it or not… I have not had any corn fritters! They sound tasty. I also love the lime take on Aioli.
Yes please! I would so love to try one of these!
Great photos!
Congrats on advancing to the next round in PFB!
Good luck…
LL
Sounds like you guys had fun! I love the pic with all the chili peppers.
I love how cheese curds squeak on your teeth when you eat them. I was in Portage, WI in January but just drove through Madison without stopping. Thanks for the reminder of a great area of the country.
Your corn fritters look fantastic.
I’d love for you to submit one of your beautiful photos, and a link to your post, to my new vegetarian photo gallery showcasing the best vegetarian dishes and recipes on the web.
What a delicious sounding snack! This mini road trip sounded like a great journey! I love road trips… I may need to take one here soon!
New Glarus makes many delicious beverages. I am particularly fond on their cherry and raspberry lambics. It is a must buy item when I cross into WI or when any family and friends do!
I didn’t know that! John has an account in WI, next time he’s picking up some Spotted Cow I’ll have him pick some up. Thank you for the suggestion Rachael!
~Mary