What’s in The Heirloom Stack?

The Heirloom Stack Is a Farm Box Composed Like a Menu
The Heirloom Stack from Pandemonium Gardens is a seasonally composed gourmet meal kit from our micro-garden in Valparaiso, Indiana. We call it a Wild Kit. Every ingredient is grown or chosen to be eaten with the others, at the moment it comes into season, and the recipe card from Peter, our Culinary Director, shows you exactly how.

If you’ve been searching for farm boxes in Northwest Indiana, you’ve discovered a Wild Kit: a box built around what’s in season, what we grow, and the specific varietals we grow it from.

Heirloom Tomatoes in Northwest Indiana, Chosen Varietal by Varietal

Stupice opens our season, a small Czech heirloom prized for ripening early with real depth of flavor. Behind it come deeply ribbed Italian varieties, bred generations ago for eating raw when the fruit is warm from the sun, and Black Beauty, a dark, nearly plum-colored tomato that turns dense and rich at full ripeness. These are heirloom tomatoes grown in Northwest Indiana soil and picked when they’re ready.

The Herbs and Alliums Change with the Garden

Because everything is grown here, the herbs shift with the season. Basil varieties vary through the summer and can include Japanese lettuce leaf, with its broad crinkled leaves, Greek basil, and the classic Italian Genovese. Abraxas rosemary brings the piney depth that ties a tomato dish together.

The alliums come from our first harvest: Rossa di Milano red onions, an Italian variety with a clean, bright sharpness; Crème Brûlée shallots, which cook down sweet and silky; and Persian garlic, warm and rounded in flavor. Growing our own varietals means the box reflects the garden in the week it was picked.

Sourdough Baked with Wagyu Tallow

Our sourdough is baked with wagyu tallow worked into the dough, a piece of culinary technique by Culinary Director, Peter Kolavo that enriches the crumb and gives the crust a deep, savory finish. Good olive oil and Maldon salt with our chef-curated recipes complete the box.

A Short Trip from Chicago, or We Come to You

Pick up the Heirloom Stack at the Valparaiso Market on our dates (August 8 and 22, September 5, 19, and 26), at scheduled pickup dates in Valparaiso, or at the garden by appointment. We also deliver: Valparaiso, St. John, Cedar Lake, Portage, Hobart, and Michiana Shores, with routes reaching Grand Beach, New Buffalo, and Chicago. For Chicago cooks, Valparaiso is a short trip from the city, and the tomatoes are worth the drive.