New Work :: School Gardens :: Buford Middle School

Stay tuned for more Hasselblad photos from the past few months!

PVF CSA :: Week 5 - 8

Potomac Vegetable Farm CSA 2012

Foggy Bottom FARMFRESH Market, Sept. 2011

[Rescheduled] DC Urban Farms Bike Tour

The DC Urban Farms Bike Tour has been rescheduled for this Saturday, May 21, 1-6PM, with happy hour to follow at Big Bear Cafe. The bike tour will include five stops: Neighborhood Farm Initiative, Washington Youth Garden, The Farm at Walker Jones, City Blossoms and Common Good City Farm. The full schedule is available here. The Facebook event page is available here.

Teacher Appreciation, Locavore Style

In honor of teacher appreciation week at the beginning of May, the McLean High School PTSA (of McLean, VA) had the excellent idea to host a local lunch for their teachers. Produce was donated by Maple Avenue Farm and Bigg Riggs Farm; "time and talent" was donated by Maple Avenue Restaurant Chef Tim Ma, Joey Hernandez and crew, to prepare the lunch. PTSA volunteers braved a rainy morning on May 4, to harvest lettuce at Maple Avenue Farm in Great Falls, and I had the chance to document this portion of the event. (I didn't make it to the lunch the next day, as I was working at a farmers market, but I hear it was a huge success.) Here's to more events like this one that bring together local, sustainable, delicious resources!

Maple Avenue Farm is one of several projects run by Chris & Sara Guerre. Their produce is sold at two Farmers Markets in Northern Virginia and at their store in Vienna, VA: Maple Avenue Market, "a small, family-owned local foods store that is committed to supporting area farmers and producers and serving as a community resource for all of us who want to learn more about where our food comes from, and more importantly...where it should come from." They also work with Arlington County Public Schools, to provide local produce for students.

Incidentally, though the name is similar, Maple Avenue Restaurant is a separate entity, begun right around the same time as the Maple Avenue Market, in 2009. The two businesses are located just down the street from each other (as their names indicate). The restaurant uses local ingredients in its dishes, including chicken from the renowned Polyface Farm located further south in Virginia.

The volunteers harvest lettuce:

Chris (center) and Sara (red rain jacket) talk with the PTSA volunteers as the morning task of harvesting lettuce comes to an end.

The sun came out just after all the lettuce had been picked (of course!).

The farm has brand new chickens this year! (I've purchased a few dozen eggs from the Market and they've resulted in some delicious omelets!)


Find out additional information at the Maple Avenue Market website and Facebook page. And if you're a local, you definitely need to check it out!

This Week in Rochester (and beyond)

Food, Photography, and Farm events this week........

Dirt! The Movie Airs Tuesday, April 20, 10PM EST on PBS
_______________________________________________

Photographer Lauren Greenfield to speak at Rochester Institute of Technology

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Time: 7-8PM
Location: Liberal Arts Bldg (6), Room A205
Cost: Free

Additional information available at RIT's School of Photographic Arts and Sciences Facebook event page.
_______________________________________________

FYI: Thursday, April 22 is Earth Day.
_______________________________________________

RIT Community Garden Kick-Off

Date: Thursday April 22, 2010
Time: 11AM - 1PM
Location: Southside of U-Lot near the tennis courts

All RIT community members are invited to come and look, visit with current garden members, ask questions, get your hands dirty digging, pulling or tilling, and its not to late to join!
_______________________________________________

University of Rochester: Earth Week

Check out the earth week link, to see a variety of fun activities at U of R this week, including a Local Foods Dinner and a screening of Fresh.
_______________________________________________

GVOCSA Spring Kick-Off

Date: Sunday, April 25, 2010, rain or shine
Time: 2PM
Location: 2231 Welcher Road, Newark, NY

Festivities will begin at the Maypole (near the farm parking lot) followed by a wildflower walk led by Local CSA member Leona Lauster along the trail on the Kraai Preserve. Leona is an avid birder so bring binoculars. Tours of the farm will be available. The celebration concludes with a potluck supper. Please bring a dish to share and your own place settings. The farm will provide beverages.
_______________________________________________

Do you know about any additional upcoming events? Post below!

Easter Eggs

Here's my little kitchen creation for the day. Sadly, for some reason I have yet to purchase paprika. I could have sworn I'd bought it long ago. Anyway, try to envision the eggs with the orange sprinkling of the seasoning. The free-range eggs were purchased yesterday at the Rochester Public Market, from a vender by the name of Old Home Farms. The recipe was a slight variation of this one. Though the addition of a few teaspoons of lemon juice is key! And I used a trick I learned last summer from a coworker: instead of halving the eggs lengthwise, I halved them at the width, but used a knife to take a sliver off the pointy ends of the egg. Then they stand up on their own, which is a nice little variation to the basic deviled egg.

Happy Easter! May your day be spent with family, friends and delicious food!