Friday, July 17, 2009

Save the Date - Calendar Picks for July


Ready to hit the road in search of adventures in local agriculture?

Here's a handy little guide to what's happening around the Sound this month.

King County Fair
July 16-18
www.metrokc.gov/parks/fair

13th Annual Sequim Lavendar Festival
July 17, 18 & 19
www.lavendarfestival.com

Mason County Fair
July 24-26
www.co.mason.wa.us/fairgrounds

Poulsbo Farmers Market Children's Day
July 25
www.poulsbofarmersmarket.org

Enumclaw Fair/Farmers Market
July 25-26

Thurston County Fair
July 29-August 2
www.co.thurston.wa.us/fair

U District Farmers Market Makes Huffington Post Top 10 List!


Way to go U District Farmers Market!

The Huffington Post has included Seattle's oldest and largest "farmers-only" neighborhood market as one of the top ten farmers markets in the US.

According to "HuffPost Green," the University District FM, along with their celebrated cohorts are cited for their dedication to fresh produce, locavore ideologies and innovative settings."

Of course, all those superlatives apply, but we're also fans (obviously) of all our farmers market partners here in Puget Sound.

In case you're missing details - the Saturday market, located at the corner of University Way and NE 50th, in the heart of Seattle's University District is open year-round from 9 AM - 2 PM. On-street parking can be found, and the market provides tokens to shoppers for one free hour of parking in nearby pay lots.

Living nearby, our Saturday morning ritual includes walking over with shopping bags in tow. First stop - a calorie-busting round of buttery pastries, then down to the business of tasting, visiting and stocking up.

Looking for markets in your neck of the woods? Be sure and visit Puget Sound Fresh and check out the PSF Farm Guide.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Food Lust Recap


The party may be over, but memories live forever, not to mention photos.

What happens at Food Lust stays at Food Lust, right?

Food Lust 2009 was a whirlwind affair and although the weather wasn’t’ quite as bright and shiny as we would have liked, nothing dampened the spirits of over 125 attendees who wined, dined, brawled (for bottles) and dashed for dessert and bid like pros for favorite auction items.

As far as the live auction, the evening’s biggest nail biter had to be the Farmer Chef Bacchanalia, with each new bid bringing an inspired round of table drumming, hearty cheers and sharp-eyed bidding. Some lucky Food Luster is now the recipient of a blowout feast for 12, featuring the talented Chef Tamara Murphy, Brasa, Chef Seth Caswell, emmer & rye and Autumn Martin, Theo Chocolates, along with VineOne Wines amidst the pastoral setting of Ninety Farms in Arlington.



Once again, we tip our hats, forks, knives and plates and everything else to all of our generous sponsors, donors and patrons, plus an incredible crew of hardworking volunteers, staff and our ultimate dynamic planning duo - our Board Chair Alison Leber and Board Member Seth Caswell.

Save the date for Food Lust 2010!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Tempting Food Lust

Paddles Up!

How can we tempt you? Let us count the ways at this year’s Food Lust on Saturday, June with a mind-boggling booty of temptations that comprise this year’s auction. We’ve been hard at work, combing the land (or at least Puget Sound) and procured a smorgasbord of enticing items that will make your pens soar at the silent auction and paddles sing when we go live.

We love 'em all, and we think you will too.

Speaking of love, Clayton Burrows of Growing Washington http://www.growingwashington.org/ showed us some with a spectacular Gobble, Gobble Thanksgiving CSA Share.

The winner of this item is going to be the envy of the entire neighborhood. First, you take ownership of your own turkey, raised by Growing Washington’s farmers at Alm Hill Gardens. Your turkey is fed only the finest organic feed and, along with its chicken and pig friends, roams around 2 acres of rotating forage.

Your turkey will have only one bad day, and that is the day before Thanksgiving. On this fateful and glorious day, your turkey becomes the centerpiece of a fabulous locally produced Thanksgiving. If you are a lover of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetable trays, pumpkin pie, cranberries, roasted vegetables, apple pie, berry desserts, winter squash, salads, and other traditional Thanksgiving fare, you’ll love eating an all-local Thanksgiving.

And, to show off your fabulous feast, you might need an equally impressive dining room. That’s where our new BFOF (Best Friend of Farmers), green interior designer Piper Lauri Salogga of Natural Balance Home and Office, http://www.naturalbalance9.com/ comes in with an amazing one-room makeover.

Here’s your chance to create the beautiful sustainable room of your dreams. Piper’s gathered up some of her favorite colleagues and created a full meal deal worth bidding on. You’ll get design consultation with Piper, professional organization consulting from Simplify, http://www.simplifyorganization.com/, and primo color consultation, courtesy of Nest, http://www.nestseattle.com/.

Once you choose that perfect color, along comes a full paint job from Hanoch Painting and of course the paint (non-toxic, of course) and four lovely accent pillows courtesy of Six Walls Interior Design, http://www.six-walls.com/. Of course, no room is complete without great lighting – you’ll get to choose a custom lampshade from Capitol Hill’s LiT, http://www.litshades.com/

However, without a ticket www.brownpapertickets.com/event/63334 you'll miss all the fun, not to mention your chance to bid on over 90 auction items.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Growing for a local market on grander scale