Local Foods and Gardening Events May 2010

The farmer's market season is gearing up!  Get out there and eat some delicious local foods! Hounds in the Kitchen Events

Kids Cook requires pre-registration for a five week session beginning May 6.  Currently the class is full but you may fill out the Registration Form for your 3 - 6 year old to be put on the wait list.

OpenHeartART Open House - May 8 from 3 - 8 pm, 270 W Lakeview 43202.  Come play and register for summer camps, including a food camp lead by yours truly.  More details on my Summer Special Events page.

Sprout Soup Day Camp Open House - May 15 from 11 am - 1 pm, 4310 N High St 43214.  Enjoy some sample activities and register for Day Camps for kids ages 3 and up, including three weeks of Kids Cook camps.  More details on my Summer Special Events page.

Not in May, but clear space on your calendar now! Hounds in the Kitchen Garden Hound Homestead Open House - Saturday June 5 from 11 am - 1 pm.  Come tour our homestead and enjoy homemade backyard fresh tea and treats.  Email Rachel for our address.

Farmer's Market Opening Dates (hat tip to Columbus Foodie for starting the list!)

North Market Farmers Market: Saturdays starting May 1, 8 am Clintonville Farmers Market: Saturdays starting May 1, 9 am - noon Uptown Westerville Farmers Market: Wednesdays starting May 5 3 - 6 pm and Saturdays starting June 6 10 am - 1 pm Worthington Farmers Market: Saturdays starting May 8, 9 am - noon Pearl Alley Market: Tuesdays and Fridays starting May 18, 10:30 am - 2 pm Dublin Farmers Market: Wednesdays starting May 19 Market at 15th and High: Thursdays starting May 27, 4 - 7 pm

Events hosted by others (in chronological order)

Market to Market Bicycle Adventure Saturday May 1.  Eat breakfast at North or Hills market from 8 - 10 am, ride to the other market with stops at eco friendly booths along the way, and enjoy Jeni's ice cream at the end of your ride.  $15 registering in advance or $20 the day of.

Kahiki Day at The Hills Market Saturday May 1. Free taste of Kahiki 10 am - 3 pm, Kahiki dinner at 6 pm, $35, make reservations 614.846.3220 or e-mail manager@thehillsmarket.com.

The Hills Market Pancake Breakfasts Saturdays 8 - 10 am and Sundays 10 am - 1 pm starting May 1.  Stack of pancakes, sausage and coffee for $5; also be serving $3 cocktails, as well.

Wild Goose Too Many Cooks Sunday May 2, 7 - 9 pm.  Chef Matt Prokopchak from Trattoria Roma in Grandview will prepare samples of a 3 course meal prepared by Matt with ingredients sourced from the Clintonville Community Market.

Dine Originals Cooking Series Wednesday May 5, May 19, and May 26, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, North Market. $50.

Chadwick Arboretum Plant Sale Friday May 7, 7 am - 7 pm and Saturday May 8, 8 am - 3 pm.  Offerings at the plant sale include heirloom vegetables, herbs, hostas and other perennials, annuals and tropicals, native plants, hanging baskets, unusual and dwarf conifers, rain garden plants, roses, as well as garden art and gifts for Mother's Day. A comprehensive list of plants expected to be available at the sale is available on the arboretum's website, http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu.

Gahanna May Herb Day Saturday May 8 10 am - 9 pm.  From demonstrations to herb sales, a gallery walk to kids activities, the Gahanna Herb Day has something for everyone.

Spring Plant Sale Saturday May 8 and Sunday May 9 10 am - 5 pm, Franklin Park Conservatory.  Shop a variety of annuals and perennials.

Compost Series Saturdays May 15 - 29, times and cost vary, Franklin Park Conservatory.  Join experts for Compost 101, Build your own vermicompost bin, and/or Using your compost.

Wood Fired Cooking Camp Saturday - Sunday May 15 - 16, Franklin Park Conservatory. Explore all forms of contemporary wood-fired cooking and use the most popular live-fire devices, specialty tools and cookware. $60 per day. Registration required.

Wild Goose Foodie Potluck Sunday May 16, 4 - 10 pm.

Intro to Raw Foods Saturday May 22, 10 am - 2 pm, Faire La Cuisine, Granville.  $50.

Peas and Asparagus Cooking Class Sunday May 23, 1 - 3 pm Franklin Park Conservatory.  Harvest in season produce and cook it in an interactive class.  $50, register in advance.

Grillmaster's Festival Saturday and Sunday May 29 - 30, North Market.  There will be smoke, fire, and tasty grilled foods.

Do you have any events to add?

Bike to Work Challenge 2010

May 10 begins the Bike to Work Challenge for 2010. The premise is simple - log your rides to and from work for 10 days. The team with the best percentage of rides wins pride and prizes.

You don't work traditionally? Neither do I! I created the Columbus Catch-Alls for those of us who have multiple part time jobs, are full-time parents, work from home, or are part time retirees.  Join the Catch-Alls and bicycle to meetings, the coffee shop, preschool drop off, or where ever your work takes you.

If you do work in a traditional workplace, join or create a team with your coworkers.  If you are reading from another city or state (Hi!) look for Bike Month activities at the League of American Bicyclists.

Participating in the Bike to Work Challenge was a great motivator for me last year. It is so easy to hop in the car, but being part of a team helped me choose the bike instead.

Who's in?

Recycle Your Plant Pots!

Did you know that the black and green plastic pots seedlings come in are not recycleable in Rumpke pickup?  (Non-Columbus locals may have a different recycling situation.) They aren't, but you need not dismay.

The Ohio State University Chadwick Aboretum and Learning Gardens are hosting a pot and tray recycling event on Saturday June 19.  From 8 am - 2 pm gardeners can drop off their plastic goods at the Vivian Hall parking lot, 2120 Fyffe Rd.  This will be a simple drive through event with volunteers directing traffic and unloading cars.  Clean non-food grade syrofoam (such as packing peanuts and TV/computer forms) will also be accepted.

The group is looking for volunteers as well as recyclers.  Contact Mary Maloney, Director, at 688-3479 if you can spare a few hours to help.

Watch me on 10 TV!

10TV is filming a live segment with me at 7:50 am this Sunday.  Set your DVRs for my first extended television appearance, one that will hopefully not involve too many 'umm's, 'err's, or stumbles. I'll be talking meal planning, cooking as a family, and doing a cooking demonstration.

If you just can't wait for Hound video, check out this example of what Lil learns from listening to Alex:

Local Food and Gardening Events: April 2010

Fresh produce and gardening weather are in full force this month.  Enjoy them! First up, Hounds in the Kitchen events:

Kids Cook every Thursday at Sprout Soup (4310 N High St) from 11:15 am – 12 pm.

Thursday, April 1 – Butter

Thursday, April 8 – Veggie Sushi

Thursday, April 15 – Lettuce

Thursday, April 22 – Earth Day Eats

Thursday, April 29 – Mint

Edible Container Gardening ~  Families or individuals will learn how to grow vegetables and herbs in pots by making a salad container garden to take home. Saturday April 17 from 2 – 3 p.m. at Sprout Soup.  $20 per container which can be shared among a family.  Please reserve your space by emailing Rachel.

I will also be leading a demonstration at the April 22 Earth Day celebration at Franklin Park.  Details are TBA for my event, but the free celebration runs from 3 - 10 PM.

Events around town:

Food Inc showing, TODAY Thursday April 1, 9:30 pm, Studio 35, $5

Edible Columbus Arrival Party, Friday April 2, 6 - 7:30 pm, Hills Market

Columbus Winter Farmer's Market, Saturday April 3 and 17, 10 am - 1 pm, First UU Church

Dine Original's Chef Series Classes, Wednesdays April 7, 14, and 28, North Market, $50 per class.

Local Matters Open House, Thursday April 8, 6 - 8 pm.

EcoDublin Expo, Saturday April 10, 9 am - noon, Dublin Recreation Center

Fundamentals of Gardening series, Saturdays April 10 - 24, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm, Franklin Park Conservatory, $35 members, $45 non-members.

Don't Be Afraid of Cooking with Tofu, Sunday April 11, 2 - 5 pm, Wild Goose Creative, $35 per person, details in link.

Earth Day Volunteering, Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18, various sites around town.

Earth Day Dinner, Tuesday April 20, 6:30 pm, Hills Market, $45 per person, follow link for reservations.

Earth Day Celebration, Thursday April 22, 3 - 10 pm, Franklin Park Conservatory, free!

If you know of an event that should be on this calendar, please leave a comment and I'll add it to the list.

Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution

Jaime Oliver, British chef, TV star, and activist, is launching his Food Revolution here in the US.  Contrary to many reality show hosts, Oliver is not just a pretty face working for advertising dollars.  He has campaigned in the UK for years to improve the school food system and encourage from scratch cooking with and for children.  He recently won a TED prize with a powerful speech about food education for children. Alex and I watched the sneak peak of Oliver's Huntington West Virginia based Food Revolution show last Sunday.  Jaime's challenge is to improve the school foods and general community health of the least healthy city in America.  His approach is to replace highly processed meat and starch based meals with fresh made from scratch whole foods.

I largely advocate opting out of industrialized food systems by making your own food and eating at home as much as possible.  Yet I admire Jaime and others (Columbus' own Local Matters has elementary education and advocacy programs) who attack the systems head on.  School lunch programs are huge purchasers of food and making changes in schools can affect change system wide.

As anyone who works in food education knows, there is plenty of resistance to whole food cooking.  First, many families are addicted to processed food both for taste and supposed convenience.  Then there are USDA regulations which specify nutritional content and number of servings which are largely guided by the interests of Big Ag profiteers.  Finally, students, teachers, cooks, and administrators need lots of education about why spending the time and money to transition to from scratch cooking is not just a good idea, but possibly a life saving one.

The next six episodes of Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution air Friday nights at 9 pm on ABC (the first episode is a 2 hour premier starting at 8 pm) and repeating on Saturday afternoons.  I will be watching with interest and hope that others who need inspiration and education will tune in too.

April Kids Cooking Classes

April has five Thursdays, which means five Kids Cook classes!  Children aged 3 - 6 years can join me at Sprout Soup (4310 N High St) from 11:15 am - 12 pm.  Here are the topics for April: Thursday, April 1 - Butter

Thursday, April 8 - Veggie Sushi

Thursday, April 15 - Lettuce

Thursday, April 22 - Earth Day Eats

Thursday, April 29 - Mint

Each Kids Cook class costs $4 per child.  We make at least two dishes together, taste them, and kids go home with a recipe card.  All classes are nut and meat free.  Allergies can be accommodated with advance notification to Rachel.  RSVP is not required.

April's special event is Edible Container Gardening!  Families or individuals will learn how to grow vegetables and herbs in pots by making a salad container garden to take home. Saturday April 17 from 2 - 3 p.m. at Sprout Soup.  $20 per container which can be shared among a family.  Please reserve your space by emailing Rachel.

Last but not least (and not in April!) don't forget about the Edible Urban Gardening class this coming Tuesday, March 30, at Greenovate (9 E. Second St) from 7 -8  pm.  Free, no RSVP required.

Spring! Gardening! Events!

The time change, sunshine, and green things sprouting everywhere are sure signs that spring is coming. Join me to celebrate the season!

On Saturday the 20th I am hosting the EGGstravaganza for kids of all ages from 12 - 1:30 pm at Sprout Soup.  We'll make lunch, dye eggs, and visit a laying hen.  $5 per child; $15 family maximum.  Please don't forget to email your RSVP so I bring enough supplies.

On Tuesday the 30th I will repeat my talk from OEFFA about sustainable urban edible gardening.  Greenovate is hosting the discussion from 7 - 8 pm.  This event is free with no RSVP required.

Finally, please remember to take the blog reader survey.  I plan to close responses on Monday the 22nd.