I’ve been hearing rumors for weeks that city officials were making the rounds and visiting the small farmers markets that have cropped up in spots such as Celebration, Bolsa, and North Haven Gardens. Now comes official word from Ed Lowe of Celebration. They have shut him down and he’s going to the Dallas City Council.
The City of Dallas Health Department has decided that the Celebration Farmers Market is in violation of certain codes. Celebration was told on 2 previous occasions that we could operate a Farmers Market in our parking lot under our existing permits. We strongly believe that all food handling practices and food products at the Farmers Market were perfectly safe. We have complied strictly with all Health Department codes for 38 years and take our responsibility to public health VERY SERIOUSLY.
We appreciate the warm welcome and support that you’ve provided our Saturday Farmers Market. We believe that what we along with our wonderful vendors are offering is a safe, fun and convenient setting for you to purchase healthy, delicious, local produce and other products.
We are going to approach the Dallas City Council to explore how the code can be modified to allow the Celebration Farmers Markets and others like us to provide a valuable service to the citizens of Dallas while protecting the public health.
I have contacted Ed and asked him for instructions on how you can sign the petition he plans to take to the Dallas City Council. Stay tuned. (OMG, I can hear Amy Severson already.)
15 Comments »How many of you have visited a small winery and gotten swept up in the romance of tending the vines and making your own wine? It’s happened to me on more than ten occasions. Ah, the cool morning breeze in your hair; the dogs and chickens running freely through the fields; sharing endless glasses of wine with happy customers. Snap!
On October 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville will host a “Prospective Wine-Grape Growers Workshop.” The workshop will be presented by Fran Pontasch and Fritz Westover of the Texas AgrLife Extension Service viticulture team. Pontasch is the team’s North Texas viticulture adviser and Westover serves as the Gulf Coast viticulture adviser.
They will present a real-life look at the most common concerns potential or small-scale producers may have prior to committing valuable resources towards a commercial vineyard enterprise. Topics will include necessary viticulture expertise, vineyard site selection, risk factors, and vineyard labor requirements and economics.
When the class is over, perhaps we can all discuss the dogs, chickens, and endless glasses of wine ideas. Details for the class below. Continue reading "Prospective Wine-Grape Grower Workshop on October 12 in Stephenville"
3 Comments »I bought some Texas cream peas last week in East Texas and they were delicious. I cooked them in chicken stock with big hunks of Noonday onions and thyme from my herb garden. However when I really get ambitious, I make this nifty recipe I clipped from TexMo a couple of years ago. You can buy some this weekend at the Dallas Farmers Market, along with these other local and regional goodies.
Angela’s Farm – lots of onions – red, yellow and white! Yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, peas are starting to come in
Berry Best Farm – Organic Blueberries
Birch Creek Farms – acorn and yellow squash, cucumbers, zucchini, new potato’s – Yukon gold and red Pontiac potato’s, purple top turnips, – THEY are selling out fast every weekend so be here early!
Comeback Creek – blueberries, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumbers, and squash
Coopers Organic Farm with certified organic onions
Dan Massey – Cream red new potato’s, yellow straight neck squash, green zucchini, Blue Lake green beans, Japanese cantaloupe, Crimson Sweet watermelons, seedless watermelons, Small Jubilee watermelons, Black Diamond watermelons, blackberries and jalapeño peppers, Black-eyes and Purple Hull peas (weather pending), tomato’s
Dis-n-Dat – eggs
Fred’s Alaska Seafood – salmon and crab legs
Fretwell Produce – okra, yellow crook neck squash, patty pan squash, 8-ball squash, gold and green zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, red new potato’s, Pablano peppers, Jalapeño peppers, sweet banana, Marconi pepper, green bell peppers, white 1015’s and purple sweet onions
Haney Farm – eggs
Harmony Harvest – eggs and veggies- also has CSA group
Heather Duncan – cut flower bouquets out of her garden, she also has a recipe for Lavender Lemonade made from her own lavender!
Heddin Family Farm – Texas Cream peas, Purple Hulls and Black eye peas, green beans, green tomato’s, Cayenne Peppers, Jalapeño Peppers, squash, red new potato’s, zucchini, pickling cucumbers
J.T. Lemley – yellow squash, 8-ball squash, tomato’s, onions, peaches, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, plums, blackberries, cucumbers, new potato’s, sweet yellow onions
Joe Smith Farms – hanging baskets of flowers and annuals/perennials to plant – really great deals and good for garden pots
John Lucido – still has some herb plants and of course his herb pasta and canned goodies
JuHa – Pork and Goat meat, eggs
JZJ Beef – Beefmaster beef, beef jerky, and beef sticks!
Kitchen Pride – Mushrooms – Oyster, Portabella, Baby Bells, and White Button
La Esperanza Farm – variety of spring vegetables – can’t even list them all!
Lightsey Farm – peaches, onions, potato’s, plums, blackberries, green beans, zucchini, apricots
Mill Creek Farms is also bringing in squash, potato’s and peas
Northstar Ranch – Beef and pork –
Orchid Garden with specialty plants and beautiful orchids
Savoy Sorbet – Sundays – herbal infused sorbet from her herb garden
TxHoneybee Guild – local honey and zip code honey
TxLonghorn Cooperative – Saturday’s and Sunday’s with certified Longhorn Beef
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Jon Alexis of TJ’ Market contacted me last week and told me he was going to eat his way through the recent New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. I asked him to send a report. He did. I forgot to post it. Sorry Jon, you are not the only thing I’ve forgotten lately. Better late than never? I don’t know, I’ve run out of apologetic clichés. Here goes:
7 Comments »“Food is music to the body, music is food to the heart.” — Gregory David Roberts
One could argue that food and music are two of life’s purist pleasures. Agree? Then book your trip to next year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (or Jazzfest as everyone calls it) today.
Obviously the festival is about music…not just jazz, but blues, gospel, zydeco, ragtime, world music and rock. With approximately 100 festival concerts each day, and evening showcases that last until 5am every night, the jazzfest is a music lover’s dream. We saw Neil Young, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Tab Benoit, John Scofield, Doc Watson, The Funky Meters and many more.
But how does one have the energy to dance in the sun all day, and until it comes back up the next morning? By stuffing one’s face the entire time with decadent New Orleans food.
One of my favorite restaurants is…in the back of a gas station. Genie at the Quick & Easy across from the airport is a hidden gem. A former New Orleans resident on the rental car bus overhead me discussing and quickly agreed, so I’m not crazy. Crawfish boudin, white beans & rice with ham hock and cornbread on a styrophoam plate? Now THAT’S how you start off a weekend of eating.
Continue reading "Jon Alexis Reports on New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival"
I have chunky blue cheese fatigue and wish more restaurants would make real Thousand Island salad dressing. Perhaps I should pull out my dusty Joy of Cooking and look on the inside back cover where I keep the trusty recipe I developed when I was a pantry cook in 1973. Every morning I made 300 deviled eggs, a gallon of poppy seed dressing, and a gallon of Thousand Island.
Nikki our favorite spice girl jarred the memory of my favorite salad dressing when she announced a salad dressing contest this Saturday, April 25, at Northaven Gardens. It’s a small part of their their Herb Weekend festivities. The guest judge is Chris Dahlander of Snappy Salads. Entry form and the rules are here. Deadline for registration is noon on Saturday.
8 Comments »Amy and Jim “Sevy” Severson are big supporters of the Dallas Farmers Market, especially the Days of Taste program and the cooking classes. Amy posted a comment earlier under this post about neighborhood’s running their own local markets. She brings up some great points. Our downtown Farmers Market needs some love. Let’s discuss. Thanks for your thoughts, Amy.
22 Comments »First, I was under the impression that the city health permits for these events were problematic. As in permit cost and requirements for food that needs refrigeration and special care.
Second, it raises the question if so many people are interested in smaller, more intimate settings for markets, is the downtown Farmer’s Market serving the city as well as it could.
Hubby and I have been big supporters of the Dallas Farmer’s Market and its programs over the last 15 years (cooking classes, Days of Taste), but it is discouraging to see how few people believe that it is truly a “Farmers’” market. Most people I talk to feel it is just the same produce that is sold by vendors to the supermarkets (and in some cases they are correct), so why bother to go?
Nice to see so many people getting into supporting our local farmers. Lots of improvements going on at the main market downtown, but here comes a new one:
Mockingbird Station is hosting a local farmer’s market program that is kicking off on Earth Day (April 22) from 5-8 p.m. It will include only local growers and gardeners, and for the special Earth Day celebration, there will be a “green” workshop for tips on composting, water conservation, recycling, and sustainable energy. And to celebrate Earth day property-wide, retailers such as Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are having a sidewalk sale of environmentally-conscious and/or locally made products. After this, the Farmer’s Market will be held every Thursday night (5-8 p.m.) through the end of May.
BYOBirkenstocks.
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Just received an e-mail from Josh Viertel, president of Slow Food USA. He reports that this morning First Lady Michelle Obama and twenty six 5th graders broke ground for an organic vegetable garden on the lawn of the White House. He says:
Today they removed sod. It’s what you’ve got to do if you want to replace a lawn with a vegetable garden. It is also hard work. I’ve done a lot of it. Once you’re done though, things look different, and the work starts to happen quickly. Today’s ground-breaking has fueled the conversation, the commitment and the hope…People are feeling optimistic…, I looked at the lawn, and I squinted my eyes to try to imagine it, and I thought, “Someday there will be a vegetable garden here. That said they’ve got a lot on their plate, so I’m not going to hold my breath.” I guess sometimes what’s right trumps what’s reasonable.
If you haven’t joined Slow Food Dallas, you can now. Even if you don’t join, check out the list of local events.
2 Comments »AFI Dallas is getting ready to begin on March 26th. I happy to report that the lineup of films includes two showings of Food Inc., the Robert Keener film that takes “an unsalted look at America’s industrial food system—dirty, crowded cattle lots, genetically modified veggies, fast food chains and processing plants.”
Kenner gets behind the real story of how food gets to your table and it’s a story that corporate America doesn’t want you to know. The film has two showings at the AFI film festivalone, on Monday, March 30 at 7:30 PM at the Magnolia Theatre and the second on Tuesday, March 31 at 10:00 PM at the Magnolia Theatre. The film’s director, Robert Kenner, will be in attendance. Want a quick bite? Check out the film’s trailer below.
(I’m tearing out my yard and planting a garden, Nikki where are you?)
Continue reading "AFI Film Festival: Food Inc."
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Our favorite Spice Girl, Nikki from Northaven Gardens, has a message and a dare for you.
It is time to plant seed potatoes, shallots, onions, asparagus, and berries. You can also plant broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and greens right now. The cole crops all do great in cold weather. Most of my lettuces survived the ice and last night I ate salad with my own lettuce and made homemade dressing with my own herbs that all survived quite well. Anywhoo, there you go! We’re daring all the true foodies to grow their own food this year!
Well, la-di-da, la-di-da, la-di-da, Miss Nikki. Or shall I say Mrs. Nikki who has a husband to do the heavy digging and lifting. No, I am not bitter, just without husband and not capable of digging a garden. I do grow herbs in pots on my patio. However, if anyone wants to start a community garden patch with me, I’ll do my share of the work.
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