food

Wake County Democratic Party's 31st Annual Valentine Fundraiser
Friday, February 18th, 2011 from 5:30pm – 8pm.
NCAE Building 700 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC.

Over 400 local Democratic Elected Officials, Community Leaders, and Volunteers will pack the NCAE Conference Center for food, fellowship, and good ol' politicking.

Congressmen David Price & Brad Miller will be in attendance as we honor their former colleague, Bob Etheridge.

Tickets $25 in advance/$35 at the door
Sponsorships Available

• Congressman Bob & Faye Etheridge will be honored as Sweethearts of the Year.
• Candidates & Elected Officials at all levels of government will be in attendance.
• This year we will be honoring Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and County Commissioner Harold Webb as the Ronnie Condrey Mentoring Award recipients.

For more information call 828-5656 or email admin@wakedems.org

Hey all my awesome BlueNC and other foodie friends! I haven't been around much lately, but I know you all care about safe food, local farms and building safe, local food networks soooo... I thought you'd want to know about this speaker who's coming to Raleigh soon.

[You've been praying for news that didn't involve anyone named Mike or Easley anyway, I know.]

On November 9th, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and Burt's Bees are hosting 2008 MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner, Will Allen. Allen is Founder and CEO of Growing Power, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI.

If you've seen the documentary FRESH, you know who Will Allen is.

When my in-house recipe taster and I went to the North Carolina State Fair yesterday, we were looking forward to hot crisp french fries, the gardening exhibits, and the midway. We'd long ago given up planning to eat real meals at the fair and this year's publicity about chocolate-covered bacon didn't make us think it would be any different. We were wrong: the state fair is on its way to becoming a veritable vegetarian paradise!

The Evolution of Eating Habits: Veg becomes Visible

This diary offers a tour of some great vegetarian food at the fair. (For the photos, see cross-post at CookforGood.com) I feel that I witnessed a real change in American eating habits and tastes. The fair used to be all corn dogs, ham biscuits, smoked turkey legs, and deep-fried everything. To be sure, those foods still dominate, along with new confections like chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick. But the fair is a merciless environment in which profitable foods succeed and ones that don't sell don't return. People are clearly asking for and buying vegetarian and vegetable dishes at the fair. Consider joining them to cast your vote for the success of these meals.

The spring crops are filling the markets and the early summer crops are on their way. Cows and chickens produce more in the spring too. Prices for organic and sustainably raised food continue to drop as people cut back on their grocery bills. It's a better time than ever to support farmers who produce organic and sustainably raised food: they need your business and the prices are comparatively low.

Look below the fold for the monthly food-price report.

It's another surprising month at Cook for Good. Organic meals on the Cook for Good plan now cost an average of $1.75 per meal, down from $1.88 last month and even lower than the $1.79 in January. All prices are from Raleigh or Durham. That's despite upgrading several ingredients: the organic basket now includes organic versions of cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, hot sauce, and couscous. Regular meals are up 3 cents to $1.15 on the average. You can go green for $0.60 a meal or 52% more total for the month.

I also did a little experiment weighing beans to see if dried beans are really the bargain I thought they were. Yes, indeed! Details below the fold.