My friend, Terri, works for Whole Foods in Duluth and when I found out that the Cobb Co. Whole Foods was donating drinks for their Eat-in, I contacted Terri! She put me in touch with the marketing leader for the Johns Creek Duluth store, who immediately responded to my e-mail with.....How much do you want?!!!! I am thrilled to have Whole Foods donate drinks to our event....one less thing I have to think of.
I spoke at length with Pilar, the owner of Rancho Alegre Farm and she is so excited about the event! I am too....just need to the word out. Help me spread the word around Gwinnett Co.!
Cheers! MK
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Introducing Rancho Alegre Farm
Eat-In Gwinnett host Rancho Alegre Farm occupies 21 acres of rolling pastures in Dacula, Georgia. Owned by Pilar and Juan Quintera, this equestrian paradise offers something for everyone,not only horses for riding, but farm animals for petting (the bunnies are beyond cute!), pumpkins (in season) for picking, gardening workshops, and an spacious event center with a large commercial kitchen which is available for use as a shared/community kitchen. Kids can even attend year-round camps to learn about caring, grooming and riding horses. Pilar plans to offer free range, organic eggs from the laying hens as well as organic fruits and vegetables from the gardens. What a great venue to host the first Eat-In Gwinnett!
Please join us for the Eat-in on Labor Day, September 7 at noon at Rancho Alegre Farm. You will be so happy you did. Not only will you help bring awareness to the need for improving food in our schools, but you will experience farm life in Gwinnett County on a real working farm!
See you on Sept. 7! Until then, eat well and eat locally!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Inspirations!
Sunday was a day of events that continue to fuel my drive to evangelize the numerous benefits of growing our own food and when that's not possible acquiring locally grown food from other sources.
Jack (my husband) and I went to our plot at Lanier Community Garden in Buford early (for us!) Sunday morning to water and harvest. As usual, we were delighted to find an abundance of tomatoes (black russians, yellow stuffing, grape and red and yellow stripies) ready for picking. The cantaloupes were few and apparently some kind of mold had attacked the leaves, so we ended up bringing home three and composting the rest along with the vines. We also picked some peppers and basil. Our neighbors, the Yoga Garden (from my yoga center, Yoga in Daily Life) also had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, okra, melons and more.
We hung out with some of our fellow gardeners, comparing notes and gardening challenges, before we watered the gardens and headed home.
Sunday afternoon, I went with friends to see Julie and Julia.....the movie inspired by Julie Powell, a woman who devoted a year to preparing all of Julia Child's recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Another source of inspiration - for preparing, eating and sharing good, real food. See it, but eat first!
After the movie, I went to visit my parents. They live across the street from a day care center and in front of the building is a beautiful fig tree. Prepared to harvest figs, I parked in the parking lot, grabbed my bag and set out. Unfortunately, there were more figs on the ground below the tree than actually on the tree. I did gather up enough figs to make a small container of fig jam, and there are more green figs on the tree....must be more diligent about harvesting (and visiting Mom and Dad!)
Dinner Sunday night consisted of small red and white potatoes roasted in fresh pesto (basil from our garden, potatoes from Suwanee Farmers Market). A salad of tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, lettuce (OK, not local, but I need my lettuce occasionally!), pecans (from my friend Barbara's tree) and goat cheese. What a wonderful, light, but filling summer meal and most of it we either grew ourselves or got locally!
EAT-IN update: I am in the process of entering email addresses that were obtained when Slow Food Atlanta tabled at the GA PTA convention. Once the e-mails are entered, we'll get out more EAT-IN info to schools around the state!
Until tomorrow....... eat well and locally!
Jack (my husband) and I went to our plot at Lanier Community Garden in Buford early (for us!) Sunday morning to water and harvest. As usual, we were delighted to find an abundance of tomatoes (black russians, yellow stuffing, grape and red and yellow stripies) ready for picking. The cantaloupes were few and apparently some kind of mold had attacked the leaves, so we ended up bringing home three and composting the rest along with the vines. We also picked some peppers and basil. Our neighbors, the Yoga Garden (from my yoga center, Yoga in Daily Life) also had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, okra, melons and more.
We hung out with some of our fellow gardeners, comparing notes and gardening challenges, before we watered the gardens and headed home.
Sunday afternoon, I went with friends to see Julie and Julia.....the movie inspired by Julie Powell, a woman who devoted a year to preparing all of Julia Child's recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Another source of inspiration - for preparing, eating and sharing good, real food. See it, but eat first!
After the movie, I went to visit my parents. They live across the street from a day care center and in front of the building is a beautiful fig tree. Prepared to harvest figs, I parked in the parking lot, grabbed my bag and set out. Unfortunately, there were more figs on the ground below the tree than actually on the tree. I did gather up enough figs to make a small container of fig jam, and there are more green figs on the tree....must be more diligent about harvesting (and visiting Mom and Dad!)
Dinner Sunday night consisted of small red and white potatoes roasted in fresh pesto (basil from our garden, potatoes from Suwanee Farmers Market). A salad of tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, lettuce (OK, not local, but I need my lettuce occasionally!), pecans (from my friend Barbara's tree) and goat cheese. What a wonderful, light, but filling summer meal and most of it we either grew ourselves or got locally!
EAT-IN update: I am in the process of entering email addresses that were obtained when Slow Food Atlanta tabled at the GA PTA convention. Once the e-mails are entered, we'll get out more EAT-IN info to schools around the state!
Until tomorrow....... eat well and locally!
Friday, August 14, 2009
EAT-IN GWINNETT COUNTY @ RANCHO ALEGRE FARM, DACULA!
LABOR DAY, S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 9
A SLOW FOOD USA CAMPAIGN
Slow Food USA (www.slowfoodusa.org) has launched a national campaign to tell Congress to
provide real food and increased $$ for more than 30 million children participating in the
National School Lunch Program
(part of the Child Nutrition Act that Congress will reauthorize in Fall, 2009)
Gwinnett County Eat-In Picnic
Monday, September 7 @ 12 Noon
(It’s Free! Bring healthy food, your own plates, cups, utensils to reduce waste)
Rancho Alegre Farm
(a working ranch/farm in Gwinnett Co.)
2225 Givens Road • Dacula, GA 30019
http://www.ranchoalegrefarm.com/
Invite your family, friends, co-workers and classmates to share good food
and help bring awareness to the need for increased funding for the School Lunch Program.
Join us and help bring healthy food into our schools!
Over 200 picnics will be happening nationwide that day in support of Real Food In Schools. We'd like to see more money for school lunches, more fresh vegetables, and more support for programs bringing fresh food to kids. [Petition] And we'd like to see all of you out at the Ranch to enjoy a beautiful day with a great group of folks!
Over 200 picnics will be happening nationwide that day in support of Real Food In Schools. We'd like to see more money for school lunches, more fresh vegetables, and more support for programs bringing fresh food to kids. [Petition] And we'd like to see all of you out at the Ranch to enjoy a beautiful day with a great group of folks!
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