Locavore odds and ends: spring is just about here

It’s a rainy Saturday morning. The boys slept at a friends house last night. What am I doing? Am I sleeping in? Of course not. So I might as well be talking to you all. Brian and I went with our friends Penny and Michael to Tortilla Press Cantina last night for dinner (see can’t go a week without mentioning Chef Mark and his restaurants, can I?) Great food, great company, great wine and margaritas. Never a doubt about any of that at Chef Mark’s restaurants.

Okay, on with this weeks odds and ends.

• In case you missed the mention of it earlier this week, South Jersey Locavore was mentioned in a New York Times piece on New Jersey food blogging. A Vibrant Culture of Food Blogging was in both their Sunday print version and published online. I’m sure you’ll recognize some of the other blogs mentioned in the piece, and you may find some new NJ food blogs to frequent, too. It was such a thrill to be recognized by The New York Times, and it also gave this blog quite a boost in readership.
• Springdale Farms Market in Cherry Hill opened yesterday for the season. If you spend $40 between now and March 27th, you’ll get a $5 in Green Thumb Bucks to spend in April. Also, their Egg Hunt Hayrides will begin on March 27th. I can’t wait until the end of May when I get to pick strawberries at Springdale.
• Sustainable Cherry Hill and McNaughton’s Nursery will present a series of free gardening workshops on March 20th. Planning Your Landscape, Organic Lawncare, Planning a Pond, and Composting classes will be offered throughout the day. For more information call 856-429-6745. McNaughton’s is located at 351 Kresson Rd. Cherry Hill.
• Five New Jersey’s Estate Wineries — Alba Vineyard in Finesville, Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington, Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, Laurita Winery in New Egypt, and Cape May Winery in Cape May– will be hosting Girlfriend Getaway Weekend March 27 & 28th. Each winery will be offering its own version of events geared towards women. More information on what will take place at each winery as well as directions and links to each winery’s website can be found by visiting www.slowfoodandwinefestival.com.
• April’s issue of Grid, the magazine dedicated to sustainable Philadelphia and the surrounding region, is all about gardening. It includes this piece about a South Philly woman who starts seedlings in her basement and sells them locally.
• The Philadelphia Go Green Expo will be April 16-18th at the Philadelphia Convention Center. I went last year, and there were a few local food producers there along with every other green/sustainable type vendor you can imagine. It’s interesting to attend exhibits like this to see what’s out there and what some businesses try to pass off as green. There are a lot of legitimate exhibits, but there are always a few that make you scream “greenwash” in your head. This year, Tupperware is one of the exhibits. I’m really curious to see the green twist associated with it.

That’s it for the odds and ends this week. I’ve got onion, spinach, and a few types of lettuces to plant this week. I was hoping to get them planted this weekend, but that’s not happening. I hope to get them in the ground later this week when it dries up a bit. I’ll let you know how it goes.