One week from tomorrow, I’ll be skipping through the Collingswood Farmers Market. Maybe not literally skipping, but my heart will be skipping. Opening day is one of my favorite days of the year. Before Collingswood, though, the Westmont Farmers Market will have its opening day on Wednesday, May 2. We’ve got a Little League game that night, so chances are I won’t have the chance to make it to Westmont, but I’m sure some of you will be heading there for opening day.
This weekend, I’ll be hitting up the Audubon Town Wide Yard Sale, working in my garden, and hanging with my men. While I’m doing that, you can take a look at these items of interest.
- WHYY’s Newsworks has a piece about the new South Jersey Swappers group that I told you about the other week. Lauren Vitagliano, the group’s organizer, is interviewed about why she started the group and what she hopes it accomplishes. I already have my ticket to the first swap on May 19. Will I be seeing you there?
- If you’re deciding which tomatoes to plant in your garden this season, Philly.com taste tests several varieties of heirloom, patio/container, and cherry/grape tomatoes. Their results might help you choose what to plant.
- Duffield’s posted the most wonderful words on their Facebook page today, “Lots of Strawberries, now in the market!!! We now have flats too!”
- Farmers in Cape May County are cultivating beach plumbs. Press of Atlantic City calls them a “high-value niche crops that can supply limited markets.”
- Did you know New Jersey is the birthplace of the Mason Jar? The New York Times has the information on the man and his invention that sparked a revolution in home canning.
- Six Collingswood restaurants will be participating in a Farm-to-Fork-to-Farm composting program. New Jersey Newsroom reports that Bistro DiMarino, Casona, DiBartolo Bakery, El Sitio Grill & Café, Sapori, and Villa Barone will be working with Organic Diversion to have their food waste composted.
- Finally, the South Jersey Locavore Facebook page got its 200th follower this week! If haven’t you “liked” the page yet, pop over there right now.
Image: Market Manager/flickr
It’s been a long time since I’ve watched HGTV. Long before we cancelled cable (and then subscribed again via FIOS and want to cancel again except that then we’d miss Game of Thrones), I had to ban the home improvement channel from my sight. Why? I was constantly mid-project. I’d take on huge projects because I saw them on HGTV and thought, “I can do that.” And usually, I could, but it would take time, money, and often help from my husband who didn’t even know I’d started a project. So I went cold turkey with the home improvement shows. (Recently, I’ve snuck in an episode of Divine Design when I’ve happened upon it because, seriously, Candice Olson is a genius!)
It occurred to me today that Pinterest is my new HGTV. The project ideas I get are smaller. And less costly. And don’t need my husband’s assistance. But, I keep trying things I see on Pinterest. Earlier this week, I did a total failure of a chocolate covered strawberries in ice cube trays experiment that looked so promising in a 3×3 inch box on Pinterest. I’ve tried hair styles – braids and that roll your hair in a sock overnight idea that everyone’s pinning. Meh.
When the hair ideas didn’t excite me, I found this awesome photo of a bob on Pinterest, showed it to my hair stylist, and last week I had about 8 inches of hair cut off. Probably my most successful Pinterest-inspired project to date. (Mine is a bit longer than the one in the photo, but my hair is so bouncy and healthy!)
Today, I was inspired to try to regrow celery from the base of a celery stock. That’s what the photo above is. The idea is that the celery base, kept in water on a sunny window sill, will begin to regrow. Once there are some leaves growing, you can plant it in soil inside or outside, and grow an entirely new stalk of celery. I’ll let you know how the experiment works out.
If you’re on Pinterest, follow my Pinterest boards. If you’re on Pinterest, and would like me and my SJL readers to follow you, leave your URL in the comment section.
From my experiment in hyperdecanting. Giving wine a whirl in the blender can be a good, although not particularly classy, thing.
We got the garden weeded last weekend, and I had hoped to start planting this weekend, but the predicted heavy rains for Sunday make that a bad idea. Maybe next weekend.
I have just a few odds and ends for you this weekend.
- Slow Food South Jersey Shore invites everyone to come hear Tama Matsuoka, forager and author of “Foraged Flavor,” speak at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Facility on Friday, May 18 at 6pm. Cost is $5 payable at the door. Learn how to find delicious, edible food in your backyard.
- Garden State Wine Growers Association has the list of participating wineries up for their Mother’s Day Wine Trail Weekend.
- Wegmans Grocery Store (who works with many local farmers when their produce is in season and carries Jersey seafood when available) is hosting a Celebrate Organic Event this weekend, Friday from 4pm-6pm and Saturday from 11am-3pm. They’ll be several tasting stations and $6 in organic coupons.
- I wrote a piece for MNN earlier this week on Hyperdecanting Wine. Basically, you pour your wine in a blender to add a lot of oxygen to it quickly. I’m curious about how the method will work with some of our local NJ wines. If I try it out with something local, I’ll be sure to let you know my discoveries.
Enjoy your weekend!
