After last night's storm, some tomato plants had fallen over. This is before I picked them up. I don't seem to have lost any tomatoes (or eggplant - one of the tomato plants fell on two of my eggplants).

Last Sunday, I sprained my ankle. I don’t even have a glamorous, exciting story to go along with that statement. I was walking. There was a hole in the ground. My foot went in the hole. Snap. I’m off the crutches now, but I haven’t gotten much done that doesn’t require sitting with my foot elevated. So the garden still isn’t weeded. Maybe next week.

I’ve got plans I’m really looking forward to for the weekend (I’ll give you a wrap-up next week). If you’re looking for something to do, there are a few festivals you might want to check out in this week’s odds and ends.

• There are lots of farmers markets opening this weekend or next week – particularly by the shore. You can get details here, but opening in the next few days will be Hammonton, Smithville, Margate (opened yesterday), Stone Harbor, West Cape May, Woodbine, and Barneget (opened yesterday).
• I’m disappointed to be missing the East Coast Food & Wine Festival at Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington. If it’s anything like last year’s festival, it’s going to be a fabulous event. Five of NJ’s wineries will be represented and there will be seminars and cooking demonstrations.
• At the shore, The Point Pleasant Jazz & Blues Festival will be another place to taste NJ wines. Eleven wineries will be tasting their wines at the music festival.
• If you prefer beer, The Fourteenth Annual Garden State Beer Festival is this Saturday, June 26, featuring a self-guided visit of the Battleship New Jersey will be held on the Battleship New Jersey, 62 Battleship Pl, Camden. 1 to 5 PM; $40 (must be 21 or older). For tickets call 856-966-1652 ext 107.
• The summer issue of Edible Jersey is out and includes information on this year’s Festival of Farmers Markets
• I reviewed Emeril’s newest cookbook Farm to Fork for MNN. It’s a great cookbook for locavores.
• The next Iron Cupcake Challenge will be July 7 at the Pop Shop in Collingswood. This month’s cupcake theme is candy and proceeds will be donated to the Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation.

• Dates for the 2010′s East Coast Food & Wine Festival have been released – June 26&27. Last year, I really enjoyed the festival, and I plan on going this summer.
• Winslow Township’s Sharrott Winery made the front page of the print version of The Philadelphia Inquirer this week. Their food and drink writer Craig LeBan showed our South Jersey wineries lots of love with his piece Wines of S. Jersey draw fans. The article talks about the increasingly quality wines our region is producing. It highlighted Sharrott Winery but mentions some others, too.
• Treehugger has an interesting piece on canned beer’s 75th Anniversary. Know which state introduced the container that makes beer taste worse? Yep, good ‘ol NJ. There’s a lot of good information about refillable vs recyclable containers in the piece.
• The Northeast Organic Farming Association of NJ is having a winter conference this Saturday, Jan 30th at Rutgers in New Brunswick. The sessions are open to anyone and in addition to the sessions you can stop by the vendors and exhibitors sharing information and selling locally produced foods.  Their website says, “You will find products such as amazing cheeses from Cherry Grove Farm, Heirloom Tomato Ketchup from the Purple Dragon, Popcorn from Farmer Steve, Fresh bread from Village Bakery, and books from Rodale Press and Bountiful Gardens, as well as information on topics such as 
Soil Testing and Raw Milk.”
• The High Street Grill in Mount Holly will have its 2nd Annual Winter Beer Fest this Saturday, Jan 30th. Lots of craft breweries, including several in our region, will have their beers there to sample. Dress warmly – the event is outside!
• John and Lisa are Eating in South Jersey continues its series on interviews with our local chefs. This time it’s Chef Geoff Johnson from Copper Fish in Cape May.
• A couple of weeks ago I wrote about New Jersey’s local maple syrup. On Saturday, February 6, The Mercer County Park Commission will mark the beginning of the maple sugaring season with tree tapping workshops and a tape sale at Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township.  Other activities are planned, also.

Enjoy your weekend. I’ll be spending some time in DC’s Wine Country this weekend and checking out the small, local wineries in that region, and I’ve got a few restaurants that support that regions local farmers on my radar. Just because I’m traveling doesn’t mean I stop supporting local.