EatGreenDFW

First Sustainable & Grass-Fed BBQ Cook-Off In Oak Cliff Sept. 12

2010-08-31T20:08:45Z

You’ve missed the deadline to enter the annual Sustainable & Grass Fed BBQ competition (it was Aug 23) but you can still enjoy the first of what is planned to be an annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ competition street festival on Sunday, Sept. 12 in Oak Cliff.

The event will be along West Davis Street east of Tyler St. and will include live music at several locations. The BBQ cook-off will be behind The Kessler at 1230 West Davis. Teams will be required to cook on-site starting Saturday afternoon. Judging will take place Sunday afternoon with an‘official’ winner for each category as well as a ‘People’s Choice’ winner.

Part of the proceeds raised from the event will go to Sunset and Adamson Booster clubs.

Meats are being provided by Urban Acres through partnerships with area farmers who raise sustainable and grass fed animals.

More info at GoOakCliff.org.

Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free Snack Maker Joins EatGreenDFW

2010-08-31T15:25:57Z

Hail Merry, a Dallas maker of raw, vegan, gluten-free snacks is now on EatGreenDFW.com. The snack maker was founded by Dallas’ designer and mom Susan O’Brien, a yoga enthusiast and advocate for active, healthy living. She is a featured expert on the Modernmom.com blog created by Brooke Burke.

You can find out more about Hail Merry snacks, how they are made and where to finds them here.

Registration deadline extended for Farm & Food Leadership Conference

2010-08-28T14:41:06Z

If you’re interested in sustainable food and the policy and regulatory issues affecting our food supply, you should head on down to Austin Sept. 13-14 for two days of presentations and discussions on topics like the next Farm Bill, food safety issues, raw milk, Codex, NAIS, water use issues, regulation of slaughterhouses, Slow Money, and more.

Judith McGeary and her Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance have assembled a number of local, regional and national experts for some lively discussions on topics that directly impact local, sustainable food production and sales. National radio commentator and author Jim Hightower will provide the keynote address at Tuesday’s lunch.

The conference is being held at the Mexican-American Cultural Center at 600 River St., Austin. A full agenda is available here. The early registration deadline is Sept. 4. Cost is $90 for both days, $70 for spouses, seniors and students.

Sponsors include Wheatsville Food Co-op, Edible Austin, Edible Dallas & Fort Worth,
Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill, Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas and Shades of
Green Farm

First Ever Bag Designed for Farmers Market Shopping

2010-08-25T16:01:30Z

An on-line clothing company in San Francisco has come out with the first ever bag designed specifically for shopping at famers markets. Called the Cornucopia Bag, it can be carried as a shoulder bag while you shop, and then covert to a backpack for the walk home.

It’s also constructed with several different stacked compartments which can keep your different purchases separate so heavier purchases—say a melon—don’t squash that loaf of bread. And it has a compartment for carrying cash.

But it is expensive. At $120, you’d want to take it everywhere, even the trips to your local grocer. It’s also roomy enough to store all your gym stuff and could even double as a briefcase or a book bag—or so they claim.

They are Betabrand, an online-only clothing company based in San Francisco that “releases limited batch, local designs each week.” Formerly known as Cordarounds, the makers of “horizontal corduroy pants” the renamed Betabrand says that all it’s products are made in San Francisco, except for the the Cornucopia, which they admit, is the only product they sell produced in China. So much for pure local.

It’s available on line at http://betabrand.com/

Looking for Organic Cupcakes. EatGreenDFW Has Them

2010-08-11T16:03:09Z

We’ve just added a new bakery to EatGreenDFW. Candi’s Organic Cupcakes specializes in organic, no high fructose corn syrup, no trans fat cupcakes and cakes in flavors like Organic Almond Amaretto Wedding Cake, Organic Chocolate Hazelnut, Organic Banana Agave, Organic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and more. Check them out here.

Organic Diary, New Beef Producer Added to EatGreenDFW

2010-08-02T21:17:36Z

We’ve added two new farmers to our on-line listings. One, which you can find under the Protein tab is CK Cattle Company from Blue Ridge. They offer beef by the quarter or side.

The other is Texas Daily Harvest from Yantis. A certified organic farm. TDH is a licensed raw cows milk dairy and sells raw milk at the farm. Owner Kent Jisha also makes about 12 varieties of organic farmstead cheese, the only certified organic cow cheese made in Texas.

Site for Farmers Market Info

2010-08-02T19:32:30Z

The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First,(a self-described “people’s” think tank) is inviting anyone interested to post information about their favorite farmers market, farm stand or farm on a web site called Real Time Farms.

The site is described as a “community-sourced site, where everyone can contribute by adding and/or editing information and pictures to share their excitement and enthusiasm for their local market, farm, and/or vendor.”

And apparentlly they mean anyone.

Currently only the markets listed from North Texas are the ones in Coppel, Waxahachie and the Four Seasons markets at Addison and Firewheel. (And Firewheel is no more!).

So if you’re a marekt manager or just have a favorite local market or farm you’d like to tout, sign on and have at it.

West Village market Saturday just postponed

2010-07-26T15:41:10Z

In case you miss it, Katie Beal posted a reply to my post yesterday about markets closing. (The comments are really hard to see). Here it is.

“The West Village Farmer’s Market has not been cancelled. This week’s Market was rescheduled for Tuesday, July 27th from 6-10pm (*rain date Tuesday, August 3rd from 6-10pm) to be a part of the second annual Taste of West Village benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. The Market will return to the Saturday schedule thereafter.”

Sorry for any confusion.

Farmer’s market overload? Two down, one on the ropes?

2010-07-25T16:38:15Z

Looks like the surfeit of farmers market may be leading to a bit of a shake-out. With somewhere upwards of two dozen markets running in the DFW area—most on Saturdays—there just may not be enough farmers and/or customers to go around.

Our own EatGreenDFW market at Mockingbird Station closed a few weeks ago due to a lack of vendors and customers.

And this weekend two markets, the one at West Village and the Four Seasons Market at Firewheel were not open. Vince Hirth, the founder and manager of Four Seasons Markets says an inability to come to financial terms with Firewheel management led to his shuttering of the market, but he did admit that vendor attendance had been falling off since the 4^th of July weekend.

For reasons unknown, the West Village market did not come off yesterday. A security guard there didn’t know why but said the market would be back next week. There was no mention of it on the West Village web site, but according to vendors I spoke with, finding extra hands to sell for them at another Saturday market was problematic.

Hirth says that his Four Seasons Markets continue in Allen at Watters Creek on Fridays and on Saturdays and Sundays at The Village on the Parkway in Addison and vendor turnout is strong. Yesterday there were about a dozen vendors on hand at Addison, but the crown near closing was thin.

Meanwhile the Market at White Rock continues to be strong among both the vendors and customers. Yesterday the crowd was thick and in a buying mood and the vendors included produce, meats, a lot of breads and a variety of other foodstuffs.

Raw Milk Co-Op Anyone?

2010-07-21T19:13:58Z

Emily K. is interested in starting a small raw milk co-op for people who live in or near Richardson. She writes:

"We could get the milk from Texas Daily Harvest, a certified organic dairy farm near Sulphur Springs that milks 30 grass-fed jersey cows. They are the most affordable option in the area--- raw milk is $5 per gallon.

"My husband and I visited their farm on Saturday and purchased a wonderful gallon of raw milk. They also sell raw milk cheese and yogurt, as well as pastured eggs for a very affordable price.

"We could pick up milk every other week, and group members could take turns driving to the farm so that no one would have to make the trip more than once every few months.

"Please let me know if anyone has any interest!"

Email her at emily.kerr@ymail.com