Freshest News

Calendar updates & posts to resume next week

Leslie Seaton — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:15:03 +0000

Hey everyone! Leslie here. Regular readers of the Seattle Event Calendar sites (Fresh-Picked, Freeattle and Seattle Natural Selection) might recall that I got a new job last year and due to the rather unpredictable nature of scheduling with it, it's created some challenges with posting on a consistent basis. I apologize for that and really appreciate that readers have stuck with the site, even when the posting schedule has been a little...unscheduled.

The past few weeks have been once again hectic at work, and, to be honest, Reader, when I wasn't working, I didn't want to be stuck inside making calendar updates. It's just been too too pretty out. It's a crime to waste Seattle sunshine!

So in order to avoid being cited and fined for improper use of a sunny day, I've spent my few off hours trotting up some local hills and picnicking. I hope you will all forgive me.

The calendars for all three sites will have significant updates completed by Monday, so please head back for a new crop of fun things to do.

In the meantime, you can see some fun things I've been up to via the below slideshows of recent hikes.

Seattle Tilth Chicken Coop & Urban Farm Tour tomorrow, Sat, Jul 14

Leslie Seaton — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:59:23 +0000

Last summer, I checked out the Seattle Tilth Urban Farm and Chicken Coop tour to see what some of our Seattle homesteading neighbors are up to. Check out the slideshow below for a peek (click through to Flickr for the captions).

You can take the tour, too! It's happening this Saturday, July 14. Tickets available here.

Free weekend food events: lavender, fishing, foraging, grilling, more!

Leslie Seaton — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:29:52 +0000

Image via Flickr user nakae

FREE! events this weekend: local food tastings, lavender gardening, fly fishing, composting, foraging, grilling and global cuisine. Also check out the round-up of FREE! wine tastings.

Sat, June 23

FREE! Metro Market Tastings: Metro Market is holding a ton of tastings of local products this month. Today you can taste: Anne’s Pesto (Admiral 11am-3pm), Boat Street Pickles (Kirkland 4-7pm), Half Pops (Queen Anne 11am-2pm; Kirkland 3:30-6:30pm), Tom Douglas Rub with Love (Proctor 11am-2pm & 3-6pm), The Essential Bakery (Uptown 11am-2pm), Twin Brook Creamery (Kirkland 11am-2pm), Theo Chocolate (Admiral 3:30-6:30pm), Whidbey Island Ice Cream (Kirkland 11am-3pm).
FREE! Fly Fishing 101. “Now’s your chance to learn fly fishing basics in one of our free fly fishing 101 classes. Free fishing lessons on fly casting and outfit rigging. If you're looking for a great way to get the family together outside, our FF101 class is the perfect event to get started. Fly fishing is a sport the whole family can participate in. All ages are welcome to attend the event, but those under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Bring the whole family and learn what this great sport is all about. Space is limited in these classes, Please RSVP to a participating locations to reserve your space.”
10am: FREE! Gardening Seminar: Lavender at Sunnyside Nursery. “Liven up your landscape, and your life, with lavender! From tiny ‘Thumbelina’ to potpourri perfect ‘Provence’, acquaint yourself with a multitude of varieties of this multipurpose plant. Plus, share in discussing a variety of ways you can use lavender ‘after harvest’ with nursery staff member and fellow lover of lavender, Melissa Volk. All classes begin at 10:00 am. Educational classes are free…Advanced registration is appreciated for all classes.”
10:30am-12pm: FREE! Bellevue Demonstration Garden Classes: Home Composting.
11am-1pm: FREE! Foraging Foods with Doug Benoliel at the Skagit Valley Co-op. “Join Doug Benoliel, author of the newly revised classic Northwest Foraging, for a presentation of 5 of his most favorite wild edible plants. The book, originally published nearly 40 years ago, quickly became the standard for the region's wild plant foods. Now fully updated and expanded, the new edition provides thorough descriptions of more than 50 common edible plants. Additionally, he will provide an overview of the art and science of foraging for wild plant foods in the Pacific Northwest. Doug Benoliel’s enthusiasm and fascination with plants led to a degree in botany from the University of Washington in 1969. He has been utilizing and teaching about wild edible plants ever since, in community colleges, recreational centers, and with the National Outdoor Leadership School(NOLS). He and his wife live on a small, organic vegetable farm on Lopez Island.”

Sun, June 24

FREE! Metro Market Tastings: Metro Market is holding a ton of tastings of local products this month. Today you can taste: Amy’s Kitchen (Admiral 11am-2pm), Dulcet Cuisine (Uptown 12-3pm; Admiral 4-7pm), Tom Douglas Rub with Love (Sand Point 11am-2pm & 3-6pm), Thaifusions (Uptown 3-6pm),Wilcox Family Farm (Proctor 11am-2pm).
FREE! Williams-Sonoma Grill Master Demos: Fish and Seafood. “Discover the secrets to cooking fish and seafood on the grill. We'll demonstrate how to prepare and season seafood and explain the proper way to grill it so it emerges perfectly done and delicious. You'll learn how to cook fish on a wooden grilling plank, a technique that infuses foods with enticing smoky flavor. Plus, we'll share some of our favorite seafood accompaniments.
2pm: FREE! Book Talk: Cindy's Supper Club: Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends at Elliott Bay Book Co. “This afternoon, Top Chef Masters veteran and Napa restauranteur Cindy Pawlcyn joins us for an informal meet and greet, and booksigning in our cookbook section. We'll have some samples from her delicious new book, Cindy's Supper Club: Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends (Ten Speed Press). Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurants include Mustard's Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Go Fish, and a new restaurant at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Her books include Fog City Diner Cookbook, and Mustard's Grill Napa Valley Cookbook. Please join us.”

The Freeno Report: this week's free wine tasting schedule

Leslie Seaton — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:26:21 +0000

Image via Flickr user Robert S. DonovanHere's the round-up of free wine tastings this weekend.

The usual reminder: I put this together before all the shops might have posted their tastings (ergo, they might not make it on the calendar). A listing of all the places that have had free tastings in the past is on the main Wine page. If you don't see one on the calendar that strikes your fancy, check out the list and the shops' sites and you might something more to your taste.

FREE WINE TASTINGS

Weekday free food events, week of June 18

Leslie Seaton — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:22:26 +0000

This week’s weekday FREE! events include a ton of free tastings of locally-produced products. There’s also a cookbook demo with Michael Natkin of Herbivoracious, a book club with Tara Austen Weaver on Julia Child’s My Life in France, Seattle Tilth gardening classes and more. Head back here later this week for the weekend events.

Mon, June 18, 7-8:30pm: Discussion with Tara Austen Weaver: Book Group—My Life in France at Book Larder. “Join host Tara Austen Weaver on the third Monday of each month as we discuss culinary tomes both old and new. Julia Child would have turned 100 this summer, so we decided to honor her big birthday by reading My Life In France.”

Tue, June 19

4-7pm: Grand Central Bakery Tasting at the Admiral Metro Market. “Led by owner Gwen Bassetti, Grand Central is a fresh, locally grown company dedicated to the craft of artisan baking and scratch cooking. Run by a unique mixture of family and friends, along with some of the region's most talented bakers and cooks. Taste their artisan breads!”
6-8pm: Five Zero Nine Wines Tasting at Wine World. “Come on down and meet Steve from Five Zero Nine Wines who will be at our tasting bar from 6-8pm pouring their amazing Washington Wines. You will like Steve, and you will love the wines!”
6:30-8pm: Demonstration with Michael Natkin: Herbivoracious at Book Larder. “Vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike are hungry for new and different options when it comes to our meatless meals; now a new era of vegetarian cooking is upon us. Popular vegetarian blogger Michael Natkin’s new book Herbivoracious heralds this new generation in meatless cooking and vegetarian cookbooks. Join us as Michael shows us how to bring more vegetables into our lives with some delicious bites from the book. This author talk is free. There's no need to register, just mark your calendar and come on by.”

Wed, June 20

3-7pm: Judy Fu’s Tasting at the Admiral Metro Market. “Judy Fu's creative and flavorful recipes are inspired interpretations of the foods of her North China homeland. They have earned Judy a large following of devoted and enthusiastic fans at the popular Snappy Dragon. Now you can enjoy a selection of these Authentic Chinese Flavors in your own home.”
3-7pm: DRY Soda Tasting at the Kirkland Metro Market. “DRY Soda Co. has re-imagined what soda can be: better tasting and better for you. The result is a less sweet soda that allows its fruit, flower and herbal flavors to shine through.”
5:30-7pm: Seattle Tilth Class : Container Herb Gardening at Victor Steinbrueck Park. “This summer, Seattle Tilth will teach apartment and condominium dwellers how to grow vegetables and herbs in containers and how to compost food waste indoors or on balconies or patios. Great for beginning and experienced gardeners, these classes provide new ideas and troubleshoot site challenges. All classes are FREE; participants need to register ahead of time.”
6-8pm: Sound Brewery Tasting at Wine World. “Sound Brewery will be here to pour a selection of their beer!! Sound Brewery is the dream project realized for five like-minded individuals with a common goal: To make and distribute the types of beers that they’ve been buying, searching for, imagining, brewing and enjoying for decades. They’re brewers and enthusiasts, creatives, engineers and business people, working together to build a brewery that lets them express themselves by making the beers that they think other enthusiasts will appreciate.”

Thu, June 21

Metro Market Tastings: Metro Market is holding a ton of tastings of local products this month. Today you can taste: Fran’s Chocolates (Uptown 4-7pm), Dulcet Cuisine (Proctor 4-7pm), Gourmando Salad Dressing (Kirkland 3-7pm), Golazo Sports Hydration(Uptown 11am-2pm).
5-6:30pm: Wine Tasting: SW France at Esquin. “Taste in the SW of France...new selections not to be missed.”
5-9pm: Direct Trade Chocolate Tasting Happy Hour at Chocolopolis. “Direct Trade is a step (or many flights) above fair trade. It means chocolate makers are buying their cacao directly from farmers or farmer-owned coops, and they're paying a premium for quality cacao that's been well fermented. The farmers make a lot more than they would selling fair trade cacao, and the chocolate makers get better quality beans for making chocolate. Samples tonight includ Madecasse, Taza, Askinosie, Patric and Rogue Chocolatier.”
5:30-7pm: Seattle Tilth Class: Container Salad Gardening at Denny Park. RSVP.

Fri, June 22: Metro Market Tastings: Metro Market is holding a ton of tastings of local products this month. Today you can taste: Amy's Kitchen (Sand Point 11am-2pm), Anne’s Pesto (Queen Anne 3-7pm), Dulcet Cuisine (Kirkland 4-7pm), Twin Brook Creamery (Proctor 3-7pm), Whidbey Island Pies (Proctor 3-7pm)

Fresh-Picked Father's Day gift and event ideas

Leslie Seaton — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:19:00 +0000

Image via Flickr user FoundPhotoslj

Reposted from last year, updated with this year's events...

Looking for a gift for dad or maybe something for the two of you to do together on Dad's Day?

Check out the below calendar for some upcoming Father's Day events, and - okay, so it's stereotypical - I've thrown in some beer and BBQ events too.

If you like the idea of a cooking class or event as a gift, but your dad's culinary interests lie elsewhere, here are some other ideas.

Maybe he's an aspiring angler. Here’s a listing of fishing classes and local schools.

Maybe watching Top Chef has him wanting to chop like a professional. Here’s a calendar of upcoming knife skills classes.

For more cooking class ideas, check out the full alphabetical listing of topic pages. Each has its own calendar of related events so you can track down just the perfect event for your foodie father.

Whatever you decide to give and do, hope you have a great day with dad!

Free community event this week: EatMeetGreet (UPDATED)

Leslie Seaton — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:46:45 +0000

Image via EatMeetGreet ticketing on EventBrite

UPDATED: PLEASE NOTE THE DAYS HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO FRIDAY AND SATURDAY INSTEAD OF SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

Last year, I did an interview with baking blogger Betsy Eves of JavaCupcake about her weight loss, and how she did it while maintaining a blog about delicious and decidedly NOT dietetic sweets. One of her comments about her relationship with food echoed something I've heard from a lot of food bloggers, writers, and others involved with the food community: their interest was initially specific to food and cooking itself, but over time, it really became about the people that came together around the food.

Food can be delicious, and cooking, a challenging creative activity, but it's the bringing together of people around the table that transforms the mere act of eating into something larger.

On Friday and Saturday this week, you can participate in a FREE! community event to explore how food can bring people together. Details below and here's the link where you can get a ticket.

EatMeetGreet

EatMeetGreet is a series of two interactive installations investigating the eating experience.

Hosted by Seattle Center’s Next50 and in collaboration with Metropolitan Market Catering, this project seeks to engage people in the sharing of a meal, so that they may interact through new conversations and relationships with one another. Utilizing food as material, eating as performance and conversation as stimulant, these personal and intimate experiences will live as simple yet strong and compelling social interactions. There will be two eating experiences: Sandwiched and FeedMe, both seeking to invade personal boundaries to encourage the building of new relationships.

Sandwiched: please join us on Friday, June 15, 2012 for a special lunch beginning at 1:00pm.

FeedMe: the experience continues on Saturday, June 16 for an interactive brunch starting at 11:00am.

All events are free and open to the public. Reserve your spot to participate in these social interactions!

*Both events involve eating and may contain meat and dairy products. Vegetarian options are available.

Two free candy events on Thursday

Leslie Seaton — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:03:23 +0000

If you or your dad has a sweet tooth, here are a couple events to consider on Thursday. Check out a sampling of Father's Day gift ideas at Chocolopolis, or head over to Theo Chocolate for an event with Kate Hopkins of Accidental Hedonist for her new book "Sweet Tooth: The Bittersweet History of Candy." Bonus at the Theo event: special Theo-ized versions of classic treats. And both are FREE!

Thu, June 14, 5-9pm: FREE! Father's Day Preview at Chocolopolis. “Think chocolate is just for Mother's Day? You couldn't be further from the truth. What father wouldn't love to receive a gift of chocolate geared to his palate? We'll be sampling single-origin chocolates from our Father's Day bar packs, showcasing terroir from different parts of the world as well as fantasic chocolate cigars filled with hazelnut praline or candied orange.”

Thu, June 14, 7pm: FREE! “SWEET TOOTH: The Bittersweet History of Candy” Book Event with local author Kate Hopkins at Theo Chocolate. “With special one-night-only Theo confections inspired by the book!...Tonight we feature local author Kate Hopkins’ new book, Sweet Tooth. It’s a history of candy and how it evolved from medicine and luxury to corner store ubiquity, and not only did we enjoy reading it—Theo is featured in it! Join us for a short reading, Q & A with the author, and a sampling of special Theo confections inspired by the book. From Italian nougat & Turkish Delight, to Peppermint Patties & Nut Brittle, our kitchen crew is having fun figuring out how to give these historical favorites the Theo treatment.”

Food issues: farm workers, the Farm Bill, local food, food justice

Leslie Seaton — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:08:40 +0000

Image via Flickr user IMLS DCCDelve deeper into the stories behind the food on your plate and in our grocery stores. Here are some upcoming events that focus on topics of farm work, food justice, the Farm Bill, and a provocative look at the sustainability of the local food movement.

And to learn more about the history of agriculture here in our state, check out a couple online resources, the Farm Workers in Washington State History Project and a HistoryLink piece on Japanese farming in the Pacific Northwest. (There are a lot of other resources and stories on HistoryLink, so definitely poke around that site for more.)

Wed, June 13, 6:30-8:30pm: FREE! A Dream In My Heart-Sueno en Mi Corazon: Journey of a Farmer Worker Women. “Who harvests our fresh fruits and vegetables we have at our table? Come and join us for an evening of motivation and inspiration from one of our Mujeres of the Northwest as she shares her life as a migrant farm worker, Guadalupe Cavazos. Guadalupe Cavazos is a Family Law and Immigration attorney and is now part of our family at Mujeres of the NW.”

Sun, Jun 17, 2-4pm: FREE! Northwest Farm Bill Action Group Workshop at the Beacon Hill Library. “The Northwest Farm Bill Action Group is offering a free workshop about the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill and the state of our food system. This event is free and there will be snacks! The workshop is designed to educate communities about the Farm Bill, its connection to the global food system and to food sovereignty, and to spark discussion on how individuals and groups as citizen activists can work toward establishing a healthier, sustainable, equitable Farm Bill and food system. Concrete examples or ‘tools’ for changing the food system are included. The workshop is adoptable and adaptable to different community needs in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.”

Thu, June 28, 7:30-9pm: Pierre Desrochers: Eat Global at Town Hall. “Food activists might think ‘sustainable farming” and ‘eating local’ can solve all the problems with our modern food-supply system. But Pierre Desrochers, co-author of The Locavore’s Dilemma, disagrees. Desrochers explains the history, science, and economics of food supply to reveal what locavores miss or misunderstand: the real environmental impacts of agricultural production; the drudgery of subsistence farming; and the essential role large-scale, industrial producers play in making food more available, varied, affordable, and nutritionally rich than ever. In the end, he says, eating globally, not only locally, is the way to save the planet.” $5

Sat, Jul 15, 5pm: Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere! Dinner. “Community Alliance for Global Justice is a grassroots, volunteer- led organization who organizes individuals and allied organizations to strengthen local economies everywhere by advocating for food justice, fair trade, and just agricultural policies, and by holding government, corporations, and foundations accountable for their actions…CAGJ's annual dinner plays a pivotal role in our organizing and fundraising efforts. The annual dinner not only raises one-third of CAGJ's annual budget, but serves as a key networking opportunity for those working to promote food justice here in Seattle and around the world. It is a unique event because we sponsor workers and organizers from across the food system to be guests at the dinner. This ensures a diverse event and exciting conversation. This year we are highlighting the publication of the second edition of our book, ‘Our Food, Our Right: Recipes for Food Justice.’ We are proud to have two of our contributors, Valerie Segrest and Elise Krohn from the Northwest Indian College, as our keynote speakers. Valerie also founded the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project. Through their work on health and social justice, Valerie and Elise aim to reintroduce traditional foods into the diets of native people in the Pacific Northwest. Support your local economy and be part of the vibrant food justice community by buying a ticket today!” Sliding scale $40-100

Free beginning edible & native plant identification class taught by, uh, me

Leslie Seaton — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:52:59 +0000

Hey there folks, it's Leslie, runner of Fresh-Picked. So here's a first: I am not just listing an event, I am actually, like, offering it. Well, me and the Seattle Free School.

On July 22, from 11am-1pm, I'll lead a FREE! beginning edible & native plant ID class at Carkeek Park. If that sounds good to you, head here to sign up as there are only spots for ten people.

If you'd like to read a bit more about why I'm teaching this class - and just who do I think I am, anyway, teaching a class??? - continue below.

I've mentioned the Free School a lot on this site, but in case you haven't come across them before, it's a decentralized community knowledge exchange. Everyday folks - like you! and now, me! - who have some knowledge to share can volunteer to teach a class to fellow community members who can take the class for free. No money changes hands at any point, everything is free.

I've taken Seattle Free School classes on canning, cheese-making, basic HTML coding, tea, leadership and probably something else I've forgotten.

And one of the points I like about the Free School is that you don't have to be an expert in order to teach a class, just enthusiastic about sharing what you do know.

So that's why I decided I would finally give back by signing up to teach something. As noted in the event description below, I really just started this process of learning about wild food about three years ago. (Although I clearly must have harbored some deep-seated interest even before I started this site as I did go on - somewhat randomly at the time - an ethnobotany float trip back in 2007.) I am not an expert, but I have spent a rather large chunk of my free time over the past few years taking classs, going on guided walks, and generally trudging around outdoors peering at plants & trying to figure out who they are and what they do. And with all that, I think I've maybe moved past the beginner stage and can actually help other folks who are in the beginner stage.

(That said, I still don't really know about most trees or mushrooms, so if you come to the class, don't ask. I'll throw you right out!)

(I won't really throw you out.)

Anyway, that's a big giant preamble to say, hey, I'm teaching this class and if you'd like to sign up, I'd be thrilled to see you there! Full description is below, and again, sign up on the Seattle Free School site.

Beginning Edible & Native Plant Identification

Sun, Jul 22, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Location: Carkeek Park

If you are curious about wild food and foraging, but don’t quite know how to get started, come on this introductory walk through Carkeek Park to learn about various native and edible plants. The walk will be led by Leslie Seaton, who runs the event calendars Fresh-Picked Seattle (food events), Freeattle (free events) and Seattle Natural Selection (outdoor & nature events). She’s spent the past three years attending many wild food events and knows just what’s it’s like to be an absolute beginner at botany.

This walk is targeted at beginners and will focus not only on the specific plants we see that day, but also on strategies and resources (books, organizations, classes, etc.) that have helped Leslie move from complete novice to….*less* of a novice and that can help you continue your learning after the walk.

We won’t be able to harvest from this city park, but there might be samples available so you can try things. A link to a PDF online resource packet with photos and recipes will be made available after the walk to all attendees.

Photography can be an excellent way to get started with learning plant identification, so if you have a camera or camera-phone, charge it up and bring it along! Also pen and paper for notes or sketches. If there is a real deluge, we might need to reschedule, but if it’s sprinkling, we’ll probably continue. Walk is limited to ten people. If there is additional interest, additional dates might be scheduled.

Register Here