Please Vote For Arcadia

Per an email from Arcadia:

"Arcadia Farms, a program under the DC non-profit Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, has entered to win a $65,000 grant through Nature's Path Organic 'Gardens for Good' contest.

"Three winning farms will be selected from the top ten finalists, so please vote for us on Facebook: http://goo.gl/mIoV4 ... you can vote multiple times (upwards to 30 or more) simply by clicking the 'Vote' button until it turns to 'Voted,' so please vote frequently and share with friends!

"A 'Gardens for Good' grant would allow us to:

"1) Expand our farm to grow food exclusively for the Arcadia Mobile Market, a retrofitted school bus that distributes produce to low-income, Washington DC-area residents who lack access to healthy, affordable food options. Funding will specifically help us staff and develop this farm expansion, as well as support our 'matching dollar' programs and the acceptance of federal food assistance (such at SNAP, WIC, and SFMNP), thereby increasing the purchasing power of our underserved neighbors.

"2) Expand our interactive farm field trip programming for urban youth. Arcadia’s D.C. Farm to School Network serves Washington, DC students by coordinating educational field trips to Arcadia Farm and interactive school visits by the Mobile Market. These activities help to connect D.C. schoolchildren with the food system, thereby expanding their understanding of where food comes from and healthy eating choices. Funding will specifically help us staff our educational outreach programs, and bus students to Arcadia Farm from schools who otherwise lack transportation funds.

"Our entry is listed under Benjamin Bartley, the Mobile Market Manager for Arcadia.

"Thanks for voting for a more equitable and sustainable food system in our nation’s capital! 

"Thanks!!!!

"Mo and the Arcadia Team"

Click For: Good NYT Article

Well, I don’t have a DC Beer Week report because we couldn’t make it to any of the events. Boo hoo. I, however, hit our favorite neighborhood bar, Galaxy Hut, solo to at least partake in beer drinking during its namesake week. We love this no-frills spot for its constantly rotating taps, snappy hot dogs, and piles of tater tots. I got a couple inconspicuous pics of the taps and bartender thanks to my new-ish iPhone. (I should take this opportunity to mention that the first photo looks the way it does thanks to the Hipstamatic app. Awesome, right? You’ll notice it in previous posts too.)

The peppers from the balcony garden are in full effect now. Coming in strong. And boy are they hot. Like habanero hot on the Scoville Scale. But boy are they fantastic.

I’m kinda off-kilter recently so that’s all I got going on right now. Here’s a few cool sites to check out. Next time I’ll have something more substantive to share.

FoodCorps
The Canal House
The Lexicon of Sustainability
Handwritten Recipes
Art of the Menu

P.S.

Forgot to mention that I checked out the National Archives' "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?" exhibit on the government's effect on the American diet. Small but packed with lots of interesting and eye-opening things.

Gazpacho, Hummus, Scones, And More

I cooked a lot this week, especially yesterday. It was such a stormy day out, it just made me feel like staying in and hunkering down in the kitchen.

First I made Cook's Illustrated's creamy gazpacho recipe. The key is salting the veggies and letting them sit for an hour before pureeing them. This draws flavors out of the cell walls - and produces one heck of a soup. I could've eaten the whole vat of it in one sitting.

Then I whipped up Zahav's Israeli hummus recipe. Zahav is one of our favorite restaurants in Philly. Chef Michael Solomonov makes THE BEST hummus.

Finally came strawberry and basil scones from Better Homes and Gardens. They get a double dose of strawberries - both fresh and dried. The basil really complements the berries well.

Earlier this week I cooked asparagus with parmigiano. I'd never thought of combining the two before, but now it's like my second favorite preparation after curried. And I baked portabellas stuffed with chopped squash and tomatoes. 400 degrees for 35 minutes - what could be easier? So fresh and summery.

Next up: DC Beer Week. Expect a full report!