get thee to an orchard

Carter Mountain Orchard opens for the season this Friday, and we couldn't be more excited. Getting back to orchard season is one of the great glories of the year. And this year marks the premiere of the Spring Fling Craft Festival at Carter Mountain. It'll include music, crafts, hayrides—but we're headed out there for the food and wine tastings. Saturday and Sunday (4/17–4/18), 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

While we're talking about Carter Mountain, the good folks who run it (along with Chiles Peach Orchard) are putting together a cookbook of local foods and want a peek into your recipe box. Send your favorite recipe (with peaches and/or apples, natch) to CMOCookbook@yahoo.com. It may be selected to be part of the finished collection (scheduled to come out this summer).

kids in the kitchen

A great food event with a great message: This Saturday (March 27) at Albemarle High School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Charlottesville Junior League is hosting Kids in the Kitchen—put on around the country with the goal of reducing childhood obesity. Our local event will feature interactive stations to teach children about good nutrition. For example, the Blue Ridge Eco Shop will be manning a gardening station to demonstrate how growing your own food is fun and healthy. There will also be a pediatric dental station that will show how a healthy diet leads to healthy teeth. And even a make-your-own-cookbook station. For more information about the national program, click here; for information about our local event, call (434) 293-4482.

mark your calendars for the Virginia Wine Expo!!

Wine and food lovers rejoice. From February 26 to 28 the Virginia Wine Expo takes over the Greater Richmond Convention Center for an amazing food and wine event that celebrates local vintages, chefs, and restaurants. As a visitor, you get a Schott Zweisel crystal wine glass, from which you can sample from more than 350 bottles of wine, crafted by the winemakers in our area, including:

Afton Mountain Vineyards
Barboursville Vineyards
Barren Ridge Vineyards
Blenheim Vineyards
Burnley Vineyards
Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery
Delfosse Vineyards & Winery
Democracy Vineyards
First Colony Winery
Flying Fox Vineyard
Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery
Horton Vineyards
Jefferson Vineyards
Keswick Vineyards
King Family Vineyards
Kluge Estate Winery & Vineyard
Pollak Vineyards
Mountfair Vineyards
Rebec Vineyards
Rockbridge Winery
Stone Mountain Vineyard
Sweely Estate Winery
Veritas Vineyard & Winery
Virginia Wineworks
Well Hung Vineyard
White Hall Vineyards
Wintergreen Winery

classes for foodies

Wish there were classes about local foods when we were in school! Ah, well, it's never too late to learn. Here, a couple of area classes for (local) foodies:

•First, frequent Edible Blue Ridge contributor Lisa Reeder is teaching "Local Food for Thought" with Carroll Ann Friedmann. The course, offered through UVA, meets on Wednesday evenings for eight weeks beginning this week and ending in March. There are still a couple of spots left.

The class is sort of a locavore spin on home ec: how to garden, preserve, buy local. Plus tips on cooking, such as how to prepare grass-fed beef versus grain-fed (the former is leaner and therefore must be cooked correctly).

For more information and to register, download forms from www.scps.virginia.edu or visit the School of Continuing & Professional Studies in person at Zehmer Hall, 104 Midmont Lane.

•Next, on February 14, there's a half-day workshop for backyard poultry production at Tuckahoe Plantation in Richmond. It's just as appropriate for the family that wants a few hens for morning eggs as it is if you want to raise the chickens for market.

The good news is that the class will equip you with the knowhow to establish your own backyard flock. The bad news is that it's sold out—but you can still contact them to be put on the waiting list. Cost is $20. www.centerforruralculture.org/events.php or email admin@centerforruralculture.org.

'tis the season for wine events

The two-foot snow is making gift shopping harder than ever this year. Which is why things like tickets to the Virginia Wine Showcase are really a great solution for any oenophile on your list.

Order here by tomorrow, and get tickets in time for Christmas—with $10 off. The event takes place February 6 and 7 at the Dulles Expo Center, just west of D.C. Your loved one can taste 300 artisan wines, meet the winemakers, and even attend culinary seminars with experts on wine, chocolate, and even kitchen design.

Some wines of note from our area you'll see there (click on any of the following to find out more info): Cross Keys Vineyards, DelFosse Vineyards & Winery, Kluge Estate Winery, Rockbridge Vineyard, Horton Vineyards, Burnley Vineyards, Sugarleaf Vineyards, and Veritas Vineyards.

vote for local food heroes!

Each year Edible Blue Ridge will honor the best of our food community with a Local Hero award. We're looking for what you think of as the best farm/farmer, best chef/restaurant, best food artisan, best beverage artisan, best nonprofit, and best food shop.

Be sure to vote here.

Winners will be announced in the spring issue of Edible Blue Ridge.

direct from VA farmer to VA student

Last week was Farm-to-School Week across Virginia. Area cafeterias served up everything from local apples and pears to cauliflower, beef, and eggs.

Some schools even had farmers come visit or hosted apple tastings for the students. "It was interesting to see the creativity and volunteer efforts that emerged to bring fresh local foods to the students across the Commonwealth," saysLeanne DuBois of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which worked with the Department of Education to bring Farm-to-School to many area classrooms.

A big part of the effort in the Charlottesville area was the Local Food Hub, which supplied 15 area schools, both public and private, with local produce, meats, and cheeses from area farms. "In addition to helping our kids understand where their food comes from, Farm-to-School Week is an opportunity to support our local farms," says Kate Collier, director of the Local Food Hub and owner of Feast. "Virginia schools spend more than $6 million annually on fresh produce. That gives us an opportunity to keep those dollars in our state."

Beyond helping the local economy for that one week, DuBois says that even just making students (and their parents) aware of all that is grown in Virginia has created a momentum to do so in the future. "And that, I would call a success," she says.