Hometown-Homegrown at the Heinz History Center Sept 7 (Plus Ticket Giveaway)

The second annual Hometown-Homegrown will take place at the Heinz History Center on Saturday, September 7, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The event features tastings from a number of local vendors—including some of my personal favorites (Braddock's American Brasserie, Marty's Market, S&D Polish Deli, Soergel Orchards)—as well as cooking demos and other activities throughout the day. Your ticket includes admission to the History Center and is free for History Center members.

In addition, I am going to tell you a couple of ways you can win tickets to the event! First, the History Center is running a Pittsburgh's Perfect Pierogi contest, so if you think your homemade pierogis can beat anyone's out there, submit your recipe for a chance to win two tickets to Hometown-Homegrown, as well as a $50 gift certificate to Braddock's American Brasserie, a behind-the scenes tour of the QED Cooks studio with host Chris Fennimore, and have your recipe featured on the QED Cooks website. To enter, post your recipe, the story behind it, and a photo before Wednesday September 4 to the History Center's Facebook page or email news@heinzhistorycenter.org. A random winner will be selected on September 4.

No pierogi recipe? No worries! I am running a ticket giveaway on this blog as well. To enter, do one or more of the following:

Method #1...Send out the following tweet to Twitter, word for word:

Food tastings, demos, & other foodie fun at #HometownHomegrown @HistoryCenter Sat Sept 7 10-3: http://ow.ly/or1H6 (via @foodcollage)

Note: You must mention @foodcollage in your tweet so that I am notified of your entry. Also, if you have a private Twitter account and I'm not following you, you must email me to let me know you've tweeted or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Method #2...Post the following link to your Facebook page and encourage your friends to check it out:

http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.aspx?EventID=314

Note: You must email me to let me know you've posted this link to your Facebook page or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Method #3...Send an email to your Pittsburgh friends with the following link and encourage them to check it out:

http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.aspx?EventID=314

Note: You must include my email address in your list of recipients or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Only one entry per method but multiple entries are allowed if you do more than one of the above. For example, if you tweet the same message twice, that counts as only one entry, but if you post to both Twitter and Facebook, you get two entries. Doing all three will get you three entries! The deadline to enter the ticket giveaway is 5:00 pm on Thursday, September 5. A random drawing will be conducted and the winner will be announced that evening.

UPDATE (9/5/2013):  A random number was generated using Random.org to select the winner. Congratulations to Twitter user @mocharaia on winning the tickets! And thanks to everyone who entered! 

Pittsburgh Farm to Table Conference March 23-24 (Plus Ticket Giveaway)

This is so exciting!

The sixth annual Farm to Table Conference will be held Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24, 2012, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.  The conference will feature live cooking demos by chefs and dietitians, talks on such topics as nutrition, humane treatment of animals, and gardening, kid-friendly activities, and exhibitions by local farms, creameries, wineries, and more.  There will also be a breakfast event on Saturday morning and a food tasting on Friday night featuring some of my personal favorites (Franktuary and Olio Fresca Olive Oil) as well as other vendors whose products I'm very excited to try (E², North Country Brewing Company, Pretzel Crazy, and more).

If you are interested in the Friday night food tasting event which takes place 5:00-8:00 pm, I have a pair of tickets to give away (a $50 value)!  To enter, do one or more of the following:

Method #1...Post the following to Twitter:

Check out the @FTT_Pittsburgh Farm to Table Conference Mar 23-24: http://ow.ly/9n5ti #FTTpgh (via @foodcollage)

Note: You must mention @foodcollage in your tweet so that I am notified of your entry. Also, if you have a private Twitter account and I'm not following you, you must email me to let me know you've tweeted or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Method #2...Post the following link to your Facebook page and encourage your friends to check it out:

http://farmtotablepa.com/conference

Note: You must email me to let me know you've posted this link to your Facebook page or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Method #3...Send an email to your Pittsburgh friends with the following link and encourage them to check it out:

http://farmtotablepa.com/conference 

Note: You must include my email address in your list of recipients or there is no way for me to know about your entry!

Only one entry per method but multiple entries are allowed if you do more than one of the above.  For example, if you tweet the same message twice, that counts as only one entry, but if you post to both Twitter and Facebook, you get two entries.  Doing all three will get you three entries!

The deadline to enter the ticket giveaway is 5:00 pm on Friday, March 16. A random drawing will be conducted and the winner will be announced by Sunday, March 18.

Tickets for all conference events are available here.  Teachers get a free registration to the conference and are eligible to earn Act 48 credits.

Support your local businesses and consider attending this conference!

UPDATE (3/17/2012):  A random number was generated using Random.org to select the winner.  Congratulations to Twitter user @Kg244403 on winning the tickets!  And thanks to everyone who entered!

Olio Fresca Pasta to leave Pittsburgh Public Market

Olio Fresca at the Pittsburgh Public Market

About a month ago I wrote about my love for Olio Fresca Pasta at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District.  Last week, I was bummed to receive an email from the owners, the Pitonis, stating that they will be leaving the Market as of 2012.  You see, they live 100 miles away, and it is becoming difficult for them to continue doing business in Pittsburgh.  As such, they are looking for someone with a passion for pasta to take over the business, with minimal cost to cover just the equipment.  I promised them I would help spread the word.

In the meantime, the Pitonis are selling the remaining pasta in the Market until they run out, and future orders of their pasta would have to go through their website.  (Olio Fresca olive oils will continue to be sold at the Market.)

Personally, I think that if Olio Fresca pasta were to leave the Market, it would be a huge loss to the Strip District community.  If you or anyone you know would be interested in finding out more about this opportunity, please let me know, and I'd be happy to put you in touch with the owners.  Please help spread the word.

UPDATE 12/12/11: Olio Fresca has made an announcement regarding its plans on their Facebook page.

Also check out:
Olio Fresca Olive Oil & Pasta Company website
Olio Fresca's Facebook page

The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project December Donation Drive

Attention Pittsburgh peeps!

The holiday season is upon us, and I'm sure you're well aware that our local food banks are in need this time of year more than ever.  But did you know that in addition to donating food, there's another way you could help? By donating tote bags to the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project, a partner of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank as well as a number of other organizations in the area.

How does donating tote bags help those in need?  First of all, those who rely on the food bank need secure bags they can use to transport food items home with them.  Grocery store plastic bags just don't get the job done sometimes.  Secondly, tote bag donations help the food bank cut costs by not having to purchase bags themselves.  In addition, because tote bags are reusable, they create less waste, thereby helping save the environment.

The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project collects new and gently used tote bags.  The ones that are suitable for transporting food will go to the food bank, but even ones that are unsuitable will be sent to local organizations for other uses, so no bag is wasted.

If you have extra tote bags lying around or are able to purchase a few new bags, donate them to the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project!  From now until December 22, The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project is running a December Donation Drive.  Anyone who collects at least 25 tote bags will be entered into a sweet drawing for various prizes, such as a $50 Cheesecake Factory gift card, movie passes, gift baskets, and more.  Check out this page for more details.  Let's do our part in helping our local community!