Lets Cook and Eat Together (and a farm tour at 1:30pm!!) Saturday July 31st at 3pm***CANCELLED***

***Due to low participation, and low produce availability in Texas at this time, I am going to have to cancel our dinner scheduled for Saturday July 31st, 2010. I will update all of you with a new dinner date and when the fall produce offerrings begin to come up for us around Mid September. I am truly sorry for the short notice, I will be posting some farmers market watches in the coming weeks.*** :)Shannon

Join us for our Summer Feast in East Austin....exact location will be emailed to those who sign up, AND we have a tour scheduled for the Springdale Farmers Market (www.springdalefarmaustin.com) at 1:30pm for anyone who would like to go to this I will be at the farm from 12:30-1pm stocking up on produce and then the tour is afterwards.

  Above the incredible variety of heirloom tomatoes grown all over Austin....

Hello Fellow Foodies!

The time is upon us for our summer dinner together. Of course this is one of my favorite times of year as I am long time tomato and cucumber lover, not to mention corn and squash as well. For this months dinner, we will start at 3pm for preparation and dinner will be served at 6, with appetizers starting at or around 4pm. For those of you who are not sure how it works, please arrive early if you plan on cooking on site, bring your own cutting boards, equipment, etc...and make sure to post that you need to cook on site so we can reserve a space for you on the oven or grill, etc....otherwise just bring your dish and serve. For those of you who love to eat but hate to cook, you can contribute by bringing local beer and wine to the party and just watching our cooks at work.

Lastly, We do need to be pretty strict on time so that we are kind to the hosts house, so if you do not think you are going to make it you must let me know within 24 hours in advance from now on. Last time I had a few no shows and no calls. I have been pretty relaxed about this in the past as we were trying to get the group up and running but I won't be able to accept members for two more dinners after something like this occurs unless it is an emergency of some sort. It's only fair to those of us who showed up, and if I had known those cooks were not going to make it, I would have made other arrangements for those dishes we planned on that were not present.

The below is the meat and produce selections for our summer feast:

Meat Selection: Beef or any local game meat

Produce: Tomatoes, Corn, Cucumbers, Peas and Green Beans, Onions, Leeks, and any lettuces for summer salads

Fruit: Texas Peaches and Figs

Make a dish however you like using locally, organically produced produce and/or meat from the selections I have chosen above. You can use other ingredients as well, but try and make one them your 'main event". You will need to subscribe to the feed, and at the end of this post place a comment on what category you would like to sign up for. Categories are listed below:

6 participants will make main courses for 6 people each (including some vegetarian options)
5 participants will make appetizers for 10 people each
6 participants will make salads/sides for 8-10 people each
3 participants will make a dessert for 12 people each 
5 participants will bring at least 2 bottles of good *locally produced* wine (in Texas it is OK for any wine) per person (not per couple) and some *locally-brewed* beer. Consider that most cooks spend $25-50 (and up!) just on their ingredients. If you're not cooking, you should be prepared to spend at least this much on beverages, out of respect for your chefs. 

Please let me know who is coming by name. Once we reach 25 people confirmed, I will close the event and start another post for the waiting list. If the slots are full for what you'd like to bring, please choose something else instead. (Don't worry: There will always be another event to showcase your skills.)

So post a comment at the end of this POST in the 'comments' section (not the end of the web page!) letting me know the following:
First and last name *Whether you want to go on the farm tour at 1:30pm-we can carpool
Email address
What you'll be bringing (appetizer, main course, etc. and as detailed as you can so we don't have duplicates) 
If you brought wine last time, you should now cook something (unless you cooked as part of a couple and made a large entree).

If too many people pick the same course, I'll have to assign a different course to the last entrant.
If the votes are tied for ingredients, I'll flip a coin.

This is going to be great! So sign up before the spaces are gone!

Bon Apetit! Shannon Sofia Kimball

Comments

[Linda Kay Arnold]

I would love to attend a bring dessert! I will not be able to make the farm tour. Looking forward to it!

[Jaci Caldwell]

I will make green beens almondine. I will prepare it at home & will not make the farm tour.

[Marcy Shapiro]

Mike and Marcy will attend. I will bring a salad with greens, tomatoes and bacon and an appetizer with grilled teleme, bruschetta and figs.

I may be able to make the farm tour, depending my kids.

[Elizabeth Rabaey]

I will make a cucumber salad at home and bring it to the dinner. I will not make the farm tour. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.