Part time farm interns wanted

Do you want to learn to grow your own food, or take a step towards becoming a farmer?

The Cutting Veg organic farm offers season-long, part-time farming internships, in which you can immerse yourself in the world of organic agriculture.

Located in Sutton, close to Toronto, this internship is ideal for people who are rooted in the city, yet ready to take a significant step into the world of veggie farming.  Through farm work and discussion, Interns will be exposed to various aspects of organic agriculture, including plant propagation, plant care, soil preparation and health, pest-management, green-manuring, and planning & marketing. As a potential Intern, you must be willing to commit two full days per week (on-farm from 6:30am-4:30pm) from the beginning of May to the end of October, and be excited to receive agricultural skills, knowledge, and organic veggies, in exchange for your labour.

As this farm is not residential, no accommodation is available on-site.

To Apply:

• Please contact Jessica Gibson to receive an email version of the Internship Curriculum.  Please indicate in your email which orientation session you will be attending.
• Interested applicants need to attend one of two Orientation sessions — either Wednesday, March 7th, 7-9pm, or Thursday, March 8th, 7-9pm.  Orientation sessions will take place at Cooper’s Furniture (111 Bathurst Street at Adelaide above Waddington’s)

At the end of the Orientation session, those still interested will sign up for an interview.

Those who cannot commit to the Internship, but are interested in volunteering on the farm, please contact Daniel, with the subject line “Interested in Volunteering.”

 

I’ve been published.

No longer do I need to have “articles coming soon” on the Bamboo Magazine logo on the left. Check out the March issue with my first piece, about Jamie Oliver.

Spotlight on: Swallow magazine

Swallow Food. All the news that’s fit to eat.

Swallow is a new magazine launched by my friends Ivy and Kerry Knight, and Kristina Groger. I missed the official launch party  (it was Family Day evening, and I napped through it) so I can’t tell you all about the party, but I can promote the magazine.

Swallow aims for a contemporary take on food and pop culture that’s unpretentious and fun. You will find the usual content you’d expect from a food website – recipes, chef interviews, event listings, reviews, food and wine writing – written by industry professionals. Swallow is operated and written by experienced chefs, writers and wine aficionados who don’t take themselves too seriously. Their media release reveals that they enjoy making funny videos with chefs and posting singles pages for chefs with no time to go on dates (I have some requests). It also says that they enjoy poking fun at the overly earnest food bloggers.

But, they’ll make complicated recipes easy by showing you industry secrets and tips. Their recipes might use ingredients such Jell-O, Fluff and Cool Whip so while they claim that they won’t judge you for putting Nerds in your Bud Lite and calling it “poor-man’s sangria”, I might. I might also judge them for using Jell-O, Fluff and Cool Whip. But, they might also mock me. All is fair. I think that the website is beautiful and that Swallow has a fun logo.

Look for articles to be published three to five times per week.

If I’d made it to the launch last night I’d have raised a glass to Ivy, Kerry and Kristina. Congratulations, friends. I’m proud of you.

Read it and and subscribe to email updates.

Follow them on Twitter.

Subscribe to their RSS feed

Find them on Flickr.

 

This evening (Feb 20, 2012): Well Preserved Food Swap in Toronto

I’ve been intending to blog about this for weeks and even keep flagging their blog posts to get back to later. But, it’s not too late yet. Maybe you have some preserves around your kitchen. Here are the details from Well Preserved:

Winter is a great time for a SWAP – many people now know which batches of things they have way too much of are excited to add new flavours to their pantry during a time of year that you otherwise can’t.

Here’s the basics of this event:

• Officially from 8:00-10:00 but you are welcome to come early (the bar opens at 7) and stay late.  There will be lots of friendly people to meet and we’ll do our best to mix the crowd up.
• We will be working with the Avro again to create a custom cocktail for the evening
• There is no cover for these events though we do hope you’ll support the bar as they are donating the space to us.
• The event is 19+ as it is held at a bar.
• From 8-9 you’ll have a chance to see what everyone’s brought – but the swapping won’t begin until 9:00.  The ramp-up is a big part of the fun.
• Bring as many or as few jars as you’d like.  Know that the community is somewhat obsessive and some will bring 24 jars.  It’s not a competition – the number just means more variety for you.  Of course you can bring multiple jars of the same thing.
• In order to swap, you’ll need to sign a form saying you know you are trading for homemade goods (as opposed to professionally made items) and accept the risk for that.  We’ve learned that this is best practice at most food swaps and have decided to incorporate it.
• There will be a one-off badge (a button) for this event.  If you show up with preserves to swap, you’ll earn your Preserve Swap badge (3 of us had ‘boy scout’ vests (used suit vests from Value Village) last night and I know a few are scouring the neighborhood for one of their own (and a few are looking for sashes).
• There’s no rules to jar sizes – the crowd will decide what’s a fair swap.
• The Avro is indeed cozy so be early to be guaranteed a spot; even with the snow we had last night we filled the bar (comfortably).
• If you don’t have preserves (and don’t make any in February), you’re welcome to attend and meet people.  These events are as much about creating community and meeting others as they are about the actual food and connecting to it.

RSVP on Facebook (not required, but nice so they know who to expect).

If you’re unfamiliar with #HomeEc, here’s the basic premise.

 

Update: Read the event wrap up here. The next HomeEc event is on Monday March 26 from 8-10pm. Theme: Pot Luck on Sticks! Come with bite-sized portions of your favourite foods (be creative) served on sticks.

Mid-winter blahs? Go gluten free in March

Registration opens tomorrow, Monday, February 20th at 10 am EST
Program rates will increase to $110 on Tuesday, February 21st

This month-long cleanse will allow your body the time to start cleansing itself from the negative effects of gluten and bring on some positive ones – like increased energy, weight loss, better digestion and clarity.

Eliminating gluten also means that you’ll be focusing on fresh, whole foods. And when you cut out the processed foods that are weighing you down, you’ll also cut out many of the hidden sources of gluten, sugar and bad fat, too.

The Go Gluten-Free Challenge will help you:

• Reduce cravings for sugary sweets and floury breads
• Lose weight
• Reduce bloating and puffiness
• Lower allergen intake
• Stabilize blood sugar
• Balance pH
• Lower estrogen levels

Included In The Program

• A 30-day guide to Gluten-Free living that you can download immediately after registration.
• Two 7-day meals plans (that’s LOADS of meal and snack ideas)
• 45+ amazing and simple Gluten-Free recipes
• Gluten-Free cooking tips
• Plenty of easily digestible (get it?) info about gluten and how it affects your body, why it’s addictive, hidden sources of gluten, and more
• Bi-weekly emails with tips, support and bonus recipes.
• Daily group support via Twitter (#GlutenFreeCleanse)
• Weekly live video chat/conference calls

How to Participate

• You can live anywhere in the world to play along.
• General registration begins on Monday, February 20th at 10:00am EST on a first come, first served basis. Spots can not be held without registration.
• You will need to register here, in order to participate.
• Cost: $99 with registration on  Monday, February 20th and $110 following while space remains.

Go here for more information such as key dates and to register.

Price is $99 tomorrow but increases to $110 on Tuesday.