A Hot Sunny Day on the Farm Tour: The Beet, Weaver Street's E-Newsletter

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A Hot Sunny Day on the Farm Tour: Maple View Farm Agricultural Center
By Emily Buehler, Contributing Writer

With two perfectly sunny days last weekend, the 2009 Piedmont Farm Tour was certainly a success-we"ll let you know the numbers when they've been tallied.

I visited the new Maple View Farm Agricultural Center, located across the fields from the well-known Country Store on Dairyland Road between Carrboro and Hillsborough. The large red building is just a fence away from the Maple View cows grazing in their pasture. Inside the foyer, poster displays showed the milking herd, the bottling facilities, and samples of what the cows eat in addition to grass: barley silage (with crimson clover), corn silage, grain (including ground corn and occasionally other grains) and whole cotton seed. (Maple View Farm grows its grain and grinds it on the farm.) They also had their own grass-fed beef for sale. More

Tuscan Wine Tasting
Ladies' Night Out
Hillsborough Open Mic
Jazz Brunch
SV Music Series
Tuba Day!
Carrboro Day
New Belgium Brewery

2 Paws up Fundraiser
Chicle Cultural Event

SmartCommute Challenge
Envirobits

Tuscan Wine Tasting Event
Mother's Day
New Art Show

Weekly Produce Specials
Weekly Meat Specials
May Newsletter & CAP flyer

Grilled Cheese
Mother's Day & Graduation Cakes



A Hot Sunny Day on the Farm Tour: Maple View Farm Agricultural Center - continued
Down the hallway past classrooms filled with plants, dirt, and hutches of baby chickens, I exited the building to reach the animal pens: goats, pigs, a lone calf, and even a llama stood in the shade, watching the Farm Tour visitors. A shady path led to a pond where geese cruised around or preened on the bank. Newly planted gardens covered the hillside. The new facility is an agritourism center that "encourages children and adults to experience agricultural life though hands-on experiences" and "strives to educate its visitors about the benefits of sustainable agriculture." During the week it will host school groups, and starting in May it will be open to the public on weekends for $8/person. It also offers birthday party packages. To read more about the Agricultural Center and Maple View Farm's operations, visit their website here. Maple View Farm milk, butter, and ice cream are available at the Farm's Country Store and at stores across the Triangle including all three Weaver Street Market locations. The milk comes in reusable glass bottles, which require a deposit of $1.50. (This is the same price charged to Weaver Street Market, so you can return the bottles to the Country Store without losing money.) If you've never had milk in glass bottles from our local dairy farm, give it a try: quarts are $1.79 and half gallons are $2.99 (plus bottle deposit). Also try local butter, in a one-pound tub for $4.29, and pints of ice cream for $3.99.

Weekly Produce Specials - THESE SALES ARE EFFECTIVE Tuesday, April 28 through Monday, May 4.


	Organic Broccoli	product of California $1.99/lb	super low price!
	Fresh bi-color Corn	product of Florida 6 ears/$2.99	great deal!
	1st of the season! Florida Cantaloupes	product of Florida $3.49/ea	fresh this season!

Weekly Meat & Seafood Specials

	USDA Choice Ground Chuck	All Natural $4.49/lb	save 50¢/lb
	USDA Choice Chuck Steaks	All Natural $4.99/lb	save $1.00/lb
	Alaskan Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon	$9.99/lb	save $3.00/lb

Read more about other Weaver Street Market Specials.
View the May CAP Flyer here.


May Newsletter & CAP flyer

The Weaver Street Market print newsletter will no longer be direct mailed. Instead, you will find a link to it here.


Grilled Cheese

Ashe County Caraway Cheddar: the Perfect Grilling Cheese The weather seems to have skipped from late winter, 60 degree days to midsummer 80 degrees. Hopefully we'll get a little more spring to give me time to use up those cans of soup hanging around the cupboards, because once the temperature reaches ninety, I won't go near them! And when those days come, I'll complement my soup with a crispy grilled cheese sandwich made with my new favorite melting cheese. For years after becoming a fan of all natural foods, I despaired of having a grilled cheese that matched the gooey, artificial wonders of my childhood. My frying pan produced one clunky sandwich after another-on whole grain breads, made with any number of cheddar, Monterey jack, and Muenster cheeses-and I sighed longingly for gooey American cheese on white bread. Until now. This winter I discovered Ashe County Caraway Cheddar, new in the Weaver Street Market Cheese Department, at an introductory price of $4.99 a pound. I bought the cheese for snacking, but its mildness prompted me to try it in a grilled cheese, and it melted into a perfect pool in the middle of the sandwich. Here's another hint: instead of placing my butter and un-grilled sandwich in the cold frying pan, I preheated the pan, then dropped in the butter (which sizzled) and placed the sandwich on top. Preheating the pan seemed to add a light crispiness to the sandwich that not even the whole grain bread could dampen. Also, since my butter had been sitting around the fridge for weeks, I trimmed off the edges, using only the fresh butter preserved in the center of the stick. If you're a fan of grilled cheese, give the Caraway Cheddar a try. Soon it will be too hot!

Mother's Day & Graduation Cakes

Create your own, special cake! Perfect for graduation and for Mother's Day celebrations! Decide which cake you'd prefer, pick your favorite frosting, butter cream or filling, and then choose the garnish and voilà! - you've got yourself the cake of you're palate's dreams! Cakes are available in 5 sizes: 6 inch, 8 inch, 10 inch, ½ sheet cake, full sheet cake. Decoration is also available. Please place your order 72 hours in advance.



Tuscan Wine Tasting Event: Yes, they're back! Monday, May 4th Tickets still available! at Panzanella and WSM in Carrboro Join us for a tasting tour of one of Italy's most famous regions. Do you think Chianti when you think about this region? Well, don't stop there...Montalcino, Montepulciano, Montecucco, San Gimignano... These are a few of the great wine producing towns of Tuscany. This historical wine region boasts some of the most famous and well-regarded wines of the World. Tuscany has one of the most diverse groups of devoted drinkers from around the world. Are you ready to become one of them? We welcome Mike Tiano of the local wine distributor and importer, Haw River Wine Man, to take us on a wine tasting tour of this great Region. Plenty of delicious food will be served from the Panzanella kitchen to complement these wonderful wines. We're back with new and improved wine dinners; we'll start off with a generous glass of a tasty aperitif and then settle down with four courses and two ounces of tasty wine to complement each dish while our guest speaker guides you through the dinner. There are two menus to choose from, the classic tasting menu (which may include meat and/or seafood) or the vegetarian tasting menu (which may contain dairy). You'll choose one or the other at time of ticket purchase. We can accommodate people with food allergies with advance notice; please contact Paola at Panzanella at 929-6626. The cost of this event is $45 per person; space is limited, so reserve early. Please pay in advance and pick up a ticket for this tasting at either Panzanella or the customer service desk at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. Price of the ticket includes: • Start with 4 oz Aperitif wine • Four courses with four - 2 oz servings of wine to pair with each dish • Your choice of classic menu or vegetarian menu • Guided tasting tour from our guest speaker.
Visit Panzanella's website to view all menus (lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch).
Sign up for Panzanella's Enewsletter here.

Ladies' Night Out

"Build a Bouquet" Thursday, April 30 6 - 9 pm downtown Hillsborough It's time again ladies! Time to grab your girl friends to do some shopping, dining and relaxing in Downtown Hillsborough. Because "Girls Just Want To Have Fun!" The Downtown Merchants of Historic Hillsborough will feature for the ladies: flowers at each location while they last, wine tastings, hot teas, chair massages, tasty goodies, manicures, pedicures, live music and a general good time at their "Build a Bouquet" Ladies Night Out on Thursday, April 30th from 6 to 9 pm. Weaver Street Market will feature flowers, open mic starting at 6 pm, live music by Kat Whalen from 7:30 - 8:30 and free samples of wine. Extra flowers available for purchase to add to your bouquet.

Hillsborough Open Mic

The Lilac Lounge: Hillsborough store Acoustic Open-Mic Every Thursday 6:30-8:30 pm Our esteemed guests in the Lounge for the next few weeks: April 30: Ladies Night Out: - Katharine Whalen! - Hillsborough Ladies' Night, with Efland's own Sultana of Swing May 7: Skeedadle - Retro-fitted Durham five-piece bring their dirty blues genius for your pleasure May 14: Haw River Rounders - Return visit from UNC/Duke bipartisan ensemble. May 21: Marla Vickers - A little bit country, Bayou and Clay Street regular with her acoustic duo. May 28: Mark Holland's Rhythm Force - Blues genius of Jule Brown and Jennyanykind in his fresh incarnation, straight outta Pittsboro. • Generous donations of floor lamps still graciously accepted by the Lounge. • Conratulations to everyone who won free Shakori Hills tickets these last two weeks! It was great to see so many of you there! • Thanks, WQDR Raleigh for the very generous donation!

Jazz Brunch!

Sunday, May 3rd 11:00 am - 1:00 pm on the lawn in Carrboro Jazz & More Sunday Brunch series presents: May 3 - The Jeff Brown Quartet - Original Jazz May 10 - The Tim Stambaugh Band - Bluegrass, Celtic, Folk & Traditional May 17 - One Sun - World Beat Instrumental Jazz May 24 - Equinox - Jazz & Pop Standards May 31 - The Donnybrook Lads - Jigs, Reels, and Hornpipes June 7 - Dana & Susan Robinson - Original Old Time Music June 14 - Different Drum - American Music with a World Beat June 21 - Craicdown - A Poly-Ethnic Hoedown June 28 - Magnolia Klezmer Band - Romanian, Ukrainian, & Dixieland Klezmer Big Band

SV Music Series

Kickoff: Sunday, May 3rd, 7:00 pm Village Green in Southern Village The Sunday evening music series kicks off the season with the first free concert of the summer. The opening concert features "Three Great Guitarists", Will McFarlane, Armand Lenchek & Danny Gotham, in their always-anticipated annual performance. The concert will be followed by a screening of the classic Martin Scorsese film, "The Last Waltz". Be our guests and have fun—all of this is free of charge! We encourage you to bring a picnic, and relax and enjoy the evening. If you don't feel like packing a picnic, please stop at one of our local food establishments for an easy take-out meal to enjoy on the Green. Sunday concerts run through September 13th. More details about the Summer Music Series will be posted very soon. For a preview of the music, please check the websites for each of these 3 great performers: Danny Gotham Will McFarlane Armand and Bluesology

Tuba Day

Friday May 1st 5:30 - 7:00 pm on the lawn in Carrboro The Triangle Tuba Quartet will be performing on the lawn in Carrboro as part of International Tuba Day, Friday, May 1st, 5:30 - 7:00 pm.
Read more about the Triangle Tuba Quartet here.

Carrboro Day

Sunday, May 3rd 1:00 - 7:00 pm Town Hall Grounds Celebrating a Sustainable Community! Join your neighbors to celebrate Carrboro - our unique town! Enjoy old Carrboro stories, photos, art displays, poetry readings, music and dancing. Expect interactive field games, crafts and family activities! Bring a chair or blanket, a picnic for dinner and basket. This is a trash-free event so please help us dispose recyclable materials in the right containers placed at the event. *In Case of rain Carrboro Day will be moved into the Carrboro Century Center located at 100 North Greesboro Street.
Read more about the Carrboro Day here.

New Belgium Brewery

Weaver Street Market carries three beers from the New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colorado: The famous Fat Tire Amber Ale, with its "toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness"; the 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, which uses "a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be"; and the brewery's first organic beer, Mothership Wit Wheat Beer, a "Wit" or "White" beer "brewed with wheat and barley malt, as well as coriander and orange peel spicing resulting in a balance of citrus and sour flavors held in suspension by a bright burst of carbonation." As if anyone needed an extra reason to drink these delicious beers, a look at the brewery that makes them will inspire you. Born from a basement hobby, in 1991 the New Belgium Brewing Company began selling beers inspired by creator Jeff Lebesch's bike rides around Belgium. Jeff's wife Kim Jordan (now CEO of the company) was the first bottler, sales rep, distributor, marketer, and financial planner. The couple wrote a mission statement that includes environmental stewardship, balancing the needs of the company with those of their workers, and "remembering that we are incredibly lucky." When it came time to hire their first employee, Jeff and Kim did "what seemed like the right thing to do" and made him an employee-owner. Now, all employees are awarded ownership at one year of employment, along with a one-year anniversary cruiser bike. Employee-owners have a voice in the company; in 1998, they voted (unanimously) to switch the company to environmentally friendly wind power. And New Belgium has a practice of open-book management-a policy of fiscal transparency throughout the company that encourages a community of trust and mutual responsibility. The company sponsors a summer Bike-In Cinema and other events, including some that visit cities nationwide: the Urban Assault Ride (a scavenger hunt / obstacle course) and the Tour de Fat (a traveling bike festival intended to rouse the inner cyclist in city dwellers). To read more about them, visit their unique website here. Purchase New Belgium's great beers in 22 ounce bottles for $3.99.



2nd Annual 2PawsUp Craft Show & Adoptathon

Sunday, May 3rd 12-5pm in Southern Village Browse handmade art by 30 area crafters & visit 2PawsUp's adoptable cats and dogs at Southern Village in Chapel Hill. Need a gift for Mother's Day, a birthday, an anniversary, a baby shower, a wedding? Love animals? Stop by and browse handmade art by 30 area crafters & visit 2PawsUp's adoptable cats & dogs the Sunday before Mother's Day on the Village Green at Southern Village in Chapel Hill. A portion of all proceeds will go to 2PawsUp to help them raise money for shelter rescues & vet bills. NEW this year! Bring your properly restrained dogs for these events: • $5 Rabies • $10 Microchipping clinics from 1-3pm during the show! Courtesy of Dr. Covington from Mitchell Mill Animal Hospital in Raleigh. • A dog show with prizes from 2-3pm! Categories such as pet-owner look alike, biggest ears, etc! • Free pet photo sessions at the show by Bella Luce Photography
Learn more about 2 PawsUp Fundraiser here.

Chicle Cultural Event

Sunday, May 3rd 5-6:30 pm at CHICLE Talk and display, Beatriz Álvarez Crafts and Craftspeople from Chiapas and Oaxaca, Beatriz Álvarez was born in Chiapas, Mexico. Her father was from Tabasco and her mother from Chiapas. She grew up in Chiapas and later moved to Mexico City to study administration. Whle there, she studied plastic arts and rustic artisan contrast painting at a regional institute of arts and science. Since moving to North Carolina, she has founded La casa de las culturas (The House of Cultures), a collection of rustic and artisanal art. The mission is to "preserve our roots and cultural values, based in practice and custom." They seek to promote new cultural iniciatives and create opportunities for the teaching and practice of artisan arts and crafts. Toward that end, Beatriz has collected weaving, glassware, and art that she will bring to CHICLE. She teaches environmental responsibility and uses recycled materials to create useful and colorful objects. She will be accompanied by some of her students. For more information about this event, please click here.

SmartCommute Challenge:

SmartCommute Challenge

Join the thousands of Triangle commuters who do something good for the environment everyday by not driving alone to work! Participation is easy. Visit www.SmartCommuteChallenge.org today and take the 2009 SmartCommute Challenge to ride the bus, bike, walk, vanpool, carpool, work from home or, new this year, carpool in an alternate fuel or hybrid vehicle! Pledge to take a smarter, greener commute at least once before May 30 and you could win fabulous prizes, including a commuter bike or a laptop!

If you're already a SmartCommuter, go greener! Take the SmartCommute Team Challenge and encourage your friends and co-workers to try a smarter commute. Together, we will reach our goal of signing up 12,000 Triangle commuters and students and reducing over 2.2 million pounds of carbon between April 15 and May 30!

For more information about how to start a greener commute, take the Challenge, or form a SmartCommute Team, visit www.SmartCommuteChallenge.org. You can sign up to take the Challenge at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro on May 3rd, Southern Village on May 10, or Hillsborough on May 17, all from 11am to 1pm.

Envirobits:

Shred and Recycle: It's Not Too Late!

The Orange County Solid Waste Management Department's free "post-tax-season" Shred-A-Thons are underway! Orange County residents or employees may securely recycle their personal confidential documents at no cost. The last date is this Saturday, May 2 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Eubanks Road Park and Ride lot in Chapel Hill.

Bring up to ten "banker-box" sized boxes or large bags of paper per person, and one trip per person. Please remove all plastic binders, folders, computer disks, laminated paper or any other non-paper materials prior to bringing loads to the Shred-a-thon. (Incidental staples or paper clips are acceptable.) Then watch as your documents are shredded!


Tuscan Wine Tasting Event: They're back!

Monday, May 4th Tickets still available! at Panzanella and WSM in Carrboro Join us for a tasting tour of one of Italy's most famous regions. Do you think Chianti when you think about this region? Well, don't stop there...Montalcino, Montepulciano, Montecucco, San Gimignano... These are a few of the great wine producing towns of Tuscany. This historical wine region boasts some of the most famous and well-regarded wines of the World. Tuscany has one of the most diverse groups of devoted drinkers from around the world. Are you ready to become one of them? We welcome Mike Tiano of the local wine distributor and importer, Haw River Wine Man, to take us on a wine tasting tour of this great Region. Plenty of delicious food will be served from the Panzanella kitchen to complement these wonderful wines. We're back with new and improved wine dinners; we'll start off with a generous glass of a tasty aperitif and then settle down with four courses and two ounces of tasty wine to complement each dish while our guest speaker guides you through the dinner. There are two menus to choose from, the classic tasting menu (which may include meat and/or seafood) or the vegetarian tasting menu (which may contain dairy). You'll choose one or the other at time of ticket purchase. We can accommodate people with food allergies with advance notice; please contact Paola at Panzanella at 929-6626. The cost of this event is $45 per person; space is limited, so reserve early. Please pay in advance and pick up a ticket for this tasting at either Panzanella or the customer service desk at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. Price of the ticket includes: • Start with 4 oz Aperitif wine • Four courses with four - 2 oz servings of wine to pair with each dish • Your choice of classic menu or vegetarian menu • Guided tasting tour from our guest speaker.
Visit Panzanella's website to view all menus (lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch).
Sign up for Panzanella's Enewsletter here.

Mother's Day

Treat Mom to Sunday Brunch . . . or Sunday Dinner at Panzanella! We'll be featuring Mother's Day Specials, so join us to celebrate this special day! Brunch hours: 10:30am - 3:30pm Mother's Day Brunch Specials include: • Shrimp and Grits with Mushroom gravy, served with a salad of mixed greens • Baked Mac&Cheese, served with a salad of mixed greens • Yogurt Parfait with fresh fruit, honey and granola. On Mother's Day - Dinner will be served during our regular Sunday evening hours 5:30pm - 9:00pm *Reservations recommended for parties of 6 or more.

New Art Show

A Group Art Exhibit: Celebrating the 14th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour Now through June 8, 2009 This spring, Panzanella and Weaver Street Market's Hillsborough store will host a juried exhibit of works inspired by local farming. The show celebrates the 14th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th. The exhibit includes painting, drawing and photography created by 26 North Carolina artists.