Tour heat up! and Anna's on board!

Events are firming up for the rest of the trip! I'll be doing two classes at the People's Co-op in Portland on April 20th and three days of classes and talks in Sacramento. See the main tour page for details.

It's all coming together in part because of my terrific new editorial assistant, Anna Ferguson. She started Friday night, just as she moved to the Triangle area and just as I was leaving on the tour. She's only been here for two days and already making a difference. Welcome aboard, Anna!

Small but enthusiastic class in Lexington, KY

And when I say small, I mean small! But Janet and I had a great time and she said she learned a lot, even though she's already a cook who's not afraid to spend an hour making a good dinner.

The Good Foods Market & Cafe was a very polished and well-stocked co-op, more on the Whole Foods end of the shopping spectrum. They have a terrific hot bar and salad bar.

Great event at Hendersonville Community Co-op

What a great first stop on the western part of the Cook for Good Coast-to-Coast Tour. About 20 people gathered in the charming warehouse/classroom at the Hendersonville Community Co-op for Cook for Good in 20 Minutes a Day. Folks at the co-op set up about a quarter of the warehouse as a classroom and community area with art, colorful posters, and good chairs. After the class, co-op manager Gretchen took me on a tour, showing me the Preserve recycled products made in part from category 5 plastics, such as yogurt cups, that the co-op collects and ships to Preserve at its own expense.

Ryan and his crew in the deli there made us a delicious and colorful lunch: beet salad, potato salad, and a black-eyed pea salad. Made friends with Lynne at the cash register, whose 19-year-old son works at the co-op too. Lynne said her son had been coming to the co-op since he was about 4. What a warm place!

Gretchen invited me back to do more classes, so I'm looking forward to coming back to Hendersonville often!

March prices and spring cleaning

The March prices for the Cook for Good thrifty and green menu plans are up on the website now. The "current" menus and shopping lists are now for spring. Great to see the green prices drop and the thrifty prices rise just a little.

A cooking radio show

I'm listening to Steve Boss and Dylan prepping for his Great Taste cooking radio show just before we go on the air:

"Will the couscous be crispy?"
"Not in that broth."

"Sautee more garlic!"

... later after the show...

What fun! Dylan cooked during the radio show, so there was sizzling and tasting as delicious background music. Steve even sent me a picture of the food, so I've got all the senses going except taste!

Judy Kingsbury, the Savvy Vegetarian, joined us. She shared her adventures in researching the nutritional value of agave.

I'm really looking forward to meeting them all in Fairfield on April 15th.

Open discussion of newsletter.

Open comments on today's newsletter:

Check out the new video on making yogurt, get the new Cook for Good Year Round ebook, find out the latest on the Cook for Good Coast-to-Coast Tour, and make the most of a seasonal treat with the recipe for Double Asparagus Pasta.

Great tour kickoff in Wilmington!

Gorgeous weather, enthusiastic classes, and the friendly folks at Tidal Creek Co-op made the Cook for Good Coast-to-Coast Tour Kickoff in Wilmington a rousing success on Saturday.

Special thanks to Claire Hosmann, Producer/Reporter for WECT Wilmington (Channel 6), who filmed the first class. She also interviewed Cook for Good fan Carol Moore, who came from Goldsboro with her husband for the class (!). See Claire's story here: Eating healthy can be affordable and help local economy.

BTW, the "asparagus tea" in the story is made by steeping the split, woody ends of asparagus in hot milk, then used to make asparagus quiche or pasta sauce. It might be good just served in a tea cup with a sliver of lemon and a few crumpets, but that's not my intention.

Looking forward to the next tour stop, Hendersonville, NC!