AKA Saturday Family Farmed Expo Recap

Saturday was the day that was most geared toward the general public (aka me, in theory), and the one I was most looking forward to. It was a combination of market, Chicago chef demos and workshops. You could get a ticket to just the market & the demos or to all three, or to those three plus a particular lecture (The Sally Fallon Morell lecture).

I chose to get a workshop ticket, but pass on the lecture. Since I wanted to do a workshop in every timeslot, this effectively meant I passed on the market & demos too. I could have attended a bit of the market, but decided sleeping in and breakfast with Bill was a better use of my limited weekend time. I’m now certain I was right.

To tell the truth, the workshops were only somewhat handy. The organizers did a very poor job conveying that none of the workshops (their term) would have any hands-on pieces or even any explicit demos. I figured it out the night before, via some exchanged tweets with Rob Gardner of The Local Beet (twitter handle @localfamily), so I was a lot less disappointed than some people were.

The four workshops I wanted to attend were:
# “Yes, We Can!” – How to can, freeze, pickle, dry and store local food.

# “The Conscious Carnivore” – How to use the whole animal to promote sustainability, avoid waste, and dazzle your tastebuds.

# “Small-Space Gardening” – How to grow food in your back yard, on rooftops, back porches, and in containers, both indoors or out.

# “Beyond Broccoli: A Meat-Eaters Guide to Eating Vegetarian” – Learn how to prepare vegetarian meals to improve your health and tread lightly on our planet.

The four workshops I actually attended were:
# “Yes, We Can!” – How to can, freeze, pickle, dry and store local food.

# “The Conscious Carnivore” – How to use the whole animal to promote sustainability, avoid waste, and dazzle your tastebuds.

# “Antiques Roadshow: The Heirloom on Your Plate” – Why preserving heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits, grains, and heritage animal breeds is important.

# “Home Cheesemaking”– How to make fresh cheeses at home.

Let me take each one from the top. As I go through the workshops, I’ll explain why I substituted one for another.

Notes: I’ve received a couple of emails regarding the original length of this entry, and at least one person said the content made it difficult to comment regarding the post. As it was, originally, an extremely long post, I will be taking the advice contained in the emails, and breaking it up here, and with each workshop. This will make each post on a “workshop” longer, and more in-depth, but each overall entry smaller and easier to handle.

Thanks. I appreciate any and all comments as I figure out this blogging thing. –Natasha