NC Green Power sent out their most recent newsletter with a link to volunteer opportunities. If you volunteer with any of the eligible organizations they partner up with, you get a coupon for a free pint of ice cream.

I’m a sucker for ice cream so I clicked away. Well, the link didn’t just take me to their partners, but it turned out there were pages and pages of volunteer opps for NCers that offer the ice cream incentive.

A quick search and I found the NC Green Power opportunities to score a free pint of ice cream deliciouness.

Want to know more about volunteering for NC Green Power? Scroll down on the FAQs page for answers to your questions and contacts to get involved.

Photo by Molly Hayes

The 5th Annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour is coming up on Sat. & Sun. Sept 18 & 19, from 1 to 5 PM.  This is a great way to learn about regional agriculture in general, and in particular about where some of the best local food comes from.

From the organizers: This year there are a record twenty-four sites on the tour, including eight new farms!  We will be showcasing ten farms with sustainable and humane livestock operations, getting the word out about healthy, local meat options.  Several are Animal Welfare Approved and all have beautiful animals!

On the urban scene, we are happy to welcome an urban mini-farm in Durham (Two Ton Farm sponsored by Bountiful Backyards) and the farm of the Inter Faith Food Shuttle in Raleigh.  These farms, along with the SEEDS Garden in Durham, highlight how to grow a lot on small acreage in the city and how youth can be engaged in the movement.

Another newcomer to the tour this year is Durham County’s newest goat dairy; located in Bahama, Prodigal Farm has 65 goats and a brand new milking parlor and cheesemaking building.  We will have mushrooms again (Spain Farm) and honeybees for the first time (Betsey’s Bee Farm.)  And, of course, the tour includes a strong collection of vegetable, flower and fruit producers, where foodies and growers can learn about organic and sustainable horticulture practices.

Buttons are $25 per carload in advance and $30 the day of the tour.  Single farms are $10 per carload. More information, including the tour brochure, an interactive Google map of all the farms and ticket information are available at the following website:

www.carolinafarmstewards.org/etft2010.shtml

The Reuse Alliance Acts as a conduit that builds relationships between reuse sector organizations, and between the sector & the public. They’re hosting the first annual ReuseConex, a national conference and expo recognizing the importance of reuse.

October 18 through 20, 2010 the Reuse Alliance will host ReuseConex at the Raleigh Hilton. Admittedly, if you check out their website, the talk is pretty dry. But the walk? Seems to me there is a lot of potential to be stirred up at a conference centered around the ecological topic of Reuse. Plus Garth Johnson, Extreme Craft-er extraordinaire is the keynote speaker.

There’s also an arts and crafts fair filled with vendors whose work is made up of at least 85% of materials rescued from the waste stream. {If you want to sell, there’s still time to apply!}

What else is planned?

• Expert panelists, motivating speakers, and informative workshops
• 40+ reuse-related exhibitors,
• Tours of local reuse centers,
• A reFashion Show, movie screenings, and much more!

Part of what they offer is a C & D (construction and demolition?) trading board that covers all of NC! All of you indie NCers doing renovation projects can post to sell excess materials and find resources ready for reuse to apply to those projects as well!

Since we’re on the topic of reuse, I’ve included a few of my favorite artists who take reuse to the next level:Lucky Accessories, Mikel Robinson, and Sew Bliss Sew are wells of eco-craft-inspiration.

It’s almost the first Friday of the month which means it’s time for another indieNC First Friday Market in Raleigh. This month we have a great selection of artists selling their wares and a few of them are shown here. The event runs from 6pm-10pm and is free. Plus, if you print off and bring the facebook invitation you’ll get 10% off select designers’ tables plus a free indieNC t-shirt or tumbler (while supplies last).

About the First Friday Market: On the first Friday of every month a curated selection of designers set up and sell their wares in an empty storefront in downtown Raleigh. There are different designers at each event. Participants range from jewelry to apparel designers and come from all over the state - as well as the country, but many or your very talented neighbors. Shop local and meet the designers behind the products.

Where: 131 S. Wilmington Street Raleigh, NC (a few doors down from Gravy & Sitti restaurants and near Holly Aiken’s shop, Stitch)

* Note: We will be skipping September to go on vacation, but will be back with another First Friday Market in October. If you are interested in participating as a vendor, apply here. Also, we’ll be announcing the Fall/Winter Rock & Shop Market dates in the next few weeks.

The aisles are lined with STP motor oil and Seventh Generation soaps.  The coolers are stocked with Gatorades and Goat Lady Dairy’s local organic cheeses.  The freezers are full of frozen Snickers ice-cream bars and Cane Creek Farm grass-fed meat.  The shelves offer Starburst candies and The Accidental Baker’s artisan crackers and granolas.  This is the Saxapahaw General Store, the gas-station gourmet food mart and restaurant that is generating lots of buzz in the Triangle food world and beyond.

Located in the tiny town of Saxapahaw, on the banks of the scenic Haw River, this might be the greatest gas station a hungry traveler could ever stumble upon.  Off of Highway 54 well south of Graham, NC, it’s about an hour drive from Raleigh, or less than 30 minutes from Chapel Hill.  But it’s a worthwhile foodie destination, and I’m looking forward to my next visit.

We went on a recent Saturday for lunch.  Scrawled on a chalkboard sign were the day’s specials – meatloaf sandwich, crabcake on croissant.  I opted for the brisket sandwich on ciabatta, with lemon-garlic aioli, swiss cheese, and caramelized onions ($8).  While we waited, I strolled around the sun-filled store and browsed the wide array of local, organic food offerings, nestled among the usual suspects of a gas station convenience store, without regard for incongruity.

The store has an extensive menu, ranging from delicious sounding breakfasts (“house-made biscuits with cane creek farm sausage and homemade gravy”) to southern brunch staples (shrimp and grits, which looked fantastic on a neighboring table) to homemade pizzas (on homemade dough, with homemade sauce) to a wide array of sandwiches, including local goat and local beef burgers.  From what I’ve read, the dinner specials are likely to feature whatever’s fresh and on hand, and generally comprise a menu that you’d be more likely to find in a high-end city restaurant such as Piedmont, Watt’s Grocery, or Poole’s Diner.

It took quite a while to get our food, but it was worth the wait.  The sandwich appeared to be served on grilled focaccia, not ciabatta (either way it appeared to be homemade), but that proved to be irrelevant.  It was exquisite, with tender, falling-apart beef and perfect proportions.  Duck fat fries ($3) on the side were not as expected – they were “home-style” fries – but they were undeniably delicious and perfectly seasoned with very coarsely ground pepper.

Also available at the front counter were a variety of homemade pastries, cookies, and other desserts.  The pastries looked great – everything from a blackberry turnover to lemon ginger scones to cranberry-white chocolate cookies.  A chocolate-pecan pie ($4/slice), on the other hand, looked a little sad, and, I confirmed later, tasted rather unremarkable.  I also sampled a chocolate chip cookie ($1.50) and the blackberry turnover ($4), both of which were respectable, if not brilliant.

Still, this place is a real gem.  Your meal can be taken inside, at a decidedly unglamorous booth, or outside on nice patio (as charming as can be, considering it’s situated 20 feet from some gas pumps).  Prices are generally on the higher side, but reflective of the top-notch ingredients employed, and worth every penny.

Note: see their facebook page for more information

North Carolina artist, Celia Gray, has new pieces up through Blue Spiral in Asheville through September 20th. Check it out if you are in the area.

Jamie Meares, of Furbish Studio in Raleigh, will be hosting an accessories swap this Sunday with another talented North Carolina interior designer, Bryn Dunn. Details here.

indieNC has begun hosting a new event in downtown Raleigh that will be held on each First Friday of the month. The First Friday Market features emerging designers selling their wares. Support your talented neighbors and shop locally! Our next event is this Friday June 4th from 6pm-10pm indoors at 131 S. Wilmington Street in downtown Raleigh and is free.

June Participating Vendors:
Goodnight, Raleigh
Liv’n Good Jewelry
Loriola
Mary Elizabeth Arts
Mutant Angel
Raimbow Tree
Rhonda Strickland
Sara Westermark
Sew Bliss Sew
Silvery Moon Art
Sissy & Jacks
SSD Jewelry
Tammy Durant
The Other Edge
Zass Designs

If you are interested in participating in a future event, fill out the application here.

We’re trying to get this grant to get the process moving, and if you’ve been watching the news lately, funding for anything in NC is dry. This grant is voting-based and with how close the race is, every vote helps!  The lead in the contest doesn’t have a whole lot of votes really–only 325 and next in line is quickly catching up at 311.

We’re up to about 90, so I’m trying to rally the troops and get the word out. If you have a chance, please take a second to help!

Once you vote here and then click on the facebook link to vote again!  {not sure if this link will work for everyone or if it’s specific to my Facebook acct?}

And please spread the word if you know any other groups or individuals that would pitch in with a vote or 200!

My dream pie? An eggy, cheesy, bacon-y concoction with more bacon on top.

Give me a fork.

So it goes without saying that I’m super-excited about a new shop opening soon in downtown Raleigh: PieBird. Just the name makes me smile.

I caught up with owner and pie-baking maven Sheila Duncan to ask her a few questions about PieBird. Like, will you have bacon pie?

No really. Here’s our interview:

What inspired you to start PieBird?
Well, have you heard of wisdom born of pain? I suppose there was a little of that here. I was laid off about a year ago, and I knew it would be extremely difficult for me to get another job. Even though I have a master’s degree, I am in my mid-fifties (very hard to get a decent paying job at my age), and I kept thinking, making lists, going over and over in my head, “What in the world am I going to do NOW?!”

I kept coming back to food, then I kept thinking, what do people want in this economy?  Something good and inexpensive. What is convenient? Take-out food! What is a simple food that no one is really doing now? PIE! Then I put it together…take-out pie!

Holy cow, I’m sold. Tell me about your background. Do you have culinary training, or are you just a really good baker? Or both?
My mother worked when I was a child and she asked me, occasionally, to put dinner on the table. I really loved this task. So much better than cleaning a bathroom or dusting! I mean, I would get compliments for cooking!

I actually started collecting recipes when I was in 4th or 5th grade. At that time, meat loaf was my specialty! About the second time I had to do this, I decided to make a peach pie with a can of peaches I found in the cupboard. Yikes! It was a total disaster. My family didn’t say, but I knew it was horrible! The crust was too thick; it was sticky to work with. The whole pie-making thing I realized was a world I knew nothing about. I decided right there to change that and have sort of been a student of pie ever since then. I also owned a catering business in the early 80s.

What’s your all-time favorite pie?
I honestly don’t have a favorite pie. But I have to tell you I am a savory kinda girl, so any meat or veggie pie always wins out over the sweet pies for me. This summer we will be making a fresh tomato pie. I am really looking forward to that. The best part of our pies is our crust. It is flaky! And buttery, but not too buttery. The secret is that I make it by hand, and I am not talking about making it in one of those giant mixers where the ingredients get so mixed up it turns into play doh!

How long do we have to wait to eat PieBird pie?
We are hoping open the shop by June, but a lot depends on the city and county and when the inspections, etc., will get done.

What will the PieBird experience be like?
We will be open for lunch and serve many kinds of savory hand pies, some all veggie and some with meat. One of my favorites is one my brother introduced me to after one of his many business trips to London, a pie with chicken, cranberry and brie cheese. (Editor’s note: Oh. Mah. Gah.)

These pies will be small and inexpensive; you can stop in for lunch and get one pie, two pies, a salad, a bowl of soup, whatever you wish. Dinner will be a selection based on seasonal pies, chicken pot pies, or other meat and veggie based pies. Or you can take out a whole pie or order a pie to be delivered. So many pies, so little time!

We will also have a small selection of local wines and beers to enjoy with your dinner. My goal is to stay as local and fresh as possible. Occasionally we hope to have some local talents perform for us. There will be seating inside and out.

Our building is very cool, it used to be one of the original Krispy Kremes back in the 40s. Actually my mother and grandfather would visit this Krispy Kreme, purchase two dozen doughnuts, sit in their truck and eat one dozen and take the other dozen home like the first one never existed. I just love that story and that somehow I am connected to this wonderful old building.

Written by Suzanne from pretty*swell. All photos by the super-talented Kristine Dittmer. Dudes, I’m hungry now. Want more PieBird? Click here.