Filed under: 30th Birthday Party Benefit for SFC, Austin, events, food, friends, go green, lifestyle, outdoors | Tags: 30th birthday party, boggy creek farm, break it down austin, farmhouse delivery, greenling.com, independence brewery, linkedin, miscellaneous rentals, non-profit benefit party, paula's texas spirits, sustainable food center, sustainable food center benefit party, the cake lab, tito's vodka, u-clique studio, waterstone aesthetics, wheatsville co-op
Let me tell you all – it has been one crazy month. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve turned thirty and the world is suddenly flying by me at a rapid pace. I’m saying that because just one month ago I made the decision to put together a benefit for Sustainable Food Center and I only gave myself three weeks to do it. While it was admittedly a stressful & challenging three weeks, I don’t regret the decision for one minute. I had the help of some fantastic friends (Sara P., Andy, Melissa, Hollie, Sarah Cash – you are awesome). And I had the support of an entire community of people who are genuinely interested in our food future. I want to use this post to look back and appreciate all that came together in such a short time and provide some insight into some of the phenomenal things that came from it.
First of all, we raised $374 for Sustainable Food Center - a fantastic little chunk of change for a non-profit! Susan Leibrock, Community Relations Director from SFC, shared with me that just 5% of SFC’s annual budget comes from private donations. Events like this soiree are critical to helping SFC generate funds through private donations.
The second amazing and unexpected thing I experienced while organizing this event was the involvement of people & the community. I have never seen such a tremendous outpouring of support - it was downright overwhelming. I sent cold-call emails to folks I’d never met before and they were happy, if not eager to support the cause. Paula from Paula’s Texas Spirits was the perfect example. I emailed her to see if they would be willing to donate a small item to give away as a raffle prize. Paula responded with this:
”Absolutely. We have a gift pack with half-bottles of both productsthat we can give you. What about drinks during the party? As you
know, we can mix a mean drink.”
How do you respond to that? Words could not express my delight over receiving this email. Of COURSE I wanted Paula to come mix some drinks! And that’s exactly what she did – showed up on Sunday with a cooler in hand & mixes of some of the best cocktails our guests had ever tasted.
Through similar cold-call emails I received gift certifcates from Greenling.com, Wheatsville Co-op, Farmhouse Delivery, Boggy Creek Farm & Waterstone Aesthetics. Tito’s vodka & Paula’s Texas Spirits chipped in gift baskets to raffle off. Trey from U-Clique Studio agreed to come out and set up his hilariously fun photo-booth for the day (and was kind enough to put the “NSFW” photos in a secret, seperate account for us) and Jeff from Break it Down Austin brought out a compost bin. Throughout the day we loaded it up with corn-starch plates, compostable tableware & kitchen scraps. Amy from Independence Brewery chipped in a keg of delicious Austin Amber, and even Miscellaneous Rentals got in the action by giving us a sweet discount on rental tables & chairs for the day. One of the crowd favorites was by Diana of The Cake Lab, who brought by her famous carrot cake cupcakes that gave us visions of sweets all through the next week.
That all of these folks contributed at all was such a gift – but that they agreed to contribute on such short notice was a blessing.
And then, of course, there were my friends & co-workers who came out to show their support. Whether you were there to party, to support SFC, or just to say happy birthday & support my cause: thank you for coming out and contributing to this event with your time, $ and cooking skills. This event could not and would not have happened without you – I am so grateful!
For more pictures from the event, check out Melissa Robledo’s photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cooperella/sets/72157622437122066/
And our photobooth pictures:
http://ucliquestudio.blogspot.com/2009/09/mindys-birthday-bash-and-benefit-mixer.html
Filed under: 30th Birthday Party Benefit for SFC, Austin, events, food, friends, go green, recipes | Tags: 30th birthday party, award winning recipes, deviled eggs recipe, locavore recipes
For her ability to please bellies & bring yelps & whistles during the judging round, Mallary received a $15 gift certificate to Boggy Creek Farm.
Below is the recipe for these yummy eggs, which hails from her hometown in Louisiana. Thanks for sharing your recipe & cooking skills with us, Mallary!
Mallary with her hard-earned gift certificate to Boggy Creek.
Deviled Eggs
6 eggs 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp. vinegar 1 tsp. prepared mustard 1/8 tsp. onion salt dash black pepper 1 tsp. horseradish 1 tsp. parsley 1 tsp. rainbow sweet relish 1 tsp. bacon bits (optional – was not included in Sunday’s dish) 6 green olives1- Boil eggs for 8 minutes. Cover for 8 minutes. Run under cold water – add ice – peel immediately. Cut eggs in 1/2.
2- Place yolks in a bowl. Crumble yolks with a fork. Add all ingredients. Salt & Pepper to taste.
3- Stuff egg whites. Can cut into quarter slices, if desired.
4- Half or quarter green olives & add as garnish to top of finished eggs.
Filed under: 30th Birthday Party Benefit for SFC, Austin, events, food, go green, recipes | Tags: 30th birthday party, award winning recipes, local food benefit, locavore, pomodori al forno, tomato recipes
Sarah with her judges: Sara Partridge, myself & Andy Thibodaux.
Congratulations to Sarah Cash, the winner of the Judge’s Favorite award on Sunday!
Sarah’s tomatoes were garlicky, oily, seasoned, DELICIOUS, and best of all: local. She purchased her supplies from farmers at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market – even her olive oil was Texas-made!
For her hard work & deadly/delicious tomatoes, Sarah received a copy of Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas, by Paula Walker. She was kind enough to share her recipe & personal notes, which I am copying below. Thanks, Sarah for your good cooking & committment to local farmers!
Pomodori al Forno
1 cup (or more) olive oil, divided
1- Prehead oven to 250. Pour 1/2 cup oil into 13 x 9 x 2 glass baking dish.
2- Arrange tomatoes cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup oil. Sprinkle w/oregano, sugar & salt. Bake 1 hour. Using tongs, turn tomatoes over. Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over again, bake until deep red and very tender, transferring tomatoes to plate when soft (time will vary depending on ripeness of tomates) about 15 – 45 minutes longer.
3- Layer tomateos in medium bowl, sprinkling garlic & parsley over each layer. Drizzle tomatoes with oil from dish adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room tempurature 2 hours. Cover, chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temp before serving.
Serve with aged goat cheese & toasted baguette slices.
Sarah also included these notes on how she adapts this recipe to her liking:
Congrats & Thanks again to Sarah!
Filed under: 30th Birthday Party Benefit for SFC, Garden, design, food, go green, recipes | Tags: baking, creative cupcakes, cupcake recipes, garden themed cupcakes, recipes, vegetable themed cupcakes
While I await some much-anticipated photos from Sunday’s successful birthday benefit, I wanted to share with you one of the most awesomest creations to appear at my party: Hollie’s garden-themed cupcakes. When asked how long they took to create, Hollie answered, “You don’t even want to know…”.
The toppings are all edible, created out of things like graham crackers, starburst, even icing-coated cornflakes to create individual leaves on a head of cabbage. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Click on the photo below for more info on these amazing works of art – and be sure to check out Hollie’s other creative endeavor, rubigirl photography, while you check out her website!
Check back soon for a full recap of Sunday’s event!
Filed under: 30th Birthday Party Benefit for SFC, Austin, entertainment, events, friends, go green, outdoors | Tags: 30th birthday party, Austin Farmer's Market, boggy creek, fresh the movie, linkedin, organizing a benefit dinner, sustainable food center benefit
For several months now I’ve been pondering how to appropriately celebrate the anniversary of my 30th year on this lovely earth. I’d considered renting a lake house for the weekend, or possibly renting a party barge. While a lake house and a party boat would be a lot of fun, spending my money and asking my friends to spend their money on such a thing felt selfish & indulgent. After several weeks with no progress or inspiration I started to loose focus. When friends asked what my birthday plans were I shrugged my shoulders and lamely said, “dunno. I’ll start working on it next week…”. I started to hear rumors of interventions being planned in case I didn’t get my act together soon. Then finally last week a miracle happened. At the “Fresh“ screening at Boggy Creek I stumbled upon an idea that really resonated with me: organizing a own birthday event whose proceeds would benefit the Sustainable Food Center.
Why Sustainable Food Center, you ask? For one, their mission statement is close to my heart:
“We cultivate a healthy community by strengthening the local food system
and improving access to nutritious, affordable food.
SFC envisions a food secure community where all children and adults grow,
share and prepare healthy, local food.”
Now there’s a cause I can get on board with. For those who are unfamiliar with the Sustainable Food Center, you may know them through through their Austin Farmer’s Market program. Austin’s Farmer’s Market comes to downtown Austin on Saturday mornings and the Triangle on Wednesday afternoons. In addition to their farmer’s markets, SFC provides support to local farmers, gardeners & the public at large through educational classes, outreach programs & informational assistance. The extent of their influence is great and they are a well respected force in the sustainable food movement in Austin.
With the seeds of a great idea in hand but no plan with which to get them growing, an informal birthday planning committee met today at my house and we began to map out a birthday benefit strategy. This is the plan at present:
- Event will take place at a backyard venue in the afternoon on Sunday, September 20th.
- A $10 donation will be accepted at the door. 100% of proceeds will benefit the Sustainable Food Center.
- Food (tapas-style) will be pot-luck and all guests are asked to bring one dish made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.
- Guests will also be asked to bring the recipe for the dish they prepared, to be compiled & distributed to all guests afterwards.
- Locally made beer & wine will be provided.
- A contest for best local dish will be rewarded with an esteemed prize.
- A speaker from SFC will be on hand to talk to us a bit about their organization and mission.
- Young professionals from all walks of life will be in attendance to network over food, drink & fun.
Oh, and if you’re not sold yet – there will be birthday cake!!!!
I’m terribly excited and can’t wait to start sending the invitations out this week. If you are reading this, you are cordially invited! I’m looking forward to spending my 30th birthday mingling amongst friends, food & philanthropy. If you have any ideas or any suggestions on how to make this event great, please share! I’ll be putting the word out to local businesses this week to drum up fun items for raffle or consumption, so if you have any suggestions or contacts that I may be able to look into – let me know & let’s chat soon! :)
