Courtesy of Farmer Jay

Farmer Jay wants to help you grow your garden.

Farmer Jay is a public relations dream for the local locavore movement -- a smart, personable farmer who's passionate about sharing tips on healthy eating.

You would think that between running Farmer Jay Organics and writing for New Times, the man would just want to curl up with a good book or a beer and relax.

But in his spare time, Jason "Farmer Jay" McCobb is teaching a series of growing classes at Whole Foods in Plantation.

The three classes, in honor of Earth Month, all concentrate on different aspects of growing a home garden.

Take all three and you'll have the best-tasting garden in your neighborhood.

Read Also: Hot Farmer Alert: Meet Farmer Jay


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Ian Witlen

Turkey on whole-wheat bread is so passé nowadays. What the public really wants is bacon.

Juicy, greasy slabs of cured pork belly, by the pounds; in as many preparations as possible and dipped in and/or wrapped around as many highly caloric food items-- such as chocolate and chicken wings,--imaginable. That is the central idea behind BaconFest, a hedonistic, triglyceride inducing, throw-the-weight-scale-aside, hog-lovers event that took Chicago and New York by storm and then moved towards us. On Saturday night, South Florida had its share of this beastly bacon affair.

A sellout for several weeks, this pig pantheon was a resounding success at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. South Florida evidently loves its swine just about as much as the rest of the country.

Chef Todd Fisher, from Discovery's Destination America network show, United States of Bacon, hosted what we called our own pork-a-palooza. The lines were long and the bellies were bursting all night long as the packed crowd sampled bacon-inspired items from local eateries like Big City Tavern and Caffe Luna Rosa and savored bacon infused delights from La Marquise Desserts and Susy Pops.

We loaded up on Lipitor, braved the hungered mega-carnivorous masses and prepared to pig out (pun all the way) on all the creative offerings incorporating the other white meat.

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Tricia Woolfenden

Pour yourself a nice glass of Girl Scout Cookies.

The Clean Plate Charlie crew are huge fans of Girl Scout Cookies. Those once-a-year colorful boxes of deliciousness make over-indulging in sweets feel like a community service. The Girl Scout's message and mission are so wholesome, it almost seems gauche to match the cookies with a glass of fine craft beer: Almost, but not quite.

In fact, the Girl Scout Cookie/craft beer concept has been explored by such brew fans as The Beer Chicks, who last March penned a "Girl Scout Cookies for Adults" guide that suggested matching Caramel deLites (aka Samoas) with CoCoNut Porter and Tagalongs (aka Peanut Butter Patties) with Banana Bread Beer.

Due South Brewing in Boynton Beach knows a good idea when they taste one. The brewery is hosting two Girl Scout Cookies Nights this coming week that will feature sweet beer pairings.

See Also:
- Duffy's Has Girl Scouts Samoa Cupcakes
- Local Girl Scouts Collecting Cookies for Troops Overseas
- Say It Ain't So! Are Girl Scout Cookies Destroying the Rainforest?

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Author Chad Thilborger

Local cookbook author Chad Thilborger will be at The Atlantic Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday discussing his new book, Whole Heap of Goodness.

Like most Floridians, Thilborger is a transplant. And like most transplants, though he loves his adopted home, he cherishes memories of his old one, carrying on little traditions to help keep those memories fresh and alive.

Whole Heap of Goodness is more than just a cookbook to Thilborger. It's a collection of warm family memories all made in the heart of the home: the kitchen.

"For me, food is about making time, not four-star meals," says Thilborger. "I don't claim to be a foodie or a chef. I'm about togetherness."

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Let's face it, most of our food fun is for adults only, but when Halloween rolls around, we all get to act like kids for a change -- even if some older trick-or-treaters take dressing up a little too far.

Or course, there's no harm in staying in and letting the trick-or-treaters that come to your door be your main source of entertainment for the evening. So, this one is for the kids -- even though we're pretty sure they'll work on your "adult" friends, too. All you need is a little suspense and imagination. A really dark doorstep or room wouldn't hurt, either.

Here, our list of the six scariest ways to freak out your Halloween party attendees and trick-or-treaters with food. Simply ask the "victim" to roll up their sleeves, close their eyes, and use a little imagination to enjoy this festively-prepared fare:

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Hope you don't get air sick.

You know that feeling when you're out to dinner having a good time with your friends, but even though you're laughing and enjoying your food, deep down you know the meal is lacking something?

And we all know what that something is: height. If only this table were levitating 180 feet in the air! Siiiiiiigh.

The dinner experience will finally be complete on Saturday, October 20, when Dinner in the Sky comes to Delray Beach's Old School Square Park.

For the bargain price of just $500, you too, can dine among the clouds. Well, maybe not quite among the clouds -- but still, way high.

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WLWT via Facebook

Run, wiener, run!

Oktoberfest has officially started in Germany and across the pond in Cincinnati. Both cities have much in common -- beer drinking, dirndls, and plenty of wieners.  Except in Cincinnati, you're encouraged to pet your wiener and allow it to roam free instead of slathering mustard on it. 

That's right! We're talking about the annual Running of the Wieners at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, where dozens of dachshunds are dressed in hot dog buns and run a 75-foot course in an attempt to earn the title of "fastest wiener."

According to the Oktoberfest Zinzinnati website, 2-year-old Sammy won this year's race. More »

ABQArts.com

The Pez Man, Steve White (in Pez jacket).

Steve White is a folk artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico who works out of a studio called The Folk Farm.  Like all artists, White has a favorite medium. Is it oil on canvas? Clay? Nope! It's Pez.
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GSN

Beat the Chefs: compete on TV - on on your iPhone.

If you're a "real person" that loves to cook, GSN is looking for you. 

Their new show, Beat the Chefs, is seeking amateur chef teams consisting of a lead and two sous chefs to compete against "some of the best chefs in the business", specifically Beau McMillan, executive chef of Elements at The Sanctuary Resort in Arizona; Top Chef contestant Antonia Lofaso; and Chris Henderson, author of the New York Times bestseller, Cooked.



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Courtesy of DDA

SoLita's signature house-made meatballs.

It's no secret that downtown Delray Beach is a dining mecca. Whether you're a casual diner or a snootie foodie, whether you are looking for cutting-edge haute cuisine or soul-satisfying comfort food, you can find it somewhere along Atlantic Avenue.

This Thursday and Friday, August 9 and 10, from 5 to 10 p.m., there's no need to limit yourself to just one of Delray's awesome eateries. Sample 21 of them during the fourth-annual Tastemakers of Delray Beach event.

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