Street Food Festival guests enjoy the truck fare. Photo by Lindsey Nair.

On Wednesday evening, I crashed a private street festival in downtown Roanoke that was put on by the Roanoke law firm of Glenn Feldmann Darby Goodlatte.

I’m joking, of course. GFD&G attorney and fellow food lover David Tenzer invited me to their Street Food Festival 2012, which was held in order to show their appreciation to their clients. It was also meant to introduce people to some of the wonderful farmer/vendors who regularly sell their goods at the Grandin Village Community Market and the West End Community Market, so several vendors were set up with local produce, meat, baked goods and more. See the bottom of this entry for more details about those markets.

The event was also a celebration of GFD&G’s renewed support for the Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP), the nonprofit that runs both of the aforementioned farmers markets. The new sponsorship from the law firm will allow LEAP to double SNAP dollars (formerly known as food stamps) for people who otherwise have a hard time finding and/or affording fresh, local food. This is the second year of the firm’s sponsorship of LEAP. The nonprofit’s director, Brent Cochran, said the money will likely allow them to double SNAP dollars through this market season, but they need more help to keep the program going.

As a major bonus, Bruno’s Gastro Truck, Noke Truck and Homestead Creamery had trucks at the street festival and were dishing up really tasty grub. Also there were Foggy Ridge Hard Cider, Roanoke Railhouse Brewery and Valhalla Vineyards.

While I was at the street festival, I picked up another tip. A new farmers market of sorts is going to be happening on Tuesdays at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. It’s more of a farmers’ table, actually, because only one vendor will be set up there. The vendor is Good Food – Good People, a consortium of growers who raise everything from beets to beef, so the variety ought to be nice. And although they hope to draw shoppers from the hospital complex, anybody can buy there.

The Roanoke Memorial Hospital Farmers’ Table & CSA dropsite will be set up every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. through October. The exact location is by the Riverwalk Parking Garage on Old Jefferson Street. For more information about this development, check out www.goodfoodgoodpeople.net or give them a call at 540-745-4347, ext. 2.

The Grandin market takes place on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon behind Surf & Turf on Grandin Avenue while the West End market is held on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at the West End Community Center at Patterson Avenue and 13th Street SW.

Downtown Blacksburg Inc. and The Blacksburg Partnership have teamed up to bring a new, annual event to residents of Blacksburg and the New River Valley.

The 1st Annual Blacksburg Restaurant Week will showcase several Blacksburg restaurants during the week of June 18-24. The featured restaurants will have designated menu items at a discounted price.

Director of Downtown Blacksburg Inc. Laureen Blakemore said the week-long event was put in place to encourage the community to enjoy a variety of different dining choices while supporting local restaurateurs.

“The Blacksburg Partnership and Downtown Blacksburg Inc. recently became aware of other towns and cities hosting annual restaurant weeks and realized this would be a wonderful idea to bring to Blacksburg,” Blakemore said.

Restaurants like Next Door Bake Shop and Wikiteria Market & Café will feature lunch menu items while other restaurants such as Bull & Bones Brewhaus & Grill, Castle’s Kettle & Pub, El Rodeo South Main and Sal’s Italian Restaurant will feature dinner items. Bollo’s and The Chocolate Spike will offer desserts.
Blakemore said both Downtown Blacksburg Inc. and The Blacksburg Partnership met with several Blacksburg restaurants to discuss the idea and begin planning the event.

“After meeting to discuss the idea with several restaurant owners, we chose the date for the event to coincide with a traditionally slow time of the year for local businesses,” Blakemore said.

A total of 16 Blacksburg businesses will participate in the event, and Blakemore believes this will give residents an opportunity to try a new restaurant or dish.

“In addition to bringing people out to eat at a different time, we hope that it might encourage them to also check out some of the amazing stores, galleries and services located near the restaurants,” Blakemore said.

“We hope to change consumer habits by offering this special opportunity to support our local Blacksburg restaurants instead of going elsewhere.”

Blakemore said she hopes the annual event will continue to grow heading into the future and more Blacksburg restaurants will be featured next year.

For more information about the event and to see a list of all participating restaurants, visit http://blacksburgrestaurantweek.wordpress.com.

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? If so, you might want to consider checking out the Vinton Wine & Food Festival this Saturday on the lawn of the Vinton War Memorial.

The festival, which benefits the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. You may purchase a basic ticket or a ticket that includes a wine glass and tastings from these participating wineries: Fincastle Vineyard & Winery; Rebec Vineyards, Inc.; Savoy Lee Winery; Brooks Mill Winery; Sans Soucy Vineyard; The Homeplace Vineyard; Peaks of Otter Winery; West Wind Vineyard & Winery; Hickory Hill Vineyards; White Rock Vineyards & Winery; Rural Retreat Winery & Vineyards; and Attimo Winery.

Food will be dished out by Teaberry’s; Buffalo Wild Wings; Sweet Keister’s; and Bruno’s Gastro Truck. Other beverage vendors include Foggy Ridge Cider, and there will be a Miller Lite Beer Garden and a bunch of vendors selling gifts and products (the vendors bazaar inside the War Memorial is free and open to the public).

Tickets are: In advance, $5 per person, $15 per person including wine tasting; at the door, $10 per person, $20 per person including wine tasting. There may also be some tables on the lawn still available for $200, which includes wine taster tickets, glasses, and seating for eight.

There also may still be VIP tables open for $300 – those seat eight, are under a tent and include wine and catering by Teaberry’s. The menu includes shrimp shooters, beef empanadas, Greek salad with pita bread, fruit skewers, caprese salad, Southwest turkey and Angus sirloin sliders, and crab cake sliders.

Entertainment will be provided by The Materia Project, which plays “original pop-rock-soul kind of stuff, and some jam elements, kinda funky” according to my colleague, music reporter Tad Dickens.

For more information or to order tickets visit vintonwinefestival.com/index.htm or call the Chamber office at 540-343-1364.

Jason, I hope you have a very cool summer with some tasty freezer pops courtesy of this book. Email me at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com to claim your prize.

If you wanted to win this book but did not, I have good news for you. And it’s better news than the standard “You can find this online at blah blah blah.” This book, in fact, is available for sale at any Kohl’s department store or at Kohl’s online for only $5. All of the proceeds go to national children’s health and education initiatives. You may have heard about the Kohl’s Cares program. Well, this is part of that program.

I shared some recipes from this cookbook on my blog the other day, and I’ll share one more now for Coconut Cream Yogurt Pops. Hope you all enjoy!

Coconut Cream Yogurt Pops
Makes six 8-oz. pops

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
3 cups vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup plus about 2 Tbsp. honey

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 7 minutes.

2. In a blender, process the yogurt, milk and 1/3 cup honey until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted coconut.

3. Pour the yogurt mixture into pop molds. Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 8 hours.

4. When it comes time to serve, dab some of the remaining honey onto the pops and pat the remaining coconut onto the pops. Serve immediately.

Source: “Pops!” by Krystina Castella

Photo by Lindsey Nair

I noticed when I drove past the Fresh Oriental Market on Williamson Road last Wednesday that the lights were out at about 8 p.m. Since I knew it was usually open later than that, I suspected something was amiss.

Sure enough, the market at the corner of Williamson and Liberty roads has closed. The owners, Hien and Shilin Bui, also own Pho Viet Nam restaurant on Orange Avenue and opened QQ Bubble Tea in the Roanoke City Market Building in April. When I talked to Hien Bui yesterday, he said they decided to close Fresh Oriental Market because they have too many other things on their plate now.

I hope the Vietnamese restaurant and the bubble tea place work out, because it would be sad to see the owners sacrifice a longstanding business for the new endeavors. I wish them the best of luck.

Meanwhile, this reminds me that it’s been a few years since I did my series about ethnic markets in the Roanoke and New River valleys (That link is to Part 1 of the series; scroll down and click links in the bar on the left of your screen to see the other three parts). The landscape has changed since then. Certainly, some of those stores are still going strong or have expanded, but others have closed and new shops have opened since then. I think I ought to do another round-up to update readers on where they can shop for specialty food items.

I see some new markets when I’m driving around, but I’m sure I have missed some. If you know of an ethnic market (whether it be Asian, Mediterranean, Latino, a mix of ethnicities or any other kind), please let me know so I can make sure they are not left off my list.

Do you shop at any ethnic markets?

Blue 5 prides itself on offering one of the biggest selections of craft beers in the area with some 46 different varieties on tap. During this week, they will encourage customers to sign the “Declaration of Beer Independence” in support of craft breweries. They’ll also feature special beers such as Oskar Blues, Ommegang, Smuttynose, Goose Island (Virginia debut) and Green Flash on “Tap Takeover” days.

Here’s the schedule for that:

Monday: Oskar Blues Takeover featuring Dale’s Pale Ale, Deviant Dale’s, G’Knight Imperial Red and Mama’s Lil’ Yella Pils (tapping at noon).

Tuesday: Ommegang Tap Takeover featuring Rare Vos, Hennepin, Gnomegang, Aphrodite and Abbey Ale (tapping at noon).

Wednesday: Smuttynose Pint Night with Really Old Brown Dog and Smuttynose IPA (tapping at 5 p.m.).

Thursday: Goose Island Tap Takeover with Sophie, Matilda and Pierre Jacques (tapping at noon).

Friday: Green Flash Tap Takeover featuring West Coast IPA, Green Flask Imperial IPA, Hop Head Red and Le Freak (tapping at noon).
In addition, beer from Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company, Wild Wolf Brewing and Blue Mountain Brewery will be available throughout the “Mother of All Beer Weeks.”

“This is an exciting week for us as we are extremely passionate about showcasing craft beer in the region and bringing new varieties to the Roanoke Valley,” said Chris Coleman, president and partner at Blue 5, in a press release. “We have a handful of taps that have rotating seasonals and specials that will be featured and an event for each day during the week.”

For more information on the events and activities, visit www.Blue5Restaurant.com

But don’t forget some of the other places to check out craft beer, including Big Daddy’s Brewing Company, Roanoke Railhouse Brewery (visit the brewery for samples or click here for where to buy), Wine Gourmet in Roanoke, Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg and Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar in Roanoke.

Where else do you like to buy and/or enjoy your favorite craft brews?

Before long, we’ll be melting in the sun and enjoying dinners made with thick, fresh slices of homegrown tomato. And for dessert, it might be nice to have a treat from this new cookbook, “Pops!” by Krystina Castella. This book offers icy treats for people of all ages, but as I flip through it I realize the recipes all seem very grown-up. By that, I don’t mean they call for alcohol. I mean they are some really unusual and sophisticated freezer pops.

For example, here are some recipes in the book:
* PB & Sesame Raspberry Pops
* Banana & Date Pops
* Sugar Pumpkin Pops
* Ginger Lemon-Lime Pops
* Vanilla Soy Ice Cream Pops
* Pomegranate & Apple Pops
* Mulled Cider & Walnut Pops
* Thai Iced Coffee Pops

If you’re like me, you’re starting to forget how dreary it is outside and you’re wishing you had one of these unique pops in your hand. Well, you have a chance to win this cookbook if you leave a comment on this blog entry and tell me what is your favorite kind of freezer pop, or who do you know who would love the pops recipes in this book. The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday; I’ll announce the winner on Thursday.

I’ll share two below to get the juices flowing.
Chocolate Soy Ice Cream Pops
Makes six 8-oz. pops

4 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups plain soymilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup soy yogurt

1. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and beat until the mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.

2. Heat the soymilk in a saucepan. Add egg mixture and chocolate chips. Gently heat the mixture, stirring until thick and smooth. Refrigerate the mixture for 2 to 3 hours.

3. Fold the yogurt into the soymilk mixture and pour mixture into an ice cream maker. Prepare according to the manufacturer’s instructions, halting the freezing process before the ice cream is fully set.

4. Scoop the ice cream into pop molds, insert the sticks and freeze for 8 hours.

5. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds. Serve.

Bing Cherry & Vanilla Pops
Makes six 8-oz. pops

3 cups pitted, halved bing cherries
1 cup cherry juice
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. honey

1. Combine 2 cups of the cherries with cherry juice, yogurt, vanilla extract, and honey in a food processor or blender; process until smooth.

2. Stir in remaining 1 cup cherries.

3. Fill pop molds with the mixture. Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 6 hours.

4. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds.

Alternative: Use 3 cups sour cherries. Simmer all of the cherries with 1 cup cherry juice and 1/4 cup sugar over low heat for 10 minutes. Let cool, then combine with the yogurt, vanilla extract and honey and fill the pop molds.

Source: “Pops!” by Krystina Castella

Bread Craft owner Alex Eliades.

This rumor about one of downtown Roanoke’s two bakeries has been spreading around town recently. It circled around to me the other day, so I gave Bread Craft owner Alex Eliades a call.

Here’s the situation: Alex is the proud new owner of a building at 24 Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke. He closed recently on the building, which used to house 24 Church Avenue Italian Restaurant and, before that, Howard’s Soup Kitchen. But Alex does not plan to move his business into the building right away.

He said he has two years left on his lease in the current space, so for the time being you can still find those lovely loaves, pastries, pizzas and sandwiches next door to Frankie Rowland’s on South Jefferson Street. Alex wants to fix up the apartments upstairs in the Church Avenue building so he can rent those. He also might eventually use the ground floor space as overflow baking or work space.

So that’s the scoop. Bread Craft isn’t going anywhere soon, but we might one day be trekking a couple of streets over to satisfy our carb cravings.

Karen writes a column of the same name which appears in The Roanoke Times Extra section every other Saturday, so you may already be familiar with her writing voice and the deep level of gardening knowledge she possesses. Karen launched this blog a couple of weeks ago but it is really starting to ramp up now as we head into PRIME gardening season in Virginia.

I am personally very excited about this new blog because I’m a gardener-in-training. I was raised by two parents with very green thumbs but my thumbs so far are more of a yellow shade. Gardening is one of those hobbies that really takes practice, but when you have success it is so gratifying (plus, very few things feel as good to me as a hard day of work in the garden followed by a refreshing shower and a cold beer or glass of lemonade). I’ve learned and implemented something new every year.

So far this year, I’ve expanded my herb garden and my vegetable garden. Boy, cutting out grass by hand with an edging shovel is really back-breaking work, but now I have more space for my plants to grow. I have planted two zucchini plants which are so far taking off, but I plan to keep a close eye on the weather. Next up: tomatoes!

Karen welcomes gardening questions on her blog and also encourages experienced gardeners to share their observations and insights with the rest of her readers. So head on over and have fun! And don’t forget, when you are out there in the yard, to wear a hat and sunscreen!

The Roanoke Times l File photo

I finally received the list of winners from this past weekend’s Virginia State Championship Chili Cookoff in downtown Roanoke. Better late than never, so here goes:

OVERALL

1st Place – Advances to world cookoff
Cowgirl Chili
Jackie Koltz
$1,000 and trophy

2nd Place
Jim’s Work In Progress
Jim Parker
$250 and trophy

3rd Place
Greenwood Chili
Matt Bush
$100 and trophy
4th Place
Devil’s Anger Chili
Bryan Alcorn
Trophy

5th Place
Cowboy Chili
Roger Koltz
Trophy

SHOWMANSHIP

1st Place
Truck Chili
Mark Henderson
Trophy

2nd Place
HOGS White Knuckle Chili
Mark Reed
Trophy

BOOTH

1st Place
Truck Chili
Mark Henderson
Trophy

2nd Place
HOGS White Knuckle Chili
Mark Reed
Trophy

SALSA

1st Place
Gerald “Bink” Stevens
$50 and trophy

2nd Place
Jennifer Violette
Trophy

3rd Place
Spence Robertson
Trophy

CHILI VERDE

1st Place
Matt Bush
$150 and trophy

2nd Place
Jim Parker
Trophy

3rd Place
Bryan Alcorn
Trophy

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

1st Place
Q99 Breakfast Club
$100 and trophy

2nd Place
HOGS White Knuckle Chili
Trophy

BEST RESTAURANT CHILI

Growler’s American Grill and Venue of Roanoke

BEST USE OF BEEF

Cowgirl Chili