Happy Holidays my friends!
Since January is just around the corner, I wanted to send out a plug for my upcoming cooking class series — Blank Canvas Cooking!
This is a great opportunity to kick off 2026 with a new lens on cooking that I hope will inspire you to spend the year whipping up a multitude of meals using what you have on hand and what’s in season!
Head to the link in my bio for more information!
Over the years as culinary student, cook, cooking class teacher and farmer-cook, I’ve started to hone in on this idea that every dish has a “blank canvas point” — aka, the basic foundation of the recipe. In this series, we will learn some fundamentals of good cookin’ then we will work our way through some blank canvas recipes and learn how to paint them!
This is an in-person, four-week class that is designed to build upon itself. BUT! I know lives are busy, so each class will work as a stand-alone. Each class will wrap up with a light dinner.
Salads | January 6th, 5:30-8p
Sauces | January 13th, 5:30-8p
S’Roasteds | January 20th, 5:30-8p
Soups (& quiche) | January 27th, 5:30-8p
These classes will be held at a private residence in Efland, NC (just a quick 25-minutes from both Chapel Hill and Durham).
If you’re looking for a last minute gift, Blank Canvas Gift Cards are available for this series, or one down the line!
Come join me and (dare I say) my very attractive and TALENTED friends in Hillsborough today (12/6) from 11a-4p!
I will be there serving up mulled beverages, hot pasta, and æbelskivers with persimmon marmalade. I will also have a very few, coveted jars of preserved calabrian chiles and dilly beans, and pasta zines for you to gift!
There will be a dizzying array of beautiful, hand-crafted goods and gifts from:
@flagmountain.studio - willow baskets, ceramics, jewelry
@muddyslug - candles and ceramics
@kellyowensby_herbalism - Herbal tinctures, teas, and remedies
@hannahladesic - prints and texts
@ripariagardens - flower CSA, dahlia tubers and totes
For friends who do not live in the NC Triangle area — for the third year in a row, I’ve partnered with Red Tail Grains to put together our Pasta Kits. These lovely kits contain two types of locally grown and milled flour, tools and recipes (+ videos) to put on your own Pasta Night at home. These kits are available to order for shipping through @redtailgrains ’s website!
Have you heard the news?! CNG has a new Programs Coordinator and Certification Specialist! 🫶🌱 Members, please give a warm welcome to Erin Torgerson! ✨
Erin’s passion for food straddles both small-scale farming and culinary arts. She has worked on farms in NC, CO, and abroad, most recently serving as Production Manager at Red’s Quality Acre, a long-time CNG member in Durham. She attended culinary school in Italy and developed a robust line of value-added products for a farm in Colorado using ingredients from the fields she worked herself as a farmhand!
We’re excited to be headed into 2025 with Erin taking on such an important roll. We can’t wait for our members to meet her. Give her a follow @erintorg 🌹
#cngproud #certifiednaturallygrown #organicfarming #regenerativeagriculture
Back by popular demand, we teamed up with Erin Torgerson from Seeds and Salt @seedsandsalt_ to make this year’s Pasta Gift Box: “Pasta Night” Volume 2. This ready-to-gift Pasta Kit has a beautiful zine with in-depth instructions, multiple pasta-shaping tools, and two different kinds of our flour.
You can order online and pick up your box at any of our Saturday farmers market locations, or grab one this weekend at a holiday market! We can also ship directly.
We only have a LIMITED SUPPLY of these special gifts, so order yours soon. We also have a limited supply of last year’s kit—Volume 1— available for order on our website.
Happy pasta-making 🍝
Quote of the day, “Are those thorns in your shirt?” - @kathleenmwilliams
Another day of attempting to look professional while spreading the pasta gospel.
Of the many special people I got to see over the past week in the Northwest — it was extra magical to reconnect with my mega talented friend @kaylawroblewski . We met on a flight from the US to Europe almost exactly 5 years ago and have exchanged many long messages ever since. I haven’t fully puzzled out why this reunion felt so important to me, but it did… anyway you should talk to people on planes!
