On the Road ...

Mark your calendar for pizza al fresco.

Wednesday, July 20 - Oak Bay Night Market
In the heart of the village on Oak Bay Avenue - pick up vegetables from local farms, grab a pie from your favorite pizzeria, listen to a bit of music. Market runs from 4-8 pm every third Wednesday through September. Rain or shine.

Sunday, July 24 Tour of Farms at Sea Cider
Where does my food come from? Who grows it? What's it like to be a farmer? Visit Saanich farms and find the answers to these questions. Join us at Sea Cider - tour the orchard & cider house, eat pizza and sip cider.

Sunday, September 18 - Feast of Fields at Marley Farm
Taste the very best of BC from chefs, vintners, brewers, fishers, ranchers and food artisans from across the province - some think of it as a 40 course meal paired with wine & beer! Feast of Fields is a gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system. For more information & tickets, visit http://www.feastoffields.com/

Thursday - Sunday, September 22-25 - Rifflandia Festival
A music festival & more: 4 days, 10 stages & 110 artists. It is inspired. Visit http://2011rifflandia.com for lineups, tickets and more.

Tour of Farms 2010 - Sunday, July 25

Where does my food come from? What’s it like to be a farmer? All important questions that deserve consideration. You can get the answers – and have some summer fun - at the Tour of Farms this Sunday.

Go for a drive in the country. Enjoy the fresh air. Have a picnic. Walk through a blueberry patch. Chat with a farmer. Savour a fresh raspberry. Sample local ciders and pizza too.

We're rolling Black Beauty to one of our favorite spots - Sea Cider. We'll take in the view, sip some cider and make pizza using ingredients from local farms.

For more information, visit the Farm Fresh site:

http://www.islandfarmfresh.com/touroffarms.htm

Join us at Sea Cider's Apple Day - September 27 from 11 to 6

When Dionne at Sea Cider approached me about participating in Apple Days I was thrilled. Here's what I immediate thought of (and something I know few do), "Pizza and cider is a great pairing!" Honestly, I cannot say I came to this alone - although given some time and tasting, I'd like to think I would have. I was inspired by the cookbook The Silver Spoon.

The Silver Spoon is the most influential and successful cookbook in Italy. Here's my inspiration: Pizzas need fizzy drinks to stimulate the digestion. Beer is fine but those who prefer wine may chose a sparkling white preferably light, young and fruity. The editor forgot another sparkling fruit drink- cider! Light, young and fruity - Sea Cider's Kings & Spies (made in the Italian style) is a fantastic paring!

But don't take my word for it, come join us at Sea Cider on Sunday, September 27 from 11 am to 6 pm. We'll celebrate the apple and you can decide if you like Sea Cider Pippins, Wild English or King & Spies or another of their fabulous drinks. For more information, visit: http://www.seacider.ca/