Are you ready for Free the Seeds? It’s on its way! The 5th annual fair is happening Saturday in Kalispell, Montana. You can find the details here.

As one of the members of the organizing committee for this free event, I’ve been busy talking about it all over town and on the air. I’ll be presenting just one of the two dozen workshops at the fair, so if you’re local, I hope you’ll join me. But if it’s too far to travel, don’t worry: all this month, I’ll be expanding on my Free the Seeds workshop right here on the Twice as Tasty blog.

Free the Seeds is a free, annual event that encourages people to build a sustainable and resilient future through real seeds, real food, and real skills. Over the last 4 years, more than 5,600 people have attended the daylong fair. Upward of 75,000 packets of non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds have been given away, with about half collected locally and packed by local volunteers.

More than 1,000 people are anticipated at the 2020 fair, and they’ll be taking home more than 9,000 packets of free seeds. They’ll also be attending workshops and panel discussions and exploring the 40-plus booths. Kids will be creating seed-focused projects; adults will be entering to win a compost tumbler. I hope to see you there.

Top to Root: Savoring It All

If you’re one of the 1,000-plus people at the event, I hope you’ll join me for my 11:15 am workshop Top to Root: Savoring It All. Top-to-root eating is at the heart of Twice as Tasty, and it speaks directly to the theme of this year’s Free the Seed fair: Recovery—closing the gaps in our community food system.

In the Top to Root workshop, we’ll explore what some of my favorite recipes on the blog have in common:

• Grilled Tomato Bloody Mary Mix
• Carrot-Top and Herb Salsa
• Yogurt Whey Berry Muffins
• Roasted Raspberry Syrup

I’ll give you a hint: All these delicious recipes rely on ingredients that typically head straight for the compost or sink drain. Expanding on this theme, I’ll be sharing ways to eat from top to root all month here on the blog. You’ll learn how to give trimmings a second life, ban “discard” from your kitchen, and ultimately look at what heads for your plate versus your compost bin in a new way.

More Workshops

Free the Seeds workshops are 1-hour discussions that introduce attendees to a range of topics, from starting seeds to making compost tea to cultivating mushrooms. You can find this year’s schedule here.

Top to Root will be my 6th workshop at Free the Seeds. My past workshops for the event have expanded or evolved into full-length, hands-on private workshops. So whether you attended those workshops or not, you can get the full Twice as Tasty experience in your own kitchen with your friends at any time:

• Starting with Sourdough: Starter and Baking Basics
• Planning the Garden—from the Kitchen
• Dehydration for Everyone
• Pick a Pickle: Easy Pickling Processes
• A Little Sweetness: Low-Sugar Jams

Twice as Tasty

This month, I’ll be expanding on the top-to-root theme on the blog. Next week I’ll share details from the workshop and highlight recipes that help you savor it all. Later this month, I’ll share new recipes with easy ways to put tops, roots, scraps, and peels to use.

Free the Seeds is being held March 7, 2020, 9 am–3:30 pm, at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana. The entire event is free. Be sure to find me and say hello!

Like what you’ve learned here? Learn more by subscribing to the monthly Twice as Tasty newsletter. Click here to sign up.