SEATTLE CHEFS, FOOD WRITERS & HOME CANNERS JOIN THE CANVOLUTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEATTLE, WA. (August 26, 2009)  – From a bookshop in Edmonds to a church in Phinney Ridge, Seattle is about to show its can-do attitude.

This weekend, home canners, preservers and picklers are gathering ‘round the canning kettle as part of a unified effort to celebrate the art of “putting up” food.  Leading these efforts is Canning Across America (CAA), a nationwide collective of cooks, gardeners and food lovers committed to the revival of food preservation, doing it safely and celebrating the joys of community building through food.

Founded in Seattle, CAA is rich with regional food-writing talent, including Rebekah Denn, Leslie Kelly, Tara Austen Weaver, Shauna James Ahern and Nicole Aloni.

This weekend, Aug. 29-30, is CAA’s kickoff, with how-to demos, classes and home canning parties taking place throughout the Seattle metro area.  Several farmers’ markets are playing host to free and open-to-the-public canning demos, including Columbia City (with Amy Pennington of Go Go Green Garden; featured in “Reader’s Big Ideas” in the July issue of Sunset Magazine), Queen Anne (where Canvolutionaries will be on hand to meet and greet) and University District (with chef Renee Erickson of Boat Street Cafe). Canners of all skill levels have their choice of venues for hands-on instruction, including community centers, churches and commercial kitchens.

Local businesses are joining the ranks, too, helping canners to defray the cost of supplies.
Cookware retailer Sur La Table is offering an online discount Aug 27-31 and City Hardware in South Lake Union is offering a 10 percent in-store discount if you say the secret word (Hint: Canvolution).  In the north end, Edmonds Bookshop is lending its support with a window display of canning books, both old and new, and supplies. Says owner Mary Kay Sneeringer: “There seems to be a renewed interest in canning and preserving. With the market produce so beautiful this summer, we have to find a way to save all that goodness.”

The Seattle food community is contributing to the CAA Web site as well, with recipes and canning inspiration. Contributors include: pastry chef Dana Cree/ Poppy; chef Greg Atkinson; Dalis Shea/Seattle’s Fresh Bistro; Diane LaVonne/Diane’s Market Kitchen; Lisa Dupar/Pomegranate Bistro; chef Hope Sandler; cookbook writers Lorene Edwards-Forkner, Lucy Norris and former Seattle-ite Pat Tanumihardja (author of the forthcoming “Asian Grandmother’s Kitchen.”)

The can-do attitude doesn’t end in Seattle, nor does it stop after Aug. 30. Events, from the small home canning party to the chef-led workshop, are on the calendar well into October, and we’re expecting more in the coming days. Nationally, CAA’s contributors and supporters include chef John Besh, Noah Sheetz of the NY Governor’s Mansion and food writers Janet Fletcher, Tessa Kiros, Karen Solomon, Sarah Gilbert, Sherri Brooks Vinton and Eugenia Bone.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of  public radio program “The Splendid Table” recently said to CAA founder/food writer Kim O’Donnel that it sounds like “you’ve started a revolution.”

“No, Lynne,” O’Donnel replied. “It’s more like a Canvolution.”

CONTACT:
Kim O’Donnel
206/588 1188
writingfood@gmail.com