Cook Your Best Veggie Recipe, Win a Ticket to Let Us Eat Local, and Have it Published in Just Food’s Tipsheet

It's back to school time in the city, and it's my favorite season for eating. Pumpkins and other winter squashes are fattening on the vine while heirloom tomatoes and outdoor barbecues are still going strong. It's no wonder Just Food has chosen this time of year to hold its annual fundraiser feast, Let Us Eat Local. This year's party is on September 16th, and it'll be outside, at the South Street Seaport Water Taxi Beach. And it's truly going to be the biggest, best, most delicious and inspiring one so far. I'd love for you to see in person. So once again, I'm holding a recipe contest where one food blogger will win a ticket, and more!

Support Urban Farming at Roberta’s Pizza Tonight

On Friday, as I sat in the converted shipping container outside of Roberta's Pizza that's home to Heritage Radio Network preparing for the first Cheap Date episode with my guests Keith and Rachel, we were interrupted by a series of loud, clanking noises coming from the roof above. "Can they stop farming now?" I think I muttered. But really, it was music to my ears. There is more than a tree growing in Brooklyn, or for that matter, cities all over: a bonafide agricultural movement. And it was happening above our heads on the rooftop garden of Roberta's Pizza that day, as well as at farms, community gardens and backyards throughout the city. Tonight, Roberta's Pizza is holding a celebration of all that, as well as what more can come. You're welcome to come join the party, the dialogue, the movement -- and with your contribution to a new rooftop farm next spring, one of the most delicious feasts I have ever heard of.

Cheap Date airs on Heritage Radio Network, 3pm EST

A while ago, I was asked by the New York Daily News to cook a "romantic" meal for two that cost less than $15, including the bottle of wine. When the story ran, the paper concluded that I had given special meaning to the term, "cheap date." While this might sound a little so-so, at best, for a single in New York, I've decided to embrace that title ever since. And I hope to give it new meaning each week, by talking about cooking and dating with a number of guests. It's my new radio show! And it launches today on Heritage Radio Network, from 3 - 3:30pm.

It’s a Slow Food Grill-Off at the Water Taxi Beach

To the BBQ and cook-off nation: A call to tongs! Slow Food NYC and The Good Beer Seal are hosting a benefit grill-off at Harry's Water Taxi Beach Long Island City on July 21st, 6-9pm. This event is all about location, location, location: instead of focusing on a certain ingredient or dish, cook-off contestants must use locally-sourced foods and be prepared to tell which farms they got their grub from. There'll be more food to go around than theirs, too, with chefs from Fette Sau, Fatty Cue, Rub BBQ, Gusto and Jimmy's No. 43 serving feasts from local farms. The event is the crown jewel of Good Beer Month, just declared of July by the mayor himself. So Sixpoint Craft Ales will be sold to the masses along with the regular potions at the Water Taxi Beach bar. With numerous organizations participating, rivers of beer, beats by Finger on the Pulse, and twenty amateur chefs vying for the favor of food-celebrity judges, it'll be a locavore luau like none other, and quite possibly the cook-off to end all cook-offs (just kidding!). All proceeds from the event benefit Slow Food NYC, and it's $35 to get in and eat all you can. Get your tickets now.