Eating Alabama- Garden & Gun Film Review

Eating Alabama Trailer from Moon Winx Films on Vimeo.

Garden & Gun, August 24, 2012
Could you forgo the convenience of the supermarket and spend a full year eating only locally raised food? From planting their own kitchen garden to visiting farmers across their home state, that’s exactly what filmmaker Andrew Beck Grace and his wife, Rashmi, set out to accomplish in the new documentary Eating Alabama. The film has been building a following since debuting at SXSW in March, and it will make its Alabama premiere this Saturday (August 25) at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival. 

Like a lot of native Southerners, the Graces count more than a few farmers in their family histories, and it was an attempt to rediscover those agrarian roots that formed the initial motivation for the film. “Growing up on my granddaddy’s stories, I really thought, rather naively, that all these farmers were just out there but didn’t know how to get their product to us,” Andrew says. “My project would be about reconnecting those blocked pathways.” But after his first foray into the Alabama farmland in search of grain, Grace soon learned that the path to eating locally in today’s global market has a lot more twists and turns than it did in his grandfather’s day. Both funny and insightful, Eating Alabama delves into our often complex relationship to the food we eat and the people who grow it, and what food can teach us about community. “I hope people get a sense of how difficult farmers have it and how hard they work,” Grace says, “and that they will try to make choices—even small ones—that will lead to change.”

In the coming months, Eating Alabama will continue on the festival circuit, including a stop in New Orleans for the NOLA Film Festival (October 11–18).  Click here to stay up-to-date as additional screenings are added to the lineup.

Click here to see the article on Garden & Gun's website.

Windmill Market to Host Fairhope Candidate Forum

All Candidates for City Council And Mayor Invited to Attend

Community “Meet and Greet” with Candidates

The Windmill Market is pleased to announce the first Windmill Market Candidate Forum to be held Thursday, August 23, at 5 PM in downtown Fairhope. All candidates running for Mayor and City Council have been invited to attend.

Scheduled just days before the election, this forum will give all candidates an opportunity to speak directly to the voters and answer questions about their platform and plans for the City of Fairhope. Likewise, all voters will have an opportunity to submit questions for the candidates and participate in a meet and great after the forum, hopefully allowing the voter to decide upon the candidate for whom they will vote the following Tuesday.

All guests are invited to arrive at 5 PM, with the forum beginning promptly at 5:30 PM. Each candidate will be given 3 minutes to introduce themselves and their platform. We will then have a brief question and answer session from the audience. After the forum is adjourned, the candidates are invited to stay for an informal “meet and greet” with the audience over complimentary refreshments provided by the Windmill Market. There is no charge or donation for the candidates to participate. 

We appreciate any support you can offer by sharing this information with the voters of our community.

Cooking at the Market Kicks Off!

Last night the Windmill hosted a Guinea Pig Cooking Class.... wait, that's not right. No Guinea pigs were harmed in the making of these classes. I guess we should call it a test run of our cooking classes? At any rate, folks gathered, cooked, learned, drank wine, and in general had a great time.

It was the first in the Fall series of cooking classes hosted by Sweet Olive and the Windmill Market, and the theme was "Cooking for Company." Head Baker Jennifer Haffner showed those assembled how to prepare pulled pork on homemade challah rolls, fresh baked scones, cinnamon rolls, and more with easy recipes that can all be prepared in advance. That way you aren't slaving away in the kitchen when you're company arrives!

Each participant went home with fresh baked rolls and a gargantuan cinnamon roll, an incredibly full belly, as well as printed recipes and even some new friends!

Interested in giving it a try for yourself? The complete list of classes offered this Fall is listed below these images.

Surge in US cities reaping benefits of farmers markets

Written by The Associated Press, Via Clarion-Ledger

FRESNO, CALIF. — As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will announce Friday that the number of direct-sales markets has increased 9.6 percent in the past year, with California and New York leading the way.

"Farmers markets are a critical ingredient to our nation's food system," USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. "These outlets provide benefits not only to the farmers looking for important income opportunities, but also to the communities looking for fresh, healthy foods."

After 18 years of steady increases, the number of farmers markets across the country now registered with the USDA is 7,864. In 1994, there were 1,744.

Organizations such as Slow Food, founded in 1989 to counter fast-food, junk-food lifestyles, first ignited consumer demand for fresh, local produce.

Today, some markets are so popular that there are wait lists for farmers to sell there, including one of the largest and most diverse of all, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco. Farmers from across the region travel there three days a week to sell fruits, vegetables and artisan breads and cheeses to thousands of shoppers, including top chefs from the food-centric city.

Recipe Files (Catch Up)

It's been a busy few months of changes at the Windmill Market! We opened Sweet Olive bakery and cafe in March of this year and the Produce Club has been growing like a weed! We have more live musicians playing each week than ever, and our gardens are overflowing with herbs. Things are looking bright around here! 


As a result, we have been a little slack at posting our recipes each week, not to mention the articles and links that we know you love to read! In and effort to catch up, we will be posting our favorite recipes of the last few months. 


(This is a sampling of our best recipes from May - June - July)

Okra-and-Corn Maque Choux

Skillet Peach Cobbler

Creamy Spaghetti Squash Primavera 

Todd Porter's Ginger and Garlic Roasted Peanuts

Crab Quiche

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup with Tarragon Syrup

Lamb Burgers with Blue Cheese

Green Tomato Salsa

Grilled Shrimp with Pepper, Tomatoes, and Chimichurri

Eggplant Stuffed with Rice, Lamb, and Currants

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Cucumber Dill Soup

Grilled Chicken and Peaches with Chipotle-peach Dressing