For the Presidents Day holiday, our photo editor Lindsay Morris and our publisher Stephen Munshin took their two sons on a family roadtrip to the world’s self-declared Foodtopian Society, Ashville, North Carolina. Lindsay has been sending us mouthwatering pictures of their explorations of North Carolina food culture–complete with grist, soda pop and plenty of buy local sentiment in one packed dining hall after another–and we wanted to share a few with Edible readers. Gas prices may be on their way up, but a car- or train- or bus-based vacation can still be awfully economical and nostalgic (at least in the Jack Kerouac sense). As you plan your next staycation, consider this from Lindsay on what motivated theirs: “We were interested in taking a family road trip that would result in some sweet pay off for all at the end of the road. We had heard for some time about the great sense of community in Ashville and the restauranteurs’ passion for sourcing their ingredients locally. It also didn’t hurt that Ashville had been named best beer city in the country three years running. That’s “Beer City USA”. The pubs are crowded and vibrant and complete with well rounded menus and live music. Thinking about taking up the fiddle- it seems to add a certain warmth and lightness to the meal.”

This one goes out to all the work-near-home parents who are juggling their out-of-school kids this week, and who are looking for productive and nourishing ways to fill their days. Among the booty that I brought back from the PASA conference was some Yellow Springs Farm cheese, assorted Mennonite jellies, a growler from the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, and some “Skillet Cornbread Mix” from Tait Farm Foods, a family farm in central in Pennsylvania. Clio and I made it together, adding extra butter and a few other not-called-for ingredients, as we’re won’t to do. The result was moist and delicious, and making cornbread from a mix sort of fell into my “produce more than I consume” pledge, but even better was the from-scratch cornbread making experience we enjoyed last month in Vermont, which yielded some great cooking with kids lessons, not to mention some toothsome bread.

YOUR HOMEWORK: Tell us here what food activities you do with kids (or without kids) when you’re on vacation.

The most enjoyable kitchen chores are often unplanned, unexpected, and in other peoples kitchens. In this case, we were staying at the Vermont homestead of our friends Leigh and Charlie Merinoff, who are experimenting with all they can produce for themselves and their neighbors–from eggs and lamb to potatoes and salves. Among Leigh’s chores one day–and there are many chores when you’re trying to feed yourself–was making cornbread from ears of corn that she had drying from her ceiling joists since fall. Leigh had grown corn before but never turned the kernels into flour and this task also overlapped with a recent interest in gluten-free cooking. (Corn flour is gluten-free.)

Leigh has raised two kids–and has taught children glassblowing, ceramics making, Heifer International and sustainable homesteading–so she knew the path from corn to cornbread could benefit from extra hands, including little idle hands. The first task was separating the dried kernels from the cobs and putting them into bowls. As we’ve learned before, kids at pretty much every age can help with these sorts of chores, but they might help in different ways. While Clio, at age 4, rubbed off the kernels almost as effectively as us adults, Cyrus, age 2, didn’t quite have the dexterity or patience. But he was awfully good at picking up the errant red and yellow kernels and putting them into color-sorted bowls. Once separated, some kernels went into assorted holding jars, while others went into a Vitamix for grinding into flour. The flour was soaked in water overnight before being mixed with other ingredients and being baked into corn bread.

Hallelujah! The Milk Pail still has pears to go with its apples--the other winter fruit.

Add this to the list of “sh*t locavores say,” started by my friend and fellow Edible editor Gabrielle Langholtz, but how psyched are we that there are still pears at the Milk Pail in Water Mill? If you recall, it was a short local pear season due to last summer’s hurricanes and other harsh weather, but in moving around its tall stacks of barn-refrigerated apples, the folks at the Milk Pail found a few bins of pears. And they’ve still got them. Not just sweet and juicy Asian pears, which we like for munching as snacks or sliced onto sandwiches, but also succulent Barletts and Anjous. For inspiration, check out this salad and potato dish from Almond restaurant, not to mention these excellent pear pancakes enjoyed recently at the Clinton St. Baking Co. Or, for further inspiration, and all you ever wanted to know about American-grown pears, check out our friends at U.S.A. Pears. The Milk Pail is at 1346 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, and it’s open every day but Tuesdays. And they’ve still got Cameos, Braeburns, Fujis and a few other varieties of apples–the other winter fruit. Learn more at www.milk-pail.com.

Tell us here what winter produce you’re buying these days, and where to get it.

It’s been a week since I got back from Happy Valley, Pennsylvania and PASA’s Farming for the Future conference—a 2000-person, we-can-change-the-world-through-food gathering. But I’m still entranced by one bit of simple, revolutionary advice from farmer and mother Shannon Hayes: All of us “consumers” must become “producers.” That is, if we have any hope for the future of our communities and the planet.

“What matters is that we produce more than we consume,” Hayes urged the audience. That could mean making music or telling stories, instead of downloading a film from Netflix. Hanging your clothes out to dry, instead of using an electricity-consuming dryer. Or turning your kitchen leftovers into a casserole instead of tossing them out. (Composting those leftovers would also qualify as producing.)

“When everyone is a producer, our communities begin to be self sufficient,” Hayes said. “When communities are self sufficient, it doesn’t matter whether you’re the Green Party or the Tea Party. Nobody goes cold and nobody goes hunger. Our agricultural genetic diversity increases, our minds and bodies grow healthy because we are using them, and our democratic roots start to grow stronger. Despair starts to melt away, and it starts to feel like hope.”

Hayes’s suggestion offered an interesting twist on Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini’s notion of consumers as “co-producers,” with eating being the final step in the production process. In fact, the distinction between these two ends of the food chain is melting away. Hayes noted that the mix of attendees at winter-time farmer get-togethers like these has morphed from mostly farmers into a more motley crew of farmers, chefs (a major sponsor of the event is Eat N Park, a regional foodservice company that purchases millions of pounds of local produce, eggs and meat), mothers, journalists, food activists and foodies.

This shared burden between farmer and non-farmer was a thread woven throughout the conference (which was packed with quite a few knitters, felters and fleece growers; the the Midatlantic Alpaca Association or MAPCA had a contingent). In my own talk, I mentioned wine clubs, citizen oyster gardening, donated venison, edible schoolyards (the nation’s first Farm-to-School czar was announced during the conference) and the anti-fracking movement in New York (lead not so much by farmers, but by friends of farmers, like land trusts, watershed protection groups, school children and groups like Chefs for the Marcellus) were all examples of eaters sharing the burden with farmers.

Yes, eating is an agricultural act, as Wendell Berry has said, but it goes well beyond that. Because the good work that eaters can do goes well beyond putting something in their mouths.

And problems like fracking are too big for just farmers to worry about. Much more powerful than farmers keeping bees or saving seeds is when literally millions of non farmers begin to keep bees or save seeds.

The annual PASA conference (find out about the 2013 one here) is particularly suited to consumers looking to shift into this role. In contrast to the technical, agrochemistry-tilted classes one finds at most agricultural forums, the PASA work sessions balanced the practical knowledge that a novice might need with training in the broader planning principles that might still inspire new thinking among experienced growers. Attendees buzzed in and out of sessions titled: “Building the Team You Need and Want: Filling Labor Needs on the Farm,” “Cancer, Nutrition and Healing,” “Trash to Treasure: Bioconversion of Organic ‘Wastes’ to Resources,” and “How to Build a Rain-Powered Year-Round Irrigation System.”

I carpooled home from State College with a few colleagues from the Greenmarkets, who had lead a series of heritage grains workshops intended for bakers, farmers and bread eaters. In the backseat, I flipped through seed catalogues, we played “What are your five favorite vegetables?” (kale was a top choice), and we dreamed about all the socks we planned to darn, instead of throwing them away.

I dogeared the seed catalogue page for golden yarrow, a flower I love for its brilliant color, intoxicating fragrance and its ability to grow without a fence against deer and rabbits. I’m thinking of investing $5 in a packet of seed, planting a few long rows in May, and having beaucoup bouquets to sell from my front porch come July.

YOUR HOMEWORK: Tell us here what seed catalogues you’re consulting, what food business ideas you’re brewing and how you’re planning to produce more than you consume this year.

Hearn, who was born in Australia, says,  “T’Jara is the phonetic spelling of an aboriginal word that, roughly translated, means ‘where I’m from.’” This correlates (wine-wise) to the French term terroir, which means wine is infused with a sense of place e.g.: anyone can grow cabernet, but only Napa Cab can be made in Napa.

This is one of the principles behind the Long Island Merlot Alliance, which believes that merlot is what Long Island does best and it should be promoted.

Grapes for the T’Jara wines come from a vineyard in Mattituck that has been in production for 10 years, selling the fruit to other producers. In 2007, a great year for Long Island, Hearn decided instead of selling to bottle under the T’Jara label. The wines were released at the end of last year, both merlot blends. The vineyard is 70 percent planted to three different clones of merlot, says Hearn. Thus his new releases, a regular and reserve, follow that pattern with five other varieties blended into the final wine.

Singles are more than welcome to have dinner at the bar with Diego.

Appetizer & Entree     $28

Appetizer, Entree & Dessert   $30

Read Edible’s profile of Fresno partner David Loewenberg here.

Amarelle Restaurant in Wading River is offering private cooking class on Sunday, Feb. 12 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Chef/owner Lia Fallon, sous chef  Martial Boffy and pastry chef Kelly Donlon will show you how to create a  menu using techniques and style that make Amarelle distinct. The class costs $150 and includes a four-course lunch with wine pairings that will start immediately after class at 2 p.m. A guest can join you for the lunch for an additional $75. Call the restaurant to sign up, (631) 886-2242

At Kyle’s on Shelter Island a four-course dinner with paired sparkling wine will be served on Saturday night, with yours truly guiding the wine tasting.

First Course Hoisin seared bay scallops/ Bouké Perlant 2009

Second Course Truffle parmesan risotto/Lieb Blanc de Blanc 2007

Third Course Roasted duck breast with Port wine cherry jus over local greens/ Sparkling Pointe Brut Seduction 2001

Fourth Course Chocolate mousse profiteroles with hazelnut whipped cream/Lenz Blanc de Noir 2005

There will be two seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. $65 per person. RSVP at 631-749-0579

Did you buy your ticket to Edible’s Good Spirits event yet? No?!? Act fast before it’s last call on your entry to over 50 vendors and samples from some of the area’s best restaurants and distillers. Tickets are only $45 and include dishes and cocktails from folks like Velseka Bowery, who will be serving Pierogies filled with Vermont Cheddar Cheese, Maple Glazed Bacon and Potato and pairing it with “The Golden Klenovka,” a cocktail made with Vermont Gold Vodka, maple syrup, organic black tea and a splash of club soda. Still hungry? Perhaps your next bite should come from Rubirosa, who will be serving Wild Boar Bruschetta with Blood Orange, Juniper and Rosemary with the “Sanguenilla Special,” a drink made with Hendrick’s Gin, Hibiscus Hop Infused Mead, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Gran Classico Bitter, blood orange juice, lemon juice, soda water, Sanbitter and a slice of blood orange.

Buy your ticket here.

Here’s a lineup of who’s teaming up with who on the 28th:

Back Forty West and Rhum Clement

Cadaqués and El Buho Mezcal

Dutch Kills and Bacardi

Ellabess and White Pike Whiskey

Fort Defiance and NY Distilling Company

Fort Reno and Warwick – American Fruits

Huckleberry Bar and Michter’s Whiskey

Jo’s and Hudson Whisky

Maison Premiere and Bache Gabrielsen

Monument Lane and Privateer Rum

Northern Spy Food Co. and Crop Organic Vodka

Perry St and COMB Vodka and COMB White

Rubirosa and Hendrick’s Gin

Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto and Long Island Vodka

The Beagle and Compass Box Whisky

Whitehall and St Germain

August and Eden Ice Cider

King and Brooklyn Gin

Veselka Bowery and Vermont Spirits

FAIR. Spirits and Whole Foods Market and Dallis Bros. Coffee

Plus…

Agata & Valentina

Brooklyn Soda Works

Bruce Cost Ginger Ale

Gotham Artisanal

Green Mountain Energy

Rick’s Picks

Q Drinks

SerendipiTea

Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels