Looking for food trucks? You can find them throughout the summer at the Winery at Wolf Creek, 2637 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road, Norton.
The Orange Trük (July 24 and 27), Sushi on the Roll (Friday) and Wholly Frijoles (July 17, 19 and 31) will be at the winery serving their gourmet street fare from 5 to 8 p.m. Zydeco Bistro also will be taking part on future dates.
Speaking of Zydeco, the Wadsworth-based truck will be the first one featured in a new lunchtime event being sponsored by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of local food trucks.
The DCA will host a Lunch by the Lake from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Thursday beginning this week and going through the end of September at the North Coast Harbor, East Ninth Street pier.
Each weekly event will include seven or eight food trucks and once a month, one of the trucks will be featured as the Chef’s Kitchen, beginning Thursday with Zydeco.
During the Chef’s Kitchen, the food truck will be flipped inside out to show off the chef cooking and serving in an outdoor kitchen.
The lunchtime events also will have live music.
Herb farm shop closed
Sad to report that Kathleen Varga has closed her Crooked River Herb Farm Shop in Wadsworth, because she lost her lease.
Varga said she is looking for a new store location in the Akron area. In the meantime, Crooked River jams and jellies will still be available at the Eye Opener, 1688 W. Market St., Akron, and at Ohio Hardwood Furniture’s two locations in Peninsula, 1770 Main St. and 1663 Main St.
Varga also will be selling at the farmers markets in Wadsworth, Sharon Center and Akron General Medical Center.
Visit www.crookedriverherbfarm.net to keep tabs on her.
Blueberry bake-off
Dayton Nursery is hosting its first Blueberry Bake-Off as part of its Blueberry Festival going on all day Saturday at the nursery, 3459 Cleveland-Massillon Road, Norton.
The bake-off is open to amateur bakers in adult and youth divisions in three categories: cakes, cupcakes and coffee cakes; pies, cobblers, crisps and tarts; and general desserts, bars, muffins and breads. All entries must be made completely from scratch and must feature blueberries.
To enter, preregister by Friday by calling 330-825-3320 or email info@daytonnursery.com. Entries should be delivered to Dayton’s between 8:30 and 10 a.m., along with a copy of the recipe. For contest rules, visit www.daytonnursery.com/Blueberry_Festival.htm.
Judging begins at noon and prizes, which are Dayton’s gift cards for adults and berries and smoothies for the youth, will be awarded at 2 p.m.
The festival also will include cooking demonstrations, hayrides, music, free samples, and kids’ activities including face painting and cupcake decorating.
Class on preserving
Want to learn techniques on canning and preserving fresh summer foods?
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is hosting a free online class so you can learn without leaving home. Water bath canning and freezing techniques will be taught.
The class is 7 p.m. Tuesday. Registration by Monday is required. To register, visit www.OurOhio.org and click on Food Preserving Web Meeting.
The class will be taught by Janet Cassidy, a federation senior director, and Linnette Goard, food specialist, food safety, Ohio State University Extension.
Guests can submit questions prior to and during the event. Participants also can join the Our Ohio Cooking group, which is open to anyone interested in talking about Ohio foods and cooking. To join, visit Facebook and search Our Ohio Cooking.
Vote for local recipe
Congratulations to Melissa Clark of Massillon, one of 10 finalists in the 2013 Creamette Pasta Comfort Food Recipe and Essay Contest.
Her recipe is for Spicy Ring of Fire Shrimp Pasta, inspired by a Romanian dish, Zacusca, which features plenty of peppers and tomatoes.
Grand prize is $10,000; the nine finalists each win $500.
To help Clark win, vote for her at http://creamette.newworldpasta.com/100thanniversary/ through July 18.
The winner will be announced Aug. 1.
Learn campfire cooking
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is sponsoring a demonstration, “Outdoors Woman: Healthy Campfire Cooking” from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
The demonstration will include tips on healthy cooking over a campfire, including hobo packs, Dutch ovens and pie-irons, along with no-cook options like trail mix and just-add-water techniques.
Samples and recipes will be available. Attendees should bring a notebook for taking notes.
The event will be at the campfire area of the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. Advance registration is required. Phone 330-865-8065 or visit www.summitmetroparks.org for more information.
Pasta store expands
Lee and Linda Eizenberg of Sagamore Hills, who operate Pappardelle’s Pasta in the Hartville Market Place, Booths 103-104, have doubled the size of their store due to the popularity of their pasta.
Their selection of pastas now includes vegan and gluten-free varieties. Visit www.pappardellespasta.com to learn more.
Lots to celebrate in July
July is National Ice Cream Month and National Hot Dog Month.
Celebrate with caution.
Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @akronfoodie and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.