A Taste of Vegan free cooking class will be offered at the J.F. Hurley YMCA on March 6 from 6-7 p.m.

Learn how to prepare healthy, delicious meals. Free food samples and recipes will be provided for each menu item. You will learn to make pancakes and sausage, burgers and fries and spaghetti and meatballs.

You can sign up at the front desk or call 704-401-8158 to reserve a seat. Space is limited.

Cheers

Wednesday is National Margarita Day!

Our friends who like to do surveys, Nationaltoday.com have a pitcher full of margarita information.

One in five Americans love margaritas — 20 percent of women love them and 15 percent of men.

Do you lick the salt off? Eleven percent do. Women like it better than men, 12 percent vs. 11 percent.

And, do you serve it on the rocks or frozen? Well, 8 percent of Americans like margaritas on the rocks, 14 percent like frozen margaritas, and 78 percent say it doesn’t matter as long as they can have a drink.

Odds and ends of trivia:

• 15 percent of Americans like to eat chips and salsa with their margaritas.

• 6 percent expect a wild night (that’s kind of low, don’t you think?).

• 7 percent have never even tried a margarita.

• 2 percent of us own a margarita machine (Wouldn’t that be a blender?)

• 2 percent think margaritas are a girly drink.

Here’s a spicy kick margarita sure to heat you up and cool you off, from Cooking Channel:

Chipotle Grapefruit Margarita

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. dried chipotle pwoder

Mix the two ingredients together on a small plate.

2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice

2 ounces silver tequila

1 ounce orange liqueur

1 small pinch dried chipotle powder

2 wedges grapefruit

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the grapefruit juice, tequila, orange liqueur and pinch of chipotle powder. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 30 seconds. (In general, the drink is ready by the time the shaker mists up).

Moisten the rim of a chilled glass with one of the grapefruit wedges and press the rim into the chipotle salt. Strain the margarita into the prepared glass and garnish with the remaining grapefruit wedge.

Serves 1.

Lexington Farmers Market

The kick-off meeting for the 2017 season of the Lexington Farmers Market will be held Monday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Davidson County Agriculture Extension Auditorium in the old Cecil School, 301 E. Center Street, Lexington.  Please use the parking and entrance at the back of the building. 

The Lexington Farmers Market is a 501c5, not-for-profit organization, operating with the advisement of Davidson County Cooperative Extension. The market features locally grown/made products only. Members/vendors can be from Davidson County and adjacent counties (Guilford, Forsyth, Rowan, Davie and Randolph).  All interested vendors are invited to attend the meeting to learn how they can become part of this thriving market.

The market is in the Old Depot at 129 S. Railroad St., close to Southern Lunch Restaurant.  The Lexington Farmers Market is open Saturdays from May 6 to October 7, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays during peak season, plus a Harvest and Holiday Market in November and December. It is a source for locally grown produce, meat and eggs, baked goods and hand-made crafts. 

For further information:  336-731-7317, bethleonard2003@yahoo.com

Farmers market workshop

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Stanly County Small Business Center will host a farmers market workshop March 10 at Stanly Community College in Albemarle.

“This free event is open to managers and vendors of neighborhood, municipal and county farmers markets across the state,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “North Carolina is home to more than 250 markets, and the workshop will help markets of all sizes succeed in providing a viable and engaging space for farmers and consumers.”

The workshop will be held at the Dennis Auditorium inside the Kelley Building on Stanly Community College’s campus from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presentations include event planning, social media and food safety. There also will be networking opportunities for participants to exchange ideas and share best practices.

Registration is required, and the form can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/FarmersMarketWkshp. Deadline for registration is March 3.

For more information, contact Kevin Hardison, NCDA&CS marketing specialist, at 919-707-3123 or kevin.hardison@ncagr.gov.

— Deirdre Parker Smith