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Community Corner

Library Gets Lucky with Potluck Dinner

Residents served up a feast of locally grown, and produced, delectable delights.

The 's combined two of its successful groups, the GO Green Club and the Cooking Club, with delicious results.

The groups served up a huge spread of dinner and dessert at the event. Most of the dishes were locally grown and locally produced delicacies.

“Guests were asked to bring a potluck dish made with locally grown and produced foods, or some samples of the bounty from their home gardens, to share with the other guests,” said library spokeswoman.

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Susan Torisky of Canonsburg made mulberry muffins from the mulberry tree in her yard.

“We’ve did a potluck during Local Food Month and it was a hit. We wanted to have another,” said GO Green President Jennifer Garrett.

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Garrett made a dish with green and yellow beans, tomatoes from her garden, and garnished it with a dressing made of tangerine balsamic vinegar and basil olive oil from the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District.

There were several zucchini dishes, beets, green beans and corn on the cob.

made enchiladas consisting of all local ingredients, including meat and cheese from Logan’s Farmer’s Market. The rest of the ingredients, garlic, Swiss chard, tomatoes, etc., were grown in her garden. DeBerry also brought her partner Carla Myers' famous ginger peach preserves—a hit from last year’s potluck dinner.

DeBerry also made peach muffins, a perfect complement to the "sunshine yellow" jam.

Resident and real estate agent Karen Buzzatto, and her husband Mark Buzzatto, a holistic dentist, are members of the library's cooking club. They attended the event carrying in a bright red beet salad.

Alan and Kris Popey made a couscous with garlic, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, parsley and cilantro grown from their garden.

While the groups dined, Liz Kanche of American HealthCare Group, spoke to the crowd about “Eating Locally in Western Pennsylvania.” Kanche is part of a regional western Pennsylvania division of Food to Table, a national concept that encourages people to eat local food.

Kanche said, “If every household in western PA spent $10 a week on regionally-produced food $15 million would stay in the local economy.”

She also noted that Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry is agriculture, and that the greatest number of farms in western Pa., are in Washington County (there are 2,023 of them).

According to the Sierra Club, Pittsburgh ranked No. 1 in a study of community gardens and farmers markets.

Kanche listed a group of restaurants who use locally owned and produced products, including the Big Burrito Group (Mad Mex, Casbah, Soba), Eat'n Park, Bistro 19 (in Mt. Lebanon), Toast, Sonoma Grill and Salt of the Earth.

She also cited several resources such as Table Magazine, Edible Allegheny, and local writer Doug Oster. Several websites included www.buylocalpa.org and www.burghilicious.com.

The evening was both informative and delicious.

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