I'm about to hop on the broom, pointed toward Chicago, to crash part of UNITY 2008 (though not the parts where Obama and McCain are addressing the convention, unfortunately, as the candidates' forum is now Sunday, I think) so check me on the Twitter if you're trying to find me.
While I'm gone, I'm also going to miss two major events here in Mullica Hill -- the Tomato Harvest Dinner at 
blueplate, and the Peach Picnic at the Gloucester County Fair -- but there's no reason you should.
First up, the 'maters: Tuesday and Wednesday nights (July 22 and 23) at blueplate (47 S. Main St., Mullica Hill), Chef Jim Malaby will present a four-course dinner featuring locally-grown New Jersey tomatoes in each course, including dessert. Click here to see the full menu, which includes Gazpacho and Crab Salad, Tomato French Toast, and a Chocolate Cake with a Thick Tomato Fondue. The four-course meal costs $35 and comes on the heels of a wildly successful Asparagus Dinner Malaby held earlier in the summer. That sold out completely, so get on the horn now to (856) 478-2112 and make your resrvations now. The tomato feast also previews SJ Hot Chefs Farm to Fork Week, which starts July 27.
Next, the peaches -- oh, those peaches! They'll feature prominently in this year's Gloucester County Fair and Peach Festival, which kicks off Thursday at the 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 77, and on the tables of NJ restaurants all through August through a joint promotion of the Peach Promotion Council and the New Jersey Restaurant Association. More on that next week, but for now, check out the Fair Schedule here, and dig these Peach Facts:
•Of more than 40 peach varieties grown in New Jersey, 90% are
yellow-flesh, 4% are white flesh, 6% are nectarines and 1%are doughnut or flat.
•7,000 of New Jersey's nearly 806,000 acres of farmland are
devoted to growing peaches in 90 orchards throughout the state, with the
largest commercial growers concentrated in southern Jersey's Atlantic, Camden,
Gloucester and Salem Counties.
•25 New Jersey Peach Promotion Council packers handle in excess of 65-million pounds (2,600,000 ½ bushel boxes). Most packers market the fruit through cooperatives, brokers wholesalers and commission merchants, with a few selling to retailers and processors. The major wholesaling outlets are in Glassboro, Hammonton, Vineland, Swedesboro, Millville, Newark, New York City and Philadelphia.
