What's Cooking

by Jessica Loughery

Try as you might with your organic-this, organic-that shopping list, it's hard work maintaining an enviro-friendly diet in a city. That's where Anna Lappé and her new book, Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, come in. Lappé will speak about which organic foods to buy, the best co-ops and farmers' markets in Philly, and why sticking to all-natural products is better for both our bodies and the local economy. The talk will be preceded by a three-course dinner featuring farm-grown foods. Reservations required. Table Talk, White Dog Café, 3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224.

Willie Nelson's Farm Aid has come a long way in 20 years, and now it's coming to Philly for a series of farming-related events. Dine on dishes made with local products at participating restaurants, including Southwark, Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda's. At Reading Terminal, local farmers will offer samples of everything from tomatoes and apples to organic meats, raw milk and gourmet spicy pickles. If you're into cycling, join the Urban Farm Bike Tour, which starts at Weaver's Way Co-Op and finishes at Yards Brewery, with plenty of snacks along the way. It all culminates on Sept. 30 with the 2006 Farm Aid concert at the Tweeter Center, featuring Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Arlo Guthrie, Gov't Mule and more. Visit www.farmaid.org for a full schedule of events.

Admit it: After Sideways, you started whirling and whiffing your wine before sipping it. Six Brandywine Valley wineries are inviting the public in for two days of tasting, cheese sampling, vineyard tours, grape harvesting and grape stomping. Start at Chaddsford, then work your way to Folly Hill, Kreutz Creek, Paradocx, Twin Brook and Va La. Brandywine Valley Harvest Festival, Chaddsford Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike, Chaddsford, 610-388-6221.

When was the last time you ate in Mt. Airy? This two-day, we're-an-eatin'-town-too! tasting affair hopes to drive traffic northwest come dinnertime. Ms. D's Soul Food Restaurant (6631 Germantown Ave., 215-991-6020) will be offering a $12 three-course meal of turkey, stuffing and candied yams, and the Trolley Car Diner (7619 Germantown Ave., 215-753-1500) will dish up a $19 prix fixe with salmon florentine and rum-roasted chicken. Visit www.mtairyusa.com for more info.

Philly dining wouldn't be what it is today without Aliza Green. Aside from putting out six cookbooks, Green has graced plates at Ristorante DiLullo, Apropos and White Dog Café. This week, she's promoting her latest, Starting With Ingredients: Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook. There will be a three-course dinner featuring recipes from the book, including Japanese eggplant chips with nanami togasashi and duck breast served with spiced fig sauce. Reservations required. Aliza Green, Fork Restaurant, 306 Market St., 215-625-9425.