The smoke has cleared, the dishes have been collected, there’s a faint tang of lemon and garlic in the air, and all around the country people are looking forward to twEATs 2: The Leftovers – we think it’s fair to say the night was a delicious success.

Led through the cooking of a mystery dish – revealed to be ‘Lemony courgettes on toast with pumpkin seed and parsley pesto’ – by Tim Maddams, Head Chef at Axminister Canteen and Deli, twEATers threw themselves into the spirit of the event with gusto:

“I may have taken too long making sure my ingredients looked just right…”
Credit: @ErinMcElhinney

with roughly 4 minutes before someone began flirting with chef…

Once the “essential preliminary step” had been issued by Tim:

Credit: River Cottage

And dutifully followed:

“Mine’s a g’n't!”
Credit: @glittrgirl

The cooking commenced.

Delicious smells began to rise, of crushed parsley, roasted pumpkin seeds and grated garlic, as the pumpkin seed and parsley pesto took shape:

Credit:@cambusnethanpi

Next came the courgettes, the browning of which caused a bit of drama in one twEATers kitchen:

But by 8pm the vast majority were proudly tucking in to their creations:

Credit: @ErinMcElhinney

Credit: @cmktweets

The verdict was unanimously positive, with clean plates and satisfied groans from all:

as well as several enthusiastic calls for a repeat event:

A huge, huge thanks to Tim, River Cottage, Landshare and NVA, who all worked to make twEATs happen – and to you, for taking part. You can find the recipe Tim used (and more) in the River Cottage Every Day Book.

Now make sure you come along to Glasgow Harvest, NVA’s celebration of urban growing, on 28th August, to pick up your limited edition recipe book, featuring a double page spread on twEATs – you may see your tweets and pics in print!

Credit: NVA

Credit: River Cottage

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

So last Friday I met all the peeps at CenSta. After some long discussions and much file swapping (the legal sort) they sent me off with my brief. I’m designing the layout for the twEATs publication that’s being handed out free (YES! free!) as part of Glasgow’s HArvest Festival.

Central Station has offered me some help from graphic design geniuses ISO- but I’m trying to tame InDesign and do it myself as part of my plan to conquer the entire Adobe Creative Suite. The biggest problem I’ve had with this so far is having to accept that to transform the size of an image you have to hold down “/shift”. It just seems so unnatural not to ”/ T” it!

Today I’ve sent off my work so far to Cen Sta to get some feedback and advice from ISO. Looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

I’ll be designing the layout and illustrating the front, back and centrefold and including the lovely artworks that people have submitted to be in the publication. The centrefold is going to be an illustrated recipe, twEATed live by Tim Maddam, Head Chef at River Cottage Axminster Canteen and Deli on the 16th of August as part of Glasgow’s Harvest Festival. I’ve been in the Central Station headquarters looking through all the other submissions and feel really lucky to be chosen. Well done to everyone who submitted their beautiful illustrations!

Thank you so much to Central Station, NVA, River Cottage and Landshare for asking me to be involved- it’s going to be a really fun project and can’t wait to get started. Look out for more posts and pictures to follow soon.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

We are putting together a small team of volunteers to help us out in the run up to Harvest or to help out on the actual day of Glasgow Harvest (or both!) - your chance to be part of, what is really shaping up to be, an utterly brilliant event! We are asking you, our readers and followers, first because we know what a dedicated and loyal team you are! So why not shake things up and really get up close and personal with us?

You will work with our small and friendly team at the NVA office (based near Kelvingrove Park) and be involved in the final preparations for Glasgow Harvest, maybe even getting out and about on a bike and spreading the Glasgow Harvest word far* and wide.

It would be great if you could spare a few days in the run up to Glasgow Harvest (4 or 5 days over the next few weeks) and be available on the 28th August for the actual event.

We will give you some lunch money (just like being back at school!) and reimburse you for any travel within Glasgow, even if you are cycling (yes, cycling).

If you are interested in volunteering with us, please send an email to harvest@nva.org.uk or phone NVA on 0141 3329911.

p.s If you’re part of an allotment or know an allotment who would like to get involved in Glasgow Harvest we have a couple of opportunities involving soup and eccentric shed photography. If you’re interested or would like to know more then get in touch at harvest@nva.org.uk.

*We won’t make you cycle to Edinburgh.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

Can we tempt you to join our Jam Dating Agency? [Yes, you read that right.]

We’re looking people to pair with one another. Are you:

i) eager to make jam?

ii) looking at a bumper harvest this year?

Here’s the idea – it’s really very simple – let us hook up the makers with the producers.

All you have to do is tell us what you’ve got or what you’re looking for. At the moment we’ve got three young ladies who have jars on the hunt for locally grown produce. Come on people with (soon-to-be-heaving) plum trees and over-enthusiastic fruit patches – start sharing your wares!

Don’t worry if you’re an enthusiastic new-comer and your skills in the art of jam-making are as yet untested. It’s ever so easy, anyone can do it. To help point you in the right direction, here are a few top tips we’ve spotted:

Nigel Slater on the art and pleasure of jam-making.

Jamie Oliver’s strawberry and vanilla concoction.

The River Cottage community’s Gingered Courgette pot of gold.

Once you’ve made your jam, if you live anywhere near Glasgow then we’d like you to bring a pot along to Harvest 2010. On the 28th August at the Hidden Gardens, we’re hosting a mass open-air meal. As part of it we’re building a Jam Wall. A 3D pantone colour chart of jam jars, ranging from [lemon]yellow to black[current]. Bring your concoction with you and add it to our ever-growing communal sculpture.

Coming soon: find out about some of the work we’re commissioning for Glasgow Harvest 2010, including multidisciplinary art collective 85A’s Herbaceous Barbershop and photographer Neil Davidson’s Shed.

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook.

See us on Flickr.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

The start of the rain also shared the same weekend with the End of Term for schools in Glasgow. Again, not exactly what you want after fleeing the school gates and running for the rounders pitch but wonderful for the first ever Great Scottish Double Rubble Chip Challenge!

In the run-up to Glasgow Harvest 30 schools around Glasgow are taking part in the Double Rubble Chip Challenge for the chance to win money (oh, yes) towards a new or improved growing space in the school grounds. With ‘foolproof’ instructions and growing kits donated by us, the ‘challenge’ is to grow potatoes (from scratch, of course) and to produce the best tasting poke of chips, which will be judged at Glasgow Harvest on the 28th of August by a fierce panel of chip-shop owners.

The growing has already begun and the competition is heating up!

Be inspired by the schools and remember to grow your own, too! If you don’t feel so hot on the planting side of things, get dreaming up some ideas for the Creative Container Competition and grow something from a seedling instead or make a date with some fruit and your hob and get involved in the Jam Dating Agency - someone might just have the fruit your spare jars were looking for (oh dear)!

Put your best shoot forward.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.

NVA are back again with a brand new project! This time think less white bike-riding and more sowing and growing, all in the name of sustainable living. Glasgow Harvest is a celebration of urban growing and a chance to share your Glasgow-grown produce as well as your knowledge in exchange for others’ knowledge and food!

Glasgow Harvest is taking place on 28th August at the Hidden Gardens and entry requires you to have grown food to share. However do not be put off if you haven’t started growing this year or if you have never ever grown before because we are giving you the opportunity (literally – we are giving you the plants and foolproof instructions) to grow in return for documentation of your beautiful baby seedlings into (hopefully) thriving courgette and chard plants complete with vegetables! What’s the catch to this wonderful opportunity? They are flying out the NVA door and the deadline is 7th June so be quick! To enter tell us what your favourite vegetable is and a delicious recipe it features in – send to harvest@nva.org.uk.

So as to avoid stage-fright or a fear-of-performance situation we have started posting pictures of our chilli plants (which we all planted from seed here in the NVA office 2 months ago) on Flickr (also in photo above) and will document our chard growing, too, for you all to see! Weekly rundown of our office-growing experience to come over the next 12 weeks. Chard replacing Rich Teas? Chillies climbing into the photocopier? Only the summer growing season will tell…

So folks, get your green fingers on and trowels at the ready and get growing!

For other ways to get involved in Glasgow Harvest or to simply find out more you can visit our facebook page.

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To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.