Image via Flickr The Pink Peppercorn

Check it all out below and if your fancy is somehow not met, also check out the Food Event Calendar for even more, if you can believe it.

Also, St. Patrick's Day is next week, and there are quite a few Irish food and drink events and products to enjoy this weekend. Check out the special St. Patty's day round-up for those details.

Festivals

• Saturday & Sunday, 12-6pm: Irish Festival at the Seattle Center. "Stage performances, workshops, films, children's activities, etc. The Festival features booths selling Irish and Celtic products, non-stop Irish music, singing, dancing, workshops, lectures, cultural displays, children's contests and activities, etc. Festival Highlights also include Genealogy Workshops, Irish Language Workshops, Cultural Exhibits and more. Family-oriented activities include wonderful Irish Musicians along with Champion Irish Stepdancers from around the Pacific Northwest. Events for children include the 'Smilingest Irish Eyes Contest' and the 'Most Irish-Looking Face Contest', and other activities in the Children's Activities Center. Contemporary Irish short films will be screened during our Irish Reels Film Festival."
• Saturday, 10am-3pm: Mobile Chowdown III. This Chowdown will feature both Seattle and Portland street food vendors!
• Saturday & Sunday, 12-6pm: Taste of White 2010 at Columbia Winery. "Great wine, food, crafts and music. We celebrate Spring and our premium white wines in this new event similar to our popular Taste of Red. Tickets at the door each day. Cost: $20 per person/$10 Cellar Club members & Guests." (Click here for more wine events.)
• Saturday, 12-5pm: Snohomish Wine Festival. "You are cordially invited to the 'Inaugural Snohomish Wine Festival Featuring 19 wineries from WA and OR including many of the Snohomish area premiere wineries…Guests will receive a commemorative wine glass, tastings, hors d'oeuvres, prepared by some of Snohomish's finest restaurants, and entertainment by Back Porch Blues Unplugged and Bubbles & Fog. Tickets only $30/person."
• Sunday, 10am-3pm: Spring Fruit and Grafting Show at Center for Urban Horticulture. Open to the public, FREE! admission. Lectures, on topics like grafting, bees, cooking, cider-making. (Click here for more gardening events.)

Friday, March 12

• Swedish Kafé & Happy Hour at the Swedish Cultural Center. "Smörgås sandwiches, Swedish meatballs, and homemade Swedish pastries. Sandwiches by Svedala Bakery. Kafé from 12 noon on. Semlor from now till Easter. Evening food by Swedish chef Ann-Margret varies weekly. Food starts at 6 p.m. Always a fantastic view." (Click here for more Scandinavian cuisine events.)
• Pizza Pie (& Wine!) Day Fridays at The Tasting Room. "Get a start on the weekend with some delicious pizza from Pagliacci Pizza alongside our favorite wines. Just call in your order, give them our address, and they deliver while you enjoy a glass or two at special prices. Simple and simply delicious!"
• 6-9pm: Pasta 101 Class at Diane's Market Kitchen. "Learn to make fresh pasta at home. We will make several versions of this quintessential element of so many traditional dishes. We'll use the pasta with several different sauces we will create to prepare Fettuccine with Truffle Cream Sauce and Lasagna Bolognese. Oh, and we'll probably figure out a quintessential Italian dessert as well." $75 (Click here for more pasta-making classes.)

Saturday, March 13

• 11:30am-2pm: Vegetarian Cooking with Greens Class at South Seattle Community College. "Making cooked greens a regular on your dinner table can provide significant protection against cancer and osteoporosis. Come learn all about collards, kale, mustard greens, bok choy, and other hardy calcium-rich greens. Watch how they can be turned into savory dishes that are inexpensive, low-fat, cholesterol-free and pure vegetarian. Come hungry!" $47 (Click here for more vegetarian food events.)
• 1-2pm: FREE! Seminar: The Buzz about Gardening with Mason Bees at Molbak's. "Featuring King-County Master Gardener Missy Anderson. Did you know that orchard mason bees are very efficient pollinators? Missy will open our eyes to the wonders of these cool little critters and show us how we can help support our native pollinators. Kids are welcome to attend." (Click here for more beekeeping events.)
• 6pm: Glenlivet Scotch Tasting at Morton's. "Please join Morton's The Steakhouse Seattle on Saturday, March 13 at 6 p.m. as Rick Edwards, The Glenlivet Ambassador, leads you through a proper tasting with four of The Glenlivet's critically acclaimed single malts. The whiskies will be paired with selections from Morton's classic hors d'oeuvres: Smoked Salmon Pinwheels; Sliced Tenderloin on Crostini, Whipped Horseradish; Broiled Sea Scallops, Apricot Chutney; Petite Filet Mignon Sandwiches, Mustard Mayonnaise." $49 (Click here for more cocktail events.)
• 7pm: Saké Nomi Fantasy Sumo League Draft Party. "The Spring (Osaka) Tournament runs March 14-28, and with the recent, sudden (forced!) retirement of yokozuna Asashoryu, it promises to befilled with plenty of flesh-slappin' action and intrigue. If you'd like to get in on this edition of the Saké Nomi Fantasy Sumo League (SNFSL), please join us this Saturday evening at 7 p.m. for the draft." Sake Nomi will also be tasting a special sake called "Asian Beauty." (Click here for more Japanese cuisine events.)

Sunday, March 14

• 12pm: FREE! Gardening Class: Growing vegetables in raised beds at Emery's Garden.
• 1-3:30pm: The Saffron Kitchen Cooking Class at PCC Edmonds. "Saffron – the most exotic, expensive, and labor-intensive spice to process – has unique properties and an aroma like no other. Jayesh will highlight its history, biology and culinary uses, and make several delicious dishes that use it as a key ingredient. He'll prepare Lamb Kofta with Saffron-ginger Masala; Saffron-infused Basmati Rice Pilaf; Roasted Zucchini with Saffron and Garlic in parchment paper; and Saffron and Cardamom-scented Sour Cream Pudding." $35-40 (Click here for more global cuisine events.)
• 4-7pm: Bags & Bottles: 4th Annual Handbag Auction & Wine Tasting Benefiting Gilda's Club. "What's better than having a handbag like the celebrities carry? How about owning a handbag from a celebrity! Seattle's premiere wine and handbag event, Bags & Bottles, returns for a 4th year to the Westin Hotel in Downtown Seattle…Over 25 NW wineries will be showcasing their newest releases to taste, hundreds of handbags will be up for silent auction and the latest designs from Seattle’s hottest bag stores will be on display for shopping." $40 (Click here for more charitable food events.)
• 4-7pm: Scandinavian Concert & Smorgasbord: How Swede it Is. "Presenting internationally and nationally acclaimed artists. Performances represent all five Nordic countries and will capture the magic of rarely heard masterpieces. This is a rare opportunity to sample the many moods of the Nordic landscape – without buying an airline ticket! Each of the concerts is followed by a smörgåsbord of gourmet Nordic delicacies inspired by the featured country... Single ticket prices are $40 for members, $45 for non-members and $25 individual concerts only (excludes smörgåsbord)…'How Swede it Is!' with Karl-Ove Mannberg, internationally renowned violinist from Sweden and Lisa Bergman, pianist Karl-Ove Mannberg, veteran of the stages of Europe."

Image from the Russian Foods Market Tour

But then this week, I heard from Facebook fan that she'd used this last weekend to go to three free tastings (awesome!). AND, this week I posted the Russian Foods Market Tour, featuring this picture of Georgian wines...and wouldn't you know it, there's a FREE! tasting of Georgian wines this very Sunday.   

So how could I NOT post this round-up today?  And, voila, here it is...

Image via Flickr user Jules:StoneSoup

But every once in a while, I have to bring out the Stern Lecture. And today is such a day. Today I must once again deliver the “Don’t wait until the last minute to make plans” lecture.

You might be wondering: what brought this on? It’s not Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Eve.  Why would a Stern Lecture be necessary during some random week in March? 

Here’s why: every week when assembling this round-up, I do a quick check to make sure that what I’ve picked for the weekend still has space available, etc. And guess what: a lot of the most awesome stuff is sold out! Almost like other people saw it, noticed it was awesome, and signed up like WAY in advance!

So I am just telling you this so that you can avoid your own heartbreak. Of course these weekend round-ups are handy, but here’s a tip. If you have a specific interest – maybe you want to learn about cake decorating or wild food or French food or cheesemaking – check ahead!  You can always look at one of the A La Carte pages to drill down on your area of interest.  Or if you have guests coming into town or some other special date coming up, check the Food Event Calendar in well advance. Your fellow Seattle food-lovers are speedy.

All right, the lecture is over, back to the funs! There’s frybread!!

Image via Guinness Website

The below calendar features St. Patrick Day events, but also includes Irish food cooking classes and demos, special holiday food products and deals from local businesses and other events related to the holiday.

And a special bonus from sister site Freeattle! See the specially-marked Freeattle events on the calendar for FREE! Irish music, dance, film and cultural events. They might not necessarily have food, but are still fun - and again, FREE! - ways to celebrate St. Paddy's!

If you have a food event suggestion for this calendar, please feel free to email me!

Here are some photos of some special food offerings celebrating the holiday...

St. Patrick's & Irish Food & Culture Events

Like many people who love to cook, I am fascinated by the food products of other countries. Also like many people who love to cook, I love to visit the grocery stores in foreign countries almost as much as I like to visit a museum or tourist hot spot. What better way to try to learn about another culture than to see how everyday folks like me feed themselves their regular meals?

But I don't have to travel outside the Seattle area to see the foods of other regions and countries: we have a lot of great specialty markets right here in the Puget Sound area.  Exploring them has been a favorite weekend activity for me and my food-loving friends.

Of course, I (often) have no clue what I'm looking at. I am still relatively new to cooking, and newer still to learning about the foods of certain regions. But I love to investigate, and I decided to turn my own education into a little series here on the site.

Over the next few months, I'll be posting the photos from visits to local world food markets I'm making with native chefs from those countries. They'll walk me through the products, give us some ideas for what we can do with what we find there, and fill us in a bit on the cooking culture of their home countries.

I am beyond excited about this project! It brings together so many of my favorite things: food and cooking (and grocery stores!), photography, home economics, culture, language, and most importantly for me, the opportunity to be nosy and ask a lot of questions! 

So here is the first one: Russian and Eastern European Cuisine at European Foods on Aurora. My awesome guide was Irina Vodonos of Moscow Gourmet Kitchen. Check it out!

And stay tuned...next up is Indian food at Apna Bazaar with Karuna!

Image via Flickr user GCFairch

So I can't guarantee I'll do a free wine tasting round-up for every weekend here on Fresh-Picked, but let's live for the moment! And in this moment, here is a round-up for this weekend.

(Don't see anything below?  Also check out Freeattle for this week's event round-up.)

Brigadeiro Brazilian Candy image via Flickr ACorsi

Also check out This Week in Freeattle for a whole week chock-a-block of free things to do.