HELP A BROTHER OUT: Food Drive @ Saraveza

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this....
Hard times in Portland, Oregon…Layoffs, foreclosures and other economic disruptions are taking a terrible toll on our families, friends and neighbors. I know I'm feeling it... at least once a week I talk to a friend or customer who has lost his/her job. Today's economic crisis stretches from loss of income to loss of nourishment. The calls for emergency help in Oregon are skyrocketing. The need to fight hunger in our own backyard is unprecedented. Through the month of February, we at Saraveza are encouraging our friends and patrons alike to help where they can -- by either donating $1 or donating food.

JUST $1 equals 5 lbs of food: Oregon Food Bank's greatest need is cash donations. Every dollar you donate enables Oregon Food Bank to collect and distribute more than five pounds of food through its food distribution program. With this escalating need, OFB's goal is to raise $5,000.00 during the month of February. To donate, drop some cash into the "Feed our People" jar at Saraveza, or click here and enter 'Blog for Food' in the tribute section on the OFB donation page. Or send checks directly to Oregon Food Bank at PO Box 55370, Portland, OR 97238. In the memo write 'Blog for Food.'

FOOD DROP: Participate in Saraveza’s Food Drive and bring in fresh, canned, dehydrated or frozen food donations. (Click here to view a list of most wanted donations.)

FEELING THE PINCH YOURSELF?: If you need a little push or are feeling the recession blues – participate in our Bottle Shop Swap. Until February 14th, bring one unopened, unexpired bottle of anything — soda, shampoo, soy sauce or Schlitz — to Saraveza and we'll trade you a 12-ounce bottle from our selection of American craft beers. (All bottled food – Prego, Ketchup, pickles, etc will be donated to the OFB.)

Thank you again for reading this. I am so thankful for my job. If you've been to Saraveza you see that I work with an awesome group of people who, like me, are so thankful for your patronage. We all thank you for coming to Saraveza and, if you can, helping in this outreach.

Best, Sarah

Cheeseheads take note! Beerheads listen up!

Last night, Steve of Steve's Cheese and I gave our first beer and cheese class. We had done our homework and came up with some slam dunks on combos. Even for a girl who's eaten her fair share of cheese (Wisco Yo!) and drank more than her fair share of beer (snooze ya loose!!) I had some new flavors in these matches. Here's the menu that made fireworks in my mouth:

Kickin' it off right: Pholia Farm’s ELK MOUNTAIN (Raw Nigerian Dwarf Goat) - Rogue River, Oregon w/ HUB’s DIABOLITO (Small Belgian Strong) - Portland, Oregon

Separated at birth: ROS OMBRA (Sheeps Milk) - Catalonia, Spain w/ Moylan's SCOTCH ALE - Novato, California

Super smooth: Guifante’s 3 MILK ROBIOLA - Piedmont, Italy w/ Eel River’s CLIMAX NOEL (Imperial Red Holiday Ale) - Fortuna, California

A group favorite: Herve Mons’s GRUYERE (Raw Cow) - Bern, Switzerland w/ Brouwerij Verhaeghe’s DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE (Flemish Red Ale) - Vichte, Belgium

Our most punk rock combo: Neal’s Yard Dairy - Colston Basset’s “SHROPSHIRE” (Cow’s Milk) - UK w/ Ommegang’s GRAND CRU ROUGE (Flemish Red Ale) - Copperstown, New York

We're set to do this again. If you're into it, just sign up for Saraveza's mailing list and you'll be of the first to know.