Congratulations to four North Carolina food  companies for being among the finalists for the Good Food Awards, which honor quality, sustainable and authentic food products.

Among the finalists:

• Carrboro Coffee Company for its El Aguacate coffee.
• Counter Culture Coffee for its Finca Kilimanjaro coffee
• Farmer's Daughter for three items: Spicy Green Tomato pickles, Muscadine Preserves and Bourbon'd Figs. (Read my story earlier this year about April McGreger, the creative force behind Farmer's Daughter.)
• Weeping Radish Farm Brewery for its liverwurst.

The new awards program  received more than 780 products from 41 states, all vying for a chance to be among the 80 winners recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by Alice Waters on January 14, 2011. The winners can use the Good Food Award Winner seal.

Good luck to our N.C. finalists.

Go HERE to see the entire list of Good Food Awards finalists.

April McGreger of Farmer's Daughter Brand shares two recipes for spiced figs and tomato jam. If you missed my profile of McGreger in today's paper, go HERE.

Click READ MORE to see the recipes.

There's lots to read in today's food section.

I have a story about the canning revival being here to stay with some recipes that range from Sweet Yellow Squash Pickles and Ginger Peach Preserves.

Don't you love the photo to the left? I think Staff Photographer and Mouthful contributor Juli Leonard did an excellent job. Those squash pickles glow.

I have a profile of April McGreger of Farmers Daughter, who sells pickles, kimchi and fruit preserves at the Carrboro Farmers Market. Look HERE on the blog for recipes from McGreger.

Greg Cox's Epicurean column is about Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe in Chapel Hill and Mawa's Taste of Africa in Morrisville.

And Suzanne Havala Hobbs' On the Table column is about how make a better diet easier to achieve.