Come to the Harvest Supper!

Slow Food Seacoast Brings in the Harvest

On September 15, 2007, Slow Food Seacoast invites the public to a Harvest Supper featuring the best of the season from local farms, bakers, cheesemakers and more. Celebrate the natural abundance of a New England autumn with a chef-prepared meal, guided tastings, and an old-fashioned contra dance for all ages. Held in conjunction with the Garden Harvest Festival at Strwabery Banke Museum, the event celebrates the Eat Local Challenge month of September by bringing the harvest home to Portsmouth. It's a time when the year's hard work is rewarded with enjoyment, and it's the perfect way to bid a delicious farewell to summer and welcome the transition to fall.

A multi-course meal , prepared by the chefs and students of the Atlantic Culinary Academy, will present the best of the season in classic New England dishes updated with contemporary flair. The evening begins with guided tastings of regionally made New England cheeses and breads and concludes with an old-fashioned harvest frolic, featuring a contra dance with Craig Edwards and the Rhythm Method String Band.

The public is invited to join in the sit-down outdoor supper, to be held under comfortable tents amid the gardens of Strawbery Banke Museum. Menu items include Breezy Hill Farm pork, Silvery Moon cheeses, Meadows' Mirth farm produce, and much more. Greeting, guided tastings, and appetizers begin at 5 PM; 6 PM supper, followed by dancing until 9:30 PM. Tickets for the entire evening's entertainment - educational speakers, tastings, harvest meal, and music and dance - are $25/adults ($20 for Slow Food members)/$10 kids. Reservations are strongly recommended; to reserve, please contact Slow Food Seacoast at SlowFoodSeacoast@GMail.com or

Early fall is a time of great natural abundance in the Seacoast. The last of the late-summer produce – tomatoes, peaches, corn, blueberries, cucumbers, zucchini -- shares space on our tables with the first earthy flavors of the fall harvest, such as apples, dark leafy greens, pumpkins, cranberries, leeks, parsnips, and beets. For generations of New Englanders past, the greatest range of flavors of the entire year was present at this time, truly cause for celebration. But they didn't get to simply relax and enjoy the bounty - late summer was a time of frenzied activity as tfarmers, gardeners, and home cooks worked to stay ahead of the harvest by preserving food to last well into the winter. A long tradition of fall harvest celebrating and socializing developed around necessary rituals like corn shucking and shelling, canning, butchering, drying, smoking, and curing meats, shelling beans, and preparing the house and land for winter.

With a community already gathered to share work at a time of year when a wide variety of delicious, freshly harvested food was available, good times were bound to happen. A good day's work done, people celebrated with meals featuring the best and freshest. After-dinner entertainment was usually music and dance, particularly New England's own regional dance form, the contra dance. Anyone can dance in this family-friendly tradition - dancers face each other along two lines, performing simple moves with instructions called out loud. No experience, partner, or special skill is needed! Accompaniment from Craig Edwards's string band will keep the crowd stepping.

This educational event, sponsored by Slow Food Seacoast, aims to revive harvest time traditions, re-connect the Seacoast with its agricultural calendar, raise awareness of the quality products of local farmers and food producers, and celebrate the joy of the harvest. Slow Food Seacoast is an educational nonprofit organization working to bring greater awareness of local foods, regional food heritage, and the enjoyment of honest quality back to the table. This is one of many events offered for Slow September, including a potluck and presentation on the Eat Local Challenge on Sept. 2nd, a Flatbread Pizza Company fundraiser night on Sept. 4th , and a Barnes and Noble Family Night on Sept. 27. Contact Slow Food Seacoast for further details.

Harvest Supper is held in conjunction with Strawbery Banke Museum's Garden Harvest Festival,offering an array of garden-themed programs over the weekend of Sept 15-16. It's a time when hard work is returned with good fortune, and the perfect way to bid a delicious farewell to summer and welcome the autumn.

Additional resources:

Slow Food Seacoast

http://slowfoodseacoast.blogspot.com/

Seacoast Eat Local

http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/

Eat Local Challenge

http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/

Garden Harvest Festival at Strawbery Banke

http://www.strawberybanke.org/gardenharvestfestival.html

Craig Edwards, Music

http://fiddlecraig.com/Home_Page.html

Eats and Elitism

Slow Food Seacoast member Jeff writes in:

"I was just reading an interview with Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurant in NY in Salon and he had a great response to the charge of elitism in the slow food movement." Read on, and check out the full article, titled Oil and Food Don't Mix.

"Some critics of the so-called slow-food movement -- which focuses on organic, local and artisanal foods -- have called it pretentious and inaccessible. What would you say to someone who calls you an indulgent elitist?

At the checkout aisle, we're not paying the real cost of food. Whether you're an elitist or not, you're a human being and the real costs of your food are being paid in environmental costs and healthcare costs. And who pays when we have an obese nation? We all do. We just pay it under the radar. To call it elitist, I think, is really shortsighted.

I think that eventually what we're talking about is really rooted in peasantry, which is the ironic thing. To say that good food is for the elite is preposterous, like saying that Chinese peasants who talk about and revolve their day around food are elitist, or the Peruvian mountain farmers who grow dozens of different types of potatoes are elitist.

Most importantly, I'd say that in order to experience the pleasures of good food, leave the politics, leave the health issues and leave the ecological issues aside. Tasting good food is a pleasure that people will come back to. That's what this is: hedonism, a to z. And I think that's one angle that makes sense [in connection] to slow food. Let's look at this from a hedonistic, celebratory viewpoint and not a depressing one, and I think that has some legs for the future."

The Food Project

As we ponder opportunities for school and youth partnerships, it's great to know there are some really successful models here and elsewhere. Some people in our convivium have worked with students from New Heights on community gardening and plant-nursery projects in Porsmouth, and the folks at Slow Food Boston are calling attention to the Food Project, a whole suite of programs in which a diverse group of kids from in and around Boston work together to raise crops, deliver educational programs, run a CSA and farmstand, and more. They run a couple of urban plots around Dorchester and have a 31-acre farm in Lincoln. Check it out!

Food and Faith Part I

A colleague mentioned to me that the Jewish Forward had recently run some articles about how to observe Kosher dietary laws while still eating locally, sustainably, fair trade-ly, and/or organically. Lots of considerations! Her comments led me to the interesting food blog The Jew and the Carrot. From the site description:

The Jew and the Carrot features the intersection between Jews, food and contemporary life.

The Jewish community has an amazingly complex relationship to food. As the rest of the world is waking up to the notion of sustainable agriculture, local foods, and healthy eating, so is the Jewish community in the States and in Israel.

We want to:

Raise the quality of discussion about contemporary food issues in the Jewish community.

Convey a sense of importance and joy around food.

Challenge and inspire participants to think deeply and broadly about their own food choices.

The Jew and the Carrot is a project of Hazon, an organization working to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community — as a step towards a healthier and more sustainable world for all.

Pyramid Power

Remember when the Food Pyramid was easy? Heck, I remember when it wasn't even a pyramid, just a square, as in "Square Meal:" dairy, meats, grains, produce.

In the past twenty years, we've been through lots of pyramids and graphs as agribusiness, medicine, and government agencies have wrangled over what we ought to be eating. It used to be we were concerned mainly about individual health, and now we're looking at food more broadly and taking into account our own well-being, but also that of the environment, society, and long-term policy.

I found this "Evolving Pyramid" in a publication from Organic Valley foods. Though it is part of their advertising material, I really liked the messages it delivers. It's one more tool to remind us that better eating is not an all-or-nothing proposition, but a process of growth. Better eating allows for enjoyment and variety along with responsibility and sustainability. It recognizes that it's overall patterns, not single choices, that make big differences. The Evolving Pyramid emphasizes the limitations of federal labeling systems, especially now that the simple words 'organic' and 'natural' can take in a number of practices. And it calls attention to the personal and spiritual benefits of getting closer to your food.

In other words, it's not all about taste, it's not all about changing the world, and it's not all about community - it's about all of those things, in balance, and more. And unlike the USDA food pyramid, this is one that depicts not just relative proportions, but progress.

How to Eat Sustainably by No Impact Man

A New York City blogger explores environmental impact on his blog, No Impact Man. In this post, he deals with some recent backlash against the eat-local idea by exploring the total environmental impact of food including factors like resource use, packaging, distribution, and composition of meals. It's a great reminder that overall impact and ancillary benefits matter just as much as food miles.

Evolve

Via Slow Food Portland, here's a 1 1/2-minute video on the evolution of gastronomy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkloPHbJJHc

The creator is part of Kitchen Gardeners International, a nonprofit that's really worth a look. On their website are plenty of other videos submitted to their "Grow-Off Show-Off" contest. Submit your own garden show-off video and vie for prizes!

Celebrating Summer's Bounty in Massachusetts

On Wednesday, August 15th at 7pm, Chef Didi Emmons and the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets (FMFM) will co-host "Celebrating Summer's Bounty," the 3rd annual summer benefit dinner for farmers' markets. For $60 per person ($15 additional with wine), diners will enjoy four courses of innovative and delicious vegetarian cuisine, prepared with care using ingredients from Massachusetts farms. Benefit sponsorships are also available at the Golden Watermelon ($500), Silver Queen Corn ($250), and Bronze Fennel ($100) levels.

The event will be held this year at Emmons' new culinary home base, the Haley House Bakery Café at 12 Dade Street in Dudley Square, Roxbury (just off Washington Street: ample free parking available and also accessible via the Silver Line). For more information and to purchase tickets, please e-mail martha@massfarmersmarkets.org or call (781) 893-8222. You may also purchase tickets online on the FMFM website.

Pearls in Portland?

Slow Food Portland is offering a guided boat tour of oyster and mussel farms on the Damariscotta River in September. This event is in partnership with our friends at the Maine Aquaculture Association and the Darling Marine Center/UMaine Extension.

Date: Saturday, September 22.
Time: Still to be determined but will likely start mid to late morning at the Darling Marine Center. Plan to be with us most of the afternoon!
Boat: Research Vessel Ira C.
Tour Guides: Dana Morse of the UMaine Extension Service/Darling Marine Center and Sebastian Belle of the Maine Aquaculture Association
Cost: Still to be determined but the ticket price will be no more than the cost of the boat rental plus fuel. Anticipate a cost between $30-35.
Fine Print: This event is First Come-First Serve! There will only be 16 tickets available because of capacity of the boat. If you are interested please contact me DIRECTLY by email to put your name on the list. If you later find you have a conflict and will not be able to attend, please let me know immediately so that we make sure that everyone who wants to has a chance to attend this fun day.

The game plan right now is to kick off the day at the Darling Marine Center where they do research on production techniques in a laboratory shellfish hatchery. We'll then hop on board the vessel Ira C. to go up the Damariscotta River with Dana and Sebastian acting as informal tour guides. We'll be able to stop along the way and chat with oyster and mussel growers and see oyster farming in action. At some point during the day we will try to fit in a stop to an "Oyster Stand" where oysters are marketed directly to the consumer by the oyster grower. At the end of the day, there may be the option (not included in ticket price) to go to the local restaurant, Schooner Landing, where they serve freshly harvested oysters from a variety of the local growers. I'll have more details as we get closer to the date, such as which oyster growers we will be meeting with, etc. There's still planning going on for this event but I wanted to let everyone know in time to plan ahead and save that Saturday for a very special Slow Food Portland event!

Like a Fish and a Bicycle,

...the words "Maine" and "Barbecue" don't always seem like natural partners. And yet when they get together, turns out they can make a pretty fantastic combination.

This reporter just came back from the Great State of Maine Grilling and BBQ Festival, held on the beautiful Zach's Farm in York (home of the Great Corn Maze). As a native Texan, I admit I was a little skeptical about how well some Mainers, no matter how great their state, could do up a BBQ contest. Well, shut my mouth! A smokin' good time all around, bringing no shame to Maine.

Hosted by Denny Mike's Smokehouse, an Old Orchard Beach BBQ joint, this was a regulation festival, a very serious event with formal judging, much like those you see on the Food Network. In fact, the Herald reported that the thirty competitors hoping for a $7,500 prize (and a handsome bronze pig trophy) were being judged by a team of expert tasters imported from Kansas City. Pretty serious business.

A spacious cleared cornfield on a sunny slope was the setting for the event. Of course, you could smell the festival before rounding the hill and seeing it. But before we could get to the contestants' goods, vendors' booths came first, cleverly stripping us of our loose change. The smell couldn't be resisted. Muddy River piled up the pulled pork, and the acclaimed M & M Ribs of Dorchester sold lots more than ribs - chicken, corn on the cob, and brisket were also on their menu. Stonewall Kitchen was there, grilling hot dogs and serving them up with a variety of tangy relishes, next to Gifford's Ice Cream, who dished out generous samples of their Maine Wild Blueberry (and giving all donations to charity).

The event drew several exhibitors, mostly sauce and condiment manufacturers including Crooked Birch Kitchen from Lee, NH (their sweet chili and garlic sauce was one of the best sauces I tasted all day, and I'm including the contestants'). Gritty MacDuff's beer tent offered welcome shade and great beverages to cool some of that spice.

After samples and sauces, we wandered among the ranks of contestants, who were set up in a sort of hot, smoky, and dangerous gypsy village. Between the tents, smokers, grills, and deep concentration, the hazards were many. Competitors had strict deadlines every half-hour or hour. An intense crew of cooks stayed focused on preparing each entry: this involved building perfect piles of meat atop carefully selected and trimmed lettuce greens. When the meat glistened and the presentation was perfect, cooks handed the finished product off to the runners, who zipped them to the judges tent, traffic be damned. But despite the frenzy, there was incentive to hang around; after the teams got their best cuts in for judging, a few moments of relaxation arrived during which they took pity on us starving masses. Once you perfected the art of being in the right place at the right time, you might find an entire rack of short ribs landing on the table before you sticky with deep red sauce, or maybe the cooks would toss out an aluminum roasting pan full of steaming-hot shredded pork or beef, or a cutting board with slices of smoked brisket still running with jus. Fingers were the utensils, and napkins? We don't need any napkins. We just lick off the sauce.

We all know people who are serious about their grilling, but compared with these teams, home cooks might want to just roll the Weber right back into the garage and order in. The firepower was something to see. Some teams got by with simple backyard grills, it's true, but most had enough heavy metal on the field for a National Guard Armory. One trailer with a Texas plate was a mobile master barbecue oven, clearly custom-built for this sort of activity - it contained a sink with running water, an oven, a wood smoker, a charcoal pit, and a rotisserie, all done in black and industrial steel. Other folks had oil-drum style grills, some painted pink with pig faces. Some teams themed it up, wearing costumes and decorating their tents, while others were all business. For many, this kind of thing clearly IS business; having the reputation of "Best Barbecue in New England" gives a restaurant something to snort about, and several of the teams were pro outfits associated with regional eateries. For a home hobbyist, this would be one expensive hobby to get into. Entry fees ranged from $75-$235, a lot of equipment and fuel is required, and of course, you buy your own meat.

I haven't even talked about the music, which was really well selected and sounded great, featuring lots of country and blues to go with the 'cues and room for dancing or for lounging in lawn chairs.

Too bad the event's over for this year, but save the date for next time around. This festival is well run, fun, summery, and provides a nifty combination: very much Maine, but very down-home South as well. It just goes to show that barbecue needs no earthly home; it lives in the hearts of the people. And that's why the grilled lobster category seemed to fit in just fine.

Fair Trade Fair...and Film

So, your food that's not local - your coffee, cinnamon, chocolate, teas, bananas - how did it get here? Simple enough - it was traded for on the global market by importers and brokers. So often, low price and high profit margin is such an important goal in those negotiations that the growers and harvesters who produced the goods themselves are often left with too little compensation, contributing to conditions of poverty and poor environmental practice in the developing world.

As we work to support our own farmers and growers, it makes sense to think about better supporting those people who produced our imported favorites, as well. One idea is to lend help by identifying products which have been traded for according to a set of fair ethical principles. This is called the Fair Trade movement, and two college students from Portsmouth are currently promoting Fair Trade in the Seacoast. This article from the Portsmouth Herald details how Alec Lager and Sam Bennett are creating a grassroots program to serve as 'manufacturer's reps' for Fair Trade products, from foods to gifts and handicrafts.

The Portsmouth Fair Trade Coalition will be hosting a screening at South Church on Friday, August 10 of the movie "Black Gold." The film is an examination of the international coffee market through the eyes of one broker struggling to keep Ethiopian coffee growers from bankruptcy. The movie starts at 7:30, and Fair Trade coffees will be served.

The Coalition will also treat Portsmouth to a Fair Trade Fair and jazz concert on August 18 in Vaughan Mall. They'll have goods for sale from artisans and farmers around the world.