"The Locavore Way" with Amy Cotler

Author of "The Locavore Way" Amy Cotler hosted a discussion and booking signing with Slow Food BU this past Wednesday. The dreary weather didn't stop a committed group of slow foodies, who listened intently to Cotler's tips and engaging stories. With a background as a chef and recipe developer, she originally approached local, fresh food from a taste and pleasure perspective.


She acknowledged that we may all come from different places in our interest in sustainable, local foods. But the benefits, to the environment (less toxic), economic development (keeps your money close to home), and personal health, benefit us all. Cotler reiterated that change happens from the ground up, that small things can start in the community and build to a big-scale change. Often this starts with a simple self-interest. "I want local foods because____."

When the issue of budget and high price of local foods was brought up, she shared some simple tips for cutting costs, such as buying in bulk, sharing 2nd offerings from farmers, and savoring fruits and vegetables ONLY when in peak season. She reminded us that grains and beans, dried, are very very inexpensive, and meat needs to only be eaten occasionally. Learning to cook is a precious skill that will save you a lot of money, and probably earn you a few new friends. It was a great way to beat a rainy night! Thanks to all that came, and to Amy for sharing her wisdom and time with us!

Looking for winter local food?
Check out the Downtown Crossing Holiday Market, Somerville Winter Farmers Market, or Sherman Market!

If you want more information on Sustainable Agriculture check out the National Sustainable Ag Coalition.

What makes YOU choose local foods? What are some of your tips for staying local in the winter?

Mozzarella Demonstration

Mozzarella Making with Fiore Di Nonno


On Wednesday November 10th Slow Foodies gathered in the Myles Dining Hall kitchen to watch Lourdes Smith, owner of Fiore Di Nonno Mozzarella, make mozzarella by hand. Lourdes talked about her family's history of mozzarrella-making, especially her grandfather. She also discussed the importance of using the fresh, local milk, which she buys from Shy Brother's Farm in Westport, MA.

Lourdes makes her mozzarella by hand in small batches using a wooden paddle. This is rare, even in Italy, because of government restriction on the use of wood in food production.


After slowly heating the curd with boiling water, Lourdes had prepared enough fresh mozzarella for everyone to try.

Thank you so much to everyone who came, especially Lourdes for a great demo and delicious mozzarella! Also, thank you Joyce Chan for the pictures!

Jamming Workshop

Jamming with Slow Food

Slow Food BU's Katie Enzer and Julia Sementelli demonstrated how to make and preserve cranberry jelly on Wednesday October 27th. Using local cranberries, honey, and pectin makes this recipe an easy way to preserve the fall harvest.



Orange and Ginger Spiced Cranberry Jelly
*Adapted from Pomona’s Universal Pectin Cranberry Jelly Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 35oz)
24oz fresh cranberries
3 cups water
1/2 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons calcium water
3 teaspoons pectin stirred into 1 cup honey
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest (about 1/2 orange)

Instructions:
1. Wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water, then put them into a large pot of water. Bring water to a boil, then lower to simmering.
2. Rinse and drain cranberries. Add to a second large pot of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until cranberries burst and soften.
3. Meanwhile, prepare rest of ingredients:

a. Add pectin to honey
b. Juice limes
c. Zest orange
d. Peel and chop ginger

4. When cranberries are fully cooked, remove from heat and strain to remove skins.
5. Combine 4 cups of pulpy cranberry juice with calcium water and lime juice. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
6. Add pectin/honey mixture, orange zest, and ginger. Stir immediately and vigorously for 1-2 minutes until pectin completely dissolves.
7. Add sugar. Stir to dissolve.
8. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove jars from boil water and fill with jam leaving 1/2 inch empty at the top. Wipe the rim of each jar with a wet paper towel, and quickly top with a lid (NOTE: be careful in this step because the jars will be very hot!).
9. When all jars have been filled, begin processing: Place jars in a large pot and fill with water to cover jars. Cover pot and boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars from pot with canning tongs.
10. Allow jars to sit and cool until the lids seal and the jam sets.





Local cranberries gave the jelly great flavor and color.


Slow foodies enjoyed samples of the jam on New England Night bread, filled with pecans and cranberries, from Clear Flour Bread.



Sterile and safe canning practices are important.

Thank you to everyone who attended the demonstration! Canning is a great way to enjoy seasonal produce year round. We encourage you to try this recipe while local cranberries are still available. Check out the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets to find a place to buy cranberries or other local jamming produce.

Special thanks to Emily Jones for taking some great photos!

Rustic Pastry: Pear Ginger Crisp

On a crisp fall evening Chloe Nolan and Mary Ting of Clear Flour Bakery demonstrated how to make a Pear Ginger Crisp

Pear Ginger Crisp
Serves 8-10
Topping:

½ cup flour
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup walnut pieces
Fruit Filling:

½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
6 large or 7 med. pears (Bartlett work great here)
1 TBS grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the topping, whisk together first four ingredients in a medium bowl. Work butter into dry mixture until it resembles moist, coarse meal. Stir in nuts and oats. Chill while preparing filling. Peel and core the pears. Cut into roughly 1/2” cubes and place in a large bowl with ginger. Add dry ingredients and combine until fruit is evenly coated. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish.

Scatter topping evenly across fruit and bake until top is golden and filling is bubbling –about 50 minutes. Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream
It was a perfect evening to spend as the nights start to get chillier! We highly recommend that you check out Clear Flour, a local, hidden gem. Be prepared for a very long line on weekends, but I assure you, it is well worth the wait. You will be dreaming about their baked currant donuts, and chocolate pudding cakes for weeks afterward! Thank you Mary and Chloe for taking the time to show us a simple, rustic recipe!

Carlo Petrini in Boston

Last week, the founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini, spoke at Tufts and at Harvard as part of a series of conferences at American universities.

Over 300 students, staff, and community members attended Petrini's talk and book signing at Harvard. Carlo Petrini's speech, in Italian, was translated by Corby Kummer, author and senior editor of The Atlantic.

Corby Kummer (left) and Carlo Petrini (right)

Petrini spoke about numerous aspects of the Slow Food movement, which supports the pleasure of good food, while supporting the community and the environment.

Petrini began by discussing the current food system, which is detrimental to our environment. The constant selection for highly productive crops has decreased the fertility of the soil, and has caused a significant loss in biodiversity. Petrini also touched upon food subsidies, which have led to cheap food, health problems, industrial disasters, and environmental degradation.

In addition, Petrini gave many suggestions for changes that can be made. Food shouldn't be wasted, and leftovers should be savored. Foods should be eaten when they are in season, and food shouldn't be transported long distances, because this requires more fossil fuels. He also suggested that we should buy less food, and buy higher quality food.

Although there are many changes that need to be made to the current food system, Petrini noted that many positive changes have already been made. Although it was hard to come by farmers markets just ten to twenty years ago, now farmers markets are much more common. In 2000, Slow Food U.S.A. campaigned for raw milk cheeses to be allowed to be produced in the U.S. rather than just importing them from Europe, and now raw cheeses produced in the U.S. can be found in more and more stores.

Despite the lack of infrastructures to support new and young farmers, there is an increased need for young farmers. Luckily in the Boston area, there is the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, which supports and offers training to those who are interested in becoming farmers. Petrini asked for everyone in the audience who was under 30 and planning to work with the land in their future to come up, and many people did.

Farmers to be

Finally, Petrini spoke of and encouraged people to attend Terra Madre, a bi-annual international gathering of over 5,000 food lovers who support and want to learn more about sustainable and local foods and food production. The next, and fourth, Terra Madre event will begin next week, in Turin, Italy.

After Carlo Petrini's speak, many eager audience members came up to get signed copies of his new book, Terra Madre.

It was an inspirational experience to hear the president of Slow Food speak. Read about his visit at Tufts on the Slow Food Tufts blog, and another article and videos of his Boston visit from the Slow Food website.

Taberna De Haro

Last week Slow Food BU had the pleasure of working with Deborah Hansen, chef and owner of Spanish restaurant Taberna de Haro. Hansen invited us into her kitchen to share a recipe for Tortilla Española, a staple of traditional Spanish diets, and discuss her start in the culinary world.

Hansen was smitten with Spain after a visit during her college years, and later returned to live in Madrid. During eight years living in the heart of Spain, Hansen opened a restaurant serving American food; however, her down time was spent mastering the rustic elegance of traditional Spanish cooking. Hansen took her education back to the United States where she opened Taberna de Haro. The restaurant has since become a sanctuary for anyone seeking comforting food, authentic cuisine, and local ingredients.

Hansen spoke with high esteem of the Massachusetts-based farmers who provide produce, seafood, meat, eggs, and more for her restaurant. In addition to sea salt and olive oil (two of Hansen’s few exceptions to her all-local ingredients rules), Hansen used potatoes from Swaz Farm in Hatfield, onions from Old Friends Farm in Amherst, and eggs from Country Hen, based in Hubbardston.

Tortilla Española, one of the most popular items on the menu at Taberna de Haro, is a great addition to any home cook’s repertoire. The five-ingredient recipe makes it an easy dish for any time of day.

Deborah Hansen's Tortilla Española Recipe:

4 large potatoes, any type except golden or red bliss, peeled and sliced thin

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin

2 cups cooking olive oil, preferably Spanish, “pure” grade (“puro” in Spanish or Italian)

5 free-range eggs

1 ½ Tbl. Sea salt

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the potatoes and fry on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Add onions, stir, and continue to fry 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, set up a strainer or colander over a bowl for draining potatoes.

Whisk eggs and salt in a large bowl. When potatoes are cook thoroughly, spoon into strainer and allow oil to drain. Reserve a tablespoon of oil, and save the rest in refrigerator for another use. Add potatoes to eggs and stir thoroughly.

Heat a 9” non-stick pan with a bit of the used olive oil. Coat thoroughly. Add egg mixture and simmer on low to medium heat for 4 minutes. Cover with a plate and turn pan upside down to flip tortilla. Slide back into pan, smoothing edges with a spatula. Cook 3-4 more minutes. Turn out onto a plate.

Serve hot, warm, or cold.

Boston Local Food Fest!

The first annual Boston Local Food Fest was a smashing success!
Check out some of these great recaps and roundups:
BLLF Facebook
BLLF Twitter
Featured Festival Bloggers
Elizabeth of Don't White Sugar Coat It
Jessica at A Fete for Food

Did you make it there? What were your thoughts? Any more recaps to share with us?