"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?

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.

The BU Farmers Market is Back!

The Boston University Farmers Market returns next week!

When: Thursdays, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, August 12 through October 14

Where: George Sherman Union Plaza, 775 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215

The vendors:

• Lanni Orchards
• Big Sky Bread
  
• Gold Meadow Farms
• Ward's Berry Farm
• Smaht Farm
• Danish Pastry House
• Fran Kronstadt Studio
• Polka Dog Biscuits
• The Pebble Collection
• And more!
  

And if you haven't yet, like the BU Farmers Market on Facebook!

For other farmers markets in the area, check out the Farmers Markets Map and Farmers Markets Google Calendar by the Boston Localvores.

Fresh Boston

Last summer I had the chance to see a great movie about the American Food system, called FRESH. FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

In the weeks leading up to the Boston FRESH premiere, several amazing, sustainable restaurants & organizations will be hosting dinners and events in the name of FRESH, highlighting their efforts to be more sustainable.

June 1 at 6pm: FRESH Perspectives on Local Food: An Evening Celebrating Youth
June 12 at 2pm: Wine Bottega and Taza Chocolate Tasting
June 16 at 6:30pm: Farm to Fork: A Panel Discussion about how we get the food we eat
(at BU and CoSponsored by SFBU -Come hear leaders of the Slow Food Movement in Boston talk!)
June 18-23: FRESH Screening at the Brattle Theater

There is also a series FRESH Farm to Table Dinners, where restaruants craft all-local meals and then invite the chefs to the table to talk with the diners. Not only do these promise to be delicious, I'm sure they will also be enlightening-our favorite!

Henrietta's Table, June 7th-17th at 7pm:


Ten Tables, June 14 at 5:30pm:


Rendezvous, June 15 at 5pm:


Craigie on Main, June 16 at 5:30pm:


Coda, June 15-17 at 5:00pm:


We hope to see you at some of these events!

SlowFest

A few weeks ago, Slow Food BU participated in SlowFest, Boston's first Session Beer Festival, with our friends at Slow Food Boston.

Session beer is beer with a lower alcohol content. According to the Session Beer Project, session beer is 4.5% alcohol by volume or less. This is the perfect excuse to slow down and enjoy more beers, and the session beers were the perfect pairing to the local food vendors present at the festival.

There were session beers of all kinds at SlowFest, and beer vendors present included Boston Beer Works (Boston, MA) and Cisco Brewers based in Nantucket, MA. See the complete list of beer vendors here.

(from left to right): Boston Beer Works and Cisco Brewers

Slow Food Boston brought together the local food vendors at the festival. The food vendors included Don Otto's from Boston's South End, Sherman Market from Somerville, Cuisine en Locale from Cambridge, and Nourish Restaurant from Lexington. For the list of local food vendors, go here.

Samples from Don Otto's

Speakers spoke about craft beer, and panel discussions addressed the local food movement. At the Saturday Session 2 panel, speakers included Jamey Lionette, previous owner of Lionette's Market in Boston, Niaz Dorry, coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Pete Lowy of Verrill Farm and Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds, and Jennifer Hasley of Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds and director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. Topics that were brought up included how the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project helps to connect people with limited resources who have an interest in agrculture to the resources that they need to begin a farm, sustainable fishing, ways to eat more locally and sustainably, and farmers who practice sustainable practices, such as integrated pest management, but are not certified organic.

Slow Foodies at the Slow Food table handing out Slow Food literature and samples of Iggy's bread, When Pigs Fly bread, Bonnie's Jams, and sauerkraut and kimchi from Real Pickles.

SlowFest was a wonderful way to end Earth Week, and a perfect excuse to slow down and enjoy craft beer and local food.

Sustainable Foods Video

Watch this Sustainable Foods Video by Anna Webster featuring JJ Gonson from Cuisine en Locale, Claire Kozower from Waltham Fields Community Farm, and Annabelle Ho from Slow Food BU.

HomeGrown Film Screening with Slow Food Boston

Slow Food BU kicked off the semester with a film screening of HomeGrown in a collaboration with Slow Food Boston.

HomeGrown explores the urban, organic farm Path to Freedom run by the Dervaes family in Pasadena, California. Although the family of four began the farm in order to feed themselves, they were doing so well that they began to sell their produce. Now, the Dervaes produce over 6,000 pounds of produce annually in less than a quarter of an acre! The family also produces their own biodiesel, power their computers using solar panels, use non-electric appliances such as those from Lehman's (hand-cranked blender, anyone?), and more. If you missed the film screening, we highly recommend watching the documentary and reading more about the urban homstead on their website and on their blog.

Following the film screening was a discussion panel featuring Jess Liborio from The Food Project, Lisa Gross from the Urban Homesteaders' League, and Nathan Phillips from BU (previously featured in the Boston Globe for his carbon neutral office!), moderated by Willow Blish from Slow Food Boston.

Panelists Jess Liborio, Lisa Gross and Nathan Phillips

The audience asked good questions for a lively and engaging discussion. We learned that there are many ways to incorporate growing your own food in urban areas with or without a backyard. If you live in an apartment, you may consider sprouting, growing herbs, or growing microgreens in your kitchen or on your windowsill. Or if you live in Boston and have a backyard, The Food Project may help you to build your very own raised bed through their Build-a-Garden program! Meanwhile, Green City Growers in Somerville installs raised beds, and even helps to maintain them for you. In addition, farmers markets now abound, more people are signing up for local CSA's (community supported agriculture), and more winter farmers markets are cropping up!

If you want to get your urban homestead on, you may consider joining the Meetup Group The Urban Homsteaders' League. Run by Lisa Gross, the UHL hosts and sponsors various urban homesteading events around the Cambridge area, and we will be co-sponsoring our next event with them, a No-Knead Bread Making Workshop, on January 31! (Our apologies, but this workshop is full! E-mail us if you want to join the waiting list).

Thanks to all the volunteers and speakers who helped to make this event happen!

If you missed HomeGrown, this was only part one of Slow Food Boston's 3rd Annual Film Series! Watch Two Angry Moms with Slow Food BU and Slow Food Boston on February 21, or join Slow Food Boston at Tufts for film screenings of The End of the Line and Bullshit. More details can be found here.

Krautin'

Alex Lewin, a lacto-fermentation expert, demonstated the basic how-to of sauerkrauting to a group of us this past Tuesday. Lacto-fermentation is way to preserve the fall harvest so that we can eat local vegetables year-round.

Why Preserve? It extends the "window of edibility" for that particular food and makes it available year-round. If you're not near the equator or in sunny cali, this is important if you strive to eat locally. In addtion, preservation create new tastes and textures; and in the case of sauerkraut, it also increases the nutrient and digestive benefits of the food. Besides fermentation, other methods of preservation are canning, freezing, refrigerating, and drying.
Is it Safe?? The Danger Zone for pathogenic bacteria is 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit. Alex believes that fermenting is much safer than canning, because you will KNOW when something has going wrong. IE if its slimy or furry-TOSS IT! If your senses are telling you something is not right, steer clear. Also, our ancestors all ate food that wasn't refrigerated-if that helps settle your stomach.
Doesn't That just get Moldy and Gross?? Leave a vegetable out to sit in the air, and yes, you'll get mold, and it will turn into an awful slimy mess. But, leave out a vegetable covered in liquid you get acid-forming bacteria (=good). These probiotic bacteria begin to pre-digest the food, making our digestive tract's job a little easier, and keeping things regular, if you know what I mean.

And without further ado, This is Alex's recipe:

Ingredients
Cabbage (the fresher the better!)
Sea Salt

Equipment
Wide Mouth 1 pint Mason Jars
Large Mixing Bowls
Cutting Board
Large Knife
Kitchen Scale

Preparation:
Weigh Cabbage and then chop, using a large chefs knife or a food processor

we're all about assembly-lines

You will need 1 pint jar and 2 tsp of salt for every pound of cabbage. Add the chopped cabbage and measured salt into a large mixing bowl and start to "knead" the cabbage (with clean hands!!). You want to start to break down the cell walls of the cabbage with the help of the salt, and draw the water out of the cabbage.

you too could have forearms like this, if you start 'krautin

Once the cabbage has released its liquid, pack it into the mason jar. You want to make sure that the liquid covers the cabbage and that there is room at the top. A smaller 1/2 pint jar make it easier to push down the sauerkraut. (again, we want liquid on top to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria). If the liquid does not cover the cabbage completely, make a brine (1 T salt:1cup water) as a substitute. (if your cabbage is fresh, preferably local, then the juice should not be hard to get out). Cover the jar and wait... Come back everyday to push down the cabbage, making sure it is always covered. After four days, taste it. If you like the way it tastes, put it in the fridge to bring the fermentation to a halt. At this point, it's all up to how sour you like your sauerkraut! It could be "ready" in a few days, or a few months, depending on personal preference and temperature.

Warning: Making Sauerkraut does produce a slight smell. Warn your roommates. They will probably be swayed after tasting your creations.

Variations-Wanna spice it up?? Well you can, literally!

• Add purple cabbage to make a more aesthetically pleasing 'kraut!

• Add herbs and spices!! Alex likes caraway, fennel, and anise seeds. You can add this pre-fermentation, or when serving


• Try fermenting other vegetables! parsnips, raddishes, turnips, carrots, or really any vegetable!

Alex is our new go-to sauerkraut guru. If you have any questions, check out his site- Feed Me Like You Mean It, or @reply him!

Sandor Katz's Book and website are also valuable resources!

**Thanks to Rachel from BU Today for taking some great photos with her fancy DSLR camera :) **

Your Local Farmers Markets!

With farmers markets popping up everywhere, more people participating in CSA's, and with cranberries, pumpkins, and winter squashes just coming into season for the fall, there has never been a more perfect time to get your local produce!

BU now has a farmers market right on campus, in front of the GSU! At 775 Commonwealth Ave., it runs on Thursdays from 12 pm - 4 pm, from June 25 - October 29. Read our previous post about it.

However, if you are otherwise occupied on Thursdays, or if you would like to venture beyond the grounds of BU for local produce, we have conveniently mapped the farmers markets that are in the Boston area! Go the the map link here.



For more information and listings about farmers markets in Massachusetts, look at Mass Farmers Markets, LocalHarvest, MassGrown's listing, and Edible Boston's list. LocalHarvest is also a good resource for those of you interested in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

And if you are unsure of when various produce is in season, check out this chart!

Photo source link

Enjoy the fresh produce while it's in season!

Cartography: Boston Street Food

For those who may be new to Boston and/or find themselves combing the streets for hidden urban treasures, let this is your guide. Boston officially doesn't allow mobile food vendors to operate in the city, but there are still some renegades that roam, and more beyond city limits, in Cambridge. There is nothing quite as good at establishing a sense of place than eating a dirty dog with mustard in the park, or feeling the high noon sunheat off the side of a taco truck, to remind you of where you are, who you're dealing with, and how to "do lunch" informally.

Street food is (usually) affordable, simple, and delicious, if only for the impromptu, almost clairvoyant nature of its existence. You're just starting to feel hungry, and there it is. A mobile outpost that is surprisingly, exactly what you want.


Check out this map of Boston carts from New York Magazine, and the full article here. And if you run into a good one not on this map, let us know so we can go there too!

Boston University's Farmer's Market!

We are very excited to announce that BU's Farmers Market will begin this Thursday, June 25th!!

For the first time the farmers market will feature several local farmers and vendors from the area, including baked goods from Big Sky Bakery based in Newton, MA and locally grown fruits and vegetables from Lanni Orchards of Lunenburg, MA!

Local artists will be present, selling artwork, jewelry, homemade crafts, and soaps. And to spice things up further, the farmers market will include rotational vendors!

So help support the local community by stopping by the George Sherman Union Plaza at 775 Commonwealth Ave. on Thursdays from 12:00-4:00 pm (June 25th-October 29), and get some fresh fruits and vegetables while you're at it!

The BU Farmers Market is run by BU Dining Services. Read their announcement of the farmers market here.

Local Thanksgiving:

A soup-to-nuts plan for a home-grown holiday meal (click here).Recipes for dairyless fennel soup, maple-whipped sweet potatoes, and deep dish pumpkin pie from New York Magazine. You can swap in these Boston-area farms to make it hyper-local. 

Stillman Farm - New Braintree, MA
Atlas Farm- Deerfield, MA
Grateful Farm - Franklin, MA
Red Fire Farm - Granby, MA
Happy Valley Cooperative Farms - Hadley, MA