FOOD ON THE FOOD

More Spring Events

I’m trying to get more than 24 hours ahead of the events I post.  Let’s see how I do this time: 

The 11th annual Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer is taking place all next week (May 3-9, Monday thru Sunday) at eateries in and around Boston, including Finale, Flour Bakery, Sofra, Mariposa Bakery, South End Formaggio, Aquitaine, Elephant Walk, Figs, Henrietta’s Table, and Hungry Mother.  Click here for the full list of participating restaurants, which extends well into the ‘burbs.  All proceeds from select desserts benefit breast cancer research and care at nearby Dana-Farber.  And I think we all know someone who might appreciate that.

On Friday, May 7 at 7 p.m., the Boston Museum of Science is hosting Food, Glorious Food: Our Palate vs. Our Planet.  Corby Kummer (The Atlantic Monthly) and Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery, Myers+Chang) join food sustainability expert Helene York in a discussion about balancing our enjoyment of food with the need to maintain a healthy planet.  Corby will also be signing copies of The Joy of Coffee and The Pleasures of Slow Food.  Event is free but seating is limited.  Passes available on first-come-first-served basis in Museum lobby starting at 5:45 p.m. the day of the event.

And, of course, don’t forget Sprout 2010, which helps fund Waltham Fields Community Farm in their important food distribution and education programs.  Event takes place on Saturday, May 8 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Charles River Museum of Industry with food, open bar, live music, and silent auction.  More info here.

Come to Sprout!

So my farm, Waltham Fields, is having a fundraiser open to the public and you should totally come.  It’s happening on Saturday, May 8 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the very cool Charles River Museum of Industry space in Waltham.  There will be food, music, open bar, raffles, and a silent auction with all kinds of awesome stuff like shares in Waltham Fields' sold-out CSA, Red Sox tickets, a tour of the cheese cave at Formaggio Kitchen, gift certificates to restaurants like Blue Ginger and Aquitaine, vineyard tours at Westport Rivers and Turtle Creek, and weekend getaways around New England.  You might even see me there, though don’t let that be the deciding factor.  I’m a master of disguise.

Community farms rely on community support to keep their educational programs, public access work, and food pantry donations going.  So if you live nearby and you like fun, and even if you don’t like fun, it always feels good to support a good cause.  Tickets are $35 for members, $40 for nonmembers, $25 for every ticket after your second.  For more info, go here.  Hope to see you there.  (Charles River Museum of Industry, 154 Moody St., Waltham)

More February Food Events

I’m beat from today’s treatment and the subsequent snowy traffic jam on Rt. 9, so how about an events list.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History is hosting a free Food for Thought lecture series, starting with “The Origins of Agriculture: Everything You Need to Know in 50 Minutes or Less” this Thursday, February 8. Dr. Bruce D. Smith of the Smithsonian talks about his research on the history-altering transition from hunting and gathering to large-scale food production, and its significance in understanding the current human condition. On Tuesday, February 23 is “From Cooking Food to Cooking the Planet: Growing Constraints to Food Production.” Dr. Samuel Myers of Harvard Medical School discusses the troubling trends that stand in the way of feeding an ever-increasing human population, from rising temperatures to changes in pests and pathogens, and how new approaches to sustainable agriculture will be necessary to achieve food security. Both are at 6 p.m. and open to the public. (Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, 617-495-3045)

If you’re worried about the food served in the public schools, then you may be interested in the film Two Angry Moms playing at BU on Sunday, February 21 at 3:30 p.m. The documentary follows two mothers who channel their disgust into working to improve the offerings at their children’s school cafeterias. Following the film will be a discussion of area school lunch programs with speakers Claire Kozower from Waltham Fields Community Farm, JJ Gonson of Cuisine en Locale, and Kim Szeto of the Boston Public Schools. Cost is $5 at the door by cash or check. (Boston University GSU Conference Auditorium, 775 Commonwealth Avenue, 2nd Floor)

Interested in joining a CSA? On Thursday, February 25 at 6 p.m. is the Arlington CSA Farm Share Fair where representatives from more than 20 area farms will be on hand to answer any questions and/or sign you up for a 2010 summer CSA share. Farmers are also invited to sell their produce, so bring a bag/cash. (Park Avenue Congregational Church (Parish Hall), 50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington Heights)

Also, two more weeks left for the Wayland Winter Farmer’s Market (though the Natick market continues through March).

To Market, To Market

That was quite a winter farmer’s market out in Wayland on Saturday. Wow. Picture, if you dare, what the Russell’s parking lot looks like during the first warm week of spring and that should give you an idea of the kind of numbers we’re talking about. People were commenting about the crowds and someone noted, “The Globe ran an article last week.” Somebody else chimed in, “Yeah, and some lady wrote about it on her blog.” What? Who? Well, lots of people have been writing about it on their blogs lately, not just me, but I slipped away from the group and around the corner to the relative safety of the gelato stand just in case. (Gelato Guy has the potential to be my new best friend though he doesn’t know it, yet.)

This is not to dissuade anyone from going. It was all perfectly civilized. That it was so successful is a very good sign, both in terms of support for local farmers as well as local businesses. Judging by the activity at the registers, Russell’s was benefiting from this brilliant collaboration as well (I still have my eye on a particular kite). Also, I don’t know if this was part of the regular gig or not, but there were lots of tables with yarn and pretty knitted things for sale, which made a lot of sense given the farm-oriented theme. The Preschooler enjoyed looking at the angora rabbits and touching the fluffy heaps of wool in the display baskets.

As far as food, there was soup to sample and honey to buy, grass-feed beef from Springdell Farm in Littleton, fresh seafood from Globe Fish, apples from Groton, and tons of beautiful vegetables. Red Fire Farm in Granby had pretty much every root vegetable you could think of, plus garlic and kale. E and T Farms had lovely salad and micro greens that they grow hydroponically on their Cape Cod koi farm. Winter Moon Organic Farm in Hadley had parsnips, celery root, and watermelon radishes. Then I saw they were also selling organic popcorn AND POLENTA, and my budget was shot.

I cannot emphasize enough the moral-boosting properties of going to a market in a lush, heated greenhouse in the dead of winter. Makes you feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. A big, warm, potentially-cancer-causing-but-simultan-eously-life-giving ball of light. I forgot my camera, but there are some nice photographs of the market up at Serious Eats with a write-up by Penny at BostonZest. I wonder what other kinds of community partnerships like this could be forged?

Only three more shopping weeks left!

Some Winter Food Notes

It’s that time of year again when normally good-natured people become vicious and back-stabbing in order to secure a spot in their summer CSA of choice. Just kidding, we’re not really like that (she says while sharpening her knives). What? My knives really do need sharpening. It’s just a coincidence.

I’ve moved the list of local farms to the left hand column under Farms and Food if you want to peruse your options. (Incidentally, my favorite food blog links are listed in that same spot on their own separate pages because the sidebar lists were starting to give me a headache).

If you can’t wait until the summer for fresh, local produce, and I know I can’t, there’s a new winter farmer’s market on Saturdays starting tomorrow through Feb. 27 at Russell’s Garden Center located at 397 Boston Post Rd. (Rt. 20) in Wayland from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Boston Localvores has the scoop on that. There’s another winter farmer’s market going on in Natick on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Johnson School at 99 South Main St. (Rt. 27). You can learn more from FoodieMommy.

Let’s see, what else? Oh, Drumlin Farm is having their annual winter harvest meal on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Menu includes fresh cheese, kale soup, vegetable frittata, Drumlin meat, roasted winter vegetables, and homemade pumpkin pie. Author Brian Donahue (Reclaiming the Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New England Town and The Great Meadow: Farmers and the Land in Colonial Concord) will speak. Tickets are $32 for members, $40 for nonmembers. Call 781-259-2206 by January 30 to reserve a spot.

Finally, there’s a burger throwdown going on in Boston on Monday, Feb. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Nine Zero Hotel between Ken Oringer, James Beard Award-winning chef of KO Prime, and his “challengers,” including Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger), Andy Husbands (Tremont 647), Jamie Bissonette (Toro, Coppa), Michael Schlow (Radius, Via Matta), Jay Haaj (Mike’s City Diner), and Greg Reeves (Green Street Grill), among others. Twenty-five bucks lets you sample 10 burgers and vote for your favorite one. Event benefits Autism Speaks.

Thursday is "Help Grow A Farm" Day

Okay, I just made that up. But do you care about the future of local farming in the Boston area? If so, two communities could use your support: Lexington and Waltham.

Ninety-year-old Busa Farm in Lexington is in the process of being sold to the Town. The land use is limited to recreation, open space, historic preservation, or affordable housing due to the type of funds involved in the sale. While the idea of soccer fields has been formally proposed, a group of Lexington residents is advocating that the Town keep the land devoted to agriculture as a community farm, where it would provide local food as well as opportunities for recreation, employment, and education.

This Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of Our Redeemer, the Lexington Community Farm Coalition is holding a panel entitled “A Year in the Life of a Community Farm,” where various local growers are slated to speak about the importance of sustainable agriculture in our communities. Come listen, maybe even chat about your experiences with (or developing interest in) community-supported farms. Once good land is gone, it’s really hard to get it back. Event is open to all. (Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam St., Lexington)

Also on Thursday, December 3 at 7 p.m., representatives of Waltham Fields will be at Waltham City Hall to advocate for a fair reuse plan for the former Fernald School property. The closing of the Fernald School, right around the corner from Waltham Fields, represents one of those unusual opportunities to acquire land for positive community uses like farming. More voices are always welcome. (Waltham City Hall, Council Chamber, Second Floor, 610 Main St., Waltham)

Tryp-to-fun

I know. Worst pun ever. But...

Looking for something to fill you up between now and Thanksgiving? Preferably something that won’t put you to sleep? A few local events to consider:

Novella Carpenter is reading from her Farm City memoir in Fort Point this evening, Friday, November 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Yes, I know that’s just two hours from now. Did you already have plans? Joan Teebagy will also be there to talk about raising your own chickens in your backyard. Cost is $10. RSVP here. (Fort Point Artists Community store, 12 Farnsworth St, Boston, next to the new Flour Bakery, 617-423-1100)

Did you know that some of the best food around can be found at local-foods-oriented potlucks? It’s true. This weekend, Boston Localvores and the Urban Homesteaders’ League are hosting one on Sunday, November 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Inman Square. Bring a seasonal dish or beverage to share. Event is free. (Outpost 186, 186½ Hampshire St, Inman Square, Cambridge)

There’s a special screening of the Danish film, Babette’s Feast, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on Monday, November 16 at 7 p.m. It will be followed by a discussion of the sense of taste led by food scientist Guy Crosby of Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen. Tix are $9.75 for adults, $6.75 for children, seniors, or members. (Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-734-2500)

Maybe there’s some other stuff going on, too? Whatcha got?

What Are You Doing On Saturday?

This Saturday, May 9, Boston University is hosting an international conference called The Future of Food: Transatlantic Perspectives, which is free and open to the public.  They have five sessions scheduled with a host of international speakers to discuss the sustainability of our current food system, including a closer look at the global food chain, geopolitics, food safety, climate change, and the ethics of eating.  Speakers include Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation; Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty; and Michael Ableman, farmer and author of Fields of Plenty.  Did I mention it’s free?  And open to the public?  (There are also some other events this Friday, but those have limited seating and may be full—you’d have to check.) 

The schedule is here.  Go if you can.

Shear Deliciousness

A handful of spring events coming up in the next few weeks:

Drumlin Farm’s annual Woolapalooza takes place this Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with sheep shearing and sheepherding demonstrations, as well as a peek at the season’s new lambs.  Adults: $8 members, $10 nonmembers.  Children: $6 members, $8 nonmembers.  (Drumlin Farm, 208 South Great Rd., Lincoln, MA, 781-259-2206)

Homegrown is sponsoring a Soup Swap this Saturday, March 28 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Atwood’s Tavern in Inman Square.  Bring six 1-qt. frozen servings of your favorite soup to exchange.  Please also bring a donation to the Greater Boston Food Bank, either canned soup or cash.  (Atwood’s Tavern, 877 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA, 617-864-2792)

If you like Indian food as much as I do, then head north to Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum for its Sensational India! festival on the weekend of April 4-5.  Award-winning writer and actress Madhur Jaffrey will be speaking and signing copies of her memoir, Climbing the Mango Trees.  Also, chef Shruti Mehta will demonstrate regional Indian cooking techniques.  Be sure to check out the music, dancing, film, paintings, and sculpture, too.  See Web site for schedule of events, which are included in the price of general admission. Adults $15, seniors $13, students $11.  Free: kids 16 and under, members, and Salem residents. (Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem, MA, 978-745-9500)

Or, if you happen to be down the Cape that weekend, Truro Vineyards is reopening for the season.  They’re offering complimentary wine-tastings for all guests on April 3-5, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.  (Truro Vineyards, Route 6A, North Truro, MA, 508-487-6200)

Maple Month

March is Maple Month, which means it’s time for pancakes and scones and pork chops and whatever else you might pour maple syrup on top of.  The possibilities are endless.  The taps are going all over the state, so get your asses over to a farm sometime this month and stock up.  Some maple-related events for the calendar:

If you’re up for a Sunday drive, the Hardwick Sugar Shack has an open house every Sunday in March from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., where you can watch the syrup-making process take place from tree to table while sipping mulled maple cider.  They have horses, too, and I hear it’s pretty nice.  I’m thinking of heading out there myself.  (Hardwick Sugar Shack, 572 Jackson, Hardwick, MA, 413-477-0932)

Closer to Boston is Drumlin’s Sap to Syrup Farmer’s Breakfast on March 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.   Enjoy local sausages, potatoes, and, of course, pancakes with maple syrup made the old-fashioned way.  Cost is $14 for adults, $11 for children, kids under 3 are free.  Register soon as it tends to sell out.  (Drumlin Farm, 208 South Great Rd., Lincoln, MA, 781-259-2206)

Cookies Incoming

You’ve seen these before.  They’re seven-layer cookies, also known as magic bars.  I usually only make them around Christmastime because they seem too decadent otherwise, but I had another occasion come up this time. 

Susan over at She’s Becoming DoughMESStic has started Operation Baking GALS, where people can send baked goods to support and boost the morale of our troops abroad.  The first destination: Iraq.  The mission: to bombard our soldiers with deliciousness.  I can just hear you all saying, “Why do they need a morale boost?  Aren’t things going great in Iraq?”  The answer is no.  They are not.  Cookies probably won’t help, but it’s a start.

I come from a military family myself, and, in fact, represent the first generation that was too scared to join the armed forces (I like to take my jabs from a safe distance).  So this is my way of saying thanks.  I chose seven-layer cookies for three reasons: because they’re delicious, they travel well, and seemingly nothing can destroy them.  Not bombs.  Not anything.  Maybe if we build a very tall wall of seven-layer cookies around our troops, we won’t lose any more. 

I'm a little late getting these out since I was away last weekend, but something tells me we’ll still be over there.  Want to send your own package of goodies?  Find out how you can get involved here.

June 2008 Paper Chef Verdict

Wow, I’m so impressed.  There were seven entries for Paper Chef this month, and they all looked really, really good.  As you may recall, the ingredients were leeks, English peas, buckwheat, and (local) lamb.  You can see the roundup of links and photos here. 

Judging was not easy.  First of all, I would have eaten every single one of these dishes and gone back for seconds (luckily, this was just a virtual tasting).  Also, I didn’t know what half the things were that people made.  Here’s a little vocabulary lesson:

Frikadellen: Northern European meatballs
Kefta: Moroccan meatballs
Sugo: Italian long-simmered, meaty sauce
Soubise: Béchamel (white sauce) flavored with puréed onions
Kasha Varnishka: Best I can tell, a Yiddish dish of toasted buckwheat groats with egg noodles and vegetables.

How the hell do you judge something like this when you have to keep whipping out the dictionary every five minutes?  Clearly, I’m not the best one for the job, but you’re stuck with me so let’s see how I shook the dice.

I was looking for a recipe that integrated all of the ingredients into a cohesive dish, but which was also respectful of the individual ingredients, allowing each one the opportunity to shine.  The use of local lamb helped since the theme was local.  And, finally, there was the issue of how well I, in all my finite wisdom, thought it would taste.

Eventually, I arrived at a winner.  But first, the runners-up in no particular order:

For adversity: Feeding Maybelle for powering through her power outage. Never in a million years would I have followed through with orange curried lamb with toasted buckwheat in tangerine vinaigrette.  I would have given up and ordered pizza. 

For supporting local farms: Living in the Kitchen with Puppies with her Greek-style lamb pot pies.

For diplomacy: My Kitchen in Half Cups for finally (finally!) bringing the Moroccans and the Russians back to the table with Kefta Varnishkas.  The tension was getting to be too much.

For photography: Lucullian Delights who can make even soup with meatballs look elegant.

For spirit: Alosha’s Kitchen for her infectious enthusiasm during her stellar first-ever blogging event submission of lamb and buckwheat meatballs with pea and leek purée.  Have you ever seen a more gracious competitor?  Give that girl a trophy for awesomeness.  

AND THE WINNER IS:

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook who made his own buckwheat pasta and utilized local lamb for his mouth-watering spring lamb sugo.  Congratulations! 

And the People’s Choice winner by popular vote:

Eat Me! for his buckwheat galettes filled with ground lamb and peas with leek soubise, which, incidentally, was my second choice!

Good job, everyone.  Hope you all had fun and thanks for participating!!

Paper Chef No. 30: June 2008

I don’t know if you knew this, but I won the Paper Chef competition last month.  And it was a nail-biter, too, because it was me against, uh…one other person.  See, I don’t always plan things poorly. 

The other contender was Ilva at Lucullian Delights, who runs the event.  But lest you think that made it easy for me to win, just know that Ilva can cook me under the table any day of the week.  Any day but that particular day, I guess.  Or maybe last month’s judge was just feeling generous. 

According to the rules, I become the judge of this month’s games.  Which means I’ve spent the better part of the day drunk on power.  Every time anyone in the house opens his mouth, I bang my meat mallet on the countertop and yell things like, “Order in the court” and “Contempt!”  Whoever wins Paper Chef this time is going to have to pry my makeshift gavel out of my arthritic hands.  It won’t be hard, I can assure you.

Without further ado, the ingredients for June (selected randomly from your suggestions) are:

English peas
Leeks
Buckwheat

And the fourth ingredient of my own choosing:

Local lamb

The lamb doesn’t have to be local, but you just might curry favor with your judge if it is (or if any of your other ingredients are) because this month’s theme is “local.”  Big freaking surprise, I know.  You can define local however you want, but within your own country is a good start.  So, mention the names of your farm sources in your post.  If you don’t have access to local lamb, don’t fret.  You will not be disqualified.  This is just a way to get some names out there since the small farmers don’t generally have any kind of PR budget unlike their well-funded competition.

So, get cooking.  For the love of god (or whoever shames you), it doesn’t have to be a clean fight, but let there at least be some kind of fight involved this time.  The official rules are at the new Paper Chef blog, but, basically, just make something with these four ingredients, post about it by midnight on Tuesday, June 10, and send a link to Ilva.  Okay?  Simple enough?

Good luck.  This court is now adjourned.  (Bang!)