Slow Food Asheville Events
Have You Ever Wondered How Chocolate Was
Made??? Well….
On February 20th, 2:00-4:30pm, David Mason from Black Mountain
Chocolate will show us! David will take us start to finish through
the processes at his facility. There will be several different
origins of chocolate to taste along with some nibs. We would like
everyone to bring their favorite chocolate finger food or snack to share
as we take our tour. Fresh made hot chocolate, using David’s
chocolate, will be available for sale and we will be having a raffle to
win a goodie bag of chocolate! The cost for this wonderful educational
event will be $5.00. Raffle tickets will be $1.00, and hot chocolate
is $3.00 per cup. All proceeds will support Slow Food’s on-going
educational programs. If you have any questions or need directions,
please refer to David’s website: www.blackmountainchocolate.com
or contact Tia Bednar at 828-215-4684.Come Join Us For Chocolate Bliss
Made Locally!!!
Cornbread Butterbeans and You
Across the Table! Appalachian Food Traditions Pot-luck
Thursday, February 25th,
6:30pm
Gary Paul Nabhan, founder of Slow Food's Renewing America's Food
Traditions (RAFT), will join us for an Appalachian supper at Warren
Wilson College! We have a rich history of food in this area. Pork dishes,
hearty bean soups, greens cooked to silky perfection, and corn pone are
perfect winter food. Please bring a down home dish to share. Bring some
wine or hard cider to share if you like. We will be in the Ransom
Fellowship Hall on the upper level. Please see this link to the campus map
for more detailed directions http://www.warren-wilson.edu/info/campus_map.php. Space
is limited to 60 for this event so please register at http://www.slowfoodasheville.org/Forms/attend_aft.htm
to RSVP or
Comfort Foods: Love, Memories,
and Stories Sunday, March 14, 6 pm at the Hawk
and Ivy B&B
Foods from the heart. Bring your own favorite comfort dish, its story
and the recipe. This will be great fun as we eat and share tale. We will
supply dishes, utensils, tea/cafe, and a little wine. Space is very
limited. Please call or email to reserve. Cost: $10 a person. Call Eve or
James Davis 828-626-3486; email: info@hawkandivy.com.
Directions: Coming from the south, east or west toward
Asheville, take 1_240. Turn north on 19/23 North, now called I-26 W, at
Exit 4A, toward Weaverville. Go 12 miles to the Jupiter/Barnardsville
Exit. Exit 15. Turn right and continue 6.5t miles to our house #133 on the
right, green house with a red roof. From the north take I-26 to Exit 15,
turn left and continue 6.5 mi. to #133 on the right. Park in the field to
the left, across the street from the Hawk and Ivy.
Dear friends,
More than 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch
Program. Many consume as many as half their daily calories at school.
Helping schools serve real food may be the most promising way to end
child obesity - but it simply can't happen unless Congress invests in
healthier food in the upcoming Child Nutrition Act.
Will you send an email to your legislators to
help schools serve real food?
As an organization, Slow Food gets involved in policy when we see big
problems with America's food system that can only be solved if citizens
speak up. Teaching children to make good food choices will require hard
work from parents, schools, non-profits, the private sector and
government. But an enormously important step is to ensure that the
National School Lunch Program isn't undermining those efforts, and is
instead serving kids the healthy food they need to grow up into able,
productive adults.
On a conference
call this week, USDA Secretary Vilsack said that the most
important thing citizens can do to get healthier food into their local
schools is to urge Congress to pass a strong Child Nutrition Act. This
issue has broad public support, he said, but it isn't appearing in the
national media - so we need to make sure Congress gets the
message.
That's where you come in. Now that Michelle Obama is leading the
charge, Congress will begin updating the Child Nutrition Act this month.
If legislators hear support from citizens back home, they'll have the
opportunity to invest in healthier food, strengthen nutrition standards,
and equip schools to buy local and cook meals from scratch.
So please take a minute to email
your legislators today.
Thank you, Gordon Jenkins - Advocacy Manager - Slow Food
USA
Regional
Events:
Celebrating the Second Annual National Truffle Fest
February 25th through 27th at the majestic Grand
Bohemian Hotel, Asheville, NC. Truffles: An
exquisitely earthy mushroom that connects farmers to chefs and
dog-trainers to foodies!
Award-winning chefs and outstanding winemakers are celebrating
North Carolina's growing truffle industry. In North Carolina, truffle
farming and truffle-hunting dogs are grabbing headlines. The crops are
competitive and commanding $700-$2,000 per pound! At this decadent
weekend event guests will indulge in samplings of the French Perigord
truffle, rub shoulders with their favorite local chefs, take part in
cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and even a truffle-dog hunting
course.
This year's National Truffle Fest takes place in the rustic beauty of
the Grand Bohemian and pairs some of Asheville’s most highly-acclaimed
restaurants, The Red Stag Grill, Bouchon, and The Flying Frog, with
outstanding winemakers for an evening of unforgettable
dining.
Six top chefs, including John Currence, the James Beard Foundation’s
“Best Chef South” 2009 award-winner, will go head to head in a sumptuous
risotto competition. Click here to see which talented chef may
create the finest dish of the event! See the schedule of events and
book your stay at: www.NationalTruffleFest.com
Want to know more about Truffles? check out http://www.wncmagazine.com/blog/taste_of_wnc/black_gold
Announcing Two Contest Opportunities for
Youth
www.cookingupchange.org Cooking
Up Change challenges teams of high school and college students to create a
healthful and delicious school meal that meets the Institute of Medicine
nutrition standards, incorporates a local food item, draws from
ingredients commonly available to food service, and can be easily prepared
in a school kitchen. Finalists will prepare their recipes in Detroit for a
prestigious panel of judges. Conference participants will sample the
teams? delicious creations. Submit your recipes online by March 26,
2010. For contest guidelines and information, visit www.cookingupchange.org.
Real Food Is?2010 National Video Contest challenges students to define
what real food means to them by creating a short video that completes the
phrase "Real Food is..." Created by the National Farm to School Network
<http://farmtoschool.org> and
sponsored by the Lunch Box Project <http://www.thelunchbox.org/> ,
this contest is open to K-12 and college students and runs until March 29,
2010. The winners will receive $1,000 and an all expenses paid trip to the
conference to show their videos during the opening plenary. More info is
available at video.farmtoschool.org.
17th
Annual Organic Growers School Spring Conference March 6 & 7, 2010 at the
University of North Carolina at Asheville.
Registration is now
open!
We are very excited to have
established a partnership with UNCA, and will be making the big move to
downtown Asheville in 2010! Join over 1300 farmers, gardeners, chefs,
activists, and conscious consumers for a smorgasbord of learning and
networking, right in the heart of Asheville.
View the
class schedule
View Children's Program
Schedule
View a MAP
of the UNCA Campus
The Organic Growers School
Spring Conference is a one-of-a-kind event that brings people of all walks
of life together for a weekend of learning and networking near Asheville,
North Carolina. Since 1993, the OGS Spring Conference has been the best
way to kick-off the season, with over 70 classes and hands on workshops on
a variety of topics, from starting your first vegetable garden, baking
bread, and saving on home energy costs, to raising your own goat herd. The
mission of OGS is to provide down-to-earth, practical advice on growing
and sustainable living, while remaining affordable and accessible to
anyone wanting to participate. Need more info? Contact
us.
Asheville Artisan Bread Bakers Festival –
2010 MARCH 20, 2010
GREENLIFE GROCERY (70 Merrimon Ave) 10am – 2pm: Bakers’
showcase. Taste bread from 15 local, artisan bakeries. Meet the bakers.
Taste cheese from two local dairies. Buy a loaf of bread and get a ticket
to any workshop.
GREENLIFE GROCERY – teaching kitchen (70 Merrimon Ave) 1:00 – 2:30pm:
EMILY BUELHER – baker, author
Hand Kneading for Beginners Learn to knead a basic loaf of
bread! We'll make a simple recipe, and talk about the chemistry of
the dough, ways to make kneading easier, and how to tell when the dough is
"done." Then we'll discuss how to bake your dough when you get it
home!
3:00 – 4:30pm: JEN LAPIDUS – baker, project coordinator of the
North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project, an initiative of the Carolina
Farm Stewardship Association
Linking the Farmer, the Miller, and the Baker: A North Carolina Local
Bread Wheat Endeavor As a project of Carolina Farm Stewardship
Association, the North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project has received a
two-year grant from the NC Tobacco Trust and Santa Fe Tobacco to lay the
groundwork for the cleaning, storing, and milling of North Carolina
organic hard and soft wheat, and other small grain in western North
Carolina.
1pm – 4:30pm: MARK ROSENSTEIN – chef, author
Wood-fired Brick Oven Workshop Chef
Rosenstein, who just sold his restaurant after three decades of providing
Asheville with his ground-breaking approach to local food, will
demonstrate the use of a back-yard wood-fired brick oven. (Directions to
the workshop will be available at the festival.)
1pm – 4:30pm: DAVE BAUER – baker, owner Farm & Sparrow
Bakery
Wood-fired Brick Oven Workshop Farm &
Sparrow Bakery has just christened its new 6' by 10' wood-fired brick
oven. Dave will demonstrate the workings of this unique oven – an
triple-wide door system with semi-automatic opening,advanced flue
technology, etc. (Directions to the workshop will be available at the
festival.)
A-B TECH MAGNOLIA BUILDING – demonstration
auditorium
2:30 - 4pm: PETER REINHART – author, baker – Johnson&Wales
University
Artisan Breads Every Day In this demonstration class,
we will examine some of the recent new methods and books, such as
"Artisan Baking in Five Minutes a Day" and "Kneadlessly SImple," also the
NY Times/Jim Lahey French Bread method, as well as Reinhart's new book.
All of these books challenge standard baking conventions and norms, even
those of artisan bakeries, and push into new frontiers and possibilities
for making great bread, simply and easily.
A-B TECH MAGNOLIA BUILDING – baking kitchen
Noon – 2:00: LIONEL VATINET – baker, owner Le Farm (Cary,
NC)
Country French Bread Lionel Vatinet
leads this introductory bread class about the basics and fundamentals of
"le pain francais". Learn everything about the essential elements of great
French bread including Lionel’s signature kneading technique, shaping the
dough and how to build the crust in your home oven.
2:30 – 4:30pm: LIONEL VATINET – baker, owner Le Farm (Cary,
NC)
Whole Grain Breads Whole Grain is THE buzz word now. Come
learn the art & expertise of working with La Farm’s master baker on
whole grain breads: 100% whole Wheat bread and La Farm's popular
Multi-grain bread.
Each workshop has limited space; a separate ticket is required for
each session. You can get a workshop ticket for each of loaf of bread you
purchase (as long as tickets are available).
Driving directions from Greenlife Grocery to the A-B Tech Magnolia
Building:
* turn right out of the Greenlife parking lot onto Merrimon
Avenue. * go south on Merrimon Ave., under the interstate and
through town (the name changes to Biltmore Ave.). * keep going
south on Biltmore Ave. for a total distance of about 1.6 miles. *
turn right onto Victoria Road towards the A-B Tech campus. * turn
right at the sign for the Bread Festival and up the hill to the Magnolia
Building.
Looking for a CSA Share?
Gladheart Farms is located within the city
limits of Asheville, NC, just five minutes from the downtown. Our unique
location enables us to deliver the freshest possible produce to many local
retailers and restaurants, as well as offer a convenient CSA
pickup at our farm
stand. Local food is fresher because it is picked and delivered
the same day. Our produce doesn’t have to travel thousands of miles before
it gets to your plate or home. When you buy from Gladheart Farms your food
is coming from your neighbors right down the road. http://gladheartfarms.com/
Basic Agricultural/Radioics
class
This is a class that will explain how to determine if the
nutrients we are using on our soil are beneficial or not. Lutie Larson,
the foremost Agricultural/Radionic teacher in the world, has been using a
technique called radionics on her experimental farm for over 20 years.
Learn how to analyze soil, to correctly determine the needed nutrients,
pest-control etc.
We will learn what the Life Field is and how to monitor
it. This will be a weekend intensive on March 12, 13 and 14 in the
Asheville area. The cost is $300 which will include extensive material and
the needed technology to monitor the Life Field. Daily schedule and exact
location to be determined soon.
Please contact Michael Bahnson in the Asheville area at
828-683-6935 Lisa Black in the Hendersonville area at 828-692-7096 or
828-699-9120
Seeking Input for New Fermentation Book - Sandor
Ellix Katz
In the years since I wrote Wild Fermentation, not only
has my personal fermentation practice expanded and evolved considerably,
but also I have had the unique privilege of discussing fermentation and
corresponding about it with thousands of people. This has yielded much new
information, caused me to investigate new aspects, and brought me new
insights. I wish to share this, and so I am writing another book about
fermentation.
I am writing to invite you and other fermentation
enthusiasts to contribute information, ideas, and images to this project.
Here are a few ways you can help:
QUESTIONNAIRE: Please give some thought to the questions
below and email me your responses. Also, please forward to other folks who
might be interested. IMAGES: This book will feature more graphics, so I
am on the lookout. Specifically, I am seeking: ART depicting
fermentation themes or using fermented materials; MICROSCOPY of
fermented foods and the organisms that make them; QUALITY PHOTOS of
ferments, either homemade, or in indigenous
contexts.
SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS: This book will include a chapter
with information pertaining to starting fermentation-related business
enterprises. Following the general questionnaire below are some questions
for commercial fermenters about special considerations for people starting
up fermentation businesses.
BEER-MAKER-MALTERS: Anyone out there malting their own
barley? Or using wild fermentation for beermaking? If you do, or if you
know any, please do be in touch. I am also on the lookout for folks who
ferment POI, FUFU, GARI, SORGHUM BEER, CHANG, or other ferments not
covered in Wild Fermentation.
And a few other matters:
EMAIL ADDRESS CHANGE: Please update your address books.
My correct and current email address is sandorkraut@wildfermentation.com.
I am phasing out sandorkraut@heartoftn.net,
which I used for years.
QUESTIONS FOR FERMENTERS 1. Can you think of any
practical tips you wish you had had when you embarked upon a fermentation
project? 2. Are there any common misunderstandings or fears that you
have encountered talking to people about your fermentation projects? 3.
Can you describe any unusual flavor, ingredient, or process variations
that you have tried and especially liked? 4. Can you articulate any
important life lessons you have learned from your fermentation
practice?
QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMERCIAL FERMENTATION 1. Please
describe your fermentation business: type of products, scale of business,
geographic location. 2. Can you describe any special scrutiny or
hurdles you faced in commercial licensing because you are producing
fermented products? 3. When you scaled up to commercial production,
were there any specific challenges related to fermenting at a larger
scale, or maintaining consistency? Could you articulate some of what you
learned from that? 4. What do use for fermentation vessels? Please
describe your physical set-up. 5. What advice or reflections would you
offer to someone thinking about starting a fermentation
venture?
Please email: sandorkraut@wildfermentation.com |