Slow Food Piedmont Triad

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October 1, 2006
Open House with a focus on Local Meats!
Goat Lady Dairy, Randolph County
1-5 p.m.

All friends of Slow Food are encouraged to come out to the country to enjoy the fall Open House. Each spring and fall the Tate Family opens their farm and dairy for visitors to get up close and personal to the goats, chickens, pigs and cows, tour the organic gardens and pastures, taste and buy handmade cheese and learn firsthand about one family's efforts to establish sustainable, local agriculture. This fall Slow Food is sponsoring a special emphasis at the Open House to help us all learn about the many local farms now producing clean raised meats. We have invited farmers producing pork, beef, ostrich, chicken, lamb and goat to help us learn about their production methods and bring meat for sale. This event is free and open to all except PLEASE, do NOT bring your pets! (strange animals really stress out the animals who live there)

Don't forget to bring a cooler!

For directions to Goat Lady Dairy, see their web site at
http://www.goatladydairy.com.

Middle school kids from Greensboro Montessori (on Horsepen Creek Road, 688-0119) harvested, prepared and served food from their school garden last Saturday, September 16 at the Greensboro Curb Market. Chef Brian Dahlstrom, head chef at the Greensboro coliseum, along with Mary Ellen Smith, their kitchen and catering manager volunteered their time and equipment to conduct a tasting of autumn food. Angie Thompson and Jon McLean of the Montessori school came along for support and picture taking.

Everyone got there early at 7am, heated the grill, sliced and diced, and eventually offered a delicious vegetable hash of potatoes, butternut squash, onion, peppers and basil served on a toasted tortilla to hundreds of marketers.



Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the food. It is part of Slow Food's presence at the Saturday market as well as a demonstration of the fruits of a school garden. We hope to do it again soon.

Charlie Headington

September 16, 7am-11am

Taste the bounty of the Greensboro Montessori School gardens as its students slice, prepare, and share their autumn harvest with friends of the market.

Look for chef Brian and the kids in the Tasting Booth at the Greensboro Farmer's Curb Market, corner of Lindsay and Yanceyville, across from the old baseball stadium, from 7am-11am.

Support Slow Food, school kids and school gardens.

A couple of weeks ago Chef Peters impressed and entertained the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market crowd with his amazing ability to transform fruit into art. Chef Peters works at Heritage Woods Retirement Community as a chef but has practiced the skill of fruit carving for years.

Using a fine gauged set of instruments as well as regular knives, he created a flower bouquet on the face of a watermelon, coaxed a swan from an apple and dressed up many other pieces of fruit. Carved fruit makes a wonderful table top display.

In conjunction with our theme of seasonal fruit, we served up smoothies Slow Food style; all local ingredients except the bananas. Favorites included a banana/watermelon/mint/honey smoothie and a peach/cantelope/banana/blueberry one. We tried every combination available to us and they were all good. There really isn’t a recipe for these healthful concoctions, simply take fruit and a little ice and blend it thoroughly. To thin add orange juice, to avoid using ice use frozen fruit in addition to fresh.

As always, thanks so much to Mary Ellen, our visiting chef Tom Peters, and all the market vendors who provided the delicious produce that made the event possible.

See you September 16th when the Montessori kids and Charlie Headington whip up some wonderful creations fresh from their Edible Schoolyard.

This weekend is a great time to stop by the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market at the corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay streets. Slow Food is hosting another day of culinary creativeness, this time with guest chef Tom Peters.

The focus will be on REFRESHING and the bounty of fruits available at the market. Cantelope, peaches, watermelon and even a few blueberries and early apples are ripe right now.

On Saturday from 7:30 to 11 or so you'll find us at the booth with the striped awning sharing delicious tastings of blended fruit drinks and displaying examples of how to decorate your table with fruit. Fruit as food, fruit as art!

See you there!

This Saturday’s Slow Food booth at the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market was a great deal of fun. Chef Bryan Dahlstrom, the Executive Chef for Centerplate at the Greensboro Coliseum, volunteered his time to serve up a wonderful combination of market ingredients. Bryan’s recipe for Farmhouse Bruschetta calls for using sourdough bread from Simple Kneads and heirloom tomatoes as a base to build on, then letting your imagination run wild with all of the great choices for toppings available at the market.

Donations of sourdough bread from Simple Kneads, feta cheese from Goat Lady Dairy, baba ganoush and hummus from Zaytoon, as well as purchases of heirloom tomatoes from Handance Farm, butter from the Amish farmstead, and lots of little extras from other market vendors gave us the very best ingredients to work with. The crowds were thick as Bryan and Mary Ellen (a dedicated Slow Food enthusiast and head of food service for the entire coliseum) cooked and served up a delightful array of bruschettas. Bryan’s daughter Monique was on hand too, and chopped greens, drizzled olive oil, and added the final touches to the taste treats. Over and over we gave directions to the vendors responsible for such amazing bread, tomatoes, butter and cheese. Lots of mini lessons on the value of heirlooms throughout the day too! People could not believe the taste!

Not sure how many people we served that day, but we stopped counting mid-morning at around 250 so it was many more than that. The primary recipe we served (sourdough bread, butter, soft cheese, heirloom tomatoes, mesculin greens, basil olive oil and sea salt) appears below and was touted by many as the best bruschetta they’d ever had. I agree wholeheartedly. In addition to the basic recipe, we served bruschetta topped with an ever varying array of baba ganoush, hummus, cheddar cheese, feta, arugula and porcini oil. Lots of double tasters assured us that all the selections were crowd pleasers.

As Executive Chef for the Greensboro Coliseum, Bryan is responsible for a wide range of culinary events including luncheon meetings for groups such as the Greensboro Sports' Council, the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments and other local civic groups' formal business meetings, conventions such as the Southern Baptist National Convention, backstage catering for concerts, and VIP hospitality areas at large scale sporting events such as the ACC and NCAA basketball tournaments. Bryan and his family are newcomers to the Greensboro area having recently relocated from Jacksonville Florida where Bryan was the head pastry chef at the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium. His delightful recipe follows:

Grilled Farmhouse Bruschetta

One loaf of crusty artisan bread, sliced thin, preferably sourdough
1 pound of farmhouse cheddar, soft fromage or goat cheese
Approx 8 -10 cups tender leafy salad greens (like frisee, arugula, dandelions, squash blossoms, etc...)
2 pounds vine-ripe heirloom tomatoes, fairly thinly sliced
1 pound butter, organic preferred
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste, use basil or porcini olive oil for extra flavor
Kosher or sea Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Butter both sides of bread, lightly toast both sides on grill or in skillet. Assemble open-face sandwich on baking sheet starting with sliced, spread or crumbled cheese on top, followed by the sliced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Place in 350 degree oven for about 3 - 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped fresh greens, drizzle with your choice of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Serve whole slices or cut into strips for a slightly messy but smaller serving. Enjoy!

Stop by the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market this Saturday from 7:30am-11:00am for a special treat. The market is located at the corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Streets in Greensboro.

Chef Dahlstrom, the new executive chef for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, is helping Slow Food Piedmont spread the word about delicious local produce, meats and cheeses by cooking up a little tasting event at our booth.

Our booth is near the Lindsay Street entrance. Just look for our banner and the black and white striped awning, or follow your nose for a free tasting of something delicious made from market ingredients. To find out what, you'll have to visit us Saturday!

This is a great time to visit the market. So many fruits and vegetables are at their peak, and as always there are plentiful selections of meats, cheeses, eggs, and many other household staples. You'll also find specialty items like honey, dips, jams, baked goods, and Middle Eastern delicacies at the market so don't miss out.

Hope to see you there.

~Lavonne Childs

July 16, 2006 (this Sunday!)
Slow Food Family Picnic at Old Salem
Behind Single Brothers' Workshop, Winston Salem, NC
Picnic begins at 1 pm
$5 suggested donation to Slow Food

Come join us for a Slow Food Picnic and Potluck at Old Salem Museums and Gardens on Sunday, July 16, starting at 1:00. Please bring a dish that features local, seasonal food and a blanket or chairs for your picnic spot. Please write the name of the dish and recipe on an index card to be placed by the dish. Beverages, plates, and utensils will be provided.

(We get a lot of requests for recipes at the potlucks, so the plan is to post recipes on the web site at www.slowfoodpiedmont.org/recipes.html - now under construction!)

This is a family event, so be sure to bring your spouse, significant other and/or children. (Sorry, no dogs allowed.) After the picnic, Jill Crouse, Old Salem gardener, will talk to us about the heirloom gardens, and they will be open to those who would like to tour them.

The picnic area will be located in the grassy area behind the Single Brothers' Garden. Parking is available in the parking lot on Salt Street (enter Salt Street from Walnut, off Old Salem Rd.) or at the Visitors' Center. Directions to Old Salem are available at http://www.oldsalem.org/visit/location.htm. In case of rain, the potluck will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Single Brothers' Workshop, located beside the picnic area.

www.oldsalem.org

This past Saturday, Chef Chris Mckinley and his lovely wife Samantha volunteered their time to the SF booth at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market. Chef Chris puts on the Dinners at the Dairy for Goat Lady Dairy and is the chef for the Nasher Museum Cafe at Duke University. He and his wife, a cheese maker, are enthusiastic supporters of eating local foods.

This weekend they took the lead for SF, hosting a wonderful cooking and tasting session focused on the bountiful array of summer squashes available this time of year. Mary Ellen Smith was there too, providing the original inspiration for focusing on smells and sizzling at the booth, as well as bringing us the cooking gear and helping serve.

Chef Chris whipped up a delicious smelling batch of Zephyr Squash Fritters and Tomato Feta Topping (Chris's recipes below) and the crowds soon followed; more than 250 tasters! The recipe was an excellent example of taking a plentiful and inexpensive produce item and adding a few additional local ingredients for an amazing outcome. The fritters were pretty, smelled great and had outstanding flavor. Our group purchased beautiful produce, eggs and cheese from Cornerstone Garlic Farm, Inspiration Farm, Goat Lady Dairy, Weatherhand Farm, market manager Larry Smith and a few others.

SF gathered lots of names and email addresses of interested market goers and we can't wait to host our next chef demonstration on July 15th from 7:30am-11am. Ideas for that day and a volunteer or two are welcome. We are still looking for a chef for that day as well. We hope to see you there. Here is the recipe for the fritters and topping:

Zephyr Squash Fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 tsp salt
1 medium clove garlic, peeled, chopped
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 TBL chopped thyme
1/2 cup flour
2 to 4 TBL olive oil

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate zucchini into a medium bowl. Add the salt, thyme, garlic, pepper, and eggs. Mix well to combine. Slowly add flour, stirring so no lumps form. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until the oil sizzles when you drop a small amount of zucchini mixture into the pan. Carefully drop about 2 Tablespoons zucchini mixture into pan; repeat, spacing fritters a few inches apart. Cook fritters until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium. Turn fritters and continue cooking until golden, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Tomato and Goat Feta Topping

3 medium tomato-diced
6 oz goat feta cheese
2 cloves garlic-minced
1 TBL tarragon
1/4 cup balsamic
2 tsp salt

Place diced tomato in bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix. Allow to stand approximately 15-20 min. Add tarragon, garlic, balsamic, feta and spoon onto hot fritters. Enjoy!

This past Sunday, my husband Sandy and I participated in a lovely experience that I plan to repeat at least yearly. Along with members of Slow Food Piedmont Triad and UNCG's "Simple Living in a Complex World" class, we wound our way up to the Levering Orchard in Ararat, Virginia, just north of the N.C./Virginia line between Mount Airy and the Blue Ridge Parkway, to pick cherries and share good food and good company.

The Levering Orchard is 98 years old. Frank Levering's grandfather first planted the cherry trees here, and Frank and his wife Wanda Urbanska took over the operation of the farm in 1986, a move that they wrote about in their book Simple Living. It is a pick-your-own orchard, although there are some already picked fruits available for sale. Levering Orchard is known for its cherries, but it also offers peaches, nectarines, pears, and apples. See the Levering Orchard web site for this year's schedule and other information.

We carpooled to the orchard from a couple of departure points, and once there, headed straight for the trees. The trees were much bigger than I'd anticipated, and they were chock-full of cherries! By late Sunday afternoon, many of the low-hanging branches had been picked, necessitating climbing the heavy tall ladders. I was in a tree as often as possible when I was a child, so I enjoyed the excuse to get up there and simply sit for a spell while my husband picked cherries. It is hard but pleasant work, and it is easy to pick more cherries than you meant to buy or use! We concentrated on picking the large dark sweet cherries, and bought half a bucket of the smaller tart cherries already picked. I estimate that between us we picked about 17 pounds of cherries. When it is this much fun, it's hard to stop. And the scenery and the view - well, it was gorgeous.





After we all finished our cherry picking, Wanda, Frank, and their son Henry joined us for a potluck picnic and a discussion afterwards about simple living and Slow Food. Also joining in the discussion were Tenley Weaver and Dennis Dove of Full Circle Organic Farm. Tenley and Dennis operate a food distribution co-op of local produce that focuses on USDA-certified organic and biologically-grown vegetables and no/low spray fruits called "Good Food Good People." They provide consumers and restaurants in southwest Virginia with seasonal sustainably-grown food.

I had a nice conversation afterwards with Frank Levering about my daydream of buying a couple of acres for a little blueberry farm. He was so encouraging that I might actually look into it some day, after Italy! (Everything is "before Italy" or "after Italy" these days - looks like it is already a benchmark in my life.)

Wanda and Frank are the authors of several books about simple living as well as the host and writers of the television program Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska, beginning its third season on PBS in January 2007. In a nutshell, this is how they describe the show:

"Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska examines what people can do to make their lives easier and more stress-free, from buying products that will last a long time to managing budgets more responsibly. The show focuses on four themes: environmental stewardship, thoughtful consumption, community involvement and financial responsibility."

I recommend their book Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference, for a well-rounded view of the simple living philosophy.

For more photos of the event, please go to the Flickr photo site that Mandie created for Slow Food Piedmont Triad.

I've created a new flickr group so that we can share our photos of Slow Food events, like yesterday's cherry-picking! It's a invitation-only group, so please email me @ mandie [at] captivatedbymandie -dot- com with SLOW in the subject and your email (or flickr site), and I'll send you an invite!

Time Magazine published an excellent article on the Locavores and the Eat Local Challenge called The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet in the June 4 issue. In fact, it had a whole section on "Eating Smart," including an article from Michael Pollan entitled Six Rules for Eating Wisely, and another article by Margot Roosevelt on pasture-raised beef, The Grass-Fed Revolution.

All are well-written, informative articles and well worth your time!

Today, I found out that one of the positions that might be eliminated as part of the city budget cuts is the coordinator for the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market. This person is responsible for publicity, event planning, grant-writing, and is a liason to the city government. This is the person largely responsible for the huge growth in the farmers' market in recent years, and the wonderful events such as the semiannual Pottery Festival and Crafts in the Afternoon.

The farmers' market supports local farmers, food artisans, businesses, and craftsmen. The other events support local artists and craftsmen. They provide a great service and a community-building experience for our citizens. Altogether, they are a big part of why Greensboro is a wonderful place to live. The people who frequent the Curb Market are passionate about it.

This year Slow Food Piedmont Triad and others were optimistic about working to obtain money to improve and add on to the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market. Plans had begun to add a tasting kitchen and a social area with tables and chairs where shoppers could eat one of the tasty breakfasts that volunteers at the Market often cook, such as the strawberry pancakes on Strawberry Day, or the local eggs, grits, sausage and biscuits served on Farmers' Appreciation Day. Or where they can simply sit and chat over a cup of coffee. Design students from UNCG were on board to design the spaces.

Our city manager thinks that we might possibly rather keep a dollar or two in our pockets annually than keep the person responsible for bringing us these delightful days and events on the payroll.

Please let our mayor and city council know that Gerry Alfano is valued in our community, and plays a very special role in making downtown Greensboro a better place to live. Tell them that you think the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market is important, and enriches our lives, and that you think that Alfano's excellent work justifies it receiving more funding, not less.

You can email them from this web page, or you can call and fax them. Their phone contact information is at this web page.

UPDATE: By the time I found out about this and posted it, the city council was already in session. They did not cut the position, so there is no need to contact them, unless you would like to thank them. Thank you, Sandy Carmany, for your timely responsiveness to your constituents!