"The Real Dirt on Farmer John" Premiere in N.C.!

Slow Food Film Series presents
a guided tour of “Uneasy Nature”
& the North Carolina premiere
of “The Real Dirt on Farmer John”
April 20, 6:00-9:00 pm
Weatherspoon Art Museum, UNCG

“The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” a documentary of farmer and artist John Peterson of Illinois, depicts the trials, yearnings and jubilations of a man and his farming family. His story encompasses love of the land, family fidelity, a fall from grace and a glorious vindication. The film has won 18 film festival awards.

“Uneasy Nature” brings together six internationally recognized artists who incorporate the evolving perception—and use, manipulation, and distortion—of nature in contemporary culture. A museum curator will lead us through a short tour.

Join us for a savory reception at 6 pm, the tour of “Uneasy Nature” at 6:30, and the screening of the film at 7:00 pm.

For more information and directions go to http://weatherspoon.uncg.edu/events.
For more information on Slow Food and future events, go to www.slowfoodpiedmont.org.

Citywide Earth Day Celebration April 1

April 1, 2006
Great American Clean Up
9 - 11:30 a.m.
We invite you to help Greensboro Beautiful give the City a spring cleaning as part of the Great American Cleanup. Please volunteer to join your friends and neighbors, cleaning up our neighborhoods, roadsides, parks, and other littered areas. Contact Lynne Leonard at 373-2957, or Lynne.Leonard@greensboro-nc.gov to participate.

April 1, 2006
Greensboro City Celebration of Earth Day
Kathleen Clay Edwards Library
12 - 5:00 p.m.
Bring your litter-free picnic lunch, and enjoy a fun-filled day learning about our environment at Kathleen Clay Edwards Library, on Price Park Drive, behind Jefferson Elementary School. To exhibit, or for more information, contact Yvonne Foust at 373-2053 or fousty@greensboro-nc.gov, or Melanie Buckingham at 373-2923 or Melanie.buckingham@greensboro-nc.gov.

Prizes will be awarded for the first one-hundred displayed litter-free picnic lunches…Get Creative, you can Eat it All!

From Noon to 1pm, Have your litter-free picnic lunch while you enjoy music with local bands, gospel music and Radio Disney.

From 1p.m. - 5 p.m., Enjoy and learn from interactive exhibits, art, guided hikes and garden tours. Visit the Master Gardener Learning Station. Kids can enjoy nature crafts, live animals and face painting. Explore hybrid and alternative vehicles, teen challenge events, solar exhibits, food samples, Geocaching, hayrides, orienteering and much more.

Slow Food will have a information table. Slow Food members, please contact Laurie by email if you would like to volunteer to staff the table for an hour or so.

Shiitake Inoculation at Handance Farm

Saturday I drove out to Handance Farm in Rockingham County for their Mushroom Inoculation and Work Day. By the time I got there, much of the work had been done. The major task at hand was to help Pat and Brian Bush inoculate freshly cut logs with shiitake mushroom spawn. The first step is to drill holes all over the log. That's Brian in the middle.



The log is passed to the next team of two, who fill specially made plungers with shiitake spawn and press the spawn into the holes.



Then the holes and all other cut surfaces are painted with cheese wax to prevent them from being contaminated with other fungi (and critters). An identifying tag is nailed to the end, and it is stacked in a pile.



Here's how they stacked last year's logs. The mushroom farm (Dark Hollow, who moved) that Sandy and I went to last year made a mushroom house out of the logs -it seemed like a perfect place for a hobbit.

Mushroom Inoculation Work Day and Potluck

March 25, 2006
Mushroom Inoculation Work Day and Potluck
Handance Farm, 2541 Baker Crossroad Road, Reidsville, NC 27320
FREE - Please RSVP at 336-951-0811.

1-5 p.m. ~ Work with mushroom logs and spores, no children or dogs please.
3-5 p.m. Children's program
5-7 p.m. ~ Farm tour and potluck, children welcome, bring a dish to join us.

Get some hands-on experience and help Handance Farm with their new venture by helping inoculate 200 logs with shiitake spawn. Included in the day are a talk on growing mushrooms, a tour of Handance Farm and a potluck dinner. Bring a dish to share and a folding chair if you’d like. Be sure to wear work clothes and comfortable shoes. Children are welcome at 3:00 and for the tour and potluck (starting at 5), but please leave your dogs home. Please click here for a flyer.

Directions: From Greensboro take Church St. Ext. north past Hwy. 150 & 158 where it becomes Woolen Store Rd. and T's into Ironworks Rd. Go right, then take the immediate left onto Sandy Cross Rd. Go approx. 2 miles (you'll pass Breckenridge Mobile Home Park on right) and take left onto Baker Crossroad. Go about 200 yards and 2541 is the first house on right (2-story white with huge stump in front yard, a big holly tree and boxwoods).

Food with a View Tonight at the Scene

March 18, 2006
“Food With a View" Film Series
The Slow Food Movement
The Scene, 604 South Elm St., Greensboro, NC
8:00 p.m.
$5 suggested donation.

The Slow Food Movement, a documentary about worldwide food communities that are rediscovering some of the greatest joys of life: enjoying the flavors of their local region, renewing their health, and re-connecting to the land. Desserts and discussion.

Slow Foodie Profile

Name: Laurie O'Neill

Day Job: Secretary at a local university

Your interests: Organic gardening, voluntary simplicity, fiber arts

How did you get involved in the Slow Food Piedmont Triad convivium?
I was in Charlie Headington's "Simple Living in a Complex World" class at UNCG and he mentioned that a local convivium would be formed soon. Because food is so much a part of my simple living philosophy, I was excited at the opportunity to help organize it and meet others with similar interests.

What does Slow Food mean to you and how does it impact your daily life?
As a cook and an eater, I enjoy the freshness and the challenge of eating locally and seasonally. As a gardener, I am interested in healthy food and heirloom varieties of vegetables. As a small farmer's daughter and sister, I am concerned that my heritage and culture are fast disappearing. As a citizen, I am frightened at the rate that industry has taken control over our entire food system. As a member of Slow Food, I hope to make a difference in supporting small farmers and promoting the benefits of local food.

Describe a Slow Food meal you've recently prepared or eaten:
The other night, we had a simple organic meal of field peas, corn on the cob, and baked sweet potatoes. I grew the field peas in my garden and froze them. I bought the corn at Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market this summer and froze it. The sweet potatoes were from the same market and I served them and the corn with a small amount of organic butter that I bought at Deep Roots Market. It was a very easy, quickly prepared meal. Learning to preserve and store foods for year-round enjoyment was one of the most valuable skills that I learned growing up on a small farm.

Cable Access Kick-Off Meeting

When I sent out the invitation for the kick-off meeting of the Slow Food GCTV show, I didn’t know what to expect. It was entirely possible that I would end up at a meeting with my husband and sister – talented people, to say the least, but not quite an entire volunteer force. Instead, the Green Bean conference room filled with an amazing group of people with a diverse set of skills and interests. We have people experienced in film and editing, music and art, cooking and gardening and even a Spanish teacher!

Together we put together a list of show topics that could easily fill a season. Among the many ideas were:

• A blind taste-testing of local organic versus conventional foods
• The Wellness Policy
• Edible Schoolyards
• Slow Food at home
• A student food-related film competition
• Multicultural food within our community
• Farm to kitchen cooking shows
• Food and cooking for spiritual and physical health

And the list goes on and on. We are planning to film the mushroom inoculation at Handance Farm for one of our first episodes as well as the cheese making process at Goat Lady Dairy.

While we have a great group together, this is certainly a more-the-merrier situation. In addition to on-site volunteers for filming days, we would also like to have a volunteer to find and approach people and businesses to sponsor episodes (i.e. help pay for the show in exchange for a panel of recognition at the beginning and end of the episode) as well as volunteers to do a little research here and there. Even an hour or two a month of volunteer time could go a long way to making this show a success!

Please contact Sarah Jones with ideas, feedback and for more information: ThoughtForFood@bellsouth.net.

The Future of Food - Tonight at the Scene

February 25 8:00 P.M. at The Scene at 604 South Elm
The Future of Food
Shown as part of 'Food With a View': Slow Food Film Series

The Future of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the truth behind unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that we find on our grocery shelves. From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico this film gives voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why we need to be informed about genetically altered crops in our food supply and support our local food communities.

A discussion will follow led by Dr. Charlie Headington of UNCG.
Enjoy homemade desserts while watching the film. $5.00 suggested donation.

On March 18, 'Food With a View' will show The Slow Food Movement, a documentary about worldwide food communities that are rediscovering some of the greatest joys of life: enjoying the flavors of their local region, renewing their health, and re-connecting to the land. Desserts and discussion. $5.00 suggested donation.

Terra Madre Benefit Dinners in the Triangle Area

From Slow Food Research Triangle:

February 28, 2006
Eat Out Tuesday-Terra Madre Benefit Dinners
Triangle Area Restaurants, North Carolina

On Tuesday, February 28th, select Triangle restaurants in the Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham area of North Carolina that are committed to using local, seasonal foods, will donate 10% of their proceeds from that evening's sales to Slow Food's Triangle Convivium. Money raised will help send a small delegation of local farmers to Turin, Italy next October 2006 for Slow Food International's Terra Madre. Additionally, each participating Triangle restaurant will highlight special local offerings on their menus that evening. Participating restaurants include: Acme, Bin 54, Crook's Corner, Elaine's, Enoteca Vin, Four Square, Frazier's, Lantern, Magnolia Grill, Nana's, Nasher Museum Café, Panzanella, Pop's, Starlu, Zely & Ritz and 411 West. To learn more about Terra Madre, visit www.slowfoodusa.org

Slow Food on GCTV

You are invited to a planning and support meeting for one of Slow Food Piedmont Triad’s exciting ‘06 projects: a cable access show on GCTV!

When: Tuesday, February 28, 2006, starting at 7:30 p.m., ending when the ideas stop flowing

Where: The Green Bean conference room, 341 S. Elm Street, Greensboro

What: Our goal for this meeting is to brainstorm show topics and gather a crew of volunteers for production

We need your ideas, time and support to get this fun, educational show off the ground!

For more information, contact Sarah Jones at 336.456.7257 or ThoughtForFood@bellsouth.net

Beekeeping

Many of the counties in our region are beginning their annual beekeeping classes. If you are interested in becoming a certified beekeeper, check out one of these classes:

http://www.ncbeekeepers.org/courses.htm


Other beekeeping links you may want to check out:
http://www.ncbeekeepers.org/
http://www.guilfordbeekeepers.org
http://www.abfnet.org/
http://www.nhb.org/index.html
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu:8050/entomology/apiculture/ (NC State)
http://www.forsyth.cc/CES/ & http://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/copubs/ag/special/bee/023/
http://www.honey.com/

No NAIS!

I have been at a loss for words about NAIS - the National Animal Identification System. To put this kind of shackle on the small livestock producers in this country is shameless. The local farmer from whom I buy my chickens says that when this USDA program goes into effect, he will not be able to sell his free-range hens and eggs to the public anymore. He and his wife have been building a successful business and had made plans to raise heritage turkeys and rabbits this year. NAIS is changing everything for them. It is also taking away a valuable food resource for local consumers.

I received this email from Allan Balliett, a frequent contributor to the Slow Food DC listserv, in response to a query by a listmember. I wanted to share it with you because it does a good job of explaining NAIS from a small livestock farmer's point of view, and it led me to an excellent blog set up to inform the public about NAIS and help us fight it. If you care at all about food, small businesses, privacy, or needless government regulation, you should care about stopping NAIS.

NAIS is one of several programs that have become necessary because of problems created by confinement animal operations that the government is currently pushing onto small family farms. Is the goal the safety of Americans or is it saving agri-business from the unfair competition created by, as Kathy says 'Food that tastes like it used to"? It's amazing how greedy corporate bean counters are, pushing to recollect any crumbs that fall to small farms. Since keeping clean, living food out of the hands of anyone but the rich helps creates profits for corporations invested or integrated in the 'health' sector, it's hard to imagine that this continual and painfully obvious push to make farming too expensive or difficult except at [large] scale doesn't have larger payoffs in mind.

NAIS is just one of many.

Best source of NAIS and anti-NAIS info is at noNAIS.org (which, btw, is also an excellent example of how the internet can be put to work for the betterment of everyone).

The following is quoted from there.


"The National Animal ID program was originally designed to give the big beef producers help in getting export markets which required disease controls. The idea is that every single livestock animal in the United States will be identified and tagged. All livestock animal movements will be tracked, logged and reported to the government. The benefit is to the big factory farms who probably do need this type of regulation. They get to do single ID's for large groups of animals. Small farmers, pet owners and homesteaders will have to tag and track every single animal.

"There are no exceptions - even small farms that sell direct to local consumers will be required to pay the fees and file all the paper work on all their animals. Even horse, llama and other pet owners will be required to participate in NAIS. Homesteaders who raise their own meat and grandma with her one egg hen will also have to register their homes as 'farm premises' and obtain a Premise ID, tag all their animals and submit all the paperwork and fees. Absurd? Yes - There are no exceptions under the current NAIS plan. The USDA has slipped this plan in the back door without any legislation. This is going to be very expensive and guess who is going to pay for it in higher food prices...You!"

Allan Balliett has a website about his Shepherdstown, West Virginia farm at www.freshandlocalcsa.com. His CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program serves the DC Metro area.

slow food potluck and events for 2006

Sarah, our new media guru, tries to decide what to add to her plate next

55 people attended the potluck/planning meeting at Old Salem last night. The food was great, and several people commented on the energy and conviviality of our group. There's nothing like a Slow Food potluck, folks!

The Events page on our Web site has been updated. Please note that the events are only part of the exciting plans for our convivium this year - we also look forward to the Local Food Guide in May, information booths at the local farmers' markets, and a community access TV show among other projects!

Lots of new information will be posted on our web site beginning in May, and beginning March 1, we will have an email newsletter. Mandie Rose will join the blog team as a contributor soon.

All in all, it's looking to be a very productive year for Slow Food Piedmont Triad!

Tom holds a sweet potato biscuit with blueberry butter

Wellness Policy Update

Wellness Policy Committee Meeting
(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
Thursday, February 9th, 2006
9 A.M.-10 A.M.
501 W. Washington Street
Greensboro, North Carolina
Cynthia Sevier's Office
Second Floor (I will send room # )

For about 1 month Deb Bettini and I served on the Wellness Policy Committee for the Guilford County Schools. This first meeting was attended by 7 people with various backgrounds and the mood of the meeting was very upbeat and everyone was enthusiastic about making a change for our children.

Last week we were scheduled for our 2nd meeting on Thursday Feb. 2, 2006. On Tuesday 1/31/06 I received a call from one of the participates stating that Deb and I could not serve on the WP Committee(WPC) because we were not elected to the Health & Safety Board for the school. I was told that all meetings were open to the public and we could attend but not comment or vote! Deb on the other hand was told not to attend any of the meetings.

At 9 a.m. on Feb. 2, 2006 I showed up at the scheduled meeting only to find an empty, dark office. The meeting had been rescheduled. I only found this out through several phone calls to people on the WPC. There were no phone calls or emails sent to inform Deb and I of the change. There are currently 4 people that now make up the WPC. Dr. Routh from the school board sat in on the first meeting to address policy rules and procedure.

Here are the names of the people serving on the Health and Safety Board for Guilford Co. Schools (this information is being sent to me and I will provide proper titles.) I also apologize for any misspelled names.
** represent those who are currently serving on the WPC.

Terry Grier
Dot Kearns
Ruth MacKinze
Robert Strack
Joyce Wellborne
Glenn Willis
Lynn Beckford
Deana Hayes
Patty Kinade
Janet Mayer**
Marty Sykes
Rober williams
Bobin Berjeron-Nolan
Greg Jones
Robin Lane**
Terina Piccarillo** PTA Chair for Healthy and Safety
Dr. Quinlin
Lea Sheplar
Vernus Thompson
Beth Woody
Dr. Terrance Young
Cynthia Seiver**

Terinal Piccarillo is representing the school, the community and the parent that is required of the WP guidelines. According to Senior Food Policy Analyst, Madeleine Levin, the schools are not breaking any of the WPGuidelines.

When these 4 people finish the WP it will be posted on the Guilford Co. school website. The public will have 21 days to comment and then it will go back to the WPC for any changes, it will then be up for a second public reading. This is when the school would like to hear from YOU. I strongly feel that the community should have more involvement with the development of the WP before it is made public.

I will have more of this as the week progresses. I hope that any of you that can make the next meeting will attend!

Sincerely,
Donna Myers

broccoli leek soup

This soup is a great marriage of flavors and it won't weigh you down. I'll expect heaven to smell like thyme in butter.

2 T butter
2 c chopped leeks, white and light green parts
1 1/2 t green garlic (see notes)
1 1/2 t basil
1 t thyme
4 c chopped broccoli
1 c broccoli florets (reserved)
1 c diced peeled red potatoes
3 c chicken stock
2 c lowfat milk
1-2 t salt, to taste
1 T cornstarch
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Saute the leeks, garlic, basil and thyme in butter for about five minutes. Add the chopped broccoli, potatoes, and stock, bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Steam the broccoli florets in a steamer basket on top of the pot. Take off the heat, add the milk and salt, and blend. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little cold water, add to the soup, and bring it back up to a slow boil for one minute. The soup will thicken slightly. Add freshly ground black pepper and steamed broccoli florets. Garnish with shredded extra-sharp cheddar.

Notes:

Leeks usually have a little dirt between the layers. Chop them and let them soak in some water while you chop the other ingredients. You can substitute onions, but the delicate flavor of the leek is wonderful. Try it!

I used green garlic because I had two bulbs that had sprouted for a couple of weeks. I wanted a little garlic flavor but I didn't want to overwhelm the leeks. So I chopped off the sprouts, chopped them up, and put them in the soup. They were perfect. Don't throw out that sprouted garlic. If you can't cook with it, plant the cloves!

I chop my basil in a food processor with a little olive oil each fall and freeze it in small ice cube trays, such as those sold for dorm refrigerators. Then I pop them out into a plastic bag and I have the taste of fresh basil all winter. All I have to do is toss a cube in the sauce or soup, or defrost in the microwave to mix into meatballs.

My favorite potatoes are Yukon Gold, but red was on sale.

You can steam more broccoli florets to put in the soup to make it heartier. If you want it thicker, use cream, substitute another cup of potatoes for a cup of broccoli, or use one cup less stock.

Sources:
Leeks, broccoli, potatoes, garlic, and thyme - Deep Roots Market
Butter and milk - Homeland Creamery
Basil - my back yard, then my freezer
Chicken stock - my freezer, chicken originally from Back Woods Farm
Cornstarch - Harris Teeter
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese - the Molners

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cross-posted from The Mock Turtle's Song.

good ole beef stew in the crockpot

Nothing fancy here. It's one of those staples on a cold weekend.

1-2 lbs. grass-fed beef stew meat
3 T flour
1 t salt
1 3/4 c beef stock or water
3 medium potatoes, cubed
4-5 carrots, sliced
1 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 T worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 t paprika
Black pepper
fresh parsley
fresh rosemary
Splash of red wine

Put the beef in the crock pot and mix with the flour and salt. Add the rest of the ingredients through the black pepper and mix. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. Go have fun somewhere. About 30 minutes or so before you're ready to turn it off, add the herbs and wine.

notes:
This is a very forgiving recipe for substitutions and additions. If you have room and you have mushrooms, by all means, add them. You can add them with the wine.

A few words about the beef - We don't eat a lot of red meat, for budgetary and cholesterol reasons. But when I do, I now buy my beef from Rocking F Farms at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market. They sell their local farm-grown, pasture-raised beef from a cooler, which they replenish from a freezer that they haul on a trailer. Their prices are competitive with the industrial beef you find at the grocery store.

The friendly vendor is more than happy to discuss what they feed their cows and how they are raised. They raise most of their own feed, and do not use growth hormones. The cows are pasture fed until the last six weeks or so when they are switched to a grain mix on site so there's no need for unnecessary antibiotics.

The thought of eating industrial "confined animal feeding operation" beef makes me queasy since I read Power Steer by Michael Pollan (must reading if you care about what you and your family eat), so if I can't afford better quality, I just do without.

I didn't have beef stock, but I added 2 T of Vogue Cuisine Instant Beef Flavored Base to the water, and I thought that it was good. I also use their vegetarian chicken-flavored base. It contains mostly organic ingredients, but no organic seal.

sources:
beef stew meat: Rocking F Farms at Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market
flour, beef-flavored base, vegetables, spices: Deep Roots Market
tomato paste, worchestershire sauce: Harris Teeter
parsley, rosemary: My back yard
red wine: A neighbor's gift

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cross-posted from The Mock Turtle's Song.

Potluck and Slow Food Community Meeting at Old Salem Feb. 10

Potluck and Slow Food Community Meeting
7:00 p.m., February 10, 2006
Single Brothers Kitchen, Old Salem, Winston-Salem

Bring a tasty dish that is flavored with local food and family tradition, meet Slow Foodies, and usher in our second year as the Slow Food Piedmont Triad convivium.

We want to announce the event schedule, explain our projects, solicit your feedback and encourage your help. Invite your friends. This will be a fun time!

Contact person: Jill Crouse, head vegetable gardener at Old Salem. Tel: 336-682-3715.

Directions: Head to Old Salem and park in the parking lot off Salem Avenue or on Main or Salt Streets. Enter the Single Brothers Workshop on lower level.

Slow Foodie Profiles

Kicking off a new ongoing feature on the blog, Charlie Headington and Lavonne Childs have filled out our new slow foodie questionnaire. We'd love to hear more about you, too - email me (ThoughtForFood@bellsouth.net) if you would like to share your experiences!

Name: Charlie Headington

Day Job: Teach about Sustainability Issues at UNCG and tend an Edible Schoolyard at Greensboro Montessori School

Your interests: good food, sustainable and simple living, gardening, learning Italian, playing chess.

How did you get involved in the Slow Food Piedmont Triad convivium? I've long been an organic gardener and teacher of gardening and sustainability, and thus concerned with the culture and availability of good food. My wife and I attended Terra Madre, a 2004 gathering of 5000 world-wide small farmers and producers, and we joined with Steve Tate of Goat Lady Dairy and others to form a Slow Food convivium in the Piedmont. I've enjoyed working with other committed volunteers from all walks of life.

What does Slow Food mean to you and how does it impact your daily life? Slow Food means a thriving local culture of fresh, tasty food, sustainable farms and markets, and a city swarming with family-run eateries. It also means eating mindfully, with the earth, land, and our bodies in mind.

Describe a Slow Food meal you've recently prepared or eaten: My wife and I belong to an Italian conversation group that occasionally gets together to eat. In January we brought together four courses of largely seasonal and locally available food. We made squash ravioli: fresh pasta filled with a butternut squash concoction that my daughter made. The meat dish featured local pork. The candlelight meal lasted for four hours and we spoke Italian throughout it!

Name: Laurie O'Neill

Day Job: Secretary at a local university

Your interests: Organic gardening, voluntary simplicity, fiber arts

How did you get involved in the Slow Food Piedmont Triad convivium?
I was in Charlie Headington's "Simple Living in a Complex World" class at UNCG and he mentioned that a local convivium would be formed soon. Because food is so much a part of my simple living philosophy, I was excited at the opportunity to help organize it and meet others with similar interests.

What does Slow Food mean to you and how does it impact your daily life?
As a cook and an eater, I enjoy the freshness and the challenge of eating locally and seasonally. As a gardener, I am interested in healthy food and heirloom varieties of vegetables. As a small farmer's daughter and sister, I am concerned that my heritage and culture are fast disappearing. As a citizen, I am frightened at the rate that industry has taken control over our entire food system. As a member of Slow Food, I hope to make a difference in supporting small farmers and promoting the benefits of local food.

Describe a Slow Food meal you've recently prepared or eaten:
The other night, we had a simple organic meal of field peas, corn on the cob, and baked sweet potatoes. I grew the field peas in my garden and froze them. I bought the corn at Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market this summer and froze it. The sweet potatoes were from the same market and I served them and the corn with a small amount of organic butter that I bought at Deep Roots Market. It was a very easy, quickly prepared meal. Learning to preserve and store foods for year-round enjoyment was one of the most valuable skills that I learned growing up on a small farm.

Food with a View: Big Night at the Scene Jan. 28

Food With A View: Slow Food Film Series, winter 2006, at The Scene at 604 S. Elm St., Greensboro, NC on January 28, February 25, and March 18 at 8 PM, $5.00 encouraged donation.

Want to warm up your Saturday nights this winter? Come to The Scene for an enjoyable time watching a great food film. Desserts and discussion will follow.

January 28, we will show the wonderful film, Big Night. As we enjoy homemade desserts after the film, Justin Cantanoso, executive director of The Business Journal, will lead an informal discussion with us. Justin, a second generation Italian American, will share his experience of visiting Rome recently with his family to witness the canonization of a cousin. Justin also enjoyed a homemade Sunday lunch in Reggio Calabria with dozens of relatives he was meeting for the first time.

In case you would like to know the plot summary of Big Night, here it is:

Big Night

In life and love, one big night can change everything.

Written and Directed by Stanley Tucci, this 1996 movie has an all-star cast including Marc Anthony, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Drive, Isabella Rosselini, Ian Holm, Live Schreiber, Allison Janney, and Stanley Tucci.

Primo and Secondo are two brothers who have emigrated from Italy to open an Italian restaurant in America. Primo is the irascible and gifted chef, brilliant in his culinary genius, but determined not to squander his talent on making the routine dishes that customers expect. Secondo is the smooth front-man, trying to keep the restaurant financially afloat, despite few patrons other than a poor artist who pays with his paintings. The owner of the nearby Pascal's restaurant, enormously successful (despite its mediocre fare), offers a solution - he will call his friend, a big-time jazz musician, to play a special benefit at their restaurant. Primo begins to prepare his masterpiece, a feast of a lifetime, for the brothers' big night...

Rated R with a run-time of 107 minutes.

N.C. Natural Milk Meeting

NC NATURAL MILK MEETING
Saturday, January 21, 2006
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
(919) 560-0260
Parkwood Public Library
5122 Revere Road
Durham, N.C. 27713
RSVP Alice Hall at tigrclause AT mindspring.com

This is for anyone interested in learning the health benefits of raw, unpasteurized milk and milk products. There will also be a discussion on the current attempt to legalize raw milk and cow share programs in North Carolina that will benefit both consumers and farmers. Raw milk is currently available about 30 states including Virginia and South Carolina.