Events « boston localvores

Events

Strawberries + Farm News

Our CSA farm allows members to pick a lot of stuff, including strawberries, if you can get your ass from Boston to Granby (about two hours by car, or 2.5 by Amtrak train and car, as our friends Erik and Ryan would learn; we picked them up at the station in Springfield). The allotment of strawberries is 8 quarts (4 quarts of peas). Not bad, but we made the stupid decision to toss all 8 quarts into reusable canvas tote bags. Ours sat on the floor of the front seat, at my feet. But Ryan, as a space saving measure, carried his bag on his lap. It was a very messy lap. This method of heating berries has been christened “The Crotchpot.” Fortunately, their berries are going to become jam today.

Ours are going to become frozen berries. For smoothies, desserts, maybe for yogurt in the winter? I know strawberries in particular don’t thaw very well, but I don’t have the will to make jam and process it, and I don’t have a huge need for jam. We just don’t eat that much.

We stayed for a dinner outside at the farm. The farmers, Ryan and Sarah, announced that they’d purchased 110 acres in Montague, Ma, and would be moving their home and 75% of their vegetable production to Montague. In the cosmic scheme of things, this isn’t far, but it’s more than 30 miles north of Granby. So for all intents and purposes, Red Fire Farm is moving. It’s bittersweet for them, I think. They have been farming rented land that is near the current home farm, but have been unable to secure long term tenure or an option to buy that land, which they think will become homes after they are no longer renting it. The Montague land is still 3 years away. It needs to be transitioned to organic production. Ryan mentioned a few things about how they will finance this project - the mortgage they will carry on the new land is $560,000, and the payment more than four times what they currently pay.

It was an interesting moment. I think of this particular farm as doing just fine, with hundreds of CSA subscriptions in metro Boston, more in the Pioneer Valley, a farm stand and, now, a farmer’s market presence at the South Station market. But in order for the farm to continue to exist (which were the terms they were speaking in) they will have to do even better than that. And part of this crisis is one of land, and its inflated value.

Events — No Comments
16
Jun 09

Important movie + local beer = $12.50

On Thursday, June 25 we (that’s us and any of you who’d like to join) are going to have a beer or two at Cambridge Brewing Co. Then we’re going to head, en masse, across the street to Kendall Sq Cinema to watch the new and excellent film Food, Inc.

We’ve worked out a deal with the theater and the restaurant so that movie + beer go for $12.50 (regularly about $14). Plus you get to meet some friendly area localvores and discuss — and, frankly, help us raise about 20 bucks to cover our web hosting fees.

Here’s the deets:

Find us at the brewery between 6 and 8. Collect your tickets for a free beer and for the movie.
Get to the theater for an 8:20 screening.
Sound good? GO HERE to buy your ticket. We only have 25, so hurry up.

P.S. We saw Food, Inc. at the Boston Film Festival earlier this spring. While incredibly sad, it also a very accessible and comprehensive look at our broken food system. It put a little fresh vigor in our advocacy work. Please come!

Events — No Comments
21
Apr 09

Want to horrify your conventional-vore friends?

Bring them to a screening of Our Daily Bread at MIT on Tuesday night! (Hosted by our very great pal Ryan.)

Time: Tuesday, April 21, 6pm
Location: 6-120, MIT

Description:
Check out trailers and more, the MIT events calendar listing, and the flier (three iterations). [If printing, please consider using scrap paper!!]

Welcome to the world of industrial food production and high-tech farming! To the rhythm of conveyor belts and immense machines, the film looks without commenting into the places where food is produced in Europe: monumental spaces, surreal landscapes and bizarre sounds - a cool, industrial environment which leaves little space for individualism. People, animals, crops and machines play a supporting role in the logistics of this system which provides our society’s standard of living.

OUR DAILY BREAD is a wide-screen tableau of a feast which isn’t always easy to digest - and in which we all take part. A pure, meticulous and high-end film experience that enables the audience to form their own ideas.

Afterwards, Jamey Lionette, of the South End’s Lionette’s Market, will discuss his impressions of the film and his role in the local food system.

Events — No Comments
7
Apr 09

It’s official: The Meet Your Meat Tour

Where are we going? Three places: A Hardwick Beef farm to say hello to some cows; to Stillman’s farm to get a look at chickens and pigs; and to the People’s Pint to have some local eats. See the route on this Google map!

When? Sunday May 3 from roughly 9 to 6:30

Why? Because it’s important to have a connection to the food you eat. Because animals should be respected and admired. And because it would be fun to bring approximately 30 city folk west of Worcester in two large, anonymous vans.

How do I join you? CLICK HERE! It will bring you to PayPal. You can pay with any major credit (or your paypal account) there. We’re asking for $35 from everyone — in advance.

Why 35 bucks? Why in advance? Your donation will cover the cost of renting the van, the cost of paying an experienced bus driver for said van and the cost of gas. PS — You will also have to cover your own meal at the Pint. But it’s very affordable. Take a look at their menu.

What else do I need to do? Sign up fast! Email me with any questions. AND bring some snacks or a bagged lunch. It will be a long day of traveling before we get to the Pint and we don’t want any crankypusses.

So here’s a *rough* schedule of events:
9 a.m. — Be at to the Harvest Co-op in Cambridge; find the creepy vans.
11 a.m. — We arrive at Hardwick Beef! (It’s about a 90 minute drive.)
11-Noon — Tour Hardwick Beef
12-12:30 — Chill, eat our bagged lunches
1 p.m. — Arrive at Stillman’s!
1-2:30 p.m. — Tour their operation!
2:30-3:30 p.m. — Drive to the People’s Pint
3:30-5 p.m. — Enjoy a brew and other yummy stuff
6:30 — Drop off at the Harvest Co-op

Events — No Comments
24
Mar 09

A field trip to the farm

It looks like our farm excursion is on! Earlier this week, we blasted our mailing list with a simple request: if, on a lovely day in May, we were able to take a couple of vanloads of people to towns west of Worcester to see where their meat+eggs come from… would anyone like to go?

The response was a bit overwhelmingly positive, so we’re in the process of securing a couple of creepy, child-snatching vans and a couple of brave drivers for the first Saturday in May. The agenda is roughly: a visit with grass-fed cattle at a Hardwick Beef farm, then chickens, pigs and lambs at Stillman’s. Plus, a stop on the way back to Boston in Greenfield for a local dinner at the People’s Pint. The cost per person is likely to be about 25 bux plus your meal at the Pint, which is very reasonably priced.

Stay tuned.

Community / Events — No Comments
22
Feb 09

Somerville’s finest grade A amber

There is a movement afoot in Somerville to make syrup from under-utilized area maple trees. We were part of the effort to collect the sap this weekend.

Kristi and I were joined by our pals Sarah Garlington and Ryan Gray. Working together - and probably thanks to the skills afforded us by so many liberal arts degrees - we managed to collect about eight gallons of sap from seven trees.

It’s a totally cool project. The trees we tapped were on the Tufts campus (and the sap was returned to the Growing Center on the other side of town). But there must be, we figured, hordes of other maple trees all over the city that go untapped. I realize, of course, that what’s made will represent only a fraction of the maple syrup needed to keep a city the size of Boston running for the year. But so what?

For those of you who don’t know, please allow me, a Vermonter, to tell you a bit about the process. We Vermonters cry maple syrup tears.

Actually, I’m sure I’ll sound like a complete moron to anyone who truly understands how it works. And actually, I’m technically from Long Island, where maple syrup is actually made from corn. Basically, tapped trees will “run” when the days are warm but the nights remain cold. The sap is rising in the tree, Sarah said, as the tree prepares to bud up and leaf out. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

There will be a boil down at the Growing Center in Somerville on March 13 + 14.

Events / Meat — 2 Comments
18
Feb 09

The Stillman’s meat truck / meet JJ

For the handful of you who don’t already know JJ Gonson, we’d like to introduce to her. She’s a friend of ours and a champion of soup from our recent Souper Bowl. She’s also a semi-retired rock star and a personal chef with a deep and abiding love for food of the local variety.

But perhaps the most important thing for you to know about JJ right now is that she is committing a great public service by posting this on her blog — info on the Stillman’s delivery *this Saturday* in Central Sq. In fact, she’s working as a sort of conduit between us, good eaters, and the Stillmans, excellent feeders.

From 3 to 4 p.m., Aidan will be parked behind the Harvest Co-op with lamb, pig and beef and (we’re hoping) a chicken or two. If you visit JJ’s post and comment on it with your order, Aidan will check it and try to accommodate. And that’s all you have to do to get some of the finest local meat, directly from a farmer. In February. In Cambridge.

Ahem! while we’re on the subject of JJ. She’s a pretty friendly lady and she likes to prepare big dinners that she calls O.N.C.E. (one night culinary events). She’s hosting a special ‘deep of winter’ O.N.C.E. on March 1 and she’d like you to attend. Get a taste of the menu here and the cost ($20-50).

Events — 2 Comments
10
Feb 09

The Souper Bowl: Touchdown!

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A lot of nice peeps came out Sunday for our Souper Bowl event, ate soup, gorged on bread and were generally merry, beery and kind. Thank you, peeps. You seem to get our mission: advance the goals of global revolution and the construction of sustainable and delicious food systems through parties. To see some scenes, click here.

I’m posting the menu down below, but a few words about the soup making and the soupwrights: Jessie (of Green City Growers–if you want them to build you a garden for this season, get on it! Time’s running short!), anyway Jessie found local pork, local chicken, local crab and local shrimp (among other vegetables from local farms). She now reports to feel good about her brand new and affectionate relationships with our city’s butchers and fishmongers. Chef Zornik found everything locally, down to his beans! This is news to us, but it was rockin’. JJ Gonson used mushrooms that she’d frozen in the fall, from Steve Parker in Lunenburg. It had never occured to me to freeze a mushroom, but I will be now.

We made a chili at the last minute, because we had some ill-founded anxiety about there not being enough soup. But it was a great excuse to bust out the scotch bonnets we’d frozen over the summer from Farmer Al.

Last thing I want to say is this: Our sponsors were so *generous*. We were floored. Please support these awesome businesses. In no particular order:
Iggy’s Breads of the World (they gave us a ton of beautiful, beautiful bread.)
Cambridge Brewing Co. (10 gallons of delicious beer!)
Fiore Di Nonno (glistening ropes of hand-pulled mozzarella)
Taza Chocolate (all kinds of good chocolate)
Real Pickles (pickles! and all kinds of kimchi and sauerkraut)
Haley House Bakery Cafe (they let us in and let us take over the place and even invited us back; special thanks to Bing Broderick and Didi Emmons!)

Here’s the soups:

Saigon Soup by Jessie Benhazl
a traditional Vietnamese breakfast soup featuring winter storage veggies from Verrill Farm in Concord, shrimp and crab from Maine, pork from Ferrisburg, Vt. and noodles from Chau Chow noodle factory in Boston.

Jota (“yo ta”) by Erik Zornik
a Slovenian soup featuring tomatoes (preserved this summer) from Kimball Farm in Pepperell, pork from Stillman’s in Hardwick, beans from Maine, local cabbage and herbs from Chef Zornik’s winter garden. The soup’s chicken broth was made with local storage veggies and chicken from Stillman’s.

Potatoes + Greens by Sarah Garlington (Vegan)
a hearty New England soup featuring potatoes and onions from Heaven’s Harvest in New Braintree, Mass. The kale, which was frozen over the summer, is also from Heaven’s Harvest.

Apple Rutabaga by Heather Wernimont

a cream-based soup featuring butternut squash from Verrill Farm in Concord, apples from Clarkdale Orchard in Deerfield, and onions, sweet potatoes and rutabaga from small, organic farms along the East Coast, courtesy of Enterprise Farm in Deerfield and its Winter CSA.

Lentil Mushroom by JJ Gonson (vegan)
a rich vegan soup made with lots of local mushrooms and seasonal roots, including parsnips from Deep Root in Quebec, courtesy of Enterprise Farm’s Winter CSA.

Grass-fed Chili by Kristi and Darry
a regular ole chili featuring Hardwick Beef (Mass. and Vt. farms), Scotch Bonnet peppers from Farmer Al in Lunenburg, Thai chilis from Hmong Farm in Lunenburg, onions from the Belmont Winter CSA, garlic from Wild Shepard Farm in Athens, Vt., peppers + corn from Enterprise Farm’s Winter CSA and maple syrup from Coombs Farm in Whitingham, Vermont.

Events — No Comments
23
Jan 09

Sally Fallon, kimchi + ribs at the Haley House!

Our friends at the Haley House are hosting a pretty rad lady this week. Sally Fallon, she of the cookbook Nourishing Traditions and our personal inspiration in the ways of soaking grains, will be speaking on Jan 28 at 7 p.m. To spice up the discussion, Boston food scene visionary Didi Emmons and the advanced cooking students from Haley House will be making korean beef ribs and homemade kimchi for dinner.

They’re asking for 75 bucks per person for the event. All of the proceeds benefit the Haley House’s youth cooking program. You can watch a very lovely video, here, about that. There’s limited seating… so if you want in, contact kelly@haleyhouse.org, ASAP!

Community / Events — No Comments
21
Jan 09

Souper Bowl I — RSVP now!

We would like to see you all again. And that’s one reason why on Feb. 8 from 3 to 6 p.m., we’re hosting our first annual Souper Bowl at the Haley House Cafe in Roxbury.*

There will be five different soups, with options for vegans, vegetarians and carnivores. There will be beer. There will be bread and cheese. There will be other treats. All of this, of course, will feature regional ingredients and local producers.

And all of this is available to you, good eater, for 10 bucks.

For those of you who made it to our beer tasting, cheese fest and/or assorted potlucks, hopefully you know that we like to practice this local foods thing in the company of others. It’s a fun time and it calls attention (in a rather lively way) to how possible it truly is to acquire local, sustainable food in the city. Even in the dead of winter.

And that’s the other reason why we’re hosting this event: To show the naysayers that even as we’re all walking around with our February faces, we can still lay our hands on some very spectacular meat and veggies from New England. Localvores do not only come out in summer and fall.

So here’s the deal:
Space is limited. Please RSVP to info@bostonlocalvores.org and note how many guests you’ll be bringing. The first 40 people to respond will certainly get in. Any thereafter will be placed on a waiting list. I’ll write you to confirm your spot.

We’re asking you to:
-Bring a bowl (um, to eat from, because we’re trying to be efficient)
-Bring a $10 donation, or more if you like. A bit of the money raised will be used to cover the cost of food. The rest will go directly to the Haley House and the very cool programs they have there.
-RSVP as soon as possible

A couple more things:
We are in the process of firming up our menu and sponsors. We’ll send more details as soon as we can.
We’re alsolooking for a couple of volunteers to help with prep/clean up. If you’re interested, please give a shout.

*We’d be remiss if we didn’t give props to the Mad River Localvore Projectin VT for the Souper Bowl idea. They’re hosting their second annual this week!