News from Slow Food Portland:

February 18: Rob Shetterly, Maine artist of the famous “Americans Who Tell the Truth” series, will speak about what it means to stand up and take action at important moments in history, like today.  After a reception of local food, he will lead a community discussion about what needs to happen in our communities, and how we can stand up to take action.  (Freeport Community Center, February 18, 6:30 pm)

February 23: Suburbia and all it promises has become the American Dream.  But in the 21st century, serious questions have emerged about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, the film The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. (Frontier Café, February  23, 7 pm; $5 admission)

March 6: Celebrated economist and environmentalist Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, will talk about his upcoming book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, and his work with 350.org. (Freeport Performing Arts Center, March 6, 7 pm; suggested donation $5)

The following event is being planned by students in the UNH Hospitality Program. They are interested in sourcing as much produce as possible from local farmers. They have proposed a menu but are willing to take inspiration from local offerings. If you have large quantities of produce available, please contact Amy Winans (amy.winans@unh.edu).

From a UNH press release:

Enjoy Some Sinful Indulgence at the UNH Gourmet Dinner March 5 and 6

DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire will serve up seven courses of sinful indulgence at two gourmet dinners in March.

Organized by the hospitality management students at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, “Sinful Indulgence” gourmet dinners will be held Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6, 2010, at Stillings, 20 Ballard Drive, Durham, NH, beginning with a cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres at 6 o’clock and dinner to follow.

The concept of the dinner revolves around the Seven Cardinal Sins. Each course will include locally produced foods and represent each of the sins. The menu will be paired with elegant décor that will transform Stillings into an atmosphere where guests will experience the seven indulgences representing greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, pride, sloth, and envy.

“This event challenges the students of UNH’s Advanced Food and Beverage Operations Management class to design, organize, and direct two gourmet dinners for approximately 200 guests per night. The event prepares students for what to expect in the world of hospitality management beyond the college classroom, and it provides hands-on management experience from the beginning to end of formal event planning,” said Bridget McCartney, marketing manager for Sinful Indulgence.

Students have six weeks to plan and execute the dinner, and take on real-world executive management positions in the process, including general manager, chief financial officer, front of the house manager, executive chef, human resource director, and director of marketing.

Tickets for Sinful Indulgence are $50 per person and may be purchased through UNH event online ticketing.

The UNH Department of Hospitality Management combines business fundamentals as well as classes geared toward the service industry sector. Hands-on education proves to be a strong and integral part of the experiential and academic curriculum. The department also offers the first-ever EcoGastronomy Program, which integrates UNH’s strengths in sustainable agriculture, hospitality management, and nutrition to offer a unique academic program emphasizing the interdisciplinary, international, and experiential knowledge that connects all three fields.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state’s flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

All you culturally curious eaters will want to know about a new series at Halley Gallery titled Art & Dine. Each themed event will include a sit-down dinner as well a presentation and discussion. Take a dinner-table trip to Iran on March 19th, as the gallery celebrates  the Spring Equinox and Persian New Year (No Rouz). Guests will sample Persian food, view Rick Steves’ presentation on Iran - Yesterday and Today, and take an armchair tour through Iran’s history, art, culture, and politics, seen through the eyes of a world traveler. All this for $60 a couple, which includes event, food, and 15% discount on gallery shopping. Seating is limited! Contact the Haley Gallery to reserve your spot.

Save the dates!

WHAT: 2010 Open House

WHEN: March 27 and 28, 2010

WHERE: Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm, Northwood, NH

MORE INFO: Sugarmomma’s website

Via the Seacoast Eat Local blog:

Go Green, Go Healthy Fair - February 6th in Fremont
“This free, family-friendly event will also include massage, chiropractic care, natural cleaning ideas, nutrition ideas, energy conservation tools, stress reduction services, face painting, and healthy food samples.”

Via the Seacoast Eat Local blog:

Bringing together farmers, gardeners, localvores, educators, and consumers … featuring workshops and vendors: NOFA-NH Winter Conference: “A Place at the Table”

How do kids learn to eat well - or poorly? With food manufacturers aggressively pushing junk food and branded processed food at kids, teaching the children in your life about good, clean, fair food isn’t an easy task. It might help to know what you’re up against.

On February 11 at 6:30 the first Seacoast screening of a provocative documentary on marketing food and other consumer goods directly to children. The Rye PTA and Nature’s Wonders are partnering to present  CONSUMING KIDS: The Commercialization of Childhood . This film by the Media Education Foundation reveals the practices of a million-dollar marketing machine that now sells kids and their parents everything from junk food and video games to bogus educational products. 

Drawing on the insights of health care professionals, children’s advocates, and industry insiders, the film focuses on the explosive growth of child marketing in the wake of deregulation, showing how youth marketers have used the latest advances in psychology and neuroscience to transform Children into the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world.

CONSUMING KIDS pushes back against the wholesale commercialization of childhood, raising urgent questions about the ethics of children’s marketing and its impact on the health and well-being of kids. The film will be shown at the Rye Public Library on February 11 at 6:30 PM.

The New England Marketplace at One Washington Center in Dover, N.H. is seeking artisans and specialty food producers throughout New England with products for purchase to participate in a Specialty Food and Artisan Marketplace being organized in the upcoming months.
 
“We noticed a demand for specialty food producers and artisan to have an outlet to display their wares”, says Bonnie McLoud the marketplace organizer and part owner of Crazy Camel Dessert Hummus. “There are so many wonderful products hand produced in New England that do not have always have a channel to market their goods.  Many small business owners of this type do not have typical bricks and mortar storefront and we thought that this would be a great venue to offer to artisan and specialty food producers.”
 
In partnership with Washington Street Mills at One Washington Center in Dover, The New England Marketplace will offer three different event dates in the upcoming months.  The events will be held inside on the first floor of the Picker building. Vendors can attend all three event dates or choose from one of the dates based on their schedule.
 
Also organizing the event is Sheila Speckin and Kim Knight of Maine Buck Nuts. “The Picker Building is a great space to hold this type of event.  It has great windows with views of the river and there is room for 40 vendors. We want the event to be a feel good event.  Great products that make you feel good from gourmet packaged foods to a one of kind artisan works.”
 
The New England Marketplace event dates are slated for the last Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. February 27th, March 27th and April 24th        
 
There will be music performed on acoustic guitar from 12:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. by Barry Arvin Young of Buxton, Maine.
 
Specialty Food Producers and Artisans interested in participating or who would like more information can contact Bonnie or Sheila. Bonnie McLoud 603-502-0434 Email: Bonniemcloud@comcast.net or Sheila Speckin 207 423-2854 Email Sheila@mainebucknuts.com.

On Saturday, January 23, 35 farmers, fishermen and food producers will be inside the beautiful greenhouses of Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford, NH from 10am-2pm, selling their vegetables, meats, cheeses, milk, eggs, fish and shrimp, prepared foods, baked goods, honey and maple syrup! You can find a full list of participating vendors and the products they will be selling at www.seacoasteatlocal.org

Wentworth Greenhouses is located at 141 Rollins Rd, Rollinsford, NH, just a mile past Red’s Shoe Barn of Dover. Here’s a map!

Look forward to:

Vegetables
spinach, bok choi, salad greens, kale, radishes, cabbage, lettuce, winter squash, carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, garlic, and parsnips

Meats
beef from Kellie Brook Farm, Lasting Legacy
pork from Brookford Farm, Jenness Farm, Kellie
Brook Farm, Lasting Legacy, New Roots Farm
elk from Velvet Pastures Elk Ranch
chicken from Kellie Brook Farm, Lasting Legacy,
Yellow House Farm
lamb from Lasting Legacy, Riverslea Farm
duck from Yellow House Farm
goat from Jenness Farm, Riverslea Farm
turkey from Kellie Brook Farm, Lasting Legacy

Dairy
As the daylight grows longer, chickens and ducks lay more eggs. Fresh eggs last up to five weeks in the refrigerator so plan to buy enough to last you until the next market on February 13, three weeks away! There will also be cow’s milk, goat’s milk, goat’s milk cheeses, and cow + goat’s milk yogurt.

Seafood
Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative will (as long as the weather cooperates for fishing!) be selling their own shrimp and lobster and Eastman’s Fish will be selling their own locally caught fish. Seaport Fish will also be selling locally caught seafood. Keep reading for a workshop on cleaning, cooking, and freezing shrimp offered by UNH

Maple Syrup + Honey!

Locally made foods:
breads, jams + jellies, granola, teas, pot pies, Indian curries, chowder, sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, shepherd’s pie, country stew, muffins, frozen cookie dough, scones, pies, rolls, pastries, brownies, cookies

Seacoast area farmers are working hard to feed us well this winter, and appreciate our support as much as we appreciate their vegetables! Spread the word through friends, family, and coworkers, and invite them to come enjoy local food year round!

For a complete list of vendors and the products they will be bringing, visit www.seacoasteatlocal.org; check back often for updates! Product availability depends on consumer demand and weather; please be flexible when planning purchases.

Winter Farmers’ Market: Saturday, January 9, 35 farmers, fishermen and food producers will be in the cafeteria of the new Exeter High School in Exeter, NH from 10am-2pm, selling their meats, cheeses, milk, eggs, vegetables, fish and shrimp, prepared foods, baked goods, honey and maple syrup! You can find a full list of participating vendors and the products they will be selling at www.seacoasteatlocal.org. The new Exeter High School is located at 1 Blue Hawk Drive, or 315 Epping for GPS.

Seacoast area farmers and food producers have expanded their offerings in response to customers seeking fresh, wholesome, sustainable foods and this season’s winter markets include a wide diversity of local products. Shoppers can look forward to filling their tote bags with a wide variety of vegetables including salad greens, broccoli, bok choi, kale, radishes, cabbage, lettuce, winter squash, carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, garlic, and parsnips. Local, sustainable meats and seafood will be for sale such as beef, pork, chicken, lamb, duck, goat, turkey, lobster, and shrimp as well as dairy products including eggs, milk, and cheeses. Honey, maple syrup, prepared foods and baked goods round out the farmers’ market making the market a one-stop shopping opportunity for local food.

For more information, visit www.seacoasteatlocal.org