RAFT tomatoes 2010

Celebrate maple season with a Localvore Brunch and Heirloom Seed Plant-In! Slow Food Seacoast is partnering with the Tidewater Waldorf School to bring you a delicious truly local meal and activities for all ages.

• The meal will feature pancakes, maple syrup, eggs, sausage, yogurt and apple compote—all grown, raised, and produced in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. (Fair-trade coffee and tea also will be served.)
• Slow Food Seacoast will distribute at-risk heirloom seeds featured in the Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) Alliance and offer seed-planting tips.
• The Tidewater Waldorf School will offer nature-based craft activities for kids.

EVENT: Localvore Brunch and Heirloom Seed Plant-In
DATE: Sunday, April 3, 2011
TIME: 11 am–2 pm
PLACE: Kittery Lions Club, 17 State Road, Kittery, ME
COST: $12/adult (Slow Food USA members $10); $5/child under 12

Tapping maple trees at Tidewater Waldorf School

Volunteers are needed on the day of the event! If you are interested and available during any of the following times, please send us an e-mail with “I want to volunteer” in the subject line. Tell us when you’re available to help, and include your phone number and the best time to contact you. Thanks!

10:00am–11:00 am: Set up tables and chairs; prep food
11:00 am–12:30 pm: Cook and serve food
12:30 pm  - 2:00pm: Cook and serve food
2:00pm –3:00 pm: Clean up kitchen and hall

Photo: Chefs Collaborative

This September, Slow Food Seacoast is planning an exciting and elegant educational component to the Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner to demonstrate what RAFT really means and why it’s an important initiative. Our hope is that diners will take away from this fabulous fine-dining experience a full tummy, a contented smile, and an appreciation of not only what RAFT is but also what it means.

The goal is to bring each diner’s attention back from the plate to the chefs in the kitchen, to the farmers in the field, and to those who have come before as a way of connecting the dining experience to the significance of the “at-risk” produce varieties featured in the RAFT Alliance and, hence, on the Barn Dinner menu.

Diners approaching the barn at Meadow’s Mirth/Berry Hill Farm for the 4 pm cocktail hour will be greeted by tables displaying the very RAFT varieties that will grace their dinner plates an hour later. They can learn where those produce were grown and by whom, why those produce are historically interesting or significant, and who will be preparing that food for the dinner. RAFT seeds also will be available as give-aways to attendees, who can learn how to save the seeds from one year’s harvest for the next year’s planting—which is not only a frugal practice but also an essential step in preserving the best heirloom varieties.

In the barn, displays will illustrate the many connections underlying the dinner. They will feature photos of the 2010 RAFT Grow-Out farmers, chefs, and produce varieties, accompanied by relevant quotes (from farmers and chefs) as well as descriptions and the significance (historical, agricultural, and gastronomical) of the varieties to us New Englanders. In other words, why have people in New England bothered to save these seeds, grow these crops, eat these foods … then start the process all over again for generations? And in this so-called modern age, why should we continue to do so?

Slow Food Seacoast and co-organizers of the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner are excited to collaborate on this project and look forward to making the event successful in so many ways! Visit the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner page for event details and purchase your tickets.

Via York Goes Green:

Second Annual York Energy & Climate Fair

WHAT: Learn about energy efficiency, new power sources, energy audits, composting, “green” building technologies, and new products for sustainable and efficient living. Other features include a farmers’ market and an array of food, agriculture, and transportation resources.

WHEN: May 1, 2010, 9 am–2 pm

WHERE: York Middle School, 30 Organug Road, York Village, ME

COST: FREE!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: See the York Goes Green website

Summer CSA harvest

Seacoast Eat Local is sponsoring yet another great event to connect consumers and food producers in the Seacoast! They’ve planned a community-supported agriculture (CSA) and community-supported fisheries (CSF) event to coincide with the Winter Farmers’ Market to be held at Wentworth Greenhouses (141 Rollins Rd, Rollinsford, NH—a mile past Red’s Shoe Barn on Broadway in Dover), on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 10 am to 2 pm. (Similar events will take place at 12 locations in Maine and in Newburyport, Mass., on Sunday, Feb. 28.)

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about CSA and CSF, keep reading … then attend the event that’s local to you. Learn, ask questions, meet 15 participating farms and fisheries, make connections, and maybe sign up for your own 2010 share.

Learn more: Download the Choosing a CSA flyer (PDF) from Seacoast Eat Local.

Learn more: Read a comprehensive list of CSA farms in Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties in Seacoast Harvest: A Local Food Guide.

Learn more: Get dates, times, and directions for all of the Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets.

From a Seacoast Eat Local press release:

Seacoast CSA + CSF Day Coming to Winter Farmers’ Market

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a partnership between consumers and farmers in which members buy shares of the farm’s harvest and receive regular allotments of food throughout the growing season. For farmers, this provides much needed cash flow for the beginning of the season, as well as a ready market and community of supporters. Shareholders join in the risks of the growing season but reap the benefits of the harvest.

Community Supported Fisheries, or CSFs (modeled after CSAs), are a way to buy seafood directly from fishermen and support our local fisheries by purchasing seasonal shares.

Each CSA and CSF has its own pricing structure and distribution schedule, and some farms have work requirements. Signups for CSA and CSF shares often begin in February by directly contacting the farm or sponsoring fishery.

Participating Farms & Fisheries:

Brookford Farm
Connolly’s Organics
Eastman’s Local Catch
Farmer Dave’s CSA
Heron Pond Farm
Meadow’s Mirth
New Roots Farm
Riverside Farm
Riverslea Farm
Stone Wall Farm / Osprey Cove Organic Farm
Touching Earth Farm
Two Toad Farm
Wake Robin Farm
Willow Pond Community Farm
Wolf Pine Farm CSA

More via Slow Food Portland:

Due to some last-minute cancellations, Appleton Creamery (Appleton, ME) still has space left in the 2-day Home Cheesemaking workshop, February 27 and 28. Visit the Appleton Creamery website for details and fees.

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)

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.

From our friends at Seacoast Eat Local comes the following request. We hope you can take part!

***

The Portsmouth Farmers’ Market is open through November 7 and the Kennebunk Market will be open through November 14, and indoor winter farmers’ markets are coming soon!

Seacoast Eat Local has organized a total of 11 winter farmers’ markets for the 2009-10 season, ensuring you can buy local food from your farmers all winter long. The first market is just three weeks away, on November 21 at the Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford from 10am-2pm.

We’re looking for volunteers!

Volunteers play an important role during our winter farmers’ markets. From helping unload and carry foods, to making sure the customers coming in know about the next markets and have answers to their questions, to clean up, volunteers make sure the markets are the best possible for farmers and customers.

Some of the volunteer roles include:

In addition to these jobs, we’re also looking for a volunteer who might want to take on a larger, organizing role. We’d like to set up a simple area for families to take a break and relax with their kids and we’re looking for someone who has a vision for what that might look like, to be implemented with volunteer support.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Erin Ehlers at erin@yogaonthehillkittery.com. Mention the date(s) that you are available, and preferred volunteer role if you have one.

Market dates/locations: (All markets are Saturdays with hours of 10am-2pm)

November 21 - Wentworth Greenhouses, 141 Rollins Rd, Rollinsford, NH
December 5 - Wentworth Greenhouses
December 12 - Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter, NH
December 19 - Wentworth Greenhouses
January 9 - Exeter
January 23 - Wentworth Greenhouses
February 13 - Exeter
February 27 - Wentworth Greenhouses
March 13 - Exeter
March 27 - Wentworth Greenhouses
April 10 - Exeter

No matter your availability to volunteer, we hope to see you at the markets!

Sara Zoe Patterson, on behalf of Seacoast Eat Local
sarazoe@seacoasteatlocal.org
blog.seacoasteatlocal.org
www.seacoasteatlocal.org

Seacoast Eat Local welcomes donations in support of the winter farmers’ markets. Your donation supports the growth of these markets, enabling a more sustainable, self-reliant food system in our region. Donate online via PayPal, or contact us to send a donation by mail.

… of food preservation!

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 UMaine Cooperative Extension Master Food Preserver training. To obtain a Master Food Preserver training applications, contact Lois Elwell at lelwell@umext.maine.edu or 1-800-287-1471. The deadline for applications for the 2009 Master Food Preserver training is May 1, 2009.

Slow Food Seacoast is very excited to be working with a new partner, Clay Hill Farm in Ogunquit, ME - you may know them for the Green Wedding Giveaway contest that was won by friend and frequent partner of Slow Food Seacoast, Jonathan Blakeslee and Joelle Guerard of White Heron Tea! Clay Hill Farm is taking steps into the sustainability movement and has planned a great Earth Day celebration called Clay Hill Unplugged. Slow Food Seacoast will be there!

Clay Hill Farm is on a 30-acre tree farm originally settled in 1780. It’s the only restaurant ever to be certified and congratulated by the National Wildlife Association as a wildlife habitat and bird sanctuary, and is a Maine Certified Environmental Leader. We’re excited that they’ve reached out to the Slow Food movement.

Hope to see you there! This should be a lovely weeknight out.

The Details:

Lights out! Celebrate sustainability with a candlelit event featuring local music, local food and local resources
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd at Clay Hill Farm
Time: 5:30 pm
Tickets: $15 in advance/ $18 at the door

Hors d’oeuvres ~ acoustic music ~ tastings ~ charity raffle ~ networking and chats with local businesses, growers and earth-conscious folk.

Live Perfomances by:

Jonathan Blakeslee  (the 2009 Green Wedding Giveaway contest groom-to-be WINNER!)

Adam Flaherty of the Sea Captains

Pat Keane Classical Guitar

Presentations by:

Slow Food Seacoast ~ Michelle Moon

Strawbery Banke ~ John Forti

The Green Alliance ~ Sarah Brown

(We think there will be a greens tasting from Andy’s Greens and Smiling Hill farm cheese, too!)

EVENT SPONSORS: Bartram’s Beeswax Candles, Lori D Entertainment, Adam Flaherty Productions, Ovington Produce, Great Works Regional Land Trust, White Heron Tea, Carpe Diem Coffee, Center for Wildlife, Griffin-vites Watercolor Stationary, Haunted Milk Marketing, Purely Organic Lawncare,
Dixon’s Earth-friendly Golf Balls

Candlelight courtesy of Bartram’s Beeswax Candles
Logo by Haunted Milk Marketing & Design