On Sunday, April 3, 2011, Slow Food Seacoast and Tidewater Waldorf School welcomed 140 people to a Localvore Brunch & Heirloom Seed Plant-In in Kittery, ME. All the planning and prepping by lots of volunteers really paid off! When the first attendees entered at 11 am on the dot, the serving line was ready to fill their plates.

The Ouellette family, "hard-core locavores" from Barrington, were among the first to arrive.

The event’s truly local meal featured several dishes prepared by volunteers on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning:

• Buttermilk Pancakes made with whole wheat pastry flour, buttermilk, and whole milk donated by Brookford Farm (Rollinsford, NH); Kate’s Homemade Butter; local eggs (see below) and honey; and Maine Sea Salt (Marshfield, ME)—topped with maple syrup from Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm (Northwood, NH)
  
• Scrambled Eggs from Nick’s Chicks (at Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm) and many local backyard chickens
• Peppercorn-Fennel Pork Sausage from New Roots Farm (Newmarket, NH)
  
• Turkey Sausage made with turkey from Misty Knoll Farms (New Haven, VT), apple cider from Carter Hill Orchard (Concord, NH), maple syrup from Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm, and locally foraged native seasonings (sumac and sassafrass)
• Apple Compote made with apples donated by Wolf Pine Farm (Alfred, ME) sautéed in Kate’s Homemade Butter, sweetened with apple cider from Carter Hill Orchard and maple syrup from Sugarmomma’s Maple Farm
• Yogurt from Brookford Farm
• Apple Cider from Carter Hill Orchard
• Coffee from Equal Exchange (West Bridgewater, MA)
• Cream from Brookford Farm
• Tea from White Heron Tea (Rollinsford, NH)  and Equal Exchange

Alison Magill, co-leader of Slow Food Seacoast, talks a bit about what "locavore" means.

Even though the event was primarily about the meal, a few other activities rounded out the day:

• Volunteers from Tidewater led kids (and adults!) in seed-planting and other craft activities.
• Kate and Pam from Slow Food Seacoast gave away packets and packets of heirloom seeds—some featured in the Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) Alliance—and encouraged both novice and seasoned gardeners to plant the seeds, enjoy the produce, save seeds from the harvest, and bring seeds back in the fall (or next spring) to share with other gardeners.
• Deb Locke (a.k.a. Sugarmomma) answered questions about maple syrup and maple sugaring.

In addition, attendees donated a total of almost $250 to a special fund for Brookford Farm (which had generously donated many, many ingredients for this event, despite the tragic loss of several dairy cows last week). The Mahoneys have our support, and we were happy to be able to both thank them for their contributions and express our condolences in person.

A great many volunteers from Slow Food Seacoast and Tidewater Waldorf School made this event possible. THANK YOU to each and every person who donated, shopped for, prepped, cooked, served, cleaned up, or composted food (thanks to EcoMovement in Portsmouth, NH); set up or cleaned up the space at the Lions Club; or helped publicize the event or record it (in photos) for posterity. Without a community like you, a successful event like this one would not be possible.

Should we do it again? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. Want to see more pictures? Check out the event photos on our Flickr page.

Alison Petersen from Tidewater Waldorf School shows Catarina and Emanuel Mahoney of Brookford Farm how to create a living centerpiece that their grass-fed dairy cows wouldn't mind nibbling! Made from bark, potting soil, and soaked wheat berries, this decoration for their spring table will sprout into lovely green grass in about 1 week.

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

John Forti, Jean Jennings, and Evan Mallett in Italy (Photo: Jean Jennings)

CALLING ALL FARMERS, FISHERS, RANCHERS, CHEFS, AND CONSUMERS WHO VALUE GOOD, CLEAN, AND FAIR FOOD: You’re invited to Terra Madre “Taste of Place”: A Slow Food Seacoast Social at The Press Room in Portsmouth on March 10!

Come celebrate our shared roots with great local food and fun! Learn more about Terra Madre, known as the “farmers’ United Nations”, from local delegates who represented the Seacoast region at the Terra Madre conference in October 2010: John Forti of Slow Food Seacoast, Jean Jennings of Meadow’s Mirth, and Evan Mallett of Black Trumpet Bistro. These Seacoast representatives joined more than 5,000 delegates from 150 countries at the Olympic Stadium in Turin, Italy, to discuss how to create new economies and artisanal products around local agriculture, horticulture, and fisheries.

DATE: Thursday, March 10, 2011

TIME: 5–7:45 pm

PLACE: UPSTAIRS at The Press Room, 77 Daniel Street, Portsmouth, NH

MORE: Click here for more details about Terra Madre “Taste of Place”: A Slow Food Seacoast Social.

Beautiful produce in Eataly! (Photo: Jean Jennings)

Admission to this informal social event is free! Light appetizers will be provided by Black Trumpet Bistro, and local music will entertain us. Please patronize the cash bar to thank The Press Room for hosting this event.

More Info

• Slow Food Seacoast
• U.S. Terra Madre Network
• The Press Room

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.

In case you haven’t been bitten by the urge to garden yet (and with this weather, how can you not?), you might be spurred to action by knowing that April is National Garden Month!

From the National Gardening Association:

Every April communities, organizations, and individuals nationwide celebrate gardening during National Garden Month. Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place!

If you don’t have a garden of your own but are itching to get some dirt under your fingernails, pencil in April 24. In the morning, join other volunteers for Garden Cleanup Day to help ready Strawbery Banke Museum for its opening a week later. In the afternoon, attend free workshops at the  Heirloom Seed Plant-In, also at Strawbery Banke. Slow Food Seacoast is partnering with Strawbery Banke and the Chefs Collaborative to teach you how to grow and eat unique heirloom produce from your own backyard. See DETAILS and AGENDA for these events. RSVP requested.

As if that weren’t enough to urge you to don your gardening gloves, the Seacoast Community Garden Network (brainchild of Slow Food Seacoast’s own Jenny Isler!) is poised to launch its interactive website in May to inform and connect gardeners, and to connect gardeners and gardens. Stay tuned for the official announcement!

Ready to get your hands into the soil and bring back the green? On Saturday, April 24 (rain date: Sunday, April 25), join an inspired community in helping to bring new life to the historic gardens at Strawbery Banke Museum. The day starts with the Strawbery Banke Earth Day Volunteer Garden Cleanup and continues into the afternoon with a Slow Food Potluck and an Heirloom Seed Plant-In.

Other work opportunities also will be available throughout the site for those not inclined toward gardening, but all work done will help the museum get ready for its May 1 opening.

Morning: Garden Cleanup

Volunteers should arrive at the Strawbery Banke Visitors Center between 8:30 and 9:00 am for work assignments and refreshments. Please feel free to bring your favorite gardening tools, wheelbarrows, rakes, and gloves. All other tools will be provided by the Museum. Park in the lot by the Visitors Center at 14 Hancock Street, Portsmouth.

Midday: Slow Food Potluck Lunch

An optional Slow Food Potluck Lunch will follow at 12:30 pm. Visit the Slow Food Seacoast website and About Our Potlucks to learn more about Slow Food Seacoast and our potluck events.

Afternoon: Heirloom Seed “Plant-In”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and to further the day’s theme, join us for an Heirloom Seed Plant-In from 1:30 to 4:00 pm!  Slow Food Seacoast is partnering with Strawbery Banke and the Chefs Collaborative to teach how to grow and eat food from your own backyard. Participants will receive free heirloom seeds and plants, and enjoy free workshops and talks. Afternoon sessions will include Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) information sessions, gardening tips, and heirloom seed planting, plus plenty of opportunities to get dirt under your fingernails.

>>Please RSVP by April 19 to volunteers@strawberybanke.org or 1-603-433-1110; tell us if you plan to bring gardening tools and a potluck dish.<<

Program Schedule and Locations [subject to change]

8:30–9:00 am: Volunteers arrive at Strawbery Banke for work assignments and refreshments (Visitors Center)

12:30 pm: Slow Food Potluck Lunch; visit About Our Potlucks to learn more about Slow Food Seacoast potluck events (Visitors Center)

1:30 pm: RAFT Heirloom Seed Plant-In and plant giveaway (Visitors Center)

1:30–4:00 pm: “Planting for Kids and Families” ongoing in the Children’s Garden with UNH Cooperative Extension Service Master Gardeners (Victorian Children’s Garden)

1:45 pm: David Buchanon of Slow Food Portland—”Slow Food in the Garden” The Ark of Taste and RAFT programs (Visitors Center)

2:00 pm: “Planting and Saving Heirloom Seeds”—Return to the gardens for a hands program planting early crops at the 1695 Sherburne, 1919 Shapiro, and 1944 Victory Gardens (meet in front of the Visitor Center)

2:30 pm: “Community Gardening”—Suzanne MacDonald (Community Gardens)

3:00 pm: “Slow Food—Sustainable Gardens” with John Forti, Slow Food Seacoast (Visitor Center)

You knew were a Seacoast resident, but did you know you are also part of Clambake Nation?

The Slow Food USA initiative called RAFT (Renewing America’s Food Traditions) has organized the United States into regional ‘nations’ based on shared food histories. Within each group, convivia work together with RAFT’s seven supporting organizations to “document, restore, and celebrate” each region’s threatened foods. RAFT also encourages us to identify local foods that should be listed on Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. The Ark list exists to raise awareness of threatened foods, and encourage projects to help preserve them and revive their use. Here’s the list of foods RAFT is specifically working to support in Clambake Nation; as you’ll see, many of our members and associates are actively engaged in growing, cooking, or teaching about many of them, such as American heirloom apples, Native strawberries, and cranberry beans.