Slow Food Webcasts

by Slow Food USA staffer Patrick Keeler

On Friday, January 23rd, I spent the work day observing the taping of five soon-to-be-released webcasts at the Bon Appetit magazine Test Kitchen in Times Square.

Last summer, Slow Food USA teamed up with cookware giant Anolon to help get the word out about Slow Food to new audiences.  As part of this partnership—in addition to a sustainable chef and farmer calendar you may have seen in Gourmet magazine late last year—Slow Food USA helped to secure a couple of our favorite go-to talents for the filming of five webcasts about seasonal, sustainable cooking for the home chef.  Chef Bill Telepan of Telepan restaurant here in New York on the Upper West side and Chef Galen Zamarra of Mas (farmhouse) in the Village were invited to Bon Appetit magazine’s culinary studio and test kitchen, where they were joined by Jonathan Lindenauer – Bon Appetit’s chef de maison for the taping of these webcasts. 

It comes with the territory that NYC chefs get to chat with other celebrated local chefs on the rare occasions they are released from their own kitchen duties, so it was refreshing to watch Bill and Galen interact in an otherwise foreign kitchen.  The concept: a four-course meal featuring locally-sourced and seasonal ingredients, followed by a segment of the three chefs sitting down to enjoy their creations and talk shop about “Slow” home cooking.  In the videos which will soon be available for viewing, Bill Telepan prepared a lovely herb-stuffed leg of lamb with a confit of heirloom beans.  The was preceded by Jonathan’s butternut squash soup with pancetta and ginger snap crumbs and an appetizer of diver scallops on a bed of caramelized cauliflower puree.  Rounding out the meal was Galen Zamarra’s heirloom apple tarte fine with caramel sauce.

Working at the Slow Food USA national office comes with a few perks, but as a former urban farmer and current “development dude, ” visiting the set of tele-kitchen was a first for me.  I must say, there’s a lot more that goes into the taping of Paula, Rachel, Jamie and Martha than meets the eye – the viewer isn’t privileged to see the numerous retakes as the chefs stumble over their words, the make-up artist re-applies foundation to a sweating brow, the prep cooks (and me) in the side kitchen make too much background noise and ruin the take, and the “food artist” steps in to arrange the finished product so it looks appetizing (this could be a simple garnish or an inedible glaze of sorts).  I truly appreciated observing the film crew yelling “wait, wait, wait!” every time one of the chefs got ready to slice into or blend a near-finished product – you get one shot, or you wait another hour for another leg of lamb.  I even got to play “director” once or twice, guiding the chefs on which Slow Food USA talking points to emphasize here and there. 

We’re anxious to see the finished, polished product (and hopefully they edited out my talking in the background just that once!)  We’ll let you know when you can check out the webcasts; stay tuned….and…

Cut!

All American Cocktail

by Allen Katz

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
 
Now that the election is finally over us there is one thing we can all truly celebrate. We will soon have a President who enjoys a tasty tipple. Hallelujah!

And in that Presidential vein there is no better time to hail Rye Whiskey, America’s true native spirit, the source of pleasure and profit of our very first Commander in Chief, George Washington. For all of Washington’s accolades in military and political accomplishment, he spent his final years at Mount Vernon adept in a multitude of businesses, among them the distilling of rye whiskey. So successful, in fact, was Washington that from 1797 – 1799 (when he passed away) he sold in excess of 11,000 gallons of rye whiskey each year – an extraordinary quantity.

After the Revolutionary War rye whiskey was the likely beverage of choice as it was both plentiful and cheap, rye being the chief grain of the mid-Atlantic states, principally Maryland and Pennsylvania where the distillation of rye was most prevalent. As the cocktail renaissance in United States continues, rye whiskey has regained more than a cult following among bartenders and whiskey devotees. And to our great fortune the distilleries (now primarily in Kentucky), which preserved the tradition of producing rye during the lean years post-Prohibition, have begun to release greater quantities and variety of aged marks as well.

If you have never tried a rye whiskey Manhattan, there is probably no finer cocktail. Savory, silky and refreshing, the addition of rye (rather than bourbon) adds a rather smooth finish that is even more noticeable on the second round.

Here’s hoping your candidate was victorious. Either way, celebrate our heritage and enjoy a tipple grand American rye whiskey.

MANHATTAN
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
 
Stir ingredients over ice until exceedingly well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
 
By profession, Allen Katz is the Director of Mixology & Spirits Education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Slow Food USA. [ed. please note that Allen is also newly-famous for growing an incredibly lustrous and absorbent beard, in the name of charity.]

Last Minute Holiday Gifts

It’s a little late in the game for buying holiday gifts, but hey, you’re slowwwwww and slow’s a good thing, right? 

If you left your shopping for the last minute, and are feeling a little bit nervous and a lot uninspired, we’re here to offer some delicious, nutritious, (not that ambitious) sustainable gifts for you.  Most of them won’t arrive in time, but you can give your loved ones an IOU that promises good things to come.

   
• Slow Food USA membership: How about a membership for that friend who keeps meaning to join but never gets around to it? Or a donation to the organization?
   
• T-shirts: our friends at Just Food have three that are simply adorable—“Beet the System,” anyone?
   
• Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Know someone interested in saving and savoring the endangered foods of North America? Check out the book!
   
• Feed the Hungry: Donate money to your local Food Bank in somebody’s name
   
• Slow Food in the Heartland: Slow Food USA Board Member Kurt Friese has written a beautiful book that explores the culinary traditions of the Midwest    
• Pleasures of Slow Food: Check out the Endangered Hog Foundation (in support of rebuilding Arie McFarlane’s farm and stock)
   
• Take back the tap! Bottled water is soooo 2008. Buy a SIGG bottle and take your tap water with you every day.
   
• Like it sweet? Try the unusual Guajillo Honey—newly boarded to Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste.
   
• Like it spicy? How about the crazily spicy Chiltepin Pepper, also an SFUSA Ark food? It’s pictured above…

Happy and Healthy Holidays from your friends at Slow Food USA!

Remembering Diane Joy Goodman

This text originally appeared in the CUESA newsletter

Slow Food mourns the November passing of Diane Joy Goodman, a passionate and effective hands on sustainability activist and moving force within the California food world. Diane was a key figure in the sustainable food movement, a committed advocate for organic farmers and a friend to many  chefs.

She ran a consulting business that helped clients (everyone from rice to vegetable growers) understand organic standards and regulatory compliance, navigate the certification process, and communicate organic practices through their marketing. She was also the two-time chair of the California Organic Foods Advisory Board, a member of the National Organic Standards Board (where she helped craft and pass the current standards), and an active member of many committees and task forces for organizations such as the Organic Trade Association (OTA).  

Diane’s daughter Allyson and Son in Law Larry Jossell carry  on her legacy of culinary integrity in San Francisco’s Nopa restaurant, for which Diane hand picked produce from farmer’s trucks as they came to the market. 

More after the jump

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Today, December 10th, is the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948—a declaration that, in its own words, establishes a “common standard of achievement” when it comes to the rights and freedoms of all people, all over the world.  One especially important right, as highlighted by Frances Moore Lappé on Huffington Post, is the right to food.  Do check out her post for a thoughtful exploration of how many people in the world no longer are thinking of food in this way, and in fact may be hostile to the idea of governments protecting and ensuring that right.

She assures ” In imagining food as a right of citizenship, please note: No change in human nature is required! Through most of human evolution—except for the last few thousand of roughly 200,000 years—Homo sapiens lived in societies where pervasive sharing of food was the norm. As food sharers, “especially among unrelated individuals,” humans are unique, writes authority on hunter-gatherer food transfers, Michael Gurven. Except in times of extreme privation, when some eat, all eat.”

An important day then for Lappé and for us to bring your attention to the recent victory achieved by recent Terra Madre delegates, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group we have featured here on the blog several times before, highlighting their efforts (and successes!) in getting fast food companies to raise their payment per pound of tomatoes by one penny in order to improve working conditions for tomato pickers in Florida. Last week, on December 3rd, in the midst of CIW’s national tour to protest Subway’s refusal to sign an agreement with them, Subway signed!  And not just for tomatoes; they have agreed to apply the price increase to their entire supply chain. 

To honor the incredible work that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is doing, CIW’s Lucas Benitez will be the honored guest at the Small Planet Fund’s fundraiser in NYC this evening.

Meet the Pres

Recently, our President, Josh Viertel, sat down with Gourmet’s Tracie McMillan and offered his thoughts on farming on the White House lawn, working in food justice, the growing youth food movement and the next chapter of Slow Food USA. Here’s a sample, click here to read the full Q & A.

Tracie McMillan: You’ve mostly worked as a farmer and an educator. How did you end up as president of Slow Food USA?

Joshua Viertel: Well before I was president of Slow Food USA, I was co director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project. I came to Yale when there was no project there and developed this organization with a working farm, internships and fellowships, and educational programs with an emphasis on sustainability, food and agriculture, and the environment.

I had really wanted to move to California to do work in sustainability food agriculture and education. I essentially threw myself in front of Alice Waters and said, “I want to move to California and help you do this. What can I do?” And she said, “Well, it’s too bad you want to move to California, because you really need to move to New Haven, Connecticut—there’s a group of students there pushing to have sustainable food in the dining halls and create a small farm, and they’re at a point where they really need to hire someone who knows how to do this. And that should be you.” I was really flattered and said, “The truth is, I think I want to move to California.” But then as I was leaving her office, I realized, “No, that is just too amazing an opportunity to pass up. And I want to do it.”

I’d been on the board for Slow Food USA for probably a year and a half and stepped off of the board to apply for the [president] position. I just felt very blessed to get the offer in the end.

TM: Did you come to this work more out of a farm background, or were you a foodie?

JV: Both. I grew up in a family that loved, really loved, food, but my parents are not farm people. I was always drawn to that stuff as a little kid, and I always really cared about the environment. I was always deeply concerned about social-justice questions. And those were just these disparate things: I loved to eat and I loved to cook, I was interested in farms from a distance and physical work in the world, and the two problems that concerned me most were the environment and social justice. It took taking a year off school and working on farms for me to realize that the problems I cared about most were core problems that were linked to the food we eat and the way it’s produced.

There’s also an incredible amount of pleasure in it. For me, this was a great revelation. I figured out that by doing the things I loved, I could address the problems that bothered me the most. So that’s really how I came to it, this combination of pleasure and responsibility.

Read the Q& A in its entirety.

Local Project Funding Opportunities!

by Gina Fiorello-Brady
Do you have a Slow Food In Schools Project?  Do you want to start a Slow Food In Schools Project?  We’ve come across a few funding opportunities for our chapters and project leaders.

Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb to Support Garden Programs.
Deadline: February 17, 2009
Launched in 2003, Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb has awarded grants totaling more than $300,000 to over a hundred community groups, schools, churches, and other organizations for their garden programs. This year, the program will award grants to twenty organizations in the United States and Canada. Each grantee will receive up to $1,500 in Fiskars garden tools and up to $800 in gardening-related materials (i.e. green goods).  Gardens and/or gardening projects geared toward community involvement, neighborhood beautification, sustainable agriculture, and/or horticultural education are eligible. Community garden groups as well as schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, and treatment facilities are all encouraged to apply.


General Mills Champion for Health Kids
Deadline: January 15, 2009
The General Mills Foundation, in partnership with the American Dietetic Association Foundation and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, developed the Champions for Healthy Kids grant program in 2002. Each year since inception, the General Mills Foundation awards 50 grants of $10,000 each to community-based groups that develop creative ways to help youth adopt a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle.

Marion Nestle Coming for Lunch, Explosions

by Slow Food USA staffer Kate Evanishyn

As you can imagine, we like to eat well here in the Brooklyn offices of Slow Food USA. Generally, we gather around our communal table around 1:00, reading the paper, doing the Times crossword (it’s a group effort) and eating whatever we happen to bring that day. A few times a year, however, we like to organize a staff potluck, usually timed with a guest.

Marion Nestle is coming for lunch tomorrow, and we’re completely excited, talking about who’s bringing what all day and thrilled that we’ll have the chance to spend some time with one of our heroes. For my part, I thought a frittata would be a good addition to the mix of roasted root vegetables, autumn salads, tasty deserts and more. But the last thing I expected was a kitchen mishap. Or in my case, an explosion. My ceramic and supposedly direct flame safe casserole shattered in a volcanic showing of egg, cheese, chorizo and pottery.

I have a back up, but that was supposed to be tonight’s dinner. I’ve got to admit, I’m really concerned about how to scrape egg off the ceiling. The gruyere is like glue.

America’s Next (Slow) Food Network Star

by Slow Food USA staffer Patrick Keeler

“Pssst…you wanna be a (Slow) Food Network Star?”

Despite all previous declarations that only megalomaniacs, bad karaoke junkies, select residents of Orange County, bored housewives and perennial bachelors were allowed – or wanted – to be reality TV stars, I made the bold and hypocritical move to audition for a reality television series. Not just any reali-tv show, but one with “flavor”: America’s Next Food Network Star, but only after some coaxing from the rest of the SFUSA staff around the lunch table.

More after the jump

One of Our Heroes: MFK Fisher

by Slow Food USA Intern, Cecilia Estreich

To open the recent panel discussion on MFK Fisher at the The New School, food historian Andrew F Smith noted that there are only two reactions to the renowned food writer’s work. First, there are the people who, after reading a sentence, devour everything the woman has ever written. Then, there are the ones who cannot make it through that same sentence no matter how doggedly they try. Since I finished my first MFK Fisher book, I have fallen devoutly, passionately (militantly?) into the former category. I would read a compilation of her grocery lists if only someone would publish it. 

Until listening to the panelists at the New School, though, it had never occurred to me how forcefully her attitude towards gastronomy reflects the Slow Food mentality. Fisher’s observations and musings on the things she ate are always one part poetry and one part practicality.

More after the jump