Slow Food Piedmont Triad News
Fall 2007

Announcements

Informal Book Discussion Group

Slow Food members Stephanie Reck and Laura Frazier are reading the new book by Nina Planck, Real Food: What to Eat and Why. A book discussion over coffee is being organized for late October. Stay tuned! An email announcement will be made about the meeting place and date.

Events

Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday Gardening Series: “Slow Food - Break the Fast!”
Reynolda Gardens Greenhouse, Wake Forest University
100 Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem, NC
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Free admission

Jim Toole will speak about Slow Food at the education wing of the greenhouse at Reynolda Gardens, a preserve of woodlands, fields, wetlands and formal gardens originally part of the Reynolda estate. Learn more about how you can make a difference – one delicious mouthful at a time! For directions and more information about Reynolda Gardens, please visit www.reynoldagardens.org.

Saturday, October 27, 2007
Workday and Potluck at Bettini Farm
2830 Lees Chapel Road, Greensboro
Begins at 10 am, lunch begins around 12:30
Please RSVP to Laurie at lponeill@slowfoodpiedmont.org by Oct. 24.
www.bettinifarm.com

Come out to the Bettini Farm on the skirts of Greensboro and participate in planting a sustainable muscadine grape vineyard. Help is needed in constructing the trellises (holes will be pre-dug!) and planting the vines that the Bettinis are now rooting from heirloom stock found on their family farm. Information will be provided on the process, and Deb and Randy will be happy to show you around the other parts of their farm. The persimmons may be ripe!

Not able or willing to get your hands in the dirt? Bring food to the potluck lunch, kick back, watch the trains, and socialize with other Slow Food Piedmont Triad members at the farmstand!

Please bring work gloves, a shovel or rake if you plan to participate in the work, and a lawn chair and a dish of slow food and a beverage for the potluck. The Bettinis will provide cutlery, plates, cups, ice and tea.

Agenda:

10:00a: Meet at Bettini Farm, 2830 Lee’s Chapel Road. Park in the driveway, additional parking is at the roadside produce stand.

10:15a: Welcome and intro to Bettini Farm - We will go over logistics, and what we are going to be doing.

10:30a: Overview of the softwood cuttings and layering method of rooting Muscadine plants. A handout of the rooting steps to prepare for next Spring’s planting will provided.

11:00a: Walk over to the vineyard site, discuss row placement, soil preparation, then break into teams and begin installation of posts and trellis system into the pre-dug holes.

12:30p - until: Lunch will be served at the produce stand, which will give us an opportunity for questions and answers, or just be railfans and watch the trains go by.

Sunday, October 28, 2007
Fall Open House at Goat Lady Dairy
3515 Jess Hackett Rd., Climax NC
1 to 5 pm
Free Admission – no pets please!
336-824-2163 www.goatladydairy.com

• goats, chickens, pigs, cows
• organic gardens, dairy barn, cheese-room
• award winning cheese
• local potter & woodcarver
• art exhibit
• local, pasture raised chicken, pork, beef, lamb, goat & ostrich for sale

Come out for a family afternoon on the farm. Get up close and personal with our goats, chickens, pigs and cows. Tour the organic gardens, dairy barn and cheese-room. Learn about sustainable agriculture. Taste our handmade, award winning cheeses (and buy some to take home!) Make a pot with local potter, Odell Routh. Watch our local woodcarver, Chris Corbett. Enjoy a special art exhibit of farm and animal paintings by the Piedmont Outdoor Painting Society. SPECIAL EVENT: Our local chapter of SLOW FOOD is sponsoring several local farmers who will bring their clean and humanely raised meats for sale. They will be on hand to tell how they produce local chicken, pork, beef, lamb, goat and ostrich. We will have samples for you to taste the flavor difference in local, clean raised meats. We look forward to your visit! For directions visit www.goatladydairy.com

See you on Oct. 28th – RAIN (we hope!) OR SHINE.

Friday, November 2, 2007
RAFT Picnic - Saving Authentic American Foods
The Inn at Celebrity Dairy
144 Celebrity Dairy Way, Siler City, NC
Space limited. $50 per person. Advance tickets required.

This event is the fourth of the five national RAFT picnics sponsored this year by The Renewing America’s Food Traditions Project. RAFT is a coalition of seven of the most prominent non-profit food, agriculture, conservation, and educational organizations dedicated to rescuing America’s diverse foods and food traditions. These organizations include: American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, Chefs Collaborative, Cultural Conservancy, Native Seed/SEARCH, Seed Savers Exchange, and Slow Food USA. The coalition was formalized between January and March of 2004 to support a synergy between these partners and local, tribal, or regional groups of producers in their on-going work of safeguarding and revitalizing authentically American foods.

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) will host its 30-year Anniversary Conference Reception on Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at The Inn at Celebrity Dairy. This year ALBC will also be celebrating their role as a partner in Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) by featuring rare breed meat, fruits, and vegetables from ALBC’s Conservation Priority List and the RAFT “Red List.” This will be a rare opportunity to sample endangered foods unique to the North American continent while celebrating ALBC’s 30 years of conservation of livestock and poultry breeds.

Come feast on an aromatic Armenian stew prepared with Tennessee Fainting goat, topped with organic tomatoes and nestled in a bed of Carolina Gold Rice. Sample Buckeye and Java chicken prepared in a lovely cream sauce that compliments their hearty and satisfying flavor. Enjoy warm apple crisp made from Stayman apples topped off with Celebrity Dairy’s own famous goat milk ice-cream—and much, much, more!

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Pittsboro, North Carolina, is dedicated to conservation and promotion of endangered breeds of livestock and poultry. ALBC monitors breed populations of eleven traditional agricultural species in the US, identifies endangered breeds, documents breed performance, and promotes their use. The preeminent source for information on genetic conservation of livestock and poultry in the US, ALBC has long recognized that sustainable agriculture is the ideal habitat for many of breeds that are regionally adapted and selected for self-sufficiency.

As with any great feast, space is limited. All tickets are advanced sale. Tickets are $50 each, and can be purchased through the ALBC website at http://albc-usa.org/conference2007/RAFTpicnic2007.html, or by phone at (919) 542-5704.

More information about the conference can be found at http://albc-usa.org/conference2007/conf2007.html

More information about RAFT can be found at Slow Food USA.

Directions and more information about Celebrity Dairy can be found at www.celebritydairy.com/inn/inn_directions.htm.

Friday-Sunday, November 9-11, 2007
22nd Annual CFSA Sustainable Agriculture Conference
Durham, NC

Registration and more details at www.carolinafarmstewards.org. Keynote speakers: Friday night, Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farm. Saturday night: Michael Ableman. Workshops, farm tours, meals, and socializing.

There’s one big day on our calendar for September, and it’s coming up on Saturday!  There will be a breakfast to raise funds for the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market at their annual Farmer’s Appreciation Day on Saturday, and Slow Food will have a table there.  After that, you can head out to Rising Meadow Farm for their fifth annual Farm Fest!  This event will be especially interesting for the knitters, crocheters, and weavers among you, but they will also have great music and local food!  Please check out the details below.

October and early November will be huge months for Slow Food and related organizations, so get ready for some big Slow Food fun next month!  Curious?  A few of these events are listed on the events page now, and more will be added in the next few days.  Please send me any food-related event announcements (non-commercial) to send to the list and put on our events web page.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Farmer’s Appreciation Day
Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Sts., Greensboro
6 a.m. - noon

The Market celebrates its anniversary and salutes the local farmer. This event features live music, exhibitors, free food tastings, door prizes, and more! Slow Food Piedmont Triad will have an information table at this event.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Farm Fest Five
Rising Meadow Farm, Randolph County
10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

A celebration of the Fiber Arts and “Good Living” featuring:

• Great Local Food - see description below!
• Fiber Animals
• Fiber Artists and other Fine Artisans
• Hands-On Demonstrations
• Sheep Dog Demonstrations
• Live Celtic Music- “Seamus Stout” from Fort Worth, Texas (www.seamusstout.com) including a couple of Pipers from the North Texas Caledonian Pipe Band

From Ann Fay: “We will have plenty of food to eat at Farm Fest as well as some things to buy and take home. On the menu will be two lamb offerings from Rising meadow Farm. Sliced leg of lamb and kefta (a Moroccan “burger”), both served in pita with homemade tzatziki sauce and homegrown tomatoes - hamburgers from TT Grassfed Beef, all beef hot dogs, and Middle Eastern fare from Zaytoon Restuarant in Greensboro. (hummus, spanokopita, felafel, Greek salad). For beverages there’ll be homemade apple cider (made right here by Windy Hill Orchards, Ararat, VA), homemade root beer (Three Waters Farm, Graham) and homemade lemonade by Girl Scout Troop #578, Grays Chapel. To top it all off there’ll be ice cream cones from Homeland Creamery and homemade coconut cake from “Sisters” (a couple of neighbors who bake wonderful goodies).

“As folks leave they can buy apples, jams and jellies from Windy Hill Orchard, honey and gourmet honey vinegar from Honeybee Harvest, Julian , grassfed beef from TT Grassfed Beef, Trinity and of course our Rising Meadow lamb.

“The whole idea about Farm Fest is that everything is homemade, handmade, homegrown, etc. The food goes right along with that!”

Directions at www.risingmeadow.com.

Saturday-Sunday, August 25-26, 2007
Wine, Cider & Mead Progressive Tasting Tour
Foggy Ridge Cider, Blacksnake Meadery, Villa Appalaccia, Chateau Morisette and Amrhein Winery, Virginia

From Diane Flynt at Foggy Ridge Cider: “Each winery (or cidery and meadery!) serves an appetizer portion of food paired with a free tasting of selected wines, cider and mead. So for $20 you visit five great looking sites, taste First Fruit Cider, Bee Brew, Sangiovese, Vigonnier, a nice dry Riesling and many more wine, cider and mead selections. Plus you taste interesting food pairings including brick oven pizza, BBQ with three dipping sauces, Kabobs, etc. Some people make it a day trip and others stay at a local B & B and visit over two days. We had incredible customer response last time and almost ran out of food!”

For details, please visit www.blueridgewinetrail.com

Slow Food Piedmont Triad Events

Saturday, August 11, 2007
Slow Food Potluck and Heritage Cooking at Old Salem
Winston-Salem, NC
Cooking Classes begin at 10 a.m. (Reservation required)
Garden Tours 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Potluck 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m.
Single Brothers Workshop, Old Salem

Old Salem and Slow Food Piedmont Triad welcome you to spend a day exploring the rich food heritage of the Moravian settlers at the Single Brothers Workshop in Old Salem. Garden tours will be available at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and Slow Food will sponsor a splendid late-summer potluck from 11:30 – 1:00. Suggested donation to Slow Food for the potluck is $5 per person or $10 per family.

As an added feature, a limited number of Slow Food members will be able to spend a morning in the kitchen preparing a traditional recipe with heirloom ingredients to enjoy with lunch! Two cooking class sessions will be scheduled at 10-10:45 a.m. and 11:00-11:45 a.m.; cost for the class $10. You must reserve your space in the class. Call the Group Sales Office at 1-800-441-5305 to reserve your space in the kitchen!

Here is a link for directions: http://www.oldsalem.org/index.php?id=91.

Once at Old Salem, the best place to park is on the street around the square or along Main St. (near Main St. and Academy). The Single Brothers’ Workshop is the building directly behind the Single Brothers’ House (the timber-frame building facing Main St., at the corner of Main and Academy). The entrance is from a ramp on the south side of the building.

Movie and Market Events

“Black Gold: Wake Up and Smell The Coffee”

Saturday, August 4, 2007
Movie - Black Gold: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
The Green Bean
341 South Elm St., Greensboro, NC
8 p.m., free admission

If you missed the showings of this documentary about Fair Trade certification in the spring, here’s your chance to see it again. What’s the real cost of coffee? Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields. Follow one Ethiopian farmer’s journey as he travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price. For more information, contact Shawn Wozniak, A&T Aggies for Fair Trade, at woznia17@riseup.net.

Friday, August 10, 2007
Watermelon Day
Piedmont Triad Farmers’ Market
Off Interstate 40, Exit #208 at Sandy Ridge Road
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Free samples of farm fresh North Carolina Watermelon for everyone.

Saturday, August 18, 2007
Watermelon Day
Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Sts., Greensboro
6 a.m. - noon

Enjoy free tastings of different types of melons. Everyone who comes to the Curb Market will have a chance to win a free watermelon.

Recipes from the Market

Slow Food Piedmont Triad sponsored, and co-hosted with partner Deep Roots Market, two tasting booths at the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market this summer. On June 23, Chef Bryan Dahlstrom introduced many market customers to the creamy goodness of grits from the Old Mill of Guilford. Many expressed surprise at how delicious the grit cakes were, topped with ratatouille made with donations from farmers at the market. This was an easy and flexible way to use the summer bounty from your garden, your local farmers, and your CSA bags!

Chef Bryan’s Grit Cakes

Start by following the package direction for grits. (The Old Mill of Guilford grits instruction was 3 parts water (salted) and 1 part grits.)

When the grits are cooked, add 1 part cream and 1 part softened butter. Adjust seasoning to taste. (It’s important to salt your water because it’s absorbed in to the grain for a fuller flavor. The end adjustment takes in account whether you’re using salted or unsalted butter.)

Pour the grits into a pan that has been lined with plastic or parchment paper, then lightly oiled or buttered.

Chill in refrigerator until set, preferably over night. Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter or knife. Pan-fry in skillet or on griddle.

You can also bread the grit cakes with just flour or a breading of seasoned flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs. When they’re breaded like this, the cake can also be deep-fried.

Note from Laurie: I tried this with cheese grits, adding extra-sharp cheddar cheese instead of the cream and butter. Served with ratatouille or leftover pasta sauce (I used marinara meat sauce with hamburger from Rocking F Farm), it is an interesting and easy change from pasta and rice.

Ratatouille, aka Vegetable Ragout

This is an approximate copy of the ratatouille/vegetable ragout that Chef Bryan and Laurie served at the market. This makes a large batch, so that you can freeze some for later.

4 Tbsp butter
2 small onions, diced (1 1/2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
rosemary, minced fine, about 1-2 Tbsp.
several sprigs of lemon thyme
2 medium long eggplants, diced (or 4 cups)
2 medium zucchini, diced (2 cups)
2 medium yellow squash, diced (2 cups)
8-10 plum tomatoes (egg-sized), chopped
big handful of basil leaves, shredded (about 1/2-3/4 cup)
parsley, chopped (about 1/4-1/2 cup)
salt and black pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add garlic, lemon thyme, and rosemary for a minute. Add onions for another few minutes. Add the following in this order and stir: eggplant, tomatoes (with any juices), zucchini and squash, then basil and parsley and seasonings. The vegetables might seem dry at first but they will give off juices.

Cook until all vegetables are tender. A nice extra was a garnish of cheese from the Goat Lady Dairy.

Smoothie Recipes with Deep Roots Market

Volunteers from Slow Food and Deep Roots Market co-hosted the tasting booth July 28, where we played with fruit and blenders for about three hours! Deep Roots Market is Greensboro’s only community-owned grocery, and they stock food items from many local farmers, as well as other organic and sustainably grown products.

The recipes from our handout are provided at our Slow Food blog: slowfoodpiedmont.wordpress.org.

Volunteer Opportunities

Please let Laurie know if you can commit to helping with the following events:

• Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market Farmer’s Appreciation Day, September 8
• Open House and Local Meat Day at Goat Lady Dairy, October 7

Slow Food Piedmont Triad often needs volunteers to help with staffing information tables and helping with events such as the Open House at Goat Lady Dairy. If you’re interested in becoming more involved with Slow Food Piedmont Triad events, please contact lponeill@slowfoodpiedmont.org and she’ll put your name in the pool of those willing to help out.

More Events for 2007

We keep an updated list of events on our events page, but you can get the latest announcements delivered to you by email if you join our listserv. Our listserv is a free way that we can communicate with our members and other interested members of the community. It is secure and we don’t share your email with anyone! (We don’t like that, either.) You can join by emailing us at info@slowfoodpiedmont.org and entering “subscribe” on the subject line.

Slow Food Piedmont Triad and Deep Roots Market co-hosted the Chef’s Showcase at Greensboro Farmer’s Curb Market this morning. Volunteers played with fruit and blenders and served up tasting samples to market customers and vendors.

Here are some smoothie combos that we gleaned from cookbooks and all over the web - sorry that I don’t have sources but these are pretty basic. Do a search (use Goodsearch and put in Slow Food USA as the beneficiary please) for “smoothie” and whatever fruits you have on hand. You’ll find lots of ideas!

If you don’t like what you get, play with adding different ingredients or more sweetener. Bananas are often good choices, and strawberries are great, but they’re not in season at this time.

Cantaloupe Smoothies:

Peel, seed, and cube all fruits as necessary. Blend ingredients until smooth. Chill if you don’t use ice or frozen fruit. Makes about four cups.

6 lemongrass, green, or mint tea ice cubes
1/2 cantaloupe
honey (or sweeten tea with honey)
fresh mint leaves

Note: Emily played around with this one to get a very light refreshing drink. We’re not sure what she did exactly, BUT she did use green tea ice cubes.

1/2 cantaloupe
1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup crushed ice
2 Tbsp honey

Note: Mixed reviews on this one!

1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 cup orange juice
honey
1/2 cup ice

1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup blueberries
3 Tbsp honey

1/4 cantaloupe
1/4 honeydew melon
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbsp sugar

We played around a lot with the cantaloupes and made many adjustments and experiments.

Other Smoothies and Beverages:

Peel, seed, and cube all fruits as necessary. Blend ingredients until smooth. Chill if you don’t use ice or frozen fruit.

CHAI SMOOTHIE
1 c soy, whole, or rice milk
1 banana
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cardamom
1/8 t ground coriander
1/8 t ground cloves
1/8 t black pepper
1 Tbsp honey
6 ice cubes or 6 frozen chai tea cubes

Note: Emily made the spice mixture in bulk ahead of time, and used rice milk and plain ice cubes. This was a nice surprise to those who weren’t so sure, like me!

WATERMELON YOGURT MINT SMOOTHIE
1-2 cups seeded watermelon chunks
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 cup yogurt
Dash cinnamon

Note: Everyone thought that this one hit the spot on a hot muggy morning. The recipe called for lemon yogurt, which we didn’t have. I think that someone added a bit of lime juice.

BANANA BERRY APPLE SMOOTHIE
2 bananas
1 cup blueberries
1 apple
1 1/4 cup apple juice
1 tsp vanilla
3 ice cubes

Note: A colorful hit with the kids!

PEACH SMOOTHIE
4 peaches
8 oz. plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. honey
1/3 cup apple juice

Note: If you like peach yogurt, this is a drinkable version.

SOURCES:
Bananas, limes, green tea, spices, rice milk, apple juice, orange juice, yogurt: Deep Roots Market
Cantaloupes: Fawcett Farm, Gann Farm
Blueberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe: Gann Farm
Peaches, apples: Dodge Lodge Farm
Peaches: Kalawi Farm
Honey: Quaker Acres Apiaries
Mint: Slow Turn Farm

~ Laurie O’Neill

I’m sorry that I’ve taken so long to write about the Local Foods Dinner at Fabian’s that Slow Food Piedmont Triad members enjoyed on July 16.   The fact is, I just don’t feel like I can do it justice in writing.  It was an incredible meal in a warm, intimate setting.  Many of my photos did not come out well, but I posted the photos that did on the Slow Food Piedmont Triad Flickr group website.

Slow Food Piedmont Triad and the foodies of Winston Salem are thrilled that Fabian’s has reopened! Thank you, Fabian, for a fabulous food experience.

Here are some of the local farmers who contributed to the meal:

Goat Lady Dairy
Hank Lane (chantrelle mushrooms!)
Hilltop Ostrich Farm
J & S Farm (rabbit)
Minglewood Farms

~ Laurie O’Neill

The Slow Food potluck at Sanders Ridge Farm near Boonville was well attended, considering that it was a holiday weekend of sorts. Or would that be next weekend? Or would you split the difference? Anyway, we estimated that there were about 30 adults total and 6-7 children, who were entranced with collecting eggs from the chicken tractor.

What’s nice about a Slow Food potluck is that people are proud of the ingredients. When the produce is good, it’s enough to slice it up and eat it just as it is. Cindy, Sanders Ridge organic farmer, sliced up lemon cucumbers and Green Zebra tomatoes, among other delicious varieties. She told me that Green Zebra was Alice Waters’ favorite tomato. I can see why - it might have to be my next heirloom tomato try in the Back Forty.

Jim included homemade mozzarella in his homegrown green bean dish, which he was inspired to make after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I was tempted to do it too, and after tasting Jim’s and hearing first hand how easy it was (”I laughed it was so easy!”) I think that I’ll have to try it before One Local Summer is over.

There was pickled okra too. Pasta with lots o’garlic. Mac and cheese. Bread from Ollie’s Bakery. Homemade herb yogurt cheese with homegrown veggies to dip it up with. Amish butter. Mint and cucumber salad. Oatmeal cookies and cakes from a farmer’s market baker. Organic dates. Foggy Ridge hard cider. Pink lemonade with strawberries. Yum.

Update: Michael Hastings reports on the event in the Winston Salem Journal.

Laurie O’Neill

Saturday, June 23, 2007
VeggieFest - Slow Food Booth
Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Sts., Greensboro
7:30 - 11 a.m.

The Market celebrates the start of the fresh produce season with door prizes, music, and fun for the whole family. Chef Bryan and Slow Food members Pat Bush and Laurie O’Neill will host the Slow Food Booth with tasty samples from local produce.

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Farm Tour and Slow Food Potluck
Sanders Ridge Farm
1501 Nebo Road, Boonville, NC

Come enjoy a day in the country at Sanders Ridge, a 350 acre farm consisting of old growth forest, marshlands, creeks, lakes, and open fields. Explore 159 years of local history with 5th generation farmer Neil Sanders and organic grower/CSA manager Cindy Hinshaw. Sample and take home farm fresh produce, watch birds, take a long walk, rub an old horse’s soft nose, or just sit and relax.

The “official” farm visit hours run from 10:00 – 2:00 Saturday June 30; Slow Food is sponsoring a covered dish potluck from 11:30 – 1:00. Located in the Yadkin County community of Boonville, NC, Sanders Ridge is 30 minutes west of Winston-Salem, and lies within the boundary of the Yadkin Valley Wine Appellation. (See their web site for Directions.)

Sanders Ridge: Where tree hugging, fern fondling, wine sipping, and cat napping are encouraged!

Saturday, May 26, 2007
Spring Festival at Foggy Ridge Cider (Slow Food Excursion!)
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
1328 Pineview Road, Dugspur, VA 24325
276.398.2337, cidermaker@foggyridgecider.com

Let’s visit Diane Flynt, Slow Food Piedmont Triad convivium member and heirloom apple farmer, for a picnic and cider tasting on Foggy Ridge Cider’s grand opening day!

Foggy Ridge Cider opens for visitors on Saturday May 26 with a Spring Festival. See Ashmead’s Kernel, Black Limbertwig, Cox’s Orange Pippin and over 30 apple varieties in bloom. Taste Foggy Ridge hard ciders paired with artisan cheese while listening to local musicians.

We’ll carpool from Greensboro and Winston Salem. Foggy Ridge Cider is about one hour from W-S and one hour forty-five minutes from Greensboro, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in southwest Virginia. Bring a blanket and a picnic lunch. The tasting is free and served with a pairing of cheeses, and guests can also purchase a glass (or two) of cider to enjoy on the grounds or in the orchard. There will be bottled water for those who can’t drink alcohol, but do plan to bring your own non-alcoholic drinks.

Please RSVP if possible to lponeill@slowfoodpiedmont.org by May 23 so that I can give Diane a sense of how much cheese to buy. However, if you decide to come at the last minute without RSVPing, she welcomes you! When you RSVP, I’ll let you know where the carpools will meet.

From Diane: “This first year we offer three blends of hard cider, along with tours of the Cider House and orchard tours in the fall. We are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays through the fall but available at other times if you call ahead. Our web site is: www.foggyridgecider.com.”

Monday, June 4, 2007
Slow Food Movie
The Werehouse, 211 E. Third St. Winston-Salem
7:00 p.m. for coffee and socializing, movie starts at 7:30 p.m.

Sorry! Due to the Easter Freeze, the June cherry picking at Levering Orchard has been postponed to 2008!

 To Our East:

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
‘Farm-to-Fork’ Exploration
A Carlo Petrini Lecture NCSU McKimmon Center
1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh
7:00 p.m.

Presented by: The Center for Environmental Farming Systems

Carlo Petrini will lead a discussion on the meaning and value of preserving food traditions, defending biodiversity, and protecting food that is good, clean, and fair.

The lecture is FREE and open to the public. Reserved seating is available. For reserved seating information, visit on-line at www.cefs.ncsu.edu or contact Lisa Forehand at 513-0954.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
‘Farm-to-Fork’ Reception with Carlo Petrini
NCSU Visitors Center
1210 Varsity Drive, Raleigh
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Join Carlo Petrini at a private reception to support CEFS. CEFS develops and promotes food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond through research, education, outreach, and marketing innovations.

Join ‘Friends of CEFS’ at the $250 level and receive two reception tickets plus reserved lecture seating.

Visit on-line at www.cefs.ncsu.edu or contact Lisa Forehand at 513-0954.

Farmer’s Market Events

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Crawfish Day
Piedmont Triad Farmers’ Market
Off Interstate 40, Exit #208 at Sandy Ridge Road
10 a.m. - until

Sample one of North Carolina’s newest aquatic commodities. Growers will have them for sale. Prices are $4.00/lb for live crawfish (40lb. max) and $5.00/lb cooked with Cajun Seasonings.

Saturday, June 23, 2007
VeggieFest - Slow Food Booth
Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Sts., Greensboro
7:30 - 11 a.m.

The Market celebrates the start of the fresh produce season with door prizes, music, and fun for the whole family. Slow Food members Pat Bush and Laurie O’Neill will host the Slow Food Booth with tasty samples from local produce.

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Dairy Day
Piedmont Triad Farmers’ Market
Off Interstate 40, Exit #208 at Sandy Ridge Road
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

In celebration of June Dairy Month, the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, Guilford County Extension Service, and the 4-H Club will host “Dairy Day”. There will be an ice cream churn-off contest, educational exhibits, dairy cows, games and lots of goodies from SUDIA and ice cream to the first 300 to participate in a dairy/4-H quiz. Come on out and learn how important milk and milk products play in the health and quality of our life.

More Events for 2007

We keep an updated list of events on our events page, but you can get the latest announcements delivered to you by email if you join our listserv. Our listserv is a free way that we can communicate with our members and other interested members of the community. It is secure and we don’t share your email with anyone! (We don’t like that, either.) You can join by emailing us at info@slowfoodpiedmont.org and entering “subscribe” on the subject line.

Saturday, May 12, 2007
Strawberry Day
Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market
Corner of Yanceyville and Lindsay Sts., Greensboro
6 a.m. - noon

Pancake breakfast with strawberries prepared by Alex Amoroso of Cheesecakes by Alex (proceeds to benefit projects of the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market). The breakfast begins around 7 a.m. and lasts until 10:30-11 or until the strawberries run out!

Saturday, May 12, 2007
Triad Chili Cook-Off
Piedmont Triad Farmers’ Market
Off Interstate 40, Exit #208 at Sandy Ridge Road
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Sponsored by the NC Epilepsy Medication Fund Association including State C.A.S.I. (Chili Appreciation Society Incorporated). Championship Chili Contest includes arts, crafts, and silent auction. For more information please call Pat Gibson at 1-800-642-0500.