Slow Food Austin
February 2011 Issue
Slow Session: Terra Madre Tales
Private Wine and Chocolate Tasting
Happy Hour: La Condesa
Food Think Book Club
Farm Tours
Growing Tips for February
Green Gate Farm Camps
CSA Farms Need You Now
Slow Food Texas

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Slow Food Austin reconnects people with the food they eat. Our educational initiatives, social activities, fundraising events, and community volunteer projects inspire respect for where food comes from and awakens true pleasure in eating. To learn more about Slow Food Austin and become a member, visit our website!

 
Welcome to our monthly newsletter.

I don't really buy into the hallmark and flowers version of Valentines but I do use this season as a reminder to focus on "love".   

Some "Love Notes" - My advice on how to experience love this month: 
  1. Love your local farmer- this is the hardest season for food growers and they need your love now more than ever.  Visit a farmer's market, buy local, and join a CSA now.  Don't wait until the produce is overflowing to show your love. 
  2. Love your kids, neighbor, partner, and co-worker by sharing food together.  With cold, wet weather it might be easy to get gloomy, stay inside, sit on the couch and wait for spring to arrive- don't do it!  Get together with friends and family to make a wonderful warm meal together.  Let the kids help prep and cook with friends while you sip a glass of wine- warm up the house!  
  3. Love your food community!!  Come meet-up with Slow Food Austin this month for some awesome food events where you'll learn about food and culture while eating and drinking.  Support other local food organizations like Sustainable Food Center.  Join a food book club or start a weekly meal with friends! 
Lastly- spread the LOVE! Invite a friend or coworker to experience Slow Food Austin or just share a meal with you.  It is often easy to love those people who are most like us but this is a wonderful time to reach beyond our boundaries and invite someone new into our LOVE!

If you are interested in volunteering to help with board responsibilities, don't hesitate to email me!   We are currently looking for a treasurer if you enjoy numbers and food- you might be the perfect person to help us out!  [email protected]

In Love,
Sara Weber
President- Slow Food Austin
Slow Session: Terra Madre Tales
Date: Tuesday February 15th, 7 pm - 9 pm
 
Location: Habitat Suites, 500 East Highland Mall Boulevard
RSVP: [email protected]

Slow Food Presents:
The stories and experiences of what Terra Madre was like and what we can learn from it.

 

Terra Madre

 

Based on popular requests, we will get a chance to hear the stories and experiences of our loved Austin Terra Madre delegates at Terra Madre. Terra Madre is Slow Food International's biennial conference that gathers sustainable food producers, farmers, cooks, educators and activists from around the world to connect and share their stories and traditions, as well as their innovative solutions for keeping small-scale agriculture and sustainable food production alive and well. Delegates come from over 150 countries and luckily we have some right here in Austin. Come and hear from your local Austin delegates what their experience was like and what they learned. The session will be a discussion and slide presentation. In addition, we will be sampling an Italian-style salumi and cheese plate with a local twist

 so please RSVP to [email protected].
Private Wine and Chocolate Tasting Hosted by Sustainable Foodies
Date: Sunday February 13th, departing at 12:30pm
Location: Becker Vineyards

Delysia Becker Tasting

Join the Sustainable Foodies on Feb. 13 for a Becker Vineyards & Delysia Chocolate pairing and hill country day trip. Roundtrip charter bus is included. Only a few tickets remain! Click here for more details.
Happy Hour: La Condesa 
 
 
Date: Thursday February 17th, 5 pm -7 pm

La Condesa
Chef Rene Ortiz will be serving up a delicious locally sourced happy hour menu featuring the winter Texas bounty.
 

 

Join the Food Think Book Club! 

 

FoodThink

How our food is made, where our food comes from and what our food does to us, taps into a lot of the pressing political issues and challenges of the 21st century, like peak oil, globalization, illegal immigrants and worker's rights, environmental and health issues.


This book club is dedicated to reading and discussing the work of authors that write about food and whose books relate to political issues of our life time. We meet about every other month on a Sunday afternoon at 4.30 pm at Book People downtown. To join and for more information, go to:
http://www.meetup.com/foodthink/
 

Upcoming Events


February 6th: What we eat when we eat alone by Deborah Madison
 

April 24th: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

Farm Tours

 

Slow Food Austin's Spring Farm Tour Schedule IS HERE - and it's packed with farming deliciousness! Every tour includes farm goods to take home and in some cases to savor right on the farm:


Urban Roots

 

- Urban Roots Farm Tour and Work Day, Saturday March 26 - Austin

 

 

 

 

 


- Sandcreek Farm and Monument Cafe Tour-to-Cafe Lunch, Saturday April 9 - Cameron and Georgetown


- Home Sweet Farm Pit Roast/Sunset Lunch with Brazos Locavores, Sunday April 30 - Brenham


- Thunderheart Bison Ranch Overnight Farm Tour and Cook-out, Saturday May 21st - South Texas


- Pure Luck Goat Dairy Farm Tour, Sunday May 15 - Dripping Springs

 

 

More details to follow - to rsvp, contact Betsy Levy at

[email protected]

 

And please say hello to Grit Ramuschkat, our new assistant Farm Coordinator, when you see us!

 

 

Growing Tips for February 
 

This month is the time to prepare your spring gardens. Get your tools oiled and sharpened because after the last frost (usually March 15), Austin will explode into a riot of blooms and beauty. Some of the vegetables and flower seeds you can plant now include: beets, collards, lettuce, radish, carrots, calendula, larkspur, sweet peas, cosmos and marigold. To learn more, contact Travis County Agrilife Extension (854-9600) and order their "Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity" booklet, produced by the Master Gardeners Association. You won't find a better guide for this area.

Sneak Preview:
Green Gate Farm Camps for Adults and Kids

Green Gate Farms
Green Gate Farms, a family-run organic farm eight miles east of Austin, is hosting its popular camps again this year. Though the complete schedule hasn't been posted on their website, we've heard the following:

The next session of Kids Farm Camp will be held during Spring Break (March 14-18, 9:00-3:30 with before/after care option, 8:00-5:30).
 
In this historic farm setting, children help grow organic food and explore the farm. Activities include: planting and harvesting, taking care of the 150 animals, presentations from area experts (e.g., beekeeping, cooking, composting), swap blanket and plenty of time to relax and enjoy the farm. Camp
ends with a potluck dinner on Friday, where kids harvest and prepare a dish to share with their family.

Each session is open to only 20 children, ages 6-12, so don't wait to reserve your place. Cost is $325/ week, 9:00-3:30. Discounts given for siblings and GGF CSA members. Scholarships need funding so
you can support camp even if you don't have children. Contact, [email protected]; See www.greengatefarms.net.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) Farms Need You Now!

If you want to keep your grocery dollars local while ensuring Austin's greenspace, don't wait to join a CSA. Farmers need your support now in order to grow the food you want to eat this spring. More and more options exist for CSAs: getting your vegetables weekly or biweekly, adding meat/fruit/eggs/dairy to your vegetable order, access to a farm for relaxing/exploring, home delivery, etc. To join a farm in your area, see: localharvest.org.

Slow Food Texas

Slow Food Texas is UT's new campus chapter dedicated to educating the student body about Slow Food principles. The first meeting of the semester is this Thursday, February 3rd from 5-6 in Parlin 1. It will be a potluck and a preview of this semester's events, which include farm volunteer days, restaurant visits, and more! While our chapter is geared toward students, we encourage anyone interested to attend our meetings and events. For more information, go to Slow Food Texas on facebook.

Slow Food Membership Offer


Become a new Slow Food member or renew your current membership for $25 or more.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end- you are truly a Slow Foodie!!