The key to fermentation, according to Monica Corrado, who teaches it through Simply Being Well, is to get over the fear of bacteria.  As the Post notes in this excellent article, there are scores of healthful bacteria, such as lactobacilli, for every single E. coli bad guy.  And while many foods we eat every day are fermented, including staples such as bread, yogurt and beer, the industrial food process generally kills all the good bacteria during pasteurization or similar heating.   

What we learned at FermFest 2010 is that it's super easy to use fermentation to make and preserve delicious food at home, and the process is so safe, having been used for thousands of years, that the FDA doesn't even have any specific regulations for vendors who sell fermented foods.  (Can you believe it?!)  And that yes, many bacteria can be very good for you.  (Something we also noted in previous MVG updates about the healthy bacteria in soil.)

So check out this article from the Post, which includes recipes, and start building your own fermentum!  To sign up for notices of FermFest 2011 and other possible fermentation events before then, email them at TakomaFermFest (att) gmail.com.  And many, many thanks to Mike Henry (pictured above, wrangling pre-sauerkraut cabbage at the festival), Nessa Richman and their colleagues for making this all happen!

Canning Classes Come to Strosniders Hardware - and Immediately Sell Out

Yes, the local food movement is catching fire so strongly that even local hardware stores are starting to hold classes on food canning!

Of course hardware stores such as our own local Strosniders are also an excellent source to purchase jars, lids and other canning materials, but when's the last time you heard of a canning seminar being held at one?  And it's so popular, in fact, that these two free classes at the end of the month sold out before we could even get the notice on the MVG update! sorry!

Nonetheless, you can click here to see Strosniders' canning resource page, or here for recipes and canning information from the class instructor, food blogger Cathy Barrow.  And if you have a moment, send Strosniders an email or make a quick phone call to thank them for holding these classes, and urge them to hold more such classes in fresh food preservation - clearly there's a strong demand!



Shares Still Available for Local Fall CSA


From a canning course that immediately filled up we go to something that's still available - and which is rarer than a snowball in August these days: shares in a local farm CSA in Montgomery County.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it's a major thread of the local food movement.  In it, you buy 'shares" up front in a farm's crops for the season, and then pick up (or have delivered) boxes of produce each week.

Local food activist and author Aviva Goldfarb alerted us to this opportunity with Sandy Spring Farms CSA, and we're happy to spread the news.  If you want to find out more about Sandy Springs Farm and sign up for their fall CSA, click here.  But don't wait long, or it will be snapped up like those canning classes at Strosniders!

Food fights: The Attack on Locavores Continues

Well they say no good deed goes unpunished. And certainly no move toward a healthier, more sustainable ways of living go unchallenged by the powers that be.

This is certainly true when it comes to food, and this recent article from the Chicago Tribune "Food fights: Locavores, conventional food fans battle over benefits" highlights the new wave of attack against local food advocates.

According to the article it's "a growing chorus of writers, politicians and bloggers... painting [locavores] as naive and elitist at best and dangerous to the livelihood of conventional commodity farmers at worst." They then go on to report the political opposition to any support for local food in Congress... starting with Senator John McCain.

Historian Stephen Budiansky recently attacked "locavore math" in a hotly debated NY Times piece (covered in this recent MVG update), and - believe it or not - an economist and geographer have teamed up to write a book, slated for publication next year, entitled "In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet," that argues locavorism is a misleading marketing fad that, among other problems, ignores the threat it poses to the current affordability of food and to the economic health of developing countries.

At the same time, the article notes the passion of many now going local with their eating, and the city's annual "Locavore Challenge," where hundreds of Chicago-area residents are expected to follow a mostly local diet from Sept. 8 to Sept. 22.

If you want to get a good look at what the struggle over our food system will be like, read "Food fights: Locavores, conventional food fans battle over benefits."  And keep buying, talking, eating and growing local!  (And thanks to MVGer Diane for passing this on!)

Do You Have the B***s to Really Change the Food System?

Here's one strong voice from the locavores in response.

We at Montgomery Victory Gardens believe that any action you can take toward building (or rebuilding) a truly local food system is a step in the right direction, and we encourage you to take every one you can.

And while we're not in the habit of trashing folks who do less than everything possible, the following article from Grist, "Have you got the balls to really change the food system?' is a healthy warning to avoid the trap of the "fair-weather foodie."  In it, farmer and food system sustainability consultant Rebecca Thistlewaite remind us that it's not enough to watch Food Inc. and visit a local food festival over the weekend, only to  go back to a Monday-Friday routine or ordering pizza and buying some frozen chicken breasts at Costco

There is one major problem with her piece, which is that she spends most of her time talking about how to be a good local food consumer, and very little about being a food producer.  MVG believes that our food system will only truly change when many more of us get involved in producing (and preserving) our own food, at whatever level we can.

But for all the food we continue to get from others, Ms. Thistlewaite's admonition is a good one to keep in mind.  Changing our industrial food system will not be an easy task, and we need to take every action we can.

Zucchini, Eggplant and Mozzarella Sticks! [video]

It can be a challenge sometimes to figure out different ways to prepare veggies pouring out of your garden, but here is a great and simple recipe that your guests will positively drool over - zucchini and eggplant sticks!

This is classic street food, of course, but nothing tastes better, and when you make it with fresh veggies from your garden, few things are healthier.  (My zukes were struck down by bacterial wilt long ago, but my eggplants - a vegetable I love more each time I eat it - are still going strong.)

The basic idea is simple: cut zukes or eggplants into large thick "sticks," coat them with a beaten egg, then bread crumbs, then fry them in hot oil.  (It helps to cut off at least some of the skin so the bread crumbs adhere better, and my Italian wife insists that they cook better if they're not touching while frying in the pan.) Heat up a little marinara dipping sauce, and voila, you've got a mouth-watering home made dish to serve up.

And no, mozzarella does not grow in the garden.  But since it's closely related, we thought we'd share this great short video of a real Italian chef making the real thing (including the mozzarella itself) in Little Italy in New York.  (Thanks to MVGer Emily for the clip!)  Note that for a perfect crust they do a more elaborate flour-egg-flour-egg-breadcrumb process - but that a simple egg-breadcrumb will also work.

Again, it's simple, fresh, easy to make and yummy in the extreme.  If you've still got zukes and eggplants coming from the garden, or the farmers market, check this one out!

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