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Slow Food O'ahu News

Number 2015-03
Mailed February 27, 2015
Table of Contents
Chinatown Tours - March 8 and March 22 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Slow Suppers at Home - March 14 and April 11 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Urban Foraging Adventure - March 28 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Slow Food O'ahu Annual Meeting Re-Cap
A little bit of this and that
More Chinese New Years - Slow Food Chinatown Tour 
March 8, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (includes lunch)
March 22, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (no lunch)

On the heels of the celebrations for Chinese New Year, Slow Food O'ahu is offering not one, but two tours in March. You will have the opportunity to choose from a tour on March 8 with tour guide Tom Sheeran that includes lunch OR a tour on March 22 with tour guide Laurie Carlson that is shorter, without lunch.

The history, cultures, and ethnic foods of this vibrant community are the focus of the tour.  In keeping with the international Slow Food movement value of appreciation for cultural diversity, we have created the tour with these principles in mind: recognizing food as a language that expresses cultural diversity preserving the myriad traditions of the table cultivating and reinvigorating a sense of community and place.  We will visit temples and historic sites.

The two tours are priced differently, depending on whether or not lunch is included.

The cost for the March 8 tour with lunch is $50 for members; $60 for non-members.  The limit is 8 people, just enough to fit around a large table for your post-tour lunch.

The cost for the March 22 tour is $30 for members; $40 for non-members, without lunch. The tour size is limited to 10 people.

Please sign up for either tour at  http://bit.ly/sfoevents  All Slow Food O'ahu events are listed.
Slow Suppers at Home - March 14, 2015 and April 11, 2015
Wahiawa private home beginning at 6:00 p.m.

 

Slow Suppers at home on March 14, 2015 - A Jordanian dinner 

 

The year's second Slow Suppers at Home will occur on Saturday, March 14 with a Jordanian feast. The group size will be eight lucky people (to include the host).   

 

Slow Suppers at Home on April 11, 2015- A Moroccan dinner 


This year's third Slow Suppers at Home will occur on Saturday, April 11 with a Moroccan meal. The host has arranged for special spices to be available. The group size will be eight lucky people (to include the host).  

 

About Slow Suppers at Home.  There is no fee for these events. They are limited to members of Slow Food. The membership may be International or USA. To join, go to www.slowfoodusa.org If you're joining our chapter, be sure to choose the Oahu chapter.  The suppers are to encourage local members in different parts of the island to get to know their fellow members and to also welcome Slow Food members from other parts of the world who might be visiting the islands.  

 

Guests will be asked to bring a dish and beverage to share to the supper. If you would like to participate, please email David Bangert dbangert@hawaii.edu with the names, email address and telephone numbers of those wishing to participate. He will compile the list of participants and pass it to the host who will call or email the guests to coordinate the dinner.

 

If you are interested in hosting a Slow Suppers at Home, please call David Bangert at (808) 293-2981 or email dbangert@hawaii.edu  

Urban Foraging: On the Hunt in Honolulu - March 28, 2015
Urban Honolulu 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
 
Backed by incredibly popular demand is another urban foraging adventure led by Dr. Nat Bletter.  With 30 folks attending our January session, we know that this adventure is a very popular activity. Denby Fawcett, long-tme journalist, attended Nat's January foraging adventure and describes not only the forahttp://www.civilbeat.com/2015/02/denby-fawcett-the-fine-art-of-urban-foraging/  plant.jpg ging adventure but the art of foraging for wild food in Hawai'i. 

If you want to be as inspired as Denby or our previous foragers, then you don't have to head for the mountains or the rainforest to find edible treasures. Join Slow Food O`ahu for a foraging adventure in urban Honolulu and be amazed by what you'll discover.  
 
Dr. Nat Bletter, of Madre Chocolate, will be our very own Euell Gibbons, guiding us into the urban 'wilds' of Honolulu on March 28, 2015 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Wear sun protection and bring water, a fork & spoon to sample goodies, and paper and plastic bags to collect in.

Wear sun protection, bring water, and put on a good pair of exploring shoes. The cost is $10 for Slow Food members, $15 for non-members. Reserve at http://bit.ly/sfoevents by March 26, and upon reservations, we will send you an email with location and meeting details. Reservations are limited to 20 participants.
Slow Food O'ahu Annual Meeting Re-Cap

Those of you who were unable to attend the Slow Food O'ahu Annual Meeting missed ALOT.  Of course, you missed fabulous food, but that's a given, as our potlucks are the best possible on the island.  In addition, Dr. Ted Radovich ofthe Sustainable and Organic Farming Systems Laboratory of the CTAHR Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa provided us with a great overview of the "state" of organic farming in Hawai'i.


During the business portion of the meeting, we reported on our activities of the past year.  Here are a few highlights:

*  Slow Food O'ahu sponsored 31 events last year.  The activities ranged from urban foraging, our Chinatown tours, Terra Madre event, farm and garden tours, lectures, visiting chefs, inamona workshop and work days, culinary events that include cooking classes or restaurant dinners.  It was a busy year.
*  Our membership hovers around 100 people.  Our newsletter mailing list is 650+.  We encourage our many readers who learn from this newsletter or attend our events as non-members to join and support us as members.
*  Our bank account stands at approximately $10,700 at the end of the year, with our main expenses for supporting our delegates to Terra Madre in fall 2014.
*  We are continuing to work on our Snail Survey and Snail of Approval.
*  We participated in the Farm Educators Conference
*  We added to the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste
*  We are developing liaisons with national for Slow Fish and Slow Meat.  Stay tuned for more activity in the future.

We also approved our first-time bylaws with a few modifications to the draft that was proposed and previously shared with all of you: (1) reduced the number of officers from 4 to 3 and (2) deleted specific reference to Molokai beef.  We also approved the Board for another year of hard-working volunteerism.  If you would like to volunteer or contribute to the Board please email us at slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com.
A little bit of this and that ...

* Here are a few bits of reading related to pesticides, organics, and GMOs

 Pesticides in Your Food - not to Worry

https://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/organic-bytes-457-pesticides-your-food-not-worry 

 

Veteran science writer Jan Tenbrugette writes of the impact of pesticides in Hawaii.

http://raisingislands.blogspot.com/2015/02/pesticides-good-and-bad-and-be-very.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RaisingIslands+%28Raising+Islands%29 

 

The first GMO apples. Yikes! Read about it in Organic Bytes  

https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/organicbytes460.pdf

* If you are concerned about pesticides, the Protect our Keiki organization will be holding a rally on March 3, 2015.  For more information, go to protectourkeiki.org

* Transition O'ahu announces a new Permaculture Class starting March 3.  The 6-month class will be held on the 3rd weekend of the month through August.  Taught by Matthew Lynch and Hunter Healvilln. For more information and registration, go to their website at transitionoahu.org

Slow Food Leadership

  

Slow Food O'ahu Officers: Mae Isonaga and Rike Weiss, Co-leaders;  David Bangert, Treasurer; Francine Wai, Newsletter Editor; Nina Bermudez, Membership and E-mail correspondent; Tom Sheeran, Slow Food Chinatown Tour Coordinator.

Slow Food Regional Governor: Laurie Carlson

Facebook manager: Brilana Troublefield

Slow Food Membership

Membership to Slow Food USA (and our Slow Food O'ahu convivium) is only $25 with the base membership.  To join, go to the http://donate.slowfoodusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Member_Benefits

Quick Links 

Slow Food O'ahu Convivium website  

Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium website  

Slow Food International website

Contact reservations.sfoahu@yahoo.com for information on our events.
Contact slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com for general information

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