October 2013 Newsletter

In This Issue

Join Slow Food USA

Volunteers Welcome

Central Orange County Food Swap

Healthy Sack Lunch Challenge.

Dinner at Andrei's Conscious Cuisine.

Edible Gifts Cooking Class

Hands on Tamale Making Class

Patchwork Photos

Join the Slow Food Movement!
We invite you to join the Slow Food movement! Slow Food Orange County is working hard to preserve and protect local foods and food traditions. Our convivium plans events and programs in places across Orange County-anything from community gardens, taste education dinners, and farm tours-join the network and become active in planning and participating in these diverse initiatives. Click here for Benefits of Membership, here to join, or send us an email if you have questions.

Message From the Chair

Dear Slow Food OC, The month of October got off to a great start thanks to our Outreach Committee who created a booth for the Patchwork Show: Edible Edition as a showcase for Slow Food. The Patchwork Show was an annual food summit for southern California that created the opportunity for chefs, authors, bloggers, and food artisans to interact with attendees for two days of tasting and learning about our So CA food system. This was a perfect opportunity for Slow Food OC to participate as part of the larger food community!

The Slow Food information booth presented a completely new look. Our Slow Food OC logo really stood out on the new black table cover. The new "Slow the Fork Down" banner was a great conversation starter. We added two smaller tables at the front of the booth. One table invited participation in our Central Orange County food swap. Eggs, farm fresh produce, pickles and other preserved goods on display, all donated by previous food swap participants, served to inspire future participants. Members can look forward to meeting new "swappers" with great new products to exchange at the October 13 event! The second table showcased Ark of Taste products. Although the chapter has plans to expand this educational exhibit over the coming months, we decided to begin with a small table and a few products to introduce the Ark to the community. The display sparked many conversations about biodiversity and inspired interest in growing Ark of Taste seeds in school, community and home gardens as well as interest from chefs in using products.

Thank you to all the volunteers, who spent time in the booth to share the "good, clean and fair for all" message! Many of the volunteers were new members, so a huge thank you for just jumping in and getting involved! I planned to come just to help with set up, but there were so many people interested in talking about Slow Food that I stayed most of the day. If you are reading this newsletter for the first time as a result of stopping by the Slow Food booth, please introduce yourself at upcoming events. Ask questions and let us know how you would like get involved!

Linda Elbert,
Chair Slow Food Orange County
CA Ark of Taste

Membership Drive Extended until the 15th

Want to make a change in our food system AND give back to your local chapter?

Join Slow Food USA today!

Why are you you interested in Slow Food? Because you enjoy building community around delicious food? Because you want to learn more about where your food comes from and the people who produce it? Because you want to make a difference in the way food arrives at our tables in the United States?

There is a way to deepen your commitment to good, clean and fair food today. Join Slow Food USA! The national organization has redesigned its membership programs, with new benefits, and we are offering local incentives as well. When you join Slow Food USA for only $60/individual or $100/family per year, you will receive:

Email updates with breaking food news, special discount offers and invitations, and registration information for local events from potlucks to community garden work projects to chef dinners
The beautiful bi-annual publications of Slow Food USA
Discounts on ALL ticketed Slow Food Orange County events

And if you join or renew during the national membership drive, September 3-30, 2013 (now extended to October 15th), you will also receive a Southern California Local Food Wheel, showing unique foods sourced from Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego counties as well as from coastal waters.

Under the new membership system, Slow Food Orange County will receive a portion of every single membership purchased or renewed -- that is cash that will go directly into our local food economy!

We hope you enjoy our local Slow Food Orange County events and that being part of our chapter has made you ever more passionate about good, clean and fair food. By joining Slow Food USA, you can help us work with other chapters to be part of something even bigger: real changes in our food system at the national level. Thank you in advance for your support!

JOIN SLOW FOOD USA NOW!

Slow Food Orange County Needs You

We are looking for active participants for our Events and Outreach Committees. No experience necessary, just a desire to effect positive change in our community and, of course, a hearty appetite for good food!

EVENTS COMMITTEE: Want to share ideas on how to promote good, clean and fair food? Then take the lead on one specific event or volunteer for the day and help out. To get involved email Stacey Blaschke, Events Chair, at stacey.blaschke@gmail.com.

OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Many, many thanks to everyone who helped out with Patchwork Edible! Special thanks to Paul Chamberlin for bringing his amazing mobile garden, which attracted visitors like bees to honey all weekend long! Our Ark of Taste and Food Swap displays also turned out beautifully and brought lots of traffic to our booth. Thanks to everyone for making this a really successful event. The next Outreach meeting will focus on garden projects and yard farming, scheduled for Tuesday, October 29th at 6pm. Please RSVP to Gillian for details at gpoe@ocfoodaccess.org.

Upcoming Events

Central Orange County Food Swap

Date: Sunday, October 13th

Time: 11pm - 1pm

Location: The Village, 1505 E. 17th St., Santa Ana 92705

Members and non-members welcome

A Food Swap is part silent auction/part village marketplace/part fun-loving open house where your homemade creations (breads, preserves, special concoctions, canned goods, etc.) become your own personal currency for use in swapping with other participants. What better way to diversify your pantry and network with like-minded friends and neighbors? It will be a perfect time to start exploring -- and enjoying -- the first fruits of the fall harvest. Apples, pears, grapes and PUMPKINS! It's time to start planning for those spooky Halloween delights.

We welcome everyone, as long as you bring something you made, grew, or foraged yourself. We will also consider other homemade non-comestibles (soaps, beauty products, etc) on a case-by-case basis.

Bring an assortment of your homemade edible specialties (think pickles, preserves, baked goods, honey, granola, pasta, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices... you name it!) to exchange for other handcrafted delights. No money exchanges hands. Even your entrance to the event is FREE!

***PLEASE NOTE!!!*** TO HOLD YOUR SPACE FOR THIS EVENT, YOU ***MUST*** REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE.

You will also find additional details about the event, including downloadable forms, on the Eventbrite site.

For more information about the Food Swap Network, check out www.foodswapnetwork.com. For questions regarding this event, feel free to contact Sarah Whittenberg at swhawe@gmail.com or 714-329-7521 cell/text on the day of the event.

Healthy Sack Lunch Challenge

Date: Saturday, October 19th

Time: 6 - 9 p.m.

Location: Pretend City Children's Museum, Irvine

Members and non-members welcome

Calling all restaurant chefs, culinary students, culinary instructors and catering companies...make lunch fun and healthy! Dr. Riba's Health Club invites you to participate in their upcoming Healthy Sack Lunch Challenge. You create a winning menu, Whole Foods Newport Beach will provide all of your groceries and ingredients for FREE, and then you work your culinary magic to prepare a winning entry and sample bites which will be served to all guests and a panel of celebrity judges at the event. In addition to bragging rights, there will be a $500 cash prize for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place. For more info, see the flyer.

Dr. Riba's Health Club is a community-based organization designed to prevent and treat nutrition-related health problems in young children and their families. Dr. Riba's program is increasingly being recognized throughout Orange County as a promising approach to nutrition-related disorders, including diabetes and obesity. Learn more about Dr. Riba's Health Club by checking out the website.

Slow Food OC Dinner at Andrei's Conscious Cuisine

Date: Saturday October 26, 2013

Time: 4:00 PM

Location: Andrei's Conscious Cuisine, 2607 Main St Irvine

Members and non-members welcome

Join us for dinner at Andrei's. Chef Yves Fournier will be preparing a special fall dinner featuring ingredients from local farmers and producers. The meal will be five courses including produce and products from California Ranch Olive Oil, Duck from Mary's Farm, produce from Weiser Farms and honey from Backyard Bees. For the full menu please visit the EventBrite link below.

Andrei's is a non-profit restaurant that is raising awareness of the relevance of sustainability in the lives of their guests. Andrei's showcases the freshest local and organically grown produce, as well as naturally raised meats and sustainable seafood in their "Conscious Cuisine. Andrei's incorporates only the finest ingredients into their recipes, utilizing seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits to provide unparalleled flavor and balanced nutrition. Their culinary style incorporates the cultural diversity of California cuisine, emphasizing Mediterranean flavors, while adding aspects of the "Slow Food" movement to their dishes.

Cost: $65 per person

Purchase tickets at https://slowfoodoc-andreiscuisine.eventbrite.com/

Slow Food Edible Gifts Cooking Class

Date: Sunday, November 10, 2013

Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Location: Laguna Beach, address provided upon purchase of ticket

Members and non-members welcome

As the holiday season is approaching, Linda Elbert will be teaching a Slow Food Edible gifts class. Edible gifts are fun to make, inexpensive and great to have on hand as a hostess gift for the upcoming holidays or when an unexpected friend drops by your house. In this class, you will use locally grown seasonal herbs, fruits and vegetables to make gifts for the holidays or anytime. This class will be a mixture of hands on cooking and demonstration. Everyone who attends will get to take home a sample of what we make in class.

We will be learning how to make the following:

Salts and Spice Blends - at a salt, herb and spice bar you will have the opportunity to create your own salt and herb blends. Either follow a recipe or try you hand at bit of creative spice "mixology."
Port Pear and Thyme Conserve - Learn basic water bath canning technique to make this delicious condiment to serve with cheese, an accompaniment to holiday dishes or in a butternut squash soup (recipe provided).
Seasoned Lebneh in Olive Oil - Lebneh is a mediterranean cheese made from yogurt. Mixed with herbs and preserved in oil, it is an attractive gift and delicious appetizer.
Seeded Flatbread Crackers - Has anyone ever brought you homemade crackers? If so lucky you, they are a very special treat!
Caramel Corn for Grown Ups - Crunchy, salty, spicy and something for a sweet tooth.

Must sign for class to reserve your space. Class will have only 15 students maximum so sign up soon to reserve your spot.

Cost: Member: $45.00 Yet-to-be Member: $55.00

For more info and to buy tickets: https://slowfoodoc-ediblegifts.eventbrite.com/

Slow Food OC Hands on Tamale Making Class to Celebrate Terra Madre Day

Date: Sunday, December 8, 2013

Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Location: Laguna Culinary Arts, 845 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Members and non-members welcome

Chef Octavio Montoya will be teaching us how to make authentic tamales. Come join us as we celebrate Terra Madre Day, the holidays and the Mexican heritage of Orange County. Tamales are wrapped up like holiday gifts inside softened cornhusks and then steamed to perfection.This class will involve extensive hands-on cooking. As tamales are labor intensive, it will be a group effort to make these wonderful savory entrees that you can then taste and bring home to share with family and friends.

Everyone who attends will get to take home a sample of each item made in class. Recipe handouts will be included.

We will be learning how to make the following:

Chicken Tamales with Green Tomatillo Sauce
Beef Tamales with Red Chili Sauce
Gorditas - a small cake made with masa harina (nixtamalized cornflour) and stuffed with cheese, meat and other fillings.
Churros - sometimes referred to as a Spanish dougnut, is a fried-dough pastry snack.

Class will have only 15 students maximum so sign up soon. Everyone will be taking some tamales home with them.

Purchase tickets at https://slowfoodoc-tamalemaking.eventbrite.com/

Past Events

SFOC Tables at Patchwork Show: Edible Edition

Swap Table at Patchwork event

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