One June 26^th, 2010 Slow Food Austin hosted a historic educational event.  The Texas Showcase was an opportunity to meet local food artisans, chat with them about their craft, and taste their delicious food.  We envisioned an event where guests could slow down and mingle with food artisans and develop a new appreciation for the local foods of Central Texas.

Many people commented about how “intimate” the event was and raved about the benefits of such a “personal” encounter with food artisans and their products.  I overheard conversations about tastes, textures, and production methods.  There was lively discussion, wonderfully simple foods & drinks, and intriguing demonstrations.

Our mission is to “reconnect people with their food” and we are proud to say that this showcase did exactly that by educating them about food in the context of taste, pleasure, laughter, and community. We hope to continue offering taste education events like this.

We’d like to offer a special thanks to our co-sponsors, supporters, and artisans.  This event couldn’t have happened without their generous contributions.

Date: Monday, July 12th
Time: 7:00 pm-8:30 pm
Location: Habitat Suites
500 East Highland Mall Boulevard
Austin, Tx 78752

Join us July 12th at 7 pm for a special session with French chef and Nutritherapist for People’s Pharmacy, Alain Braux.  Alain Braux grew up in Southern France where he learned to cultivate a SLOW FOOD lifestyle that laid the foundation of knowledge shared in his award winning book, How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food. We will learn how to choose, prepare, and enjoy foods in ways that preserve their nutrients and healthy benefits as Alain reveals the nourishing qualities of French cuisine and lifestyle.    He will also cover gluten food allergies and the discoveries he has made writing new gluten free cookbook.  Best of all, everyone will get to sample and take home one of Alain’s tres bonne gluten free recipe in time to celebrate Bastille Day with your friends.

Date:           June 17th
Time:          5pm – Sunset
Location:  Boggy Creek Farm, 3414 Lyons Creek Rd.  (map)

Enjoy beautiful wines under the trees and spirited creations from Bill Norris of Fino and David Alan, the Tipsy Texan.  Delicious appetizers made with produce sourced directly from the farm will be served al fresco by Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine… Don’t forget it is tomato season!

Suggested $10 donation covers food and beverages.  Lawn chairs and closed-toed shoes encouraged.

RSVP to karlal@slowfoodaustin.org

A special thanks to our audio providers, Ideal Productions. Make your next event an IDEAL event.

photo courtesy of marshall wright, eatthislens.com

Date: June 6th
Time: 12:30 – 2:30pm
Location: Green Gate Farms
Tickets: $16 (includes farm produce)

Skip Connett and Erin Flynn have become local farming stalwarts in the four short years since they moved into the historic Bergstrom farmstead and launched their CSA (community-supported-agriculture) farm, just off Decker Lane. “We’ve dedicated the farm to healthy food, and community,” explains Erin. The couple hosts a kaleidoscope of community events and kid-friendly activities, and collaborates with other farmers to bring pastured beef, pork and dairy to their Austin customers. And this summer, Green Gate will offer Austin’s first kid’s farm camp!

Slow Food Austin’s tour of Green Gate will be family-focused and kid friendly. Meet 400-lb. pigs, pet baby goats, see this spring’s crops going gang-busters, collect eggs, learn about worm composting, and take home an equal value of farm-grown vegetables in exchange for your ticket. Pastured pork, chicken and beef will also be available to purchase.

Contact Betsy Levy with questions.

Buy tickets

Date: Sunday, May 16th
Time: 11:30am – 2:00pm
Location: Eiler’s Park (Deep Eddy)

Want to eat some good grub and meet the Slow Food Austin board?

We have an annual general membership meeting to launch our volunteer board into action for the coming year. Come enjoy a delectable potluck and say Hi to the board as well as other Slow Foodies.

Bring a dish to share and please provide your own plate & utensils (we’ll have back-ups- we’re just trying to make the event low impact). In addition to beverages, fun conversation, and some educational activities about Slow Food, we’ll have a few fun awards to hand out such as the most local dish, the simplest slow dish, the funniest named dish, etc.

Enjoy a beautiful afternoon with friends, food, and fun. We’ll be meeting and eating at Eiler’s Park (Deep Eddy), so if you are inclined to take a brisk swim wear your suit- it costs about $3 to swim.

Non-members welcome.

Contact Sara Weber, Slow Food Austin President, for more info.

Date: March 27th
Time: 11am – 2pm
Location: Stryk Dairy

You’re really from somewhere when you live on a road named after your family. Bob Stryk’s grandfather was running the family dairy in Schulenberg before industrialization drove all the small Texas dairies out of business. With true farmer innovation, Bob and Darlene Stryk have found the niche direct markets that enable them to continue this tradition and milk their Jerseys on a small, intimate scale. The Stryks offer raw milk to a small but growing and passionate group of locals, and they have built a loyal clientele for their own hand-crafted cheese, including a traditional Czech specialty, ‘koch kase.’

Raw milk has been in and out of the news with increasing frequency. The City of Austin is considering passing an ordinance allowing its sale within city limits, in response to federal and state regulatory pressures to stifle it. Bob and Darlene have a few things to say on the subject, naturally. Come out to the dairy, meet the herd, taste the milk, and decide for yourself. Participants will take home a selection of the dairy’s products. Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education@slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Johnson’s Backyard Garden Offers Farm-Grown Heirloom Vegetable Transplants

Date: March 6th
Time: 10am – Noon
Location: Johnson’s Backyard Garden

Slow Food USA maintains the Ark of Taste, a catalog of historically and culturally important foods, to encourage their continued enjoyment. Now Slow Food Austin invites you to join them on a Farm Foraging Tour of Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a certified-organic produce farm and greenhouse operation. Tour participants will receive farm-grown Ark of Taste vegetable transplants to grow in their own Backyard Gardens! Get a jump start on that spring garden!

From its humble beginning on East Holly Street, Johnson’s Backyard Garden has outgrown Brenton and Beth Johnson’s backyard and become the largest member-subscription farm in the southern U.S. – right here on the near-east side of Austin, Texas.

Now the Johnsons and Slow Food Austin will help you grow your own, plus tell you a little bit about their phenomenal growth. How have they done this? And why is this growth good for you, Austin Locavore? Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education@slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Date: April 10th
Time: 10am – Noon
Location: Springdale Farm

Local farms come in all sizes, big and little. The new buzz words – “spin” farming, urban farming, “pocket” farming – are embodied in Springdale Farm, a 78702 4.8-acre patch cultivated by Paula and Glenn Foore. The couple has rescued a little bit more of Austin’s fertile river bottom from impervious surface and runs the city’s newest community-supported agriculture (CSA) operation. Tour attendees will learn how the couple stopped dreaming and started practicing their brand of “sustainable urban farming,” right here in Austin. Attendees will receive a box share of spring vegetables featuring fresh herbs. Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education@slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Huge thanks to all who came out to our first happy hour of 2010 at Cipollina Bistro last Thursday. We had a full house, sold out of all the wine and raised over $500 for Haitian relief efforts!

Thank you to Pioneer Wine for donating the amazing bottles of wine and, of course, to Cipollina for being such fantastic hosts. Next month’s happy hour will be at Fino. Stay tuned for details!

Check out the great photographs taken by one of our leadership team members – Marshall Wright of Eatthislens.com.