Title: Bringing Home the Bacon
Location: Habitat Suites [map]
Description: Learn how easy it is to cure your own bacon at home in this delicious Slow Session led by Slow Food Austin’s Marshall Wright and Preservation Bacon’s Greg Bass.
Start Time: 07:00
Date: 2009-11-05
End Time: 09:00
Slow Session RSVP Space is limited so RSVP today!
Slow Food Feast in the Field
Sponsored by Slow Food Austin
Benefitting Austin Discovery School
Saturday, October 24, 2009
7:00pm – 11:00pm
Green Gate Farms [directions]
$100 Donation Required
Buy Tickets Online or purchase at the door
The third annual Austin Discovery School/Slow Food Feast in the Field fundraiser is a multi-course gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine using fresh local vegetables and meats from Green Gate Farms, and served in the field under the stars. Proceeds will benefit the Austin Discovery School – a local elementary school that teaches children to become junior master gardeners using an outdoor curriculum.
At this first annual fundraiser for Slow Food Austin you will enjoy an evening of unique flavors, meet some of their producers and mingle with other Austinites who share a passion for slow food.
Raw Talk & Tasting: Raw-Milk Cheese Meets Local Hops and Honey
At this first annual fundraiser for Slow Food Austin you will enjoy an evening of unique flavors, meet some of their producers and mingle with other Austinites who share a passion for slow food, set to the tunes of Austin’s Lost and Nameless.
Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer for Whole Foods Market, will lead an educational presentation and tasting of raw-milk cheeses complemented by the hand-crafted beers of Austin’s (512) Brewing Company and local honey from Round Rock Honey. Baskets of artisan baked bread from Lauren Hubele of Bona Dea Breads and homemade crackers from the Barr Mansion kitchen will accompany.
In the United States, the sale of raw milk cheeses that are aged less than 60 days is illegal. Fortunately, Slow Food’s Presidia program is working to protect this delectable artisan food, and at the recent Cheese 2009 event in Bra, Italy, Slow Food focused on pairing beer with cheese.
And don’t plan on leaving empty-handed! Our silent auction is chock full of Austin’s most delicious and quaffable goodies, as well as unforgettable culinary experiences. Tour the Austin Farmer’s Market with a local expert, then have dinner cooked at your house using the market’s most mouthwatering offerings. Join a CSA. Expand your culinary skills with lessons from a local chef. Leave Barr Mansion with your arms laden with premier wines, gift certificates to your favorite local merchants, and organic taste treats, this silent auction will be the most delectable in Austin’s history.
October 21, 2009
6:30–8:30 pm
Barr Mansion
Tickets: $50 ($40 Slow Food members)
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On Labor Day 2009, over 100 concerned parents, farmers, chefs and food citizens gathered at Rain Lily farm as guests of Slow Food USA/Slow Food Austin to show support for getting REAL FOOD in school cafeterias.
Thank you for joining us at Rain Lily Farm on Labor Day for the Slow Food Austin Eat-In Potluck!
We took action: Over 100 people came together to enjoy the potluck and discuss school meal issues. 28 letters calling for change through the Child Nutrition Act were signed at the event and immediately sent to representatives. Over 80 signatures were added to the Slow Food USA petition advocating for REAL FOOD in schools.
Our chapter President, Sara Weber, was interviewed by our local public radio station, KUT.
The movement continues: to learn more about how you can help get Real Food into our schools visit Slow Food USA’s Time for Lunch site.
Be part of Slow Food Austin! Here’s how:
1. Become a member.
2. Sign up for our newsletter. (over on the right side of this page!)
3. Attend our first Happy Hour on 9/30 at Annie’s Cafe and Bar.
4. Attend a Slow Session on the 1st Thursday of every month.
5. Buy tickets for Slow Food Austin’s first annual fundraiser, “Raw Talk and Tasting” on October 21st at the Barr Mansion.
Special thanks to:
Rain Lily Farm
Farmhouse Delivery
Dai Due Supper Club
Whole Foods Market
In to good, clean and fair food (and drinks!)?
Join us for some slow sippin’ at Slow Food Austin’s very first Happy Hour, hosted by Annies Café & Bar. Meet and mingle with like-minded friends, and check out Annies new outdoor patio. You’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the grass-roots movement, and sign up to become a member – the 30th is the last day to pay what you can, and annual dues return to $60 on October 1st.
A portion of the proceeds from the drink specials will be donated to Slow Food Austin:
$3 drafts
$6 carafes of house wine
$6 Snail-tails (a menu of three locally and sustainably sourced cocktails created by Bar Manager David Alan aka Tipsy Texan)
How good can chicken be? Austin will soon find out. Jules Assata and Sue Beckwith of Shades of Green Farm have begun raising birds that meet their own deliciously high culinary standards. What’s more, they’ll be the only certified organic meat chickens raised in Texas. Join Slow Food Austin for our October Slow Session and learn about Sue and Jules’ Bastrop farm and their personal journey leaping regulation and production hurdles that don’t do much to help our small farmers or those of us who love good food.
October Slow Session
The Best Chicken You’ve Never Had – Shades of Green Farm
Thursday, October 1st
7:00-9:00pm
Habitat Suites
Slow Session RSVP
How good can chicken be? Austin will soon find out. Jules Assata and Sue Beckwith of Shades of Green Farm have begun raising birds that meet their own deliciously high culinary standards. What’s more, they’ll be the only certified organic meat chickens raised in Texas.
Jules and Sue are raising Colored and Freedom Rangers, chicken breeds developed from heritage stock to be delicious and to thrive on traditional free range – NOT bred to bulk up fast or tolerate factory living conditions that would make a mother hen cry, like the ubiquitous Cornish Cross found in every grocery store, fast food joint and high-end eatery. In fact, these varieties were developed specifically to meet the very high standards of the French Label Rouge Program. And, while Shades of Green Farm is certified organic, the two women have been inspired by the European example to exceed the organic production standards in terms of stewardship of animal welfare and the environment.
Join Slow Food Austin for our October Slow Session and learn about Sue and Jules’ Bastrop farm and their personal journey leaping regulation and production hurdles that don’t do much to help our small farmers or those of us who love good food. As always, the session will be free. Light refreshments will be served; feel free to bring something to share.
Cheese-maker Scott Evans of Austin Homebrew Supply gives us the basics on home cheesemaking, cheese history and sourcing ingredients. All Slow Food Austin Slow Sessions are free-of-charge so come on out and learn how to make your own cheese!
September Slow Session
Cheese-making at Home: An introduction to technique, flavor, and great ingredients
UPDATE:
Everyone – thank you for the OVERWHELMING response to our Slow Session this month! People do love their cheese. We have received well over 60 RSVP’s and that puts us AT CAPACITY – STANDING ROOM ONLY!
Next month’s session will be equally as amazing and we can’t wait to see you there!
Thursday, September 3rd
7:00-9:00pm
Habitat Suites
Cheese is one of life’s great and versatile pleasures. In a grilled sandwich, cheese is at its most comforting. Paired with wine it shows layers of complexity. Cheese can surprise the palate too: a fresh cheese that bursts with grassy flavor, or warms with the essence of chocolate.
Our September slow session introduces you to making great cheese in your own home. Led by cheese-maker and teacher Scott Evans of Austin Homebrew Supply, this session will cover the basics of home cheese-making, offer a bit of cheese history, and discuss sourcing ingredients. Scott will bring some of his cheeses to sample, and participants will leave with their own starter that can be finished at home.
We will provide light refreshments, but feel free to bring a beverage or snack to share.
All Slow Food Austin Slow Sessions are free-of-charge; however donations will be gladly accepted.
On Labor Day, people in communities all over the country are gathering for public potlucks to take part in Slow Food USA’s Time for Lunch Campaign. This day of action sends a clear message to Congress: It’s time to provide our children with REAL FOOD in school.
Slow Food Austin has partnered with Rain Lily Farm to host a local potluck eat-in. Come on out and enjoy a meal with community members who want to get REAL FOOD in our schools.
Please bring a dish to share along with your own plates, utensils, beverages and cups.
Potluck Eat-In
Monday, September 7th, 2009
11:00am – 12:30pm
Rain Lily Farm, 914 Shady Lane, Austin, TX 78702
View Larger Map
Contact 512.964.6514
RSVP to info@slowfoodaustin.org
Our mission…
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.
Welcome! First off I’d like to thank our new website and electronic communications manager, Marshall Wright. He created our shiny new website and got us on twitter. Sometimes all this technology seems a little too fast-paced for Slow Food. At the same time, maybe connecting over on the web in a Facebook chat or a twitter conversation might be our equivalent to an after dinner conversation on the front porch. As long as all this technology isn’t replacing our quality time preparing and sharing food, then I’m all for it.
Whether you just stumbled across the Slow Food movement or you’re already an expert, let me tell you a little about Slow Food and the Austin chapter.
Slow Food International was founded in Italy in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions. They wanted to counteract people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, and how it tastes. The goal is to help us all understand how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
In 2000, Slow Food USA was established, based in New York. The international, national, and regional movements are based on a simple yet profound philosophy that when it comes to food, pleasure and responsibility are inseparable.
As one of more than 200 local chapters of Slow Food USA, Slow Food Austin carries out our grassroots mission on a regional level, while participating in a global movement for real food.
As you can imagine, Slow Food Austin bring a unique energy to the Slow Food movement.
I’d like to share a little history of our chapter. We were founded in 2003. The Slow Food movement was new and few people understood the importance of food issues so growing a local Slow Food community was challenging. After years of dedication, the original board members of Slow Food Austin slowly began moving onto other endeavors. By 2008, the original leadership team had dwindled to 3 people. In early 2009, we renewed our commitment to the chapter and elected 7 new board members. The new incarnation of our leadership board brings a fresh wave of enthusiasm and excitement.
Our mission…
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.
I want to inspire you to reconnect with food. I want to enjoy the pleasures of the table with you.
On the website you can learn about what we have planned and sign-up for our newsletter so you don’t miss anything. I also hope that you will join us in continuing to grow and enrich our local chapter. I’d love to hear what kinds of event or activities you think Slow Food Austin should be doing. You can email president@slowfoodaustin.org
Slowly,
Sara Weber
President, Slow Food Austin
Ever wondered how winemaking is done and what you need to get started? Slow Food Austin invites you to attend the monthly Slow Session and find out.
Winemaking: How To Do It, Who To Do It With
Ever wondered how winemaking is done and what you need to get started? Slow Food Austin invites you to attend the monthly Slow Session and find out. Our speaker will be John “JB” Brack, of Austin Homebrew Supply. He regularly leads winemaking classes and will cover the major points, including the special challenges of winemaking in central Texas. Free lecture for foodies and do-it-yourselfers of all stripes.
Thursday, August 6th, 7-9pm, Habitat Suites
Light snacks will be provided but feel free to bring your favorite snack &/or beverage.
All Slow Food Austin Slow Sessions are free-of-charge, however donations will be gladly accepted.