It's Time for Lunch!

Dear Members and Supporters of Slow Food USA,

Remember this date: September 7, 2009. We’ll look back on that day as the moment when people across America took a stand about the food our children eat at school.

As you know, children who grow up enjoying food that is both delicious and good for them learn healthy eating habits that last throughout their lives. Those habits can start at school – but only if we give schools the resources to serve real food instead of the overly processed fast food that endangers their health.

To make that happen, our leaders in Congress need to hear that when it comes to our children, change can’t wait.

That’s why we’re organizing a National Eat-In for Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009. On that day, people across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send our nation’s leaders a clear message: It’s time to provide our children with real food at school.

To get Congress’ attention, we’re going to need the help of all kinds of people: parents, teachers, community leaders, kids and people who’ve never done anything like this before. We’re going to need everyone to pitch in.

But the people we need most are Slow Food members and supporters. You’re the front line of the food movement, and we’re counting on you to tell your friends, to contact your legislators and to organize Eat-Ins for Sept. 7.

Click here to get started.

Our campaign web site will guide you through the process, and our campaign team is here to provide support. We’ll give you everything you need to get involved, starting today.

And we mean today—because with the President calling for health care reform and the First Lady teaching kids to grow food on the White House Lawn, we’ve got an opening to pass legislation that gives kids the opportunity to grow up healthy.

This fall, Congress will be debating whether to update the Child Nutrition Act, which is the law that determines what kind of food kids eat at school. By giving schools the resources to serve real food, we can make sure that the legacy we’re leaving our children is a future filled with opportunity, security and good health.

We can only do it if we act now. It’s time to get real food into schools.

For more information, and to join our campaign, go to http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1046471007&msgid=5356643&act=3XP3&c=45986&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slowfoodusa.org%2Ftimeforlunch

Best regards,

Josh, Brian, Jerusha, Gordon, Leah, Callie, Alex, Stephanie

The Time for Lunch campaign team
timeforlunch@slowfoodusa.org

Join Slow Food Northern Ohio in organizing a Time For Lunch Eat-In (potluck) on Labor Day weekend!!! Contact us for further details by calling 216.225.6311 or send an email to SlowFoodNorthernOhio@gmail.com.

Return of the Buckeye Chicken!

Return of the Buckeye Chicken Breeders' Clinic Event postponed until October 6 - stay tuned for details! The Countryside Conservancy invites all those interested in reintroducing Buckeye Chickens to their flocks to attend this hands-on workshop led by Jeanette Beranger, Research and Technical Programs Manager for the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The clinic will consist of a one-hour lecture-discussion of heritage poultry breeds, their use in sustainable agriculture, ALBC's Buckeye Recovery Project, how to evaluate production traits and practical breeding strategies for bloodline improvements. The second hour of the clinic will be devoted to careful physical comparison of a dozen Buckeye birds in order to understand how a breeder/grower can improve commercial traits over time. All clinic participants will: Receive preferential scheduling to purchase ALBC strain Buckeye chicks Be eligible to participate in a new regional Buckeye breeders and growers network Receive copies of the following ALBC publications: Selecting for Meat Qualities and Rate of Growth; Selecting for Egg Production; On-going selection of Breeding Stock; ALBC Chicken Breed Comparison Sheet. Jeanette Beranger has been directly involved in all aspects of ALBC's pilot project to recover the production characteristics of heritage poultry. She has worked closeley with breeders around the country to establish effective breeding and selection protocols. Berabger is herself a Buckeye breeder. Fee: $150/person or $250/couple from the same farm business. Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, contact Stephanie Webb via email, or call 330.657.2542.

Heritage Livestock: Protecting the Genetic Future of Animal Agriculture A Public Lecture and Discussion Tuesday, June 23, 7-9pm at Old Trail School Join Countryside Conservancy in welcoming Jeanette Beranger, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's Research and Technical Programs Manager, for an evening of discussing the history and future of American livestock breeds. What is a breed? How do breeds change over time? What makes them popular and/or useful? What dangers result from the extinction of breeds? How do we protect the genetic future of animal agriculture. The program is designed to be broadly interesting for general and family audiences. The evening will conclude with delicious samples of heritage livestock meat (beef, pork, goat, and chicken) prepared by chef Ben Bebenroth of Spice of Life Catering. Fees and Registration: A donation of $15/adult, $10/youth (udner 18), is requested to help defray the expense of bringing the speaker to Ohio for this program, and to cover the cost of the food. To register contact Stepahnie Webb via email, or call 330.657.2542.

Sustainable Seafood and Wine Dinner at Umami

Slow Food Northern Ohio and Umami Asian Kitchen present...

Sustainable Seafood and Wine Dinner
Umami Asian Kitchen, Chagrin Falls
Monday, June 22, 6:30 to 9:00pm

Chef Michael Longo has created a special menu for Slow Food that showcases sustainable seafood and seasonal spring flavors paired with wines and sakes.

m e n u

Amuses
Pink Champagne

Hawaiian Yellowfin tuna roll with pickled shiitakes, tobiko, wasabi aioli
Murai Family, Nigori Genshu sake

Shoyu & sake glazed Black Cod with green tea soba noodles with bok choi
& sweet chile, sea urchin butter, yuzu
Belle Vallee, Pinot Gris, Oregon 2006

Roast peanut & wasabi crusted Alaskan Halibut with Chinese long
beans, coconut-yellow curry sauce
Girard, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2007

Teriyaki glazed wild caught Alaskan Salmon with black rice, seared
County Line mushrooms, dashi, edamame pesto
Clos Pegasse, Chardonnay, Napa Valley 2006

Green tea ice cream

$75 per person (tax & gratuity included).

Space is limited!
Please make reservations by calling Umami at 440.247.8600.
Umami is located at 42 N. Main Street in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Slow Seasonal Recipe: Strawberry Gazpacho Sant Pau with Toasted Almonds

From Nuts by Linda & Fred Griffith, published by St. Martin’s Press, 2003, (nominated for Best Single Subject Award for 2003 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals)

Our guests love it! Benefit-goers love it. While strawberry gazpacho may sound crazy, it’s amazing just how well garlic, onion and cucumber marry with lusty berries. As in many dishes in Catalonia, toasted almonds are used not only to add depth of flavor, but to thicken as well. We have to thank Carme and Toni Ruscalleda whose celebrated beach-front restaurant in Sant Pol de Mar, Spain, brings visitors from everywhere. Hailed as one of Spain’s top chefs, the diminutive Carme has a way with flavor combinations that most of us only hope of developing. She is devoted to the favored ingredients of traditional Catalan cuisine, but her playfulness is apparent when she uses them in unexpected ways. Our lusty gazpacho, for example, celebrates the fact that one of the top agricultural products of the region around Sant Pau are large, luscious strawberries.

Strawberry Gazpacho Sant Pau with Toasted Almonds

Serves 6 to 8

1 quart ripe strawberries, hulled
½ English cucumber, peeled and quartered
3 plump garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
¼ very large sweet onion, skin removed
½ cup toasted slivered almonds, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons fruit vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
½ t teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce, more to taste
1 cup apple juice or cider
⅔ cup finely diced cucumber
High quality almond oil, or extra virgin olive oil, for garnish.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine berries, cucumber, garlic, celery, onion, nuts and vinegar. Pulse until ingredients are all finely chopped, then run motor until mixture is pureed. Scrape sides, add salt, pepper and Tabasco. Pulse again. Add apple juice and pulse one more time.

Refrigerate soup for at least 2 hours and up to 6. Thin soup, if needed, with some water. Divide diced cucumber among the soup plates, then ladle soup over them. Drizzle some oil over the soup and sprinkle with a few toasted almonds.