Jill Robinson of Alyson's Orchards sends the following:
*Alyson’s Orchard and The Hannah Grimes Localvore Project are sponsoring
two exciting local food workshops around Labor Day, featuring nationally
prominent authors. The first workshop, “Fermentation Fervor,” will be
held on Wednesday August 30, 2006 from 6 pm to 8 pm at Alyson’s Orchard
in Walpole, NH. Sandor Ellix Katz, who wrote the encyclopedic book,
“Wild Fermentation,” will conduct the workshop. The second, “Local,
Light Lunch” will be held on Monday, September 4, 2006, from 10 am to 1
pm, also at Alyson’s Orchard. Jessica Prentice, who wrote the recently
released “Full Moon Feast,” will conduct this workshop. Jessica Prentice
will also be doing a book talk/reading/signing from 2-4 pm at Toadstool
Books in The Colony Mill Marketplace in Keene after the workshop.
Fermentation of a wide variety of foods is as old as humanity. From the
familiar bread, yogurt, vinegar, sauerkraut, pickles, cheese, wine, and
beer, to the less familiar miso, tempeh, kimchi, kombucha, and mead, to
the utterly essential chocolate and tea, fermented products have played
a major role in the diets of peoples of all cultures. Fermentation is an
artisanal process, connecting the home fermenter to the land and the
food crops produced on the land. In partnership with microscopic
bacteria and fungi, the fermenter preserves foods while making them more
digestible, more nutritious, and more health-promoting.
Sandor Ellix Katz began his love of fermentation a decade ago when he
stumbled on an old crock in his barn around the same time the cabbage
was ripening in his garden. With a little water, a little salt, some
chopping, and the passage of time, he had that first batch of sauerkraut
that got him hooked. He began fomenting fermentation fervor on the
national scene with his encyclopedic book, Wild Fermentation: The
Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, published in 2003 by
Chelsea Green Publishing Company. During the “Fermenation Fervor!”
workshop, he will demonstrate how easy it is to ferment fresh foods at
home, and he’ll offer tastings of a variety of fermented products.
During the “Light Local Lunch” workshop, Jessica Prentice will create a
light lunch, using whatever fresh foods are available locally at the
time. The workshop will demonstrate how easy and enjoyable it is to
create a simple “localvore” meal.
Ms. Prentice is a passionate advocate for returning to local, seasonal,
sustainably grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods prepared with
traditional cooking methods. She coined the term “locavore” (one who
eats foods grown near home). The word became a movement, the movement is
sweeping the country, and inspired the Hannah Grimes Localvore Project.
In her new book, “Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection,”
also published by Chelsea Green, she seeks to restore balance and renew
community by inspiring a deep appreciation for nourishing food. Inspired
by thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, she focuses attention on
thirteen topics (such as sap, eggs, milk, mead, and medicinal herbs).
For each topic, she provides a wealth of information and recipes that
showcase the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the land and the
ancient rhythm of the seasons.
Several local food growers or producers have generously agreed to
provide samples for these events. They include: Abenaki Springs Farm,
Boggy Meadow Farm, and Burdick’s Chocolates of Walpole, Orchard Hill
Breadworks of East Alstead; and Brewbakers of Keene.
Pre-registration is required for both workshops. Registration closes for
“Fermentation Fervor!” on Wednesday, August 23, 2006, and the cost is
$10. Registration for “Local, Light Lunch” closes on Monday, August 28,
2006, and the cost is $15. To register, call Tiffany at 603-352-5063 or
send a check to The Hannah Grimes Localvore Project, 25 Roxbury St,
Keene, NH 03431, with your name, phone number, email address, and the
workshop(s) for which you’d like to register. Alyson’s Orchard is
located off Rt 12, north of Walpole.
For more information about the book signing at Toadstool, call Janet
Clymer at 603-352-8815.
The Hannah Grimes Localvore Project encourages everyone in our community
to take small or big steps all growing-season long (May – September) to
eat more local food bought from local farmers or grown in kitchen
gardens. The project is dedicated to getting more people to eat locally
raised foods more often and to help build a network that makes it easy
to do so year round.
