ONCE, and ONCE again

ONCE in the subcontinents

July 12 seatings from 6-8pm

Local food goes SouthEastAsia at the hands of two very talented chefs, one from S. India, and the other from the North.

We will be seating this one like a restaurant in a lovely dining room outside of Union Sq in Somerville.

Come for the biryani, stay for the kheer!

ONCE again

July 26, 5:30-til at least 9:30, probably later

Endlessly rolling back-yard BBQ in Central Sq. complete with good time live music and indoor/outdoor dining options.

If you were there last year you will remember platters of local greens, trays of local meat and kids with water guns. Weather permitting all three will be back this year, but if it rains I can still vouch for the fine grub.

Please contact me directly about making reservations, and other details. All reservations must include a $35 donation toward the cost of food and production, paid for in advance, by check, paypal or cash tied to the leg of a local carrier pigeon.

You are more than welcome to bring anything you wish to drink other than water and tea (hot or sweet, ONCE depending). Bring extra, make friends.

As always, kids are very welcome, and we suggest planning to bring them to earlier 'seatings'. Oliver and Ruby will most definitely be in attendance.

Please contact me for details- jj@enlocale.com

Check out this no-pectin strawberry raspberry jam recipe with really good canning instructions

The strawberries and raspberries this year are really showing the signs of the rain we have been inundated with. Fortunately, though they are not terribly sweet, they are still flavorful and there are plenty of them. My knee jerk reaction is to cover them with sure, so I was trolling through recipes and I found this one, which is really basic, and happens to include some excellent canning tips. Thank you so much Gardenopolis!!!

no-pectin strawberry raspberry jam

Milk and other conflicts

This article was in the Globe today, about how organic dairy farmers are suffering due to the economy:

Vermont farmers struggle as demand sours for organic milk - The Boston Globe

I can't say I'm surprised, but I am sad.
I am afraid that we have not yet come far enough in our national understanding of the horrors being wrecked upon our children's growing bodies by un-tested chemistry and additives to recognize the long term vs. short term costs of what we are consuming.
Personally, I am more concerned for small dairy than organic conglomerate, but the reality is that on a large scale the trendy movement towards organic was a radical improvement over the blind purchasing of milk heavily treated and laden with artificial hormones and unnecesary antibiotics.
Now that local large dairies like Hood and Garelick are pledging to keep those additives out of their products it is easy to see why a belt-tightening consumer would choose those products over an organic one.
I am concerned, and saddened. We will always make three steps forward to fall back two, it is in our nature. So I will continue to beat the local drum- please buy your milk from small farms. Spend a little more to ensure the continuation of practices that are easier on the land, the animals and your body.

The First ever ShiftMob! This Thursday June 25th at Harvest Cooperative Market in Central Sq.

This is a Cambridge Local First event and is a great new innovation to promote the 10% Shift. Here's the description:

SHIFTMOB- a fun and powerful way to help make and promote the 10% Shift as we build strong local economies and local economic independence.

ShiftMobs are a purchasing parties that ...

• Are fun ways to bring folks together to support a locally-owned business
• Help educate our community to benefit of shopping locally
• Introduce customers to really cool local green businesses and encourage shopping at Local Independents.
•Improve the financial bottom line of a Local Independent by jacking up sales big time in a one-night sustainable shopping spree (only buy what you need or buy for others in need)
•Collect food, clothing, or other items for local nonprofits that support the hungry and the homeless.

Join us on Thursday, June 25th.
Please arrive on the hour at either 5, 6, 7 or 8 PM.
Live music, speakers, fun and shifting the local economy....what else could you ask for?

Learn more at: http://www.shiftmob.org

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz...

... so what's up with this rain already?

Happy first day of summer

Or is it?
The poor plants are drowning, and dying for sunlight. Might as well be April. Harumph.
I hope the weather starts cooperating soon, or I know I'm going to start getting crabby!

Nevertheless, my Farmer's Market Finds Class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Ed marched bravely off to market this morning, and came back with some yummy deliciousness.
Greens galore, garlic scapes and strawberries, and Stillman's smoked pork chops were enough to make us forget about the nasty weather, if only for a lunchtime.

Here are some snaps to bolster your spirits, too :-)





This is a bowl of red quinoa taboule, made with finely minced young garlic, flat parsley and a vinaigrette






From Busa Farms we got fresh sugar snap peas. They don't seem to be bothered by this rain and are candy sweet. To combine them in this rice dish we cooked the rice completely first, took it off the heat, tossed in the peas and covered it. The result was peas that were warmed through and slightly tenderized, but not overcooked.


Lastly we made three sautes. One of pea tendrils (my fave), chopped and sauteed in a wicked hot pan with garlic and olive oil, and two different 'summer' squashes with chopped scapes. The squash on the left is a heirloom variety from Grateful Farm, called costata romanesco (oh, I hope that's right...)

It was all delicious- damn the rain!