Seacoast Eat Local

Many thanks to Eric Sideman for captivating a capacity crowd—twice! For those who couldn’t make his presentation on managing pests and diseases organically, here are some resources that we thought might be useful :

• Sign up to receive Eric’s Pest Report by email through MOFGA. The online version includes photos of specific pests and diseases mentioned.

• “The Resource Guide for Organic Insect & Disease Management”, co-authored by Eric, is available online or in print form.

• Sign-up for Becky Sideman’s “New Hampshire Vegetable, Berry & Tree Fruit Newsletter” is available by email or a print copy by mail through the UNH Cooperative Extension.

• The UNH Cooperative Extension also maintains a Late Blight & Information Update page, including a slide show on prevention, identification and management.

* Additional information on gardening, including how to become a Master Gardener, may be found at sites maintained by both the University of Maine and UNH Cooperative Extensions. They both can also answer individual questions.

• Recommended sources for row covers and organic solutions: Green Methods (Nottingham, NH), Fedco Seeds (Waterville, ME), and Johnny’s (Winslow, ME). Row covers might also be found at some local ag supply stores such as Agway, Blue Seal, or Aubuchon. And share extra materials through the free classifieds section of the Seacoast Community Garden Network, or the message board of Greater Seacoast Permaculture.

[Photo of Colorado potato beetle by Eric Sideman, MOFGA]

What a fantastic way to treat dad to healthy meat!

Join Chef Sebastian Carosi and The New England Farm 2 Fork Project  for a local, grass-fed beef dinner, on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 20th, beginning at 6 pm. The evenings menu will draw upon Chef Sebastian Carosi’s deep rooted passion for locally sourced grass-fed, pastured beef.

the evening’s beginnings…

- smoky grass-fed local beef tartare with ‘cabernet jello’ on a silver spoon

- coca cola barbecued beef cheeks on a benne seed roll with farmstead local buttermilk slaw

pastures, hills, prairies, mountains, and fields…

- air dried grass-fed local beef tenderloin with new england farmhouse blue cheese stuffed hearts of celery, rocket and our own applewood smoked sea salt

- liver and onions

- a rich grass-fed beef broth elixir of charred onions, caramelized offal and toasted grains with a crouton of peppered local cheddar

- coffee rubbed grass-fed beef steak with raven hill orchard applewood smoked ricotta mashed taters, wilted spinach and candied garlic

- cast iron skillet seared local veal sweet breads with maine grown fingerling potato salad, orchard smoked onions and sebastian’s double espresso barbecue sauce

sugar therapy…

- local strawberry ‘panna cotta’ with oak aged black vinegar macerated strawberries

$45/per person. Call  Raven Hill Orchard for reservations,  207.247.4455. For questions, comments or inquiries please call The New England Farm 2 Fork Project field phone 207.459.4271 or visit www.thenewenglandfarm2forkproject.com.

– On June 19th, The New England Farm 2 Fork Project will welcome 20 international students from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy through the University of New Hampshire’s EcoGastronomy Summer Program. The students will also participate in a tour of The New England Farm 2 Fork Project’s 2010 Host Farm- Raven Hill Orchard. Owner Steve Eveld will guide the students through over seven hundred MOFGA certified organic trees, most bearing antique (heirloom) apples. The students will then enjoy the above grass-fed beef dinner experience (this dinner is sold out, reservations available for June 20th only at this time).

– The University of Gastronomic Science is an academic institution that has two campuses in Northern Italy. It was founded in 2004 by Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement, as the first university devoted to the principles of the slow food movement, and it remains affiliated with the Slow Food movement. The main objective of the school is to bridge the gap between agricultural science and gastronomy. The University of Gastronomic Sciences offers a three-year undergraduate program, two one-year master’s program, and a two-year specialized master. Students study an integrated mix of humanities, food science and technology, and economics, communications, and marketing. In addition to coursework, students are required to attend “stages” (field-study excursions) throughout Europe and the world. During this process of hands-on learning, students meet with local farmers, food producers, and professors, who explain in depth a particular product, tradition, or production area. The students also stay and visit the areas, observing local practices and tasting a wide range of regional food and drink. It is this experience that assists in the synthesis of the students’ classroom learning, and is one of the unique differentiators of the UNISG curriculum.

– The New England Farm 2 Fork Project is a roving rural eco-gastronomic organization that supports a biodiverse, sustainable food supply, local producers, heritage food-ways and the pleasures that surround the American table and kitchen. Chef Sebastian Carosi and his band of ‘Roving Rural Culinary Visionaries’ present a series of ‘on farm’ dinners, brunches, and culinary educational events that are planned throughout the season. These events will be held in the barns, fields, and pastures of several small organic farms, micro-creamery’s, cattle ranches, heirloom apple orchards and dairies that dot our bountiful landscape. The New England Farm 2 Fork Project is working closely with these farmers and producers to raise local food supply awareness and to support sustainable agriculture and economic development throughout our little corner of America.

– Grass-fed beef: Since the late 1990s, a growing number of ranchers have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots to be fattened on grain, soy and other supplements. Instead, they are keeping their animals home on the range where they forage on pasture, their native diet. These new-age ranchers do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural pace. For these reasons and more, grass-fed animals live low-stress lives and are so healthy there is no reason to treat them with antibiotics or other drugs.When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food.

It’s a win-win-win-win situation.