A Celebration of The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin

Enjoy a discussion and cheese tasting with authors Jim Norton and Becca Dilley

November 19, 2009 @ 5:30 pm

Memorial Union

Norton and Dilley will discuss their work and sign books at the UW-Madison Memorial Union’s Main Lounge on November 19. Several Masters profiled in the book will join them for cheese samplings, including Sid Cook of Carr Valley Cheese, Bruce Workman of Edelweiss Creamery, Joe Widmer of Widmer Cheese Cellars and Bob Wills of Cedar Grove Cheese.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for the Humanities, the University of Wisconsin Press, and the Wisconsin Union Directorate.

James Norton and Becca Dilley drove 7,600 miles during the winter of 2007-08, interviewing cheesemakers, listening to their stories, tasting their cheeses and exploring the plants where they work. The culmination of their journey is their new book, The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin.

The book showcases 43 of the 44 Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers, who have devoted at least 13 years of their lives to attain the certification, the only one of its kind in the U.S. The Master’s program rivals similar rigorous training in Europe, and includes classes, facility inspections and a written final exam.

Environment on Tap – Food Systems Discussion

Save the date.

Speakers will be discussing the following question:

What does a sensible food production, distribution, and consumption system look like in 20 years?

- Discuss this question on global, regional, and local scales.
- What tradeoffs need to be considered when establishing new food system paradigms?
- Is supply-and-demand economic thinking useful and effective towards making agricultural systems sustainable?
- How will new food systems alter local economies?
- What is the place of industrial production and processing in future food systems?
- How will local producers and consumers be affected by proposed changes? Who are the winners and losers?
- Who are the agents of change in shifting these paradigms?

As usual, the event will be in Science Hall, Room 15. The event is free and open to the public. Beer, soda, juice, and snacks will be provided.

Movie Night!

Slow Food UW and FH King Students for Sustainable Agriculture welcome you to join us for a screening of:

The Garden

When:

Wednesday, November 18th, 7:00 pm

Where:

175 Bradley Memorial Building

1225 Linden Dr. (map)

What:

“In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, hundreds of mostly Mexican-American families came together and turned one of the nation’s most blighted neighborhoods into a 14 acre urban oasis—complete with guavas, papayas and enough fruit and vegetables to feed hundreds of families. But now bulldozers are poised to demolish their garden…

The Garden is the unflinching look at the struggle between these Latino urban farmers, the City of Los Angles and a powerful developer who wants to evict them to build warehouses. A gripping story of the country’s largest urban farm, backroom deals, land developers, green politics, money, poverty, power, and racial discord. The film explores and exposes the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.” (From http://www.thegardenmovie.com/)

Watch the Trailer:

Get More Information:

• Official movie website
• Facebook | The Garden
• South Central Farmers
• The Garden Press Release
• The Garden [at] LAFF
• The Garden [at] Silverdocs

………………………………….

Special thanks to the Madison Infoshop and the Center for Culture, History, and Environment.

Fitchburg Fields Harvest Dinner

Fitchburg Fields invites you to our first annual Harvest Dinner, featuring local organic food, catered by the Underground Food Collective.  Join us Saturday, Nov. 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., on Madison’s East Side, for an evening of delicious food, a rockin’ slideshow on our first year of gardening and preserving, and a short musical interlude with folk duo Kelly and Max Jetzer!

Tickets are $30 per person, with a special price of $15 for people with low incomes.  You need to reserve your spot by Nov. 13: either pay with PayPal at www.fitchburgfields.org, or send a check to Fitchburg Fields, P.O. Box 259876, Madison, WI 53725-9876, and send an email to
fitchburgfields@gmail.com to let us know that it’s coming.

Here’s local food writer Terese Allen’s take on the Underground Food Collective:

“A big, joyful salute to the feel-good food and gonzo cooks of Underground Catering.  These folks get it right: local, seasonal and utterly delicious fare that’s eater-, grower- and earth-friendly.  I love the way they balance casual and classy, conviction and creativity.  They’re fearless in the kitchen, personable in the dining room and generous in the community.  When Underground is cooking, I’m very happy to be at the table.”

For more information go to www.fitchburgfields.org.

West African Family Dinner Night

Greetings Slow Food UW!

At our next Family Dinner Night, Otehlia Cassidy will lead you on a taste adventure through Mali, West Africa. The diverse flavors of Malian cuisine reflect the numerous cultural influences of this ancient trade route. Throughout Mali, you will find hints of North African, East African and even Indian flavors in the food. During this class, Otehlia will prepare one of West Africa’s most popular dishes, chicken-peanut sauce (also called tigedigena or mafe) served with rice. This main dish will be accompanied by a refreshing salad with a West African twist.  Otehlia will demonstrate how to use ingredients and spices that are available locally while keeping the flavor “authentic.” This meal is delicious and hearty, and will feed even a large family on a budget!

As always, a vegetarian option will be available.  Please indicate your preference on the rsvp.  Also, if you have a peanut allergy, please let us know.  We will prepare an alternative dish ONLY for those who request it in the rsvp!

* We have space for eight (8) people to come early for the cooking lesson/workshop. Please let me know if you are interested! You must rsvp for this spot, (and if you do rsvp, please make sure you come)! The cooking workshop will begin at 4:00.

* Everyone else, please come at 6:30 for a family style dinner.

When?

Monday, November 16, 2009
Dinner is served ~6:30.

Where?

In the kitchen at the Crossing (in the basement).
1127 University Ave. at Charter St. (Map)

How much?

$5 will cover the cost of ingredients and supplies.

***We are looking for 3 volunteers to stay late to make sure all of the cleaning is finished. Dinner will be free for volunteers! Please let us know if you are interested.

Please RSVP by Friday, November 13th so we know how much to purchase!  RSVP by clicking http://www.doodle.com/kkidizb3mws7gnsq.

Otehlia’s Biography:

Otehlia Cassidy has been cooking since she can remember. She spent many hours in the kitchen with her mother learning to knead bread, and cook traditional Swedish recipes passed down from her grandmother. Otehlia developed a passion for traveling at an early age, and combined her interests by learning how to cook local foods wherever she went, including Brazil, Guyana, and Mexico. Otehlia also spent two formative years in Africa, including Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast and Cameroon, where she pursued her love for dance and environmental education.  In addition, she navigated the markets learning about the different foods, and learned to prepare local dishes. Otehlia has been instructing West African dance for over 10 years, and also enjoys putting her teaching talents to work in the kitchen. Otehlia’s teaching style reflects her warm and energetic personality, and her commitment to eating healthy and locally.

For more information on the drum and dance company:  www.wadoma.com

For Otehlia’s food blog: www.gutenappetit-letseat.blogspot.com

Panel on Cafe Business Structure

Last installment in the What to Eat speaker series this Tuesday!

This Tuesday, Nov. 10th, 4pm, in 2241 Chamberlain Hall, the What to Eat series of responses to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food concludes with a presentation on:

The Seasonal Connection: From the Land to Your Plate

-  Monique Hooker

Wisconsin chef, storyteller,
and author of Cooking with the Seasons

–introduction by Julie Luke, Associate Director of Dining
and Culinary Service, University Housing.

Chef Hooker will include a cooking demonstration as a part of her presentation.  The event will be followed with a reception, which will include a chance to sample the dish Chef Hooker will demonstrate.

The reception will be catered by the University Dining and Culinary Service, and will include ingredients donated by the Organic Valley coop.

So, join us for the final event in the What to Eat series!

- – - –

Nota bene: This week’s talk is at Chamberlain Hall, Room 2241, not Soil Science.

 

FDN – South Madison Specialty

Hi everyone!

At our next Family Dinner Night, we will welcome a special guest chef – South Madison community leader, former chef, and garden producer Michael Goldsby – to our kitchen and our table.  Michael will be preparing some of his favorite recipes made with ingredients from his own community farm.  Following the dinner, we will have the opportunity to learn about the projects Michael and his colleagues have been working on in South Madison.  It will be a special event that you will not want to miss!

Special Note: In preparation for the dinner, a small group of Slow Foodies will take a trip over to Michael’s farm to harvest kale and other ingredients.  If you have any time in the next week and would be willing to help, please contact Genya Erling at genya@slowfooduw.org!

* We have space for twelve (12) people to come early for the cooking lesson/workshop. Please let me know if you are interested! You must rsvp for this spot, (and if you do rsvp, please make sure you come)! The cooking workshop will begin at 4:00.

* Everyone else, please come at 6:30 for a family style dinner.

When?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Dinner is served ~6:30.

Where?

In the kitchen at the Crossing (in the basement).

1127 University Ave. at Charter St. (Map)

How much?

$5 will cover the cost of ingredients and supplies.

***We are looking for 3 volunteers to stay late to make sure all of the cleaning is finished. Dinner will be free for volunteers! Please let us know if you are interested.

Please RSVP by November 7th so we know how much to purchase!  RSVP by clicking http://www.doodle.com/mx583k8v7fi54uc7

Permaculture and Creative Ecology!

Thurs. Nov. 12th  7:00 pm

UW-Madison, Rm. 180 Science Hall

Permaculture & Creative Ecology! – presentation with Alex Cicelsky, founding member of the Center for Creative Ecology located on Kibbutz Lotan in Israel’s Arava Valley.  Alex will discuss the Center’s programs for organic farming, sustainable building, recycling, Green Apprenticeships, their Peace, Justice, and the Environment College, as well as their agricultural solidarity work with Palestinean and Bedouin communities.

Info?  http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/creativeEcology/index.htm

Local and Fair Trade Holiday Gift Boxes

They’re Back!  2009 Local Food Fair Trade Holiday Giftboxes!

Support family farmers and sustainable agriculture by spreading the cheer of local fair trade food this coming holiday season!

Family Farm Defenders is once again proud to offer a wide range of holiday giftboxes, featuring their signature Family Farmer Cheese from Cedar Grove, as well as many other scrumptious items such as wild rice, maple syrup, pancake mix, mustard, honey, popcorn, crackers, fair trade Just Coffee, Holy Land olive oil, Divine chocolate and much more.  You can also drop by the FFD office at 1019 Williamson St. (in the basement of Nature’s Bakery) to customize your own box!  For more info, call #260-0900 or visit the FFD website to download an order form:  www.familyfarmdefenders.org

REAP Food Group is also offering Homegrown Holiday Fundraiser Giftboxes this year that support local farms and businesses, fair trade principles, and provide funding for REAP’s farm-to-school program.  The deadline for placing an order is Nov. 12th.  For more details call  #310-7836 or visit the REAP website for a brochure and order form:  http://www.reapfoodgroup.org/images/stories/pdf/reap%202009%20brochure.pdf