Spring Apple Affair

Isn't apple blossom time just so beautiful?  

Thinking ahead to the fruit these blossoms will create with the help of some pollinator friends & envisioning a time when diverse, heritage apple trees thrive--the rare Milwaukee varietal included--its been exciting to plant & distribute some of our region's most endangered apple tree varietals this Spring.  

Spring is the time for grafting and planting and tending heritage fruit trees.

To celebrate the beauty of springtime and to sell some heritage apples for backyard, farmstead, professional orchard growing, Slow Food WiSE is hosting a special event tomorrow.  

Please join us for the first ever Spring Apple Affair on Saturday, May 12th from 12-4pm at the Stahl-Conrad Homestead in Hales Corners, WI.   

Bring your friends and family (including mom--it is the day before Mother's Day after all.)  Bring a picnic and your favorite apple recipe to exchange.  Bring your work gloves if you want to help clean up our tiny heritage orchard. Leave with a heritage fruit tree, local honey, a Mother's Day present, more knowledge, and new friends. 

Spring Apple Affair

• Heritage Apple Tree Sales
• Holistic Apple Tree Care Education  (with organic grower Joe Fahey of Peck & Bushel) 
• Local Product Sales, including Viola's Honey & Hack Farm's eggs & vegetable
• Spring Clean-up of our Heritage Orchard
  Apple Recipe Exchange (bring your favorite!)  
• Apple Preserves Tastings
• Special Mother's Day & Kid Friendly Activities
• And B.Y.O.P.-Bring Your Own Picnic!

  

For more info, to RSVP, or to volunteer, contact Jennifer - Jcasey@slowfoodwise.org.

To read more about our heritage trees and our grower, and to learn more about Slow Food WiSE, read the latest Slow Times.

Connect with Local Food Producers

This weekend is one of my favorite events of the year; the Local Food and Farmer Open House at Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center.

You can stop by the UEC from 11am-4pm to meet CSA farmers, attend workshops, find a local source for meat or milk or eggs, and visit with other community members as interested in sustainable food as you.... 

Find all the details, and a list of local CSA farms here.

Local Farmer Open House

This Saturday, you, your family, and friends, can learn about Local Food & Community Supported Agriculture from area farmers, chefs, and various local foodies at the Local Farmer Open House at the Urban Ecology Center.  To spread the word,  I asked my friend, the fabulous farmer-philosopher David Koslowski of Pinehold Gardens, to talk to the Fox 6 morning team about the upcoming open house for Get Active Today's "March is Nutrition Month" segment.  Why?  Because buying local food supports the health of people and places, as well as our community and the local economy (at a time when these things are sorely in need of everyone's support.)   We can make a blanket statement about local food being nutritious, because not only does it tend to be fresher than what you find in supermarket shelves it also primarily exists on the "little to no processing end" of the processed food spectrum (as opposed to the gallons of uber-hyper-super-processed foods we consume laden with added salts, sugars, and fats, with little of the original sustenance remaining.)  Check out Dave's spot here for a taste of what fun you can expect this Saturday at one of Milwaukee's treasure's, the UEC.
 

In Gratitude

 Boston Marrow Squash--great for pie!

The world wide web is a flurry of Thanksgiving articles and blog posts.  I have added my own to the throng with a healthy, local food themed piece on Get Active Today’s website, replete with recipes made with ingredients sourced at the winter farmer’s market.

This year, I’ve noted that the many people harping on the gluttony and over consumption that can often be involved in American holidays has ratcheted up a notch; some have gone so far as to boycott Thanksgiving.  That seems a shame.  I like to think that this is one holiday where we can truly, easily, observe and celebrate our eternal connection to the land.  To give thanks for the many things that make the act of eating together possible is something I feel we should do more often.   So while many feel this holiday has gone too far (and really, its easy to agree when you consider the average Thanksgiving meal holds more than double our daily calorie needs) I think the answer is not to banish it, but to bring it back down to its earthly origin.

While Thanksgiving is an American holiday (and though we get the origin story of the original Thanksgiving wrong over and over again) giving thanks for a good harvest is something all cultures have done for the millennia. More generally speaking, gratitude is something that all cultures, all religions express, and nowadays science has shown us that gratitude is associated with well-being.

So in this spirit of gratitude I reflect on what I am thankful for this year:  I’m thankful for the birds and the bees and all the pollinators of our fruit trees and plants, the farmers who’ve worked on bent knee and with sore backs to cultivate food from the soil for my table, the little garden that could still flush with herbs in my yard, the great diversity of lifeforms around the globe, the clean water that flows out of my tap from the fresh water reservoir that is Lake Michigan, and for the people I love both near and far that nourish my soul...

Celebrate the Seasons with Local Flavors

My contribution to the December Slow Food WiSE newsletter...

Imagine what it must have been like, a century ago, for a Wisconsin boy or girl to get an orange in their Christmas stocking. The exotic scent of citrus, the hint of sun, the golden juice... In a time when oranges are ubiquitous year-round, it might be hard to understand how special a short seasoned, far flung fruit might have been for a child. Eating locally and seasonally, for the great majority of history, has been the only option. The truth is that so many of our familial, food, and holiday traditions have gone by the wayside in lieu of bigger portions, faster foods, more gifts... The food traditions of the holiday season have long been connected to the ecology of the immediate world around us- and if we keep this in mind when choosing our celebratory foods, we might gain a deeper appreciation of the place we call home.

Winter in Wisconsin (with nary a ripe tomato to be found) is home to many lovely cold weather, and year round foods. Highlighting some of our region's special foods for menus and gifts at holiday gatherings promotes community and often inspires story telling. Nationwide, Slow food USA's Ark of Taste and Renewing Americas Food Traditions Alliance are two important programs that are aimed at saving endangered foods and preserving America's Food Traditions. Many Ark of Taste products, such as Sorghum Syrup, are grown, raised, or produced in the Mid-west. To learn more, go to the national website: www.slowfoodusa.org.

Consider the following Wisconsin foods for your winter gatherings:
* Cheeses
* Jams, Jellies and Preserves
* Storage Fruits & Vegetables
* Grains
* Maple syrup and honey
* Meat, Fish, and Fowl

Resources for finding local Wisconsin foods:
Farm Fresh Atlas of Southeastern Wisconsin
Local Harvest
Savor Wisconsin
Eat Wild
Milwaukee Community Supported Agriculture Initiative