Not Fast Food

The Slow Food movement started in Italy in 1986 when a McDonalds opened at the Spanish Steps in Rome. To counteract fast food, Carlo Petrini, founded "slow food." The movement has expanded globally to 122 countries.

We joined the Slow Food USA chapter about a month ago and today are going to our first dinner. It's in a 100-year-old olive grove on Chaffin Orchards Farm just north of Oroville, CA. All the food will be from local farms cooked by local chefs. No packaged foods. Local wine and beer too. We will savor every bite and talk a lot between courses. There will be about 100 people there. It's going to be 102 so it's going to be a test of my ability to be outdoors in the heat. Harleen is going too. Hopefully the olive grove will be cooler.

Chef and cookbook author Alice Waters is leading the Slow Food movement in the U.S. Her Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, is still a mecca for foodies who want simple, well prepared meals. I've eaten there; the food is sublime.

Yesterday I blanched ten ears of fresh corn and then froze the kernels. Creamed corn will taste really good in December.

This week we start receiving our box of veggies from our CSA (community supported agriculture) farm, the Natural Trading Company which is just up the road from us.

My goals this CSA season: learn to like beets.