Update from Slow Food Portland: supporting a good, clean & fair food future
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A Match Made in Heaven: Tomatoes and Olive Oil

SLOW FOOD PORTLAND BOARD MEMBER - ANTONELLA AGUILERA-RUIZ

Each year, from about November to June I look forward to the dilemma of too many tomatoes that will accompany the summer. And because ripe, farm-fresh tomatoes need little else than salt and a generous drizzle of quality olive oil, it is easy to go overboard and fill the basket at the market. Such gorgeous colors and shapes! Aside from their amazing flavor, tomatoes are full of carotenoids, specifically one called lycopene. For men, lycopene is a powerful protector of prostate health. And, in general, a diet high in carotenoids is protective against heart disease and cancer. Unlike other phytochemicals, carotenoids stand up well to cooking, so please don’t let any tomatoes go to waste and make sauce if you have a surplus. Also, you need fat in order to absorb these goodies making the pairing with olive oil not only amazing in culinary terms, but a perfect nutritional marriage as well.

To get you going, try the recipe below adapted ever so slightly from the great Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy:

Kale salad + tomatoes + feta
10 Italian kale leaves (1 small bunch of kale)
3 TBS mint leaves, chopped
1/3 cup olives, chopped
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, chopped
sprinkle of sheep’s milk feta (optional)

Dressing:
2-3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 tsp mustard
salt/pepper
red chile flakes

Cut kale into thin strips. Mix with mint and drizzle with 1 TBS olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Massage kale until glossy. Chop remaining ingredients. Toss with kale. Combine remaining olive oil with vinegar and mustard. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Be careful to not over salt as the olives and cheese are salty. Pour over salad and toss. Top with a sprinkle of feta.

A few tips on choosing a quality olive oil

SLOW FOOD PORTLAND BOARD MEMBER - Libby Clow

Look for a harvest date and mill date within the last year.
Choose oil in a glass or metal container.
Use oil that you like when tasted on its own.
Once open, use quickly and liberally. The health benefits and quality of the oil will deteriorate once exposed to light and air.

Educate, Participate & Advocate

Slow Food Chair Russell Ruscigno

“Good, Clean, Fair food for all” the Slow Food Marque is easy to recite when asked who we are or what we do, but the challenge we have as an organization and as individuals is translating the slogan into action. Making an impact on the food system for ourselves, our community and our planet does not happen by repeating a slogan. It takes commitment and effort.

Slow Food Portland is committed to being a resource for education, participation and advocacy to bring the slogan to reality.

EDUCATE

Slow Food Portland is in partnership with local and national groups to present factual information to help cut through the abundance of misinformation. Two events in August offer insight and analysis -- Friends of Family Farmers presents Kristin Ohlson to discuss her provocative book, The Soil will Save Us. On August 11 and on August 27, Amy Holloway will be at Tabor Bread for A Slow Food Portland “Food For Thought Event’ discussing her book, “The New Bread Basket”. Both of these events are open to all and there is no cost to attend.

PARTICIPATE

The Oregon Food Bank is asking us all to “Take the Local Challenge” by committing to spend a minimum 10% of our food budget on local food. Slow Food Portland is holding a kick off event for the Oregon Food Bank on August 5 at Grain & Gristle. Again, there is no charge for attending.

Learning how to filet, season and can local Albacore Tuna takes place on August 22 at Old Salt Marketplace. This is full-on participation and includes taking home the tuna you canned that day.

ADVOCATE

Lobbying politicians is not the only avenue for advocacy. Intelligent discussions around food issues with friends and neighbors allow complicated issues to be better understood and broaden the public policy discussion without the rancor we see in the media glare. Invite a few friends to have a meal you prepared with local products and have the conversation. Advocacy includes using your purchasing power to support what you believe. The money behind BIG AG & BIG FOOD is BIG and powerful, but a well-informed grassroots effort is already swinging the pendulum back towards a sensible, sustainable food system. We can and will affect change.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Slow Food Portland & Oregon Food Bank
Food For Thought – Happy Hour

August 27, 2015

6-8pm

Amy Holloran
(‘The New Bread Basket’ book) will be a featured guest at Tabor Bread.
appetizers, no host beverages, mingling, micro tour of Tabor Bread and a talk from Amy about her new book. To RSVP, check out our website.

Breeding with Flavor in Mind – Pepper Variety Tasting

September 20th, 2015 4:00pm to 6:00 pm

Do you know the difference between a hybrid and an open pollinated plant variety? Ever tried to start plants from the seeds of a hybrid plant and been surprised when nothing grew? Are you interested in knowing what goes into the creation of a new vegetable variety?

Join us for an afternoon of tasting and learning with Lane Selman, Oregon State University researcher, Culinary Breeding Network director and 2014 Terra Madre delegate. Lane will share the story of how the ‘Stocky Red Roaster’ pepper came to exist and inspired the creation of the Culinary Breeding Network.

You will have the opportunity to taste and judge a variety of sweet peppers on such characteristics as color, texture and flavor. We will explore the subject of plant breeding and why it is important.

We would like to extend a very special thank you to Ben Meyer, owner of Old Salt Marketplace, a 2010 Terra Madre delegate, for generously sponsoring this event. All proceeds from this event will go towards helping support the 2016 Terra Madre delegates.

Schedule:

4:00 – 4:45 PM: Variety Tasting – Sweet Peppers

4:45 – 5:30 PM: Plant Breeding Talk

5:30 – 6:00 PM: Q&A plus appetizers

Visit our website for more information and to purchase tickets

In the Community

Sapori Regionali Dinner Series

Elder Hall's Jason French along with Taste of Italy's Astrid Ensign is running a 3-dinner educational series that focuses on a three different regions in Italy. These Slow Food-inspired dinners will immerse you in the food and wine culture of these regions.

These dinners will be sure to please the palate and the mind and connect you with our local food producers while taking inspiration from Italian cuisine. There is one dinner left in the series! To learn more and reserve a spot, visit the Elder Hall website.

Edible Paradise: Winslow Food Forest

Do you know what a food forest is? Read how this young couple have created a veritable edible eden. Read about it.>>

The Future of Food is the Future of the Planet

A message from the incoming chair, Russell Ruscigno. Read all about it >>

School Gardens Grow More than Just Food

A recap of the Oregon Farm to School and School Gardens Summit. Read all about it >>

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