Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Food preservation workshop

We'll be at the Westside Community Market on Saturday (Oct 13) to talk about food preservation and show some of the equipment and techniques we use. If you are curious about any of the processes (canning, freezing, and drying, mostly) or need some encouragement to get started, swing by and we will pump your self-confidence to previously unknown heights.

On the road again

We're in Boston visiting Scott's mother this week. Last night we went to Oleana, which is a fabulous restaurant specializing in Eastern Mediterranean food (think Greece and Turkey). No photos: taking pictures of food in a fine dining restaurant just feels tacky.

They have an awesome farm-to-table connection: the wife is the chef and the husband is the farmer, so they grow the majority of the produce themselves and source meats locally. The press clippings we saw (posted in the bathroom!) tell the tale of having to adapt the cuisine a bit to account for the differences in growing conditions between the Mediterranean and New England. Some people might be dismayed by this kind of compromise of "authentic" cuisine, but I think it is really the very best of what eating has to offer: the flavors from all over the world are the paint and the local ingredients are the canvas. The result, in the case of Oleana, is a masterpiece. If you ever find yourself hungry and in Cambridge, give the place a try.

—SCL