Toledo Grows Events

We're not sponsoring the following events, but we are happy to help get the word out:

Saturday February 23rd -- The 4^th Annual SEED SWAP

The Swap and all workshops are free and open to the public!

12:00-3:00pm, Crosby Conference Center (SEED SWAPPING) - bring seeds, bulbs, house plants, gardening magazines, et cetera-- there's still time to order unique seeds to share from sites like rareseeds.com. All are welcome -- but those who bring something to exchange will receive more tokens...

Workshop Schedule: (all workshops are at Toledo Botanical Garden)

11:00am "Plant Nutrition", Art Abilities Studio (AAS)
11:00am "Talking Tomatoes", Children's Ed. Building (CEB)

1:30pm "Gardening for Maximum Nutrition" (AAS)
1:30pm "Plant Propagation" (CEB)

3:15pm "Beekeeping" (AAB)
3:15pm "Invasive Plants" (CEB)

Come to the Garden on Saturday, February 23, 2008 to exchange seeds, learn new skills and diversify your gardens. No matter your gardening ability, you'll enjoy the chance to mingle with other gardeners and swap favorite seeds and bulbs. The Seed Swap gives gardeners the opportunity to enjoy new plants and to help preserve unique local and cultural strains, as many gardeners grow plants that are unique to their ethnicity or taste. Visitors are also encouraged to bring houseplants to exchange. There will be activities for kids, workshops, music and more so bring the whole family.

For more information, please call (419)936-2975 or email tgrows2@toledogarden.org.

The Seed Swap is a free/grassroots event � please help us by printing or forwarding these flyers�

February Slow Supper

This month's Slow Supper will be Friday, February 29th. It's a bonus day, and Slow Food Maumee Valley has arranged just the right way to celebrate it: enjoying a convivial meal others who share a passion for food and drink that is good, clean, and fair.

The meal will be meatless, creative, and delicious, prepared by our hosts Jackie and Sarkis David, and presented at the Original Sub Shop and Deli, 402 Broadway, Toledo at 6:30 PM. The price is $15 for Slow Food members, $20 for those who have not yet joined. Coffee and tea included, BYOB if you'd like to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal. RSVP by Friday, February 22nd to slowfoodmaumeevalley@gmail.com or by calling Paula Ross @ 419.536.0807.

Watch this space for menu updates!

New Northwest Ohio Cheesemaker

For a few months, I've been purchasing several of my staples direct from a farmer, Ralph Schlatter, of Canal Junction Natural Meats. I haven't yet had the chance to try their new cheeses, but after reading this message from Ralph's son Brian, I can't wait:

Hello to all,
This is Brian Schlatter. I am the cheesemaker for Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese. We are a new operation that started making cheese in November and now have some cheeses ready to be sold. We concentrate on raw milk cheeses. We have cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, garlic & herb, jack & dill, Italian herb, pepper jack, black swamp gouda, miami erie canal Swiss, Wabash erie canal gruyere (a type of Swiss cheese), and on Wednesday I attempted a blue cheese that will be ready in 60 days. We here at the farm are all very excited about the cheese that we have already. One thing that makes these cheese wonderful is that they not only come from our own milk but that milk comes from the very mineral rich soils that we live on. It has been told to me time and time again by others that clay soil is that best soil to raise food on because that taste from it is exceptional because of the soil that it is raised on. If you have any cheese questions please ask. I will be glad to answer them. For those who like to try something different and with varying varieties when eating the two Swiss style cheese that I am making offer both ends of the spectrum and also make a great fondue. Tell all your friends and co-workers that there is a place in Northwest Ohio that makes cheese and sells it right from the farm. This is the freshest that you can get.

Stay tuned for more to come as I will be posting updates on what is happening

Brian
Master Cheesemaker

Edible Art

Founded on the universal right to pleasure, Slow Food continues to remind us that it's important to have fun. Imagine how much fun it was for photographer Carl Warner to put together these still lifes in his kitchen!

January Soup Supper Draws A Crowd

Forty members and friends of SF Maumee Valley gathered at Flying Rhino for the first Slow Supper of 2008: an amazing variety of delicious soups plus fabulous go-withs, wines including home made fruit blends and a white wine that SF member Roger Heider brought all the way from Vietnam. Watch this blog for future slow suppers!

January Apples

Every Saturday I come home from the market wondering "what are these apples I bought?" This week I limited myself to just three kinds: Sun Crisp, Gold Rush, and Blushing Gold.

What are your favorites?

Let us know by commenting or e-mail us at slowfoodmaumeevalley@gmail.com

What the World Eats

Do you ever think about what Americans eat? And what others around the world eat? Sometimes it's not what you expect.

Check out this story shared by Slow Food Maumee Valley founding member (and Toledo GROWs Executive Director) Michael Szuberla.

Want to see more? Here is information about Hungry Planet, the gorgeous 2005 book in which Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio present a photographic study of families from around the world, revealing what people eat during the course of one week.


Please let us know what you think; leave a comment or e-mail us: slowfoodmaumeevalley@gmail.com