N.H. Eat Local Week is underway

Ingredients: Garden fresh vegetables in heirloom varieties, local duck eggs and organic spice mix.

This was just one item of many to be found in the potluck dishes at Slow Food Seacoast’s bimonthly meeting on Sunday evening, Aug. 3. The food brought to share was prepared with as many local ingredients as members could find, and dinner was followed by a homemade cake with ripe Maine blueberries that one member said “taste like flowers.”

The meeting and dinner kicked off the state’s Eat Local Week at the historic Stoodley’s Tavern at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth. N.H. Eat Local Week, as officially designated by Gov. John Lynch, runs through Saturday, Aug. 9.

The week-long campaign was organized in part by Seacoast Eat Local to celebrate food that is grown and raised in the state. It’s an opportunity to support the local farming community, encourage food self-reliance and have a positive relationship with the environment. Participants are encouraged to challenge themselves to eat local every day this week, whether it’s every meal or just a side dish once a day.

Slow Food Seacoast members tend to eat rather quickly at their potluck meetings, admitted Michelle Moon, one of three organizers of the non-profit organization based in Portsmouth. Afterward, the gathering heard from Sara Zöe Patterson, coordinator of Seacoast Eat Local, about the week’s challenge. Members contributed their plans to participate.

“I’m going out in the garden, seeing what’s ready to eat and putting it on the table,” said Peter Bixby, of Dover. He agreed with other people who have decided to make simpler meals this week, noting that fresh food doesn’t need as much dressing up anyway.

Also, the group discussed the celebratory intentions of the week. “Eating local is not deep deprivation,” said Bixby. “It’s celebration of what’s good.”

Jenny Isler of Eliot, Maine, said she primarily eats local already. Eating local in the middle of the summer isn’t much of a challenge, she said, but she does find it difficult in the winter. She bought a chest freezer to store local foods for a time when they are not so plentiful.

Others said they want to make summer foods last longer, too, but need recipes for preserving them. A canning and pickling workshop with chef Ted McCormack of Flag Hill Winery & Distillery in Lee has been organized by Willow Pond Community Farm at the Congregational Church in downtown Exeter on Wednesday, Aug. 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. Flag Hill Winery will also host a dinner on Friday, Aug. 8, featuring, as always, local and regional foods. Reservations are required.

Restaurants participating in N.H. Eat Local Week include The Dolphin Striker in downtown Portsmouth, which is offering a special prix fix menu each night of week. The Black Trumpet, also in Portsmouth, plans to highlight its local food on the menu. Slow Food encourages people who go out to eat this week to ask what’s local. 

The Little Milkman has a special for those who sign up for service this week. The first month will be free of delivery charges for milk, local cheeses, eggs, meats and more. Call 603-373-6659 for more information. Also, since Kellie Brook Farm in Greenland has been set back by a new ban on poultry at the Portsmouth Farmer’s Market, Slow Food suggests that people visit the farm to purchase fresh chicken on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 8 and 9. It is also available at the Exeter Farmer’s Market on Thursday, Aug. 7.

Eight farms will be open to the public for Lee Farm Day on Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be demonstrations and activities at each farm all day long, including a sheep shearing demonstration, free horse-drawn wagon rides, riding and jumping demonstrations, a local artists’ show and a bee-keeping exhibit. Lunch to benefit N.H. Agriculture in the Classroom will be available at UNH Burleigh-DeMeritt Farm. For a complete listing of farms and events, visit www.nhcornmaze.com.

An Edible Garden Tour of the Seacoast will be held on Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It begins at Strawbery Banke Museum with two gardens on site, then goes to eight additional locations in the area. A $5 ticket includes a guidebook and map with driving directions. More information can be found at www.ediblegardentour.org.

After the Slow Food Seacoast meeting, the organization toured Victory Garden at Strawbery Banke as an example of the way people formerly ate local foods.

More information about Slow Food Seacoast and its potluck meetings is at www.slowfoodseacoast.org. More on N.H. Eat Local Week is at www.nheatlocalweek.org.