To ring in the new school year, Slow Food hosted an open house at Mediterra on September 21st.  We had a huge turnout (around 200 students came!), and new and returning members alike congregated to celebrate the delicious, locally-sourced food and drinks that Mediterra provided and the company of their peers.  We are extremely excited about the interest in the Slow Food movement, and look forward to seeing everyone at our future meetings and events!

While their peers were busy wrapping up papers for the semester, ten Slow Food Princeton members spent their Monday night studying chemistry: the chemistry behind the perfect gelato, that is.  Using butternut squash they grew in the Forbes College Organic Garden with the help of director Ruthie Schwab ‘09, the Slow Foodies prepared delicious butternut squash gelato with the help of Bent Spoon owner Gab Carbone in a private after-hours event.  After a primer in crème anglaise and the differences between gelato and ice cream, Gab’s apprentices whipped up a batch of gelato to enjoy together.  Thanks to Gab Carbone for her enthusiasm and efforts to make this possible!

This past Friday, a group of Slow Food Princeton members took a trip down the road to Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ to learn first-hand about cheesemaking from owner Kelly Harding.  After a tour of the farm and milking session with the cows, Slow Foodies were guided through the cheesemaking process and learned the secrets of Cherry Grove’s legendary gouda and toma primavera, and even got a peek at their upcoming bleu!  A cheese tasting was the perfect ending to a crisp autumn afternoon.

Twenty Slow Foodies spent a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Forbes College Organic Garden preparing a (very) local dinner with cooking instructor Liz Yvon of Aubergines, etc.

After harvesting heirloom tomatoes, swiss chard, eggplant, beets, turnips, basil, mint, rosemary, and parsley, all grown by Princeton students under the leadership of Ruthie Schwab ‘09, the Slow Foodies worked with Liz to prepare a delicious 5-course dinner.

On the menu was a chilled tomato bisque, rotini with pesto, Provencal-style swiss chard pie, eggplant, pepper, and tomato stacks, braised turnips, roasted beets with blue cheese pâté, a fresh herb omelette, and mint tea.  Dinner was eaten al fresco under the starry, summer night sky.

More details can be found in the Princeton Alumni Weekly magazine and The Daily Princetonian student newspaper.  Delicious!

Ten Princeton Slow Foodies spent one of their final days on campus cooking with Liz Yvon, owner of Aubergines Etc., which offers private cooking classes and catered dinner parties in the Princeton area.  Liz spent two years in Provence learning about Provencal cuisine and graciously offered her services and materials to Slow Food Princeton for an afternoon of delicious French cooking.

Using local ingredients purchased at the campus farmers’ market, Slow Foodies whipped up a delicious French dinner for themselves, with a little bit of help from Liz.  On the menu was green salad with shallot vinaigrette, coq au vin, gratin dauphinois, sabayon aux fruits rouges, and langues de chat.  Everything was delicious, and the distance from farm to fork could not have been closer!  For more information about Aubergines Etc., please write auberginesetc@gmail.com.

This week Slow Food Princeton members spent a lazy Friday afternoon at the Princeton Bakeshop with Chef Rob Harbison learning how to make apple turnovers. With local apples, organic cranberries, and a pinch of cinnamon sugar, participants practiced making different pastry shapes and snacked on chocolate-covered strawberries while their creations baked. Thanks to Chef Rob and Dining Services for making this possible.

Slow Food Princeton members spent their Thursday afternoons with Witherspoon Bread Company’s master baker Denis Granarolo learning the art of making croissant, brioche, and puff pastry dough. Armed with flour, sugar, and lots of butter, the slow foodies took to work and created delicious chocolate croissant, raisin-walnut brioche, and palmier from scratch. Pictures of our finished products are below. Delicious!

The Greening Princeton Farmers’ Market is a grower/producer market where all of the vendors make or grow what they sell, including farm fresh seasonal produce, naturally raised meats, and other artisanal goods.

Every item sold at the Market was grown, raised or produced locally. That’s why you’ll find tasty strawberries in the spring, but will have to wait for juicy tomatoes in the early fall and pumpkins even later. What you will find is wonderfully fresh produce picked at the height of freshness.

The Market features weekly live music from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm, as well as tables with nutrition information, sustainability initiatives at Princeton, and dedicated volunteers from Slow Food to keep the operation running smoothly. The market will run every Tuesday from April 15 through May 20.

Slow Food Princeton took a field trip this Sunday to the Third-Annual Slow Food Winter Farmers’ Market held at Tre Piani Restaurant in Plainsboro, NJ. In addition to meeting fellow foodies and community members, members of Slow Food Princeton enjoyed meats from a local salumeria, rhubarb pie from Terhune Orchards, and of course gelato from the Bent Spoon. The perfect way to spend a winter afternoon!