The Hills Are Alive with the Taste Of Place!
I'm very excited to share a guest post today from Jennifer Hall. The hard working food advocate helped launch the Main Market Co-op, and has been a leader of the Slow Food Spokane River Convivium, co-chair of Slow Food’s National Ark of Taste Committee, and an appointed member of the USDA National Organic Standards Board. This marks her DTE debut and I really look forward to future collaborations.
The Hill’s are Alive with the Taste of Place!
By Jennifer M. Hall
In 'that' Washington and 'this' WA - ON THE SAME DAY!
Celebrating local culture through local food, September 29, 2010.
Experts from both coasts share the unique menus and stories of their region, talk about the importance of preserving their local traditions, and build community at the table. Sign up now for Spokane's local food celebration to support wild salmon!
High country, lowcountry, farm country. Different areas of the country possess sights, sounds, customs and flavors all their own. This last one, flavors, makes traveling particularly fun and in many places increases the richness of staying home. The peppers of New Mexico, the maple of Minnesota, the corn of Iowa, the huckleberries of Idaho, the poi of Hawaii.
Author Rowan Jacobsen writes about the taste of place in The American Terroir talking about the importance of geographically based foods, offering “a sense of place in a world of increasing placelessness.” Despite the chain restaurant flattening of flavor, regional identity through foods persists. BBQ is not just BBQ – there’s Texas BBQ, Carolina BBQ, Kansas BBQ, each with distinct preparations and ingredients and an army of devout followers boasting its rank as the best of the pack.
Two events that coincidentally occur on the exact same day this week, on opposite coasts, invite us to immerse ourselves in the story of our place through food. The beautiful traditions need our help to continue. And in some cases, so do the foods. Join us for one of them in Spokane!
September 29, 2010: A Lowcountry Evening With a Tasting of Lowcountry Fare.
"Hoppin'" John Martin Taylor will be speaking on Lowcountry Cooking at the Smithsonian. Advance tickets are available from Smithsonian Associates. The evening will begin at 6:45 pm. The life-long advocate for the foodways of the South, "Hoppin" John will speak, there will be food, and there will be a question and answer session. His friend anna saint john, who sells his products at the Bethesda Central Farm Market, will be catering the event (Champagne punch and lemonade, boiled peanuts on the tables, Carolina (chicken) pilau, cornbread, green bean/benne salad, and sweet benne wafers).
At Hill's Restaurant & Lounge in Spokane, Salmon Nation...
September 29, 2010: 4th Annual Wheat, Wine & Wild Salmon Dinner!
Each year 3 local organizations come together in support of one single issue... supporting the longevity of wild salmon & steelhead in Salmon Nation. Many challenges face these fish, so critical to the health of the NW ecosystem, economy and culture.
Join Slow Food Spokane River, Save Our Wild Salmon & Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited at Hill's Restaurant & Lounge in downtown Spokane, WA. The food is always local & exceptional, with many donations from generous local growers, commercial fishermen, Slow Food members, and Chef Dave's own rooftop garden!
$55.00 per person
includes a 5-course meal, a ticket for a glass of local wine or beer, and a raffle ticket.
New threats face our Wild Salmon populations routinely. Habitat destruction, increasing chemicals in the environment, dams, farmed salmon and now genetically engineered salmon! Literally as I wrote this, I overhead an older man at a bar asking his friends if they’ve heard of “this new salmon they’ve created by putting part of another fish in it to make it grow twice as fast?” Silence from the other side. He continued, “Personally, I think it’s not nice to do to Mother Nature. But if somebody can make a buck off it, they’re gonna do it.”
Join a meal to support the wild populations on Wednesday, 9/29!
Purchase a seat TODAY!
