Monday, October 12, 2009

Photos of Cache la Poudre's First Event!

For our first event we cooked soup from the field to the pot - outside in the snow.



Lawrence and Ursula Holmes at Cresset Community Farm were our gracious hosts.

Lawrence started off the afternoon festivities with a farm tour.

Rows of spinach weathering the snow.





Lawrence told everyone about the history of the farm and their plans to create a sustainable farm community on part of this property and neighboring farmland.

While the tour was being conducted several members stayed at the outdoor kitchen with Chef Florian Wehrli to help make the soup.


All of the vegetables for the soup came from Cresset Community Farm, including these pumpkins, an essential ingredient in the pumpkin cheese soup.




Garth, Lawrence and Ursula's apprentice, directed the chopping efforts.


The pumpkins were then added to the stock pot with milk from Windsor Dairy.


Once they were cooked, Chef Florian blended the soup with his impressive industrial strength portable blender. Here Florian shows his son Emile how to use the blender.





Chef Florian answers questions while preparing four different kinds of soup: pumpkin-cheese, oxtail-vegetable, cream of spinach and mustard greens, and borscht with cilantro and fennel root.



Oxtail-vegetable soup in the silver stockpot and borscht in the red stockpot. A true feast for the senses.


Garth made all of the amazingly beautiful and delicious bread from local grains and ingredients.

Here he slices a slow rise whole wheat loaf.


Garth made six different kinds of bread for the event including pumpernickel and apple bread. The bread was served with Ursula's kimchee. Thank you Gareth and Ursula!

People were able to warm up and enjoy their food by the fire pit.


Florian, Garth, and Liz visit around the soup pot.


A farm cat helps itself to a taste of pumpkin-cheese soup that was left on the blender.

This duck seemed to enjoy the party as much as the rest of us.



Florian tells everyone that our next event will be held at the Lyric theater in Fort Collins. The Lyric will show the movie the "Cheese Nun" and then we will have a hands on Fondue making party. BYOFP (Bring Your Own Fondue Pot). The date for this event is yet to be determined. We'll keep you posted.



We had many Slow Food Denver members join us for the first event. Thanks to everyone for braving the weather and bringing your families.

Fiona helps herself to the honey-sweet apple crisp that was stewed over the fire pit.


The kids found enough snow to make a sizable snow ball.


Meg and her daughter Fiona showed everyone how to make corn husk dolls.

Elizabeth draws a face on the corncob doll she helped her sons make.

Corn-cob husk dolls are a traditional craft for this time of year.

The event started out cloudy and cold, but by the end of the day the sun was shining and we hope that everyone left feeling full and satisfied. Thanks, everyone for coming. If you couldn't make it, we hope you can make it to the next event.

NYT Food Issue

This week's New York Times Magazine section is the annual Food Issue. There are some interesting and thought-provoking pieces there - have a look here .

And here is a report from Grist on a conversation between Michael Pollan and Grist food writer Tom Philpott.