HFLF Conference, Another Trip to the BRC, Slow Food IU

My, it has been a busy couple of weeks.

Way back on September 6th, I attended the Healthy Food, Local Farms conference in Louisville, Kentucky, sponsored by the local Sierra Club and Slow Food chapters there. The theme was "Politics of Food," which is right up my alley, of course, and I really enjoyed the conference. Most of the talk was about how to promote sustainability and Slow ideals within the Louisville area, but I think a lot of the ideas are transferable to any locale. Guest speakers included Daniel Imhoff, author of Food Fight, about the Farm Bill, and Judy Wicks, owner of the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I found Judy Wicks to be particularly inspirational. During her talk, she said this fabulous quote which I would love to turn into my life's work: "I use good food to lure innocent customers into social action." If you don't know about the White Dog Cafe, I highly suggest you check out their website and see what they are all about.

The lunch served to us at the conference was absolutely delicious. It was all from local producers and included such wonderful dishes as cheesy grits, chicken salad, artisan bread, honey cake, local ginger ale, and some incredible sausage gumbo featuring chorizo from my dear friends at Fiedler Family Farms.

On the way home, Mom and I stopped for dinner at the Blue River Cafe. I had to have some more of that coleslaw! Of course they didn't disappoint, and my coleslaw was just as wonderful as I remembered. My pork tenderloin was excellent as well. I was surprised at it's thickness... it more closely resembled a pork chop than the pounded thin, mostly breading tenderloins one usually finds in Indiana. It was really delicious, though. Very juicy and tender, and the homeade breading was crispy and in perfect proportion to the meat. Yum!

Slow Food IU held its first meeting on September 9th, and I was pleasantly surprised to see people that weren't my friends or roomates attend. It was a small turnout, but I look forward to our first potluck tomorrow, and to growing the group a bit more once people know what we're about.

That's all from me for now, folks. As Paula Deen says, "Best dishes from my kitchen to yours!"