School Lunch Meat.

At various FCC dinners we have discussed the policies surrounding the lunches served in our nations school cafeteria's. Something needs to change, the nations most vulnerable (children) are the ones suffering because of low grade meat supplied to school lunch programs. The USDA has a dual role in administering the financing for school lunches, on one hand they need to provide safe and nourishing lunches while on the other hand they have to provide a venue for corporate beef manufacturers to sell low grade beef. This relationship is toxic.

See this article in USA today for more on the topic of meat in schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-school-lunch-standards_N.htm

In hopes for change.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving.

Did you see?...

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/?8dpc

Enjoy your leftovers.

Underground dinner in Chicago.

Check out the link to a new supper club concept in Chicago.

At FCC we love bacon, but The Wandering Goat incorporates pork belly into everything...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-091101mag-izard-party%2c0%2c7650587.story

Enjoy.

Holiday Parties!

Are you interested in bringing a tast of Food Creates Community to your holiday party?

Let Vestals Foods create a memorable locally inspired dinner party for you and your loved ones.

Contact - Jordan Swim - 214-755-3014

Turkey.

Just ordered my turkey yesterday from Rehoboth Ranch. Here are the details...

TIME TO ORDER THANKSGIVING TURKEYSIf you plan to order a Thanksgiving turkey from Rehoboth Ranch, now would be a good time. We hate to disappoint people by not having what they want, but every year in November, we get dozens and dozens of phone calls from people wanting a turkey, but we are sold out. There are two simple ways to order a turkey:1. Come to one of our farmers' markets (Dallas, Coppell, or McKinney) and sign-up for a turkey. You pay a $25 deposit now to hold the turkey for you, and $25 is subtracted from the final purchase price when you pick up your turkey.2. Send us an email saying that you want to order a turkey, and we will send a reply with some simple questions to answer - how many, how big, where do you want to pick up, etc.? Send us a check for $25 for the deposit, and your turkey is reserved.For more details about types of turkeys available, sizes, prices, etc., please see the turkey ordering section of this newsletter.

They have broad breasted whites and heritage bourbon reds. Who else do you know sells heritage turkeys?

Foraging.

I love to forage...forage through used bookstores, eclectic boutiques, thrift stores (I am looking for old Le Creuset pans), small grocery stores, and especially I love to forage for ingredients. Daily, you can find me at one of these spots Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, Kroger, Natural Grocers, and Braum's buying something for tonight's meal, but when it comes to FCC my food scouting becomes obsessive. I spend at least the 7 days prior to an FCC event scouring the shelves, stalls, and food stores all over Dallas. Here is a sample of the places and purveyors that stock the FCC pantry...Hope you too, will support these local businesses!

Dallas Farmers Market
Georgia' Farmers Market (Plano)
Treaty Oak Rum (donated to FCC) Fabulous Product!
Tom Spicer (Fitzghugh area)
Nitschke Beef - (has donated to FCC in the past) - grass finished beef!
Oak Cliff Coffee - (has donated to FCC in the past) - wonderful roaster
Henry's Homemade Ice Cream
Lucky Layla Dairy
Rehoboth Ranch
Windy Meadows

Maybe you know people or CSA's that I do not...let us know.

Celebrating Fall in Texas

And what a celebration we had! From the beautiful weather to the gracious location and friendly people, last night's dinner was the perfect gathering of friends over a warm, autumn meal. We want to send a special thank you again to our gracious hosts, Tricia and Mark, for opening up their home and backyard to us to enjoy such a great night together.

With around forty attendees (one of our best attended yet), there were people from all over Dallas, who made the trek into the country-esque dining adventure.






The menu focused on locally-grown, seasonally available foods, fresh from local farmers' markets.

Pecan & Lucky Layla Wafer, Rusk Apple Butter
Treaty Oak Cider

Amuse of Beer Braised Cabbage with Deer Sausage in Persimmon Mustard

Fennel Soup, Hazelnut Crisp—Cranberry
Llano Signature White

Texas Butternut Squash Risotto
Llano Meritage

Overnight Braised Nitschke Roast, Sweet Potato & Turnip Puree, Seasons First Brussels Sprouts
Becker Claret

Pumpkin Beignets, Henry’s Maple Ice Cream,
Caramel
Oak Cliff Coffee—El Salvador

Thanks again to all who attended and we hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we enjoyed providing this meal! We hope to see you at the next Food Creates Community event!