Terra Madre, southern gardens and no-waste
Slow Food's global gathering Terra Madre Salon de Gusto returns to Turin
Hello, and welcome to this week’s news and thoughts from The Lemon Grove and me, Bruce McMichael. In this issue, we’ll take a look at the awe-inspiring gathering that is Terra Madre Salon de Gusto. Held every two years, Terra Madre brings together thousands of the global Slow Food community in Turin, Italy. Also, a gorgeous new book about southern English gardens is previewed while its picnic time at the world-class opera venue, Glyndebourne.
This newsletter is published weekly and will over time include much more from podcasts and videos, to classes and lemon-themed merchandise, travel and recipe tips. As more content is added, some of it will be available to founder members and subscribers only. Thank you for reading and welcome to the journey, especially to those founder members and subscribers.
Terra Madre Salon de Gusto
Slow Food heads for Turin for global gathering
Landing at Casselle airport in Turin, the sprawling industrial city of Fiat, Eurovision 2022 and the iconic soaring spire of the Mole Antonelliana, a 19th-century domed tower housing the National Cinema Museum. Framed by soaring peaks of the Alps to the north and west and the flatlands of the (river) Po valley, the city is steeped in history, food and politics.
A BA pilot once told me that the flying in from the north into Casselle is one of the most complex flight manoeuvres in northern Europe, buffeted by weather systems and microclimates generated by the Alps. It’s work requiring steady nerves.
Making this trip next month will be thousands of delegates heading to Terra Madre Salon de Gusto. This biennial gathering of the Slow Food International community brings together its global network of farmers, producers, makers and activists working to create conditions where food is produced, ‘good, clear and fair’’.
Hundreds of events have been organised, including formal dinners, fermentation workshops, a 600-stall market, Latin American wine tastings and even a street art tour. Albania-based chef Altin Prenga will be offering dishes that symbolise his country, such as peta, a crisp white corn flatbread, while cooks from Ethiopia will create bread from the indigenous teff flour. It’s a unique, colourful and inspirational gathering.
What is Slow Food International? Click here to find out.
Edie Mukiibi, Slow Food’s newly appointed President, says: “Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2022 will be a great occasion to explore the questions that the current environmental, climate, and public health crisis have raised, not to mention the geopolitical one, and the various responses offered.”
Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2022 runs from September 22 to 26 in Turin’s Parco Dora. Click here for the full programme and more details.
Bruce and The Lemon Grove will be recording podcasts, filming, posting on Instagram and doing IG Lives during Terra Madre bringing you unique perspectives from this world-class event. Some of this content will be to paid subscribers and founder members only.
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THE MENU … FOOD, DRINK, INGREDIENTS, PLACES
I seek out citrus connections in most places I visit. The aim is to find a product, a dish, an ingredient that offers a bit of acid, a hit of sunshine and optimism.
This week I attended Glyndebourne, a country estate in East Sussex, southern England which has hosted world-class opera for decades. Today, the Christie family also offer a quintessentially British experience of picnics on the lawn, champagne in the rose garden and strolls around the lake in evening dress in a balmy mid-afternoon.
A rose garden, thoughtfully designed flower beds and borders with annuals and perennials still in flower while acknowledging Autumn is on its way and views across sun bleached fields reminded us of the beauty English landscapes offer.
The opera was the comedic Don Pasquale, written by Italian composer Donizetti.
This was a tale of money, desire, lust, trickery and ultimately forgiveness, and true love finding its place. The opera was performed beautifully with music from The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
So, where did I find my citrus connection? It was in the shop, where oranges in jars of house marmalade and funky-flavoured chocolate by Montezuma were on sale.
READ, WATCH, LISTEN … SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
Secret Gardens of the South East
A Private Tour, by Barbara Segall with photography from Clive Boursnell
My fellow Guild of Food Writers and Garden Media Guild member Barbara Segall has taken a tour through three of England’s finest counties discovering hidden, private and beguiling gardens and created this beautiful and thoughtful coffee table book. What happens in Kent, Sussex and Surrey exemplifies ‘the garden of England’.
In these three counties, a wealth of history and horticulture combines with geography in the shape of rolling landscapes, wooded valleys and meandering waterways to provide an attractive and fascinating collection of gardens.
They are in villages and towns, as well as in deep countryside, and all are privately owned. Some open for the National Garden Scheme, while others are open privately and, in some cases, for the occasional day for charity. Some have been lived in by generations of the same family, while newer owners have transformed others.
The stunning gardens explored by Barbara in this visually rich guide include Long Barn, Malthouse Farm, Denmans, Gravetye Manor, Munstead Wood and Sussex Prairie Garden.
Follow Barbara through her website www.thegardenpost.com and Substack newsletter thegardenpost.substack.com.
You can buy Barbara’s book Secret Gardens of the South East here.
STOP PRESS ... READ ALL ABOUT IT
Now, for a little bit of self promotion. I am appearing at the Tonbridge Food Festival this September 3, Saturday at 2pm where I shall cooking on the main stage. More details can be found on the festival’s Facebook page, here.
Also, I shall be teaching Food Writing for Kent Adult Education at the Amelia Scott centre in Tunbridge Wells. The ten-week course starts in late September. To learn more and sign up for the course, click here.
And, should you find yourself in London’s High Street Kensington area I shall be running a food writing course in a fabulous new venue on Saturday, October 8. More details to follow shortly.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CITRUS LEFTOVERS
A friend of mine is doing me a favour. He’s designing a logo for the upcoming Lemon Grove podcast (more about that soon!). I’m very grateful but being mates, no fee was discussed.
Awkward. Until he messaged me saying I owed him a lemon – as part exchange. I replied that he should be careful what he wished for, as he might get the lemon hiding at the back of the fridge. His response … ‘You wouldn’t let a lemon go to waste! … got me thinking. He’s right, of course. I don’t waste food. So here are five save the lemon tips I use to get the most out of the fruit. Some are also relevant to limes, oranges, grapefruits and other citrus varieties.
1 Select the right lemons. Lemons that are bright yellow will likely keep longer in storage, particularly in the fridge. And while in storage keep them away from other fruits such as apples and bananas, which can speed up the ripening process by giving off ethylene gas.
2 Preserve them in salt. Great for Middle Eastern and north African dishes.
3 Whole lemons can be frozen. Place fruit in a freezer bag, and when you need them, they are quickly defrosted. Although the pulp will be slushy, you’ll be able to use the juice. They are also easier to zest. Frozen this way, lemons will keep for up to four months.
4 Freeze lemon slices (on trays and not touching) and juices separately. You can also freeze lemon juice in individual ice cube trays. After they have frozen hard, place the slices and juice blocks into separate freezer bags. They’ll keep well for about four months. Pop a slice or a cube into a cocktail or to pep up stews, lemonade and marinades. Frozen lemon juice will keep sprite for three to four months.
5 Leftover lemon rinds can also be kept in the fridge or freezer, ready for use without defrosting. Chef Tom Hunt recommends frying slices to add to salads or turning them into marmalade. His recipe instructs the cook, ‘to cut 300g spent lemon rinds (unwaxed and organic, for preference) into rough pieces, then pulse-blend into 3-5mm pieces. Put these in a pan with a litre and a half of water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 35 minutes, until the peel is soft. Add 600g sugar, boil for a further 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until it thickens, then store in a 500ml sterilised jar’. Genius. Get Tom’s book Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet here.
Thank you for your lovely mention of my new book! Much appreciated! X
Pleasure. It’s a lovely piece of work. I hope as many people as possible buy it:)