ALLocal Dinner at nourish in Lexington

Last night, I attended my second ALLocal Dinner  (Read about the one at EVOO here.) The dinner was at at nourish in Lexington and was hosted by The Sustainable Business Network of of Greater Boston to benefit the Boston Local Food Program which produces the Boston Local Food Festival. 

Karen Masterson Speaking Passionately About Local Food

In addition to eating a delicious dinner prepared entirely from local ingredients, we got to hear from Karen Masterson, founder and owner of nourish. I first met Karen at the 2011 Boston Local Food Festival, where nourish was the Local Champion restaurant. nourish served the most locally sourced meal, and the most sustainable servings, exemplifying the Boston Local Food Festival mantra. Listening to Karen speak last night made me feel like all of my local, sustainable food dreams were coming true! She's truly a leader in the movement and an inspiration to anyone who likes to know where their food comes from. 

The Soup was so Rich and Delicious!

Feeding a restaurant full of people locally sourced food in January is a challenge anywhere, let alone in New England, but Karen makes it happen all the time and last night was no exception. Dinner started with house made crackers with local cheese and cranberry chutney. The Butternut/Sweet Potato Soup topped with Goat Cheese was my favorite dish of the night. Next up was Local Pollack with Brussels Sprout Greens, potatoes, beets, and winter slaw for me. James got the Mustard Maple Tempeh. As always, we shared our entrees. The omnivores indulged in nourish's Famous Meatloaf made with Vermont Quality ground Beef.  

Local Tempeh, Potatoes, Beets, & Winter Slaw

nourish served an Oat Biscuit with Hearloom Apple Cranberry Compote sweetened with Maple Syrup and topped with Whipped Cream for dessert! On the back of the menu were the sources of all of the ingredients used in our meal. Tangerini's Farm in Millis, Crown of Maine Coop, High Lawn Dairy, New England Cranberry Company, Associated Buyers, Blue Heron Farm, Nashoba Bakery, Cape Ann Fresh Catch, 21st Century Foods, Natic Community Organic Farm, Piantedosi Baking Co, and Bug Hill Farm all helped supply our delicious local meal. I love knowing that my dinner supported the local economy and NOT Cargill, Land-O-Lakes, or Monsanto! 

We also heard from JD Kemp, founder of Crop Circle Kitchen and Organic Renaissance/Food Ex. After dinner, I told JD that he was living my dream connecting food producers to customers! This past weekend, I also attended the Massachusetts Farmers Markets annual meeting and the SBN Advisory Council meeting. If it's not obvious, let it be known that I'm trying hard to network with local food advocates. While my time to volunteer is very limited after work, school, cooking, and exercising, I'm working on finding the right opportunities for me to really get involved in this movement in a high-impact capacity! 

The next ALLocal dinner is on Monday, March 5 at Local 149 in South Boston. I hope to see you there!