As you can see, our supper was very well-attended and we had more food than we knew what to do with….

The evening ended with a wonderful, energetic performance by The Blues Brothers Next Generation featuring Soulhouse 7:

At the end of their set, the band invited Jackie up on stage to present her with the right outfit to make her an honorary Blues Brother (Blues Sister?)

Thank you so much to everyone who attended for your enthusiasm and delicious food, and to everyone who participated in A Book Grows in Topsfield!

Thank you to everyone who gave support and encouraging words for this garden, and to everyone who helped us plant it back in June.  The garden was a labor of love and while we’re not sure if it will return next year, I think we can declare this year a success.

In the spirit of Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, we are excited to organize a town-wide potluck supper as a concluding event for A Book Grows in Topsfield.  This potluck supper is our answer to an old-fashioned barn-raising.  But instead of raising a barn, we would like to see the community of Topsfield come together to share their bounties of food at the end of harvest season.

Date: Friday, October 22^nd, 2010

Place: Coolidge Hall, Topsfield Fair Grounds.

Time: 6:00 p.m. Arrive, meet and greet your neighbors

6:30 p.m. Dinner is served!

7:00 p.m. Pumpkin-decorating begins

7:30 p.m. Concert featuring Soulhouse 7

What to Bring

One dish from one of the food categories (main dish, side dish, bread) that will feed at least 6-8 people.

A serving dish and serving utensil(s) labelled with your name.

Your ingredient card listing the dish’s ingredients.

A pumpkin, if you would like to participate in the pumpkin-decorating!

Please sign up at the library by choosing a dish from one of 3 food categories: main dish, side dish, or breads.  Please take an empty ingredient card and a copy of our food safety guidelines (they are also reproduced below). Lastly, please sign your name on our sign-up sheet with your contact info, what type of dish you’ll be bringing, and the number of people who will be attending.

Participating in a Safe Community Pot Luck Supper

Please following the below guidelines and remember to bring the ingredient card with you for the event – October 22, 2010, at Coolidge Hall, Fairgrounds.  Arrive  between 6 – 6:30 p.m.,  Supper begins @ 6:30.

• Do not participate in preparing food if you or your household has been sick during the past week. Germs can be transmitted. Keep in mind the 4 major principles of food safety:  Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

• Know how to keep the food you have prepared safe by keeping your dish either hot or cold depending on the temperature it needs to be.

o   Hot dishes need to be brought to full temperature and cooked completely before transporting.

o   Cold dishes and salads need to be prepared and kept at 40° or lower before transporting.

• Do not prepare dishes to far in advance of event.  The fresher the better for dishes that require baking, eggs, mayonnaise or other products that are prone to easy spoiling.

• Know the danger zone temperature for contaminating foods, between 140°and 40° is not safe.

• Keep hands, containers, and utensils clean and make sure your dish is served with a clean utensil.

• Take an index card provided and make sure you arrive with the list of

ingredients in your dish.  Remember that someone may have allergies.

We hope that these guidelines do not prevent you from participating and enjoying a wonderful meal with friends and community.  We want this to not only be fun, but safe.  Thank you for your help!

Everyone left very happy, with a fresh peach tart and even a loaf of bread!

On Thursday, September 9, Frances Moore Lappe, author of the revolutionary book Diet for a Small Planet, spoke in the Gould Barn. Frances was an energetic, positive speaker whose talk on the importance of a local diet sparked a lively discussion.

On Wednesday, September 15th, we welcomed local herbalist and lecturer Betsy Williams:

Not only was Betsy an entertaining and instructive speaker, she provided samples of her delicious herbed creations, including butter, mustard, nuts and soup.

Also, we have had three book discussions so far: one in the Library meeting room, one at Masconomet Middle School, and one at Masconomet High School.  (Two more are coming up on September 28th and October 14th.) We have also been screening documentary films on Friday nights at the Library: on September 10 we screened Food Inc., and on September 17th we screened The Garden.  Our next film screening will be Friday, September 24th and we will be showing The Future of Food.

Thank you to everyone who has made all of our events so far successful!

8/27/10: 7 tomatoes, 3 beets, 1/2 lb. lettuce, pole beans, eggplant, cucumber, basil.

8/31/10: 3 beets, 8 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 2 cucumbers, 1 lb. pole beans, ½ lb. lettuce, ½ lb. basil, large bunch parsley, large bunch sage.

9/7/10: 8 lbs. tomatoes, 5 cucumbers, 4 beets, 2 eggplants, 1 lb. pole beans.

9/14/10: 8 lbs. tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, 4 beets, 4 eggplants, 3 lbs. pole beans.

There was food from Lantern Hill Catering, music by Mason Daring and The Band That Time Forgot, and of course tastings of wine made from Alfalfa’s own vineyards.

Last Wednesday, Joyce Bergstrom of the Historical Society and our Children’s Department led by Children’s Librarian Jane Johnson co-sponsored Mr. McGregor’s Tea Party.  Over 100 children and adults packed into the Gould Barn for an afternoon of tea, stories and crafts:

The fruits (and vegetables) of their labor:

Finally, last Friday, August 27th, we invited Ian Cheney, producer and star of the acclaimed documentary King Corn to join us for a screening of his film and a Q & A session after:

As always, stop by the library for a complete event schedule and more information.

More of the vegetables in our garden have started producing, and our harvests are certainly more colorful these days.  Last night Amanda and Jackie’s harvest included eggplants, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, and string beans. It adds a nice rainbow to our usual haul of lettuce, herbs and squash.

Speaking of squash, it looks like ours might be done for the season:

The squash plants, in July the shining stars of our garden, have been rapidly declining these last few weeks of August.  We removed the left-hand one last week, and it looks like the right-hand plant, of which the above picture was taken, will soon follow.  Even the squash plants that we transplanted, that now live in the back of the garden, are definitely finding their days to be numbered.  But at least we had a steady supply of squash lasting us well into August.

7/6/10: 1.3 lbs. lettuce

7/13/10: 1 lb. lettuce, basil

7/20/10: 1 lb. lettuce, basil

7/27/10: 2 cueball squash, 1 summer squash, 1 patty pan squash, 3 cucumbers, 1 lb. lettuce/spinach, basil, parsley

8/3/10: 1 summer squash, 1 patty pan squash, 5 cucumbers, 1 lb. lettuce, handful of bush beans, basil, parsley

8/10/10: 1 cueball squash, 1 summer squash, 2 patty pan squash, 2 zucchini, 3 cucumbers, 1 lb. lettuce, basil, parsley

This squash plant was planted from seed at the planting ceremony in early June.  It exploded in what seemed like a few short days earlier this month.  Here’s a shot of the actual squash growing: