++ March 19 and 20, 2011, from 9:00am until 5:00pm
San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas

++ March 25, 26, and 27, 2011, 9:00am until 5:00pm–almost 300 varieties of seedlings, and if you wear your Tomatomania! t-shirt you’ll get 10% off your purchase
The Tapia Brothers’ Farm Stand
5251 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Encino

++ April 1 and 2, 2011, 9:00am until 5:00pm
Otto and Sons Nursery in Fillmore

++ New this year: April 2 and 3, 2011
Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge

++ April 8, 9, and 10, 2011, 9:00am until 5:00pm
Flora Gardens, 245 Old Baldwin Road in Ojai
The Tomatomania! team will showcase 100 varieties at this sale.

++ April 16 and 17, 2011
Cornerstone Place in Sonoma

++ New this year: April 16 and 17, 2011
Green Scene Plant and Garden Show at the Fullerton Arboretum

For more information about TOMATOMANIA!, visit their website or their Facebook page. You can also follow Scott Daigre on Twitter for news about their preparations.

When: Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 3:00pm and Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 10:00am
Where, Cost, and other details: Details are available on the Ojai-Ventura Film Festival website; additional information is available by emailing info@ojaifilmfestival.com or by calling 805.640.1947.

For those of our readers unfamiliar with Path to Freedom, HomeGrown is the inspiring true story of the Dervaes family, who have been “living off the grid” in the heart of urban Pasadena since the mid-1980s. They harvest over 6,000 pounds of produce on less than a quarter of an acre, produce their own biodiesel, and share their lives via a popular website that is known around the world. Mr. McFalls’ film is an intimate human portrait of what itʼs like to live like “Little House on the Prairie” in the 21st century.

More information about the film is available on its website; the trailer is embedded below.

When: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 3:00pm at the Ojai Playhouse and Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 10:00am at the Matilija Auditorium
Where, Cost, and other details: Details are available on the Ojai-Ventura Film Festival website; additional information is available by emailing info@ojaifilmfestival.com or by calling 805.640.1947.

Screenings will be followed by discussions with local food activists Jim Churchill, Marty Fujita, Claud Mann, and Delanie Ellis.

Written and directed by Robert Bates, Ingredients explores the thriving local food movement as our world becomes a more flavorless, disconnected, and dangerous place to eat. The film takes viewers across the United States from urban food deserts to heavily diversified farms to the kitchens of celebrated American chefs. Ingredients is a journey that reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities.

As we learn of other screenings in the Los Angeles area we’ll share the news; in the meantime, watch the trailer below:

We all know about the benefits of eating fresh, seasonal, local foods that are grown and produced using sustainable methods, but we often feel challenged as to how to integrate these concepts into our busy lives simply, efficiently, and economically.

One tasty, satisfying and nutritious approach is to look to the peasant cuisines of the Mediterranean for guidance. Families residing in coastal regions (where the climate closely resembles that of Southern California) have been living these concepts for centuries. They are guided by the principle of availability, they practice responsible stewardship of the land and they create tasty dishes based on the belief and experience that what grows together goes together.

Karen Evenden and her husband spent more than 6 years sailing in the Mediterranean, visiting and exploring the enticing coastlines of multiple countries. Three years into their adventure, they discovered Croatia, formerly a part of Yugoslavia. They were so impressed by the beauty of the Adriatic coast, the people and the food that they ended up staying for 3 years. This class will feature recipes collected during their stay and throughout the class, Karen will share anecdotes about Croatia–its culture and history–as well as living aboard and sailing for an extended period of time.  In other words, she will tell the story of the people they met throughout this marvelous adventure, the lives they lead and the food they eat.

When: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 beginning at 6:30pm
Where: Let’s Get Cookin’, 4643 Lakeview Canyon Road, Westlake Village
Cost: For information about reservations and any associated costs, please telephone 818. 991.3940

Karen’s book, A Taste of Croatia, is both a travel memoir and an easy-to-use cookbook. Most of the dishes have been savored by generations of Croatians and all of the recipes have been adapted for use in American kitchens. Croatia is a land of good cooks who consistently manage to work culinary magic with limited ingredients and tight budgets. In that land, Karen learned that the tastiest food is made from scratch with ingredients that are seasonal and fresh.  These are principles that she now applies to her own farm in Ojai where she and her husband grow lavender, Ojai Pixie tangerines, olives and walnuts.  We hope you will join us for this entertaining and informative class.
Class menu: 
Seafood Pate, Green Salad with Candied Walnuts and Pomegranate Dressing, Pork Tenderloin “Poked” with Dried Plums, Potatoes Simmered with Tomatoes and Quick and Easy Crustless Cheesecake.

Immerse yourself in adventurous music and mouthwatering food at the 62nd Ojai Music Festival on Sunday, June 8, 2008.

First, experience a world-class concert featuring groundbreaking percussion works by Gyorgy Ligeti, Edgar Varese and Steve Reich at 11:00am in the enchanting outdoor Libbey Bowl. A concert filled with musical textures and layers will be performed by members of the acclaimed So Percussion, Nexus, and Steve Reich himself.

After the concert at 1:00pm, walk to the Lavender Inn in downtown Ojai for a Harvest Luncheon hosted by Slow Food Ojai/Ventura. You will be treated to a special lunch featuring locally grown seasonal fruits and vegetables created by Slow Food members and chefs/bakers Jeri Oshima (Treasure Beach Cafe) and Bobbi Corbin (Knead Bakery). Also, local farmers and specialty food creators will be on hand with samples.

Tickets for both the concert and the luncheon are available at www.OjaiFestival.org. (Choose Tickets –> Single Tickets –> and then select June 8 from the calendar. Both concert tickets and tickets for the Harvest Lunch are listed.) The cost of the Slow Food lunch will be $45 per person.

Receive 15% off your concert tickets by entering promo code SLO15.

Sidecar Restaurant will present a special dinner featuring citrus and avocados from Ojai’s Churchill-Brenneis Orchard:

When: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 beginning at 6:30pm
Where: The Sidecar Restaurant, 3029 East Main Street, Ventura, California
Cost: $55 per person; $75 per person with wine pairings

Chef Tim Kilcoyne will create a four-course menu based on Jim and Lisa’s tangerines, oro blancos, and several varieties of avocados. 

To secure your reservation, call the Sidecar Restaurant at 815.653.7433 or visit their website.

P.S.  If you can’t make this dinner, The Sidecar Restaurant will be doing monthly dinners with local farmers.

Locally Grown 2, a concert that will benefit Food For Thought, the Ojai healthy schools program, will be held on Friday, August 25th at the Libbey Bowl in Libbey Park, Ojai Avenue, in Ojai.

The concert will feature Perla Batalla and Brett Dennen, local favorites who have gained attention through their work with Leonard Cohen (Batalla) and John Mayer and Sheryl Crow (Dennen). The concert will begin at 5:00pm and last until 10:00pm.

Additional information is available and tickets are on sale through Brown Paper Tickets. Information about ticket prices is available through Brown Paper Tickets or by clicking on the image at left.

For more information about Food For Thought, visit their website.

In addition to the Ojai screenings, Q&A, and dinner in connection with The Real Dirt on Farmer John, Michael Sieverts, a friend of Slow Food and reader of our site, alerted us to several additional screenings in the Los Angeles area, if you can’t make it to Ojai. All the screenings will be on July 6th, at a variety of locations: Santa Monica, Los Angeles, West Hills, Pasadena, and Irvine. Theatre information can be found on the Farmer John website.

The New York Times ran a review of the film, and also prominently featured Farmer John in an article by Dana Bowen entitled “Old MacDonald Now Has a Book Contract.” Read the complete article on the Times’ website.

Slow Food Ojai/Ventura will present a special opportunity to learn about and taste a range of artisanal cheese all made in California on Sunday, May 20, at the Sidecar Restaurant in Ventura. In addition, for those interested, the Sidecar that evening will be presenting their Sunday Bistro dinner that will feature some of the cheeses to be sampled as well as the best from that week’s Farmers’ Market.

When: Sunday, May 20, 2007; cheese tasting from 4:00pm-6:00pm; bistro dinner follows
Where: The Sidecar Restaurant, 3029 East Main Street, Ventura
Cost: For the cheese tasting, $25.00 per person (includes wine). For the two-course bistro dinner, $25.00 per person.

For reservations, please contact the Sidecar Restaurant directly, either by phone at 805.653.7433 or by email to reservations [at] sidecarrestaurant [dot] com.

The cheese tasting will consist of samples of a wide array of California cheeses with wines chosen specifically to accompany and enhance their flavors. Chef Tim Kilcoyne will also make some appetizers using the cheeses to provide us with suggestions on interesting and creative uses for the cheeses.

We’ve also learned that the Sidecar Restaurant is holding a special Farmer’s Dinner featuring produce from Phil McGrath on Wednesday, August April 25, at 6:00pm. Phil was a delegate to last year’s Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy last October, jointly sponsored by the Ojai/Ventura and Los Angeles convivia. The five course dinner will be priced at $55.00 per person and advance reservations are required.

This is a rare opportunity to learn first-hand from growers and food professionals how local crops were affected by recent weather, and growers’ plans for recovery. Highlights of this event will include:

++ A report from local farmers and chefs who attended the Terra Madre Conference in Turin, Italy last October;
++ A special seasonal citrus-themed menu created by Ojai caterer Jeri Oshima, one of Slow Food Ojai’s representatives at the conference;
++ An update on the status of Ojai’s citrus and avocado crops after our devastating freeze and windstorm; and
++ A tour of current conditions at Churchill Orchards, a local citrus and avocado orchard.

When: Sunday, February 25, 2007, beginning at 12:30pm
Where: Lunch and presentations will be at Azu Restaurant in downtown Ojai, at 457 East Ojai Avenue. The farm tour will start around 2:00pm at Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis’ orchard in Ojai’s East End. < (Maps will be provided at the restaurant).
Cost: $35.00 per person (includes tax and tip). Wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages are extra.