Well, the moving trucks are here and that means that students from all around the country are once again decending on Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and the like.  One of the challenges that students often face when coming into a new community is:  Where do I go to get what I need?

In many cases, it takes years for students to become acclimated in a community and to explore the local businesses that make our neighborhoods unique and awesome.  So we thought we’d try to help by offering you a prize to help them out.

Comment here with your suggestion for students on where they can buy student stuff locally.  Multiple items appreciated, but only 1 suggestion is necessary to enter.  Suggestions must be locally owned and independent businesses in or near Somerville and fill a need that students have.  Comments posted by 11:30 AM tomorrow (8/31) are eligible for a $20 Shift & Save coupon to Sherman Market where you can explore and enjoy some of the best New England food products out there.

Helping new residents go local  + a chance for free local food = Win.  Go!

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by Jen Lawrence

Everyone is talking about green jobs now. Some people are vocally against the idea that green jobs can pull us out of poverty, slow the crush of climate change, create local economies. Others are touting green jobs as the only way that the world will stand upright again. At Groundwork Somerville, we believe that there are MANY things that must be addressed in order to create a truly sustainable community, and yes green jobs is one of those things. Also included is valuing our collective community voice, buying locally, banking with community banks, supporting neighborhoods, getting out of cars and on to bikes, and more.

I think that one of our youth employees said it best at a recent community meeting: “We need a revolution!” And we do. We can’t create a revolution, however, without youth voice. We have to resolve as a community to engage our youth members in action – in creating that revolution. And what revolution do we need, you ask?

We need to move back to our roots as communities and focus around our neighborhoods. We need to walk and bike to work. We need to actually KNOW the owner of the bakery down the street. We need to be on a first-name basis with our banker. We need to depend upon one another. Now what does this have to do with green jobs and youth revolution?

It’s about rebuilding our communities so that they can sustain themselves. We don’t just need people to build solar panels, and farm locally, and re-insulate homes (although these are very necessary jobs!). We need to think about our neighborhoods differently and rebuild a local economy that is not dependent upon oil from the gulf or from economic trends in NYC. That is what this vision is about – rebuilding how we think about our communities in order to create self-sustaining communities – utilizing the full force of our amazing youth community members.

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by Maggie Kaiser & Louis Epstein

In a bustling city like Somerville, there’s never a shortage of fun things to do. The challenge lies in determining what’s out there so you can make an informed choice. We often learn about events while strolling around, stopping to read posters on telephone polls or in store windows. But our strolls (and dog-walking excursions) are sometimes limited to a relatively small geographical area which can limit our awareness of city life. That’s why we rely on virtual strolls through Somerville’s online streets to keep abreast of all the excitement that abounds in our 4.2 square miles of goodness.

Our first stop is - you guessed it - Somerville Local First! By following SLF’s updates on Facebook, we were some of the first people to capitalize on the Sherman Market Shift & Save coupon offered a few weeks ago. And the post on this very blog about the Ice Cream Showdown was instrumental in bringing us to GRAND & poor little rich girl on Saturday to try 8 different vendors’ sweet, frozen treats.

When we want to know what’s going on in our favorite squares, we mosey on over to the Davis Square LiveJournal and Union Square Main Streets. We also benefit from a constant drip of tweets and facebook updates from some of our favorite local businesses and organizations, including Sherman Cafe & Market, Taza Chocolate, The Center for Arts at the Armory, the Somerville Public Library and the Somerville Arts Council.

Our Facebook friends alerted us to the totally fun Rock-n-Roll Yard Sale in Union Square

To always stay in the know, we check out the Somerville Scout, the Somerville Journal, and the City of Somerville’s own website where we’ve signed up for email alerts about snow emergencies and community meetings. And we are always on the lookout for new sites and feeds to stoke our Somerville obsession. If you have a favorite, we hope you’ll let us know! And if you’re new to online Somerville, welcome to the community and happy exploring!

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by Karrie Larsson

When I first heard that my internship with Somerville Local First was to be dominated by working on this website and blog, I was a little skeptical. To be honest, I had an underlying fear that the new SLF site would end up kind of like the last one: lost in the black hole that is the Internet.

Luckily, this was the not case. Over the past several months, I’ve been able to see ideas and sketches materialize into a fully functioning website that is helping spread the message of the local movement. Community members cannot only use this website as a resource for information on the benefits of buying locally, but also as place to connect. Everything from the blog, to the Shift and Save Coupons, to the Member Directory is helping reinforce the growing network of people and businesses associated with SLF.  The fact that I was a part of making this possible has definitely made my time with SLF a gratifying experience.

It has also been a valuable one from which I will take away an important lesson. When first explaining how things work at SLF to me, my boss/mentor/sensei Joe Grafton said, “We are always moving the ball forward.” Over the summer, I dropped my procrastinating tendencies as I learned exactly what he meant: When pursuing an idea, act on it. If something does not work, understand why it didn’t, and then move on. Constantly outreach and interact- don’t let things rest idle. For example, this mindset was really essential for my work on the blog. Scheduling posts required advance planning and ongoing communication with contributors. I had to be on my toes when editing content and familiarizing myself with the blog world. Where as previously I would have kept delaying and dragging along the work, I was now forced to be active and diligent in my approach. Otherwise, this site would have most certainly entered that dreaded black hole.

I now realize that it is this philosophy of keeping the ball rolling that has enabled the success of the website, and the success of SLF as an organization. The people and businesses behind SLF are always asking the question “what next?” And I encourage you to do the same.

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by Abbe Cohen Dvornik

I’ve never gotten completely off of the school year cycle - though I admit that now that I’m not personally heading for class, it sometimes takes me by surprise when I leave the house one day each fall and suddenly the crosswalk around the corner is full of Tufts students on their way to their first day of classes.

Still, my Septembers are always full of transitions, much more than any other month of the year. This year, we will tack on a new baby to the mix in September or October. And my daughter will be heading out to her first day of pre-K at the SMILE program at the Capuano School in East Somerville, and just before then I’ll be making a spiritual fresh start with the Jewish New Year. So, I’ve been thinking about how to get ready for the season in Somerville.

School Supplies

I’ve been a bit stymied by taking a strictly Somerville approach to back to school shopping. When I was a kid, in a suburb far from Somerville, I used to savor the annual trip to the stationers to pore over the decorated folders and three ring binders - but at the moment we don’t have a little store much like that in Somerville. (The one from my childhood in New Jersey is gone, too, replaced by a condo development with restaurants on the first floor.) So at the moment, for the paper supplies, I can either stay in Somerville and go to a drugstore chain or one of a few giant retailers that has a branch in Somerville, or we can head to a small independent store in neighboring Cambridge or Arlington. Fortunately, for pre-K, we won’t need much besides a backpack and a lunchbox, more easily found around town.
Editors Note:  Bob Slate in Porter Square and University Stationary in Central Square are good independent options for this stuff in our sister community in Cambridge.  SLF hasn’t found an Indie Somerville locale…have you?

As for what to put in the lunchbox, I’ve already had practice with that from preschool - and for that, Somerville has everything I need! For a fun twist on PB&J, we like to use round bread (such as Lyndell’s English Muffin Bread, or even regular English Muffins). The sandwich fits perfectly in a flat round container (such as the kind your cole slaw from Redbones might have come in - we save them). Those containers are a great size for many lunch items for kids, and hold a round peanut butter sandwich perfectly! We also like to send plain cheese quesadillas inspired by Anna’s Taqueria - made with the same Cinco de Mayo brand corn tortillas we’ve seen them using, which are for sale at Market Basket - and some cheddar cheese. We heat them in a nonstick pan, melt the cheese on one side, and wrap them up in foil just like they do at Anna’s, and then put them in a Thermosjar to stay warm and soft. Leftover pizza - especially our favorite Sicilian from Mike’s - gets cut into strips, warmed up, and put in a Thermos too. And ta-da, even a picky eater has a few options that aren’t identical every day for lunch.

Baby Stuff

As a second time parent, and a packrat, stocking up on baby stuff is a bit easier. But I’m considering cloth diapering this time around, and I plan to learn all about it and find everything I’ll need at Diaper Lab. Davis squared has all kinds of cute baby accessories and clothing in the windows too!

Jewish Holidays

Apples (mainly early-ripening varieties), and even local honey, can be found at either farmers market weekly. For a holiday meal treat, order a locally raised, grass-fed beef brisket and pick it up at the farmer’s market. In Davis Square, River Rock Farm sells beef including brisket when it’s available, and in Union Square, Stillman’s farm should also be able to bring your request to the market. And for a New-Year-inspired dessert, JP Licks has been known to introduce some wacky Jewish-inspired flavors of the month for the Jewish New Year! The Manischevitz sorbet strikes me as a better idea than the noodle kugel ice cream with bits of noodles in the ice cream.

Right in Somerville, there are a few options for religious services as well - Havurat Shalom is a small community that hold services in the living room of a 2 family house near Tufts, and Temple B’nai Brith, where I’m a member, is in a historic building on Winter Hill with traditional services in the main sanctuary, as well as a special short service downstairs for children to attend together with their families. In Somerville, we do things our own way - both communities are unaffiliated with any major branch of Judaism.

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Green City Growers - A Business In Bloom

Gardening on the Roof - Trendy or Trend

Creating Sustainable Food Systems, One Roof At A Time

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by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

I’ve been on an extensive, waistline-expanding “cupcake quest” over on my food blog, searching for the best cupcakes in and around Boston. Imagine my delight when I found a winner right around the corner from my boyfriend’s Somerville apartment (and also close to my new apartment, as of September 1^st)! The Chocolate Tarte, founded in 2004 but with a newly opened Highland Avenue storefront, has the Greatest Cupcakes in the World.

Owner Linda Hein works closely with Dave’s Fresh Pasta and East Coast Grill to cater weddings and other events. Can someone please marry me immediately so I can experience the awesomeness of three of my absolute favorite food places feeding me all at once? Some girls dream out every detail of the dress, the decorations, and the flowers. I just want BBQ, pasta, and cupcakes. Is that so much to ask?

I first discovered these miniature bites of heaven while picking up some fresh ravioli from Dave’s. They got a bit squished on the way home, a travesty that I blamed on my boyfriend for not carrying the bag carefully.

One bite and all was forgotten. We knew immediately that our Quest had reached its first real zenith, the long awaited reward of so many calories consumed. There may be others down the line - who knows? - but at that moment, these were the Best Cupcakes We Had Ever Tasted.

Frosting: perfect. A buttercream unlike any we had ever tasted. (After much testing, Linda settled on a method that actually combines two European methods.) Creamy but light, like a dollop of the best whipped cream you could ever imagine, the frosting sits in a perfectly manageable little puff atop the cake.

Cake: moist! Flavorful! Until this point, all other miniature cupcakes that we had tasted on the Quest were very dry. These were magical.

Several days later, we stopped by to check out the actual store, since the first batch of cupcakes had come from Dave’s. We discussed cupcakes and a whole lot more with Linda, who is very friendly in addition to being an amazing baker. She told us that after 20 years in the corporate world, she took a baking class and realized she could bake cakes (“but not pies.”) The Chocolate Tarte was born.

As science nerds, we were impressed with Linda’s technical baking knowledge, taking things like humidity into account when choosing a proper frosting-making method. We left with more cupcakes plus a couple of slices of the namesake chocolate tarte, which Linda garnished with a sprig of fresh mint from the herb garden out back. The tarte was incredibly smooth, rich, and fudgy.

It’s not just the cupcakes that make The Chocolate Tarte worth a visit (or ten): everything else was spectacular, too. I got a perfect brownie on another visit. Linda’s talent is evident in every flourish of frosting or bite of chocolate. She knows that every second counts when baking a treat to perfection, and she understands the changing environmental factors that can cause obstacles to deliciousness. Stop by and grab a bunch of mini cupcakes – just $1 each – from one of Somerville Local First’s brand new members, The Chocolate Tarte!

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by Joe Grafton

If you don’t know yet,  SLF is happily sharing office working space with a couple of rockstar organizations.  We like to think of ourselves as a Sustainability Incubator.  On our right, Shoestring Magazine works in the online realm, helping their readers save money while saving the planet.  On our left, Groundwork Somerville: “strives to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment through the development of community-based partnerships which empower people, businesses and organizations to promote environmental, economic and social well-being.”

Having had a chance to work with GWS over the past year or so, I’ve come to greatly respect their staff, their vision and their methods.  In my opinion, there is a dearth of positive messaging in the environmental movement.  To me, doom and gloom doesn’t get folks motivated, no matter how true or accurate the statements.  GWS really takes this critical movement in a positive and fun direction, in many ways taking the same “make it a better party” approach that SLF employs for Local.  Finally, the Executive Director at Groundwork, Jen Lawrence, joined the SLF board and has been nothing short of phenomenal in her support of our work.

And like any good community partner, today we’re returning the favor (if only a little bit).  Below you will find a letter that went out to the GWS mailing list today.  They are asking the community for support for their green & youth job programs, and we’d like to share that message with you.  Please consider supporting this great organization in a way that makes sense to you.  We need MORE of what GWS does, not less.

From Groundwork Somerville

We have had a FANTASTIC year and we want to share with you some of our accomplishments:

Green Team

• Hired 18 high school students to work with us through summer 2010
• Hired 3 Assistant Supervisors and 3 Supervisors of the Green Team, creating 6 new green jobs in our community
• Designed a new community learning garden at the Mystic River
• Tended, harvested and sold produce from 9 schoolyard gardens
• Organized a youth summit of 40 young people to talk about the impacts of the Green Line extension on our community

National Park Preservers

• Hired 12 young adults to learn hands-on green jobs skills at the Minute Man National Historical Park and the Saugus Iron Works National Park
• Hosted over 20 community service days in Somerville, Cambridge, Medford and Everett
• Created three new urban gardens in Somerville
• Created a new soup kitchen in Davis Square
• Worked with over 500 volunteers on various projects across Greater Boston

In order to host such great programming, we must ask the community for their help every once in a while. Please consider donating to Groundwork Somerville youth programming this month and enabling us to continue our youth jobs! Any amount is welcome and greatly appreciated. Our website is currently not accepting donations, but we are gladly accepting checks or cash sent to 19 Properzi Way, Suite O, Somerville, MA 02143.

If you are interested in a more substantial sponsorship, we have two possibilities:

1) Sponsor a Green Teamer for 2010! Sponsorship at $1500 will enable us to pay for one student job for the summer - think of the impact you can have on our community.

2) Local Roots Food and Music Festival, September 11, 2010: $3000 sponsorship will enable us to pay for the musicians in full, thus leaving all proceeds to go towards important green jobs programming. If you are interested in sponsorship of Local Roots, please contact us so that we can talk about other benefits (such as tabling at the event, or banner recognition).

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by Renée Scott and Keja Valens from Cooking the Seasons

I have been so busy freezing peaches for the winter that I almost forgot to just eat them.  Luckily, a few days before they start to go bad, their sweet smell starts to creep around the house, and I remember.  There was one pile left in my fruit bowl from last week’s farmer’s market.  All but two went into the meal.  But this is high harvest time in New England, so we also had eggplant half from my garden and half from the CSA (the Asian eggplant that I put it are growing beautifully and thickly), and a savory watermelon salad inspired by a fellow CSA member who described something similar at yesterday’s pickup.  But we haven’t found a new meat CSA, so I did have to go to Whole Foods for that.  I went in thinking I would get pork loin or ribs and make a rhubarb barbecue sauce with the rhubarb that’s finally really taken off back behind my tomatoes.  But the pork was from Oakland, California.  (Oakland is a city, so I hope it’s really from somewhere nearby, but just that suspicion is one more reason to buy local meat!).  The only really local meat that the Fresh Pond Whole Foods carries is beef.  There were some beautiful and expensive steaks, and a stack of quite inexpensive and intriguing “Beef shins.”  The butcher had never made them either, but another customer told him that they’re best cooked slow and have nice marrow (so right).  So I took home much more than I needed (4 lbs, even with all of that bone, would easily serve 6 people) and threw it in the crock pot with just what I had though of for the ribs.  That was 1:00.  When we started cooking at 5, the meat was a little tough and the sauce kind of bland and thin.  But by the time we were ready to eat, around 7, the meat was falling off the bone tender and the sauce was thick, rich, and tangy.  I put the leftovers in the freezer to use later with some roots for a nice Fall stew.

COCKY PEACH
serves 2

4 peaches, peeled
1/2 cup tarragon grappa
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1tsp. lemon juice
1 T agave nectar

Blend thoroughly and serve over ice

SAVORY WATERMELON SALAD
serves 3-4
1 small watermellon, cubed (about 2 cups)
1 small red onion, roughly chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed

Dress with:
1 T olive oil
1 T while balsamic vinegar
dash salt
dash pepper

ASIAN DIPPING EGGPLANT
My friend Liz made a version of this for me when I was in China visiting her a few weeks ago.  The taste stayed with me.  Steamed eggplant takes on a wonderful almost silky texture, and is perfectly balanced with this spicy, salty dip.  Use 1 large or 2 small eggplants per person.

Steam the eggplants whole for about 20 minutes, until very soft, almost mushy, to the touch.  You can let them sit in the steamer, covered, until you’re ready to serve.  When you do serve, place the eggplants whole on a plate.  They will break open into long almost stringy parts with the most gentle prodding of fork or chopstick.  Set the bowl with dipping sauce in the center of the table so everyone can lift out pieces from their place and dip to taste.

Dipping Sauce
1 tsp. Chinese hot pepper paste
1/8 c. tamari
1 T dark rice vinegar
1 T light rice vinegar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

BEEF SHIN WITH RHUBARB BARBECUE SAUCE
serves 4-6

2 large beef shins
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
12 rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
2 T tomato paste
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T worsteshire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Brown  beef shins and set in crock pot. In the drippings, saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.  Add in all other ingredients and briefly stir.  Pour over the beef shins in the crock pot and turn to coat.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.

PEACH CLAFOUTI
serves 4-6

For those who’ve been following us for a while, we made this using half of our clafouti recipe from April, substituting half peaches for the raspberries, and baking it in a small (half of a lasagna-pan) pan.  Here’s the whole thing laid out:

3 peaches, peeled and halved
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350.  Set the peaches in the pan, flat side down.  Whisk together all of the remaining ingredients.  Pour around the peaches.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool slightly before eating.

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