Thursday Tidbits: Winter Solace

Photo: Laurie {Simply Scratch}/Flickr

TASTY LOCAL BITES…

2012 NOFA Winter Conference
It’s only days away, beginning this Saturday, Jan. 14, at Worcester State University. Foodie features include: Maple Syrup 101, Curing Ham, Making Fresh Mozzarella and Using a Pressure Canner. If that doesn’t whet your appetite to register, perhaps this will: David Ravicher, lead lawyer in the patent case against Monsanto, is slated to speak. All in all, rich educational offerings and food for thought.

The City Eats
Northeastern University has launched its Open Classroom Series for the semester, and it’s  based on food policy: Food & American Society: an Urban Prospective. Lectures are free and open to the public! (You do need to register, however.) View the schedule of topics for each class and get the full scoop here. Lecturers will include African American Studies Prof.  Bob Hall of Northeastern, plus Sarah Dwyer and Sara Baer-Sinnott of Boston-based Oldways.

Super Hungry? 
Don’t Forget! The Greater Boston Food Bank (@gr8bosfoodbank) is again organizing their January fundraiser, The Super Hunger Brunch, with over 20 restaurants offering prix-fixe brunch menus for the weekend of Jan. 28-29. Proceeds will help the GBFB offer meals to folks who need them. Hunger is closer than you think! Choose a restaurant, make a reservation and help battle hunger in New England.

LOCAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT…

America’s Test Kitchen hits the airwaves
Brookline-based America’s Test Kitchen announced earlier this week the launch of its new weekly radio show. Co-hosting with ATK TV chef Bridget Lancaster, Chris Kimball says it’s NOT a how-to show, it’s NOT a personality show and it’s NOT a call-in show. What is it, then?

Boston Food Trends
Globe food critic Devra First speaks with Boston chefs to get their read on upcoming food trends we can expect to see this year. Meet Peru, take solace in comfort food and get ready for kitchen-inspired cocktails (PRK’s Susanna Bolle already had her finger on the pulse on that one).

NATIONAL TREATS…

ADHD and Diet
A review paper published in Pediatrics earlier this week concludes that a change in diet for a child with ADHD will actually change behavior for the better in only a small percentage of kids. NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports.

Ring in the New. Or Not.
HuffPost Food has taken it upon themselves to try the newest Girl Scout Cookie to join the ranks: Savannah Smiles, named after the hometown of Girl Scout Founder Juliette Gordon Low. Some at the Post, however, aren’t really smiling.

“Why Am I Fat?”
An ad from a new anti-obesity campaign launched in Atlanta, GA, has a child asking just that. Effective, perhaps, but too harsh? This Right-Down-Front-Street approach has its critics, according to a report by NPR’s Kathy Lohr.

GLOBAL TASTINGS

Protecting Their Turf
The official classification of Italy’s white sparkling wine, prosecco, is becoming more sophisticated. The NYTimes reports the variety of steps taken of late by artisanal winemakers from the swath of land between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene — D.O.C.G. turf — to differentiate their wine from newcomers to the hillsides.