winter farmers' market in Dot!

We are so happy that the Dorchester Winter Farmers' Market is almost here - kickoff planned in the Great Hall Jan 8! The market is brought to us by the Dorchester Community Food Co-op - they are raising funding support for the January thru March market through Kickstarter and are very close to reaching their goal, so please click on their website to find out more, give your support and follow their progress on Facebook and twitter!

idea of local food is percolating in Dorchester!

Whether growing it ourselves in a local community garden (see photo right of new gardeners in a workshop at the newly refurbished Nightingale Garden on Park Street!) or supporting local farmers at the Dorchester and Mattapan farmers' markets, or figuring out a way to host for-profit farming on the community's vacant lots, or supporting a new community-owned food co-op, we are truly excited about having all these options on the table!

Dorchester heirloom pears

This is the time of year for eating delicious 'Clapp's Favorite' pears. Here is a link to a slow food website that describes them.

We were able to harvest [with permission] a load of them from a single tree that is growing in Dorchester.
They are delicious! They are picked before ripe, then ripen off the tree. When the area around the stem is slightly soft they are perfectly ripe. If they are allowed to become soft all over, they will have 'gone by' as my grandmother used to say.

If you enjoy old-fashioned fruit, you'll like these. If you can't find them in local farmer's markets, email the historical society - dorhist[at]aol[dot]com - to see if there are any left and to arrange to get some.