Photo: Flickr/Sandra Bax

Anastacia Marx de Salcedo posts monthly on PRK for Slow Food Boston.

There are times during this season of gifts, gatherings and general excess when even the most holiday-spirited among us longs for the cold, clear light of January. A return to boring, everyday life with all its boring, everyday routines… Broken by the occasional bright spot, such as the following Slow Food Boston events planned for 2011. Mark your calendars!

Bean Fest ($5, $10 family maximum)
Saturday, January 8, 5-8 pm
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
630 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02476
Reserve now!

Join Slow Food Boston and the First Parish Green Sanctuary committee in celebrating the humble bean! We’ll have a talk by renowned food historian, Ken Albala, based on his book, “Beans: A History;” an international potluck featuring the incredibly varied legumes—lentils, garbanzos, favas, peas, soybeans and the native American kidney, black, pinto and limas, etc.—in dips, stews, pancakes, rices and whatever else you concoct; bean games for children (beanbag toss, mancala, bean mosaics, a reading of Jack and the Beanstalk); and a crowning—via a Mardi-Gras-style cake—of a King and Queen (or King and King, or Queen and Queen; we’ll let the beans decide). We’ll also have an appearance by local heirloom bean farmer, Charlie Baer, and, if it can be arranged, a short scientific treatise on flatulence.

Cookbook Swap ($5)
Saturday, January 30, 1-4 pm
Green City Growers
600 Windsor Place, Somerville MA 02143

Got a few cookbooks languishing on your shelf that you never use? Maybe some well-intentioned but misdirected gadgetry? Extra ladles and graters? Even an appliance or two? Well, come on down to our Cookbook Swap and trade the kitchen stuff you don’t want for the stuff that you do.

Potluck/Book Club ($5)
Two of life’s greatest pleasures are good food and good books. This winter, Slow Food Boston will be inaugurating potlucks that combine the two. The concept is simple—and easygoing. We’ll announce a book and then, about a month later, organize a themed (hopefully something related to the book) potluck. But no worries. The book will only be a possible conversation item (and there will be no organized group discussion), so no need to have read it or even know anything about it to attend. Come just to sample some fabulous dishes and enjoy the company! And for those who’d rather follow along at home, we’ll run an online discussion of the month’s selection on the Public Radio Kitchen and Slow Food Boston websites.

For our first book, how does Fannie’s Last Supper, the new book by Cook’s Illustrated founder Chris Kimball in which he drills down through the history of Fannie Farmer, her cooking school (located in the South End) and Victorian Boston via an elaborately recreated menu, sound? Start reading now, and then in February we’ll have Golden Age potlucks at which some—but not all—of the dishes can be inspired by the reading. (No grimacing! There was a very active food culture in the late 1800s, especially among the middle and upper classes. Dibs on the Irish Moss Blanc-Mange!) If it sounds like fun, email me!

Winter Film Series ($5)
For several years, Slow Food Boston‘s run a film series screening small, independent documentaries on food-related topics followed by panels of Boston-based experts to give the local perspective. This February and March, we’ll take a look at the disease-diet connection, Colony Collapse Disorder and the history of the school lunch program. What better way to pass a frigid Sunday afternoon?

“Forks Over Knives”
Sunday February 13, 2:00 pm
Museum of Science
Cahners Theater, 1 Science Park, Boston
Reserve now!

“Vanishing of the Bees”
Sunday, February 27, 2:30 pm
Boston University (BU)
GSU, 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
Reserve now!

“Lunch Line”
Sunday, March 20, 2:30 pm
Museum of Science
Cahners Theater, 1 Science Park, Boston
Reserve now!

Good tidings to you and all of your kin!

PS And please join our free email list to hear about events further out.