Archive for the ‘Eat Local Week’ Category
July 12th, 2010 by Outreach Department
How long are you willing to wait for locally grown strawberries and are they worth the wait? Those big, perfectly shaped orange-red berries that always precede the locals are tempting, especially now that food science has been able to sweeten them up. Never “designed” for shipping, local berries are juicy, soft, and a deep, blood red color. Their sweet/tart flavor is something I dream about in January. By March I am all but counting the days until local berries ripen. I even view the arrival of the big orange berries as a sign that it won’t be much longer until local berries are ready. My intuition tells me that dark red color is a sign of higher antioxidant levels and the tart part of the flavor is what gives strawberries their exceptionally high vitamin C content. This is not why I eat them, I am fulfilling a year long wait for that combination of flavor, juiciness, and color that is so deeply satisfying. It is the strawberry who taught me to wait for fruits and vegetables to be in season where I live. I grew up eating Willamette Valley berries so I cannot be fooled by the orange berries from afar. I will wait, and I wait for other foods too like corn, tomatoes, and peaches.
Tags: Strawberries
Eat Local Week, Heirloom Foods, Local Farms, Sustainable Food, local food | 1 Comment »
September 2nd, 2009 by Mary
I drive by a small u-pick peach orchard on my way to work. During the summer months I enjoy watching the peaches mature, becoming more orangey-gold as July turns into August. One early morning in mid-August I notice there are cars parked along the road starting at the orchard gate and continuing in a line for about half a mile. Car engines are turned off, whole families sit quietly together waiting for the orchard to open. Peaches may be one of the only foods that everyone would agree are best eaten in season. I believe that’s why those families wait so patiently every year to pick their bucketfuls of perfect August peaches. Peaches that have spent most of their lives in coolers, and have traveled great distances are not worth waiting in line for. They will never have that yielding softness that only a ripe peach has, nor the juicy, sweet-tart perfection of an August peach. I have been lucky to live most of my life in places where peaches grow in the summer, and my favorite peach recipe remains unchanged over the years. Here it is. Get a sharp knife, peel the peach and then cut along the suture from stem to blossom end, continuing up the opposite side. Twist the two halves gently. A freestone peach will separate easily and be ready for slicing. A cling variety will need to be sliced from the pit. Next eat the peach and savor the deliciousness. Sometimes I like to expand on this simple recipe, by making crepes and creme fraiche to eat with my fresh sliced peaches.
Fresh Sliced Peaches, Johnny Cakes, Creme Fraiche, and Corn Butter
Alice Waters recipes for Peach Melba or Peach Shortcake are also simple variations on the sliced peach . As she says, “Most of our (Chez Panisse) peach desserts are simple preparations designed to enhance the natural characteristics of the fruit.” I cannot argue with this perspective. My other favorite peach recipes were created by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson for their book, Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More. The recipes for Caramel Peach Grunt, Gingered Peach and Blackberry Pandowdy, or Summer Fruit Trifle should be distributed to all those families waiting for the peach orchard to open. They know a good peach is worth waiting for, and they, too might enjoy an old fashioned recipe when they get their fill of peaches eaten right off the tree.
Tags: Alice Waters, Ashland Food Co-op, Cooking & Recipes, Eat Local Week, Heirloom Foods, Local Farms, local food, organic, Slow Food
Cooking & Recipes, Eat Local Week | 1 Comment »
August 31st, 2009 by Matthew
“A Georgia peach, a real Georgia peach, a backyard great-grandmother’s orchard peach, is as thickly furred as a sweater, and so fluent and sweet that once you bite through the flannel, it brings tears to your eyes.” -Melissa Fay Greene
Dave Belzberg is no georgia-peach-growing great grandmother. But given the right mood and circumstances, his peaches just might bring tears of joy and delight to your eyes. They are really that good.
Dave has been growing his organic peaches at Rolling Hills Farm in Southern Oregon (Griffin Creek area) for almost 24 years. Before moving south to the Rogue Valley, Canadian-born Dave grew plums up in British Columbia for 10 years. That gives him almost 35 years of experience in the orchards!
To view full blog with pictures and links click here!
Tags: Ashland Food Co-op, Eat Local Week, Heirloom Foods, Local Farms, local food, organic, Slow Food, sustainability
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August 20th, 2009 by Matthew
“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” -Frank Lloyd Wright
When Ken and Susan Muller first looked at the Rogue Valley with their new farm in mind, they saw an abundance of exceptional produce farms and talented produce farmers. Operations like Whistling Duck, Barking Moon, Hi Hoe Produce, Blue Fox, Rolling Hills, and a multitude of others were getting the job done, and doing it well.
But the one thing that Ken and Susan didn’t see much of was poultry. Specifically, high quality pastured poultry and eggs. And so a little over two years ago, equipped with family histories in farming, experience and skills gained from WWOOFing, and a healthy dose of inspiration, Ken and Susan set out to fill this niche and transform Margaret Krout’s (Susan’s mother) seven acres into a bonafide pastured poultry operation.
Today that transformation is complete. The infrastructure is in place, the chicken houses are beautiful, their flocks are growing strong, and their customers are spreading the word. And as a new customer myself, it’s time for me to help spread the word about this amazing local food resource!
There have already been some great articles about Rogue Valley Brambles that are worth a peek: Mail Tribune, Friends of Family Farmers, Daily Tidings. But in this article, I want to delve a little deeper into all the amazing foodstuffs the farm is producing and let you know where and when you can find Rogue Valley Brambles.
FARM FRESH EGGS:
Rogue Valley Brambles’ eggs are truly in a different class. They’re beautiful, rich in color, extremely fresh, flavorful, and sustainably raised. They’re some of the best eggs I’ve seen, and well worth the cost and a trip to the growers market to find them. This is what sets them apart from the rest:
COLOR – Ken and Susan’s eggs are so beautiful you’re almost tempted not to touch them. Many of the rare breeds that they raise (Araucana, Wyandotte, Buff Orpington, Delaware, Polish, New Hampshire,Cochin, Jersey Giant, and Gold Sex Link) lay eggs with unique and beautifully colored shells. The blue eggs from their Araucana hens are particularly striking………
To view full blog with pictures and links click here!
Tags: Ashland Food Co-op, Eat Local Week, Heirloom Foods, Local Farm, Local Farms, local food, organic, Pastured Poultry, Rogue Valley, Slow Food, sustainability
Eat Local Week, Heirloom Foods, Local Farms, Pastured Poultry, Slow Food, Sustainable Food, local food | 1 Comment »
August 14th, 2009 by Matthew
In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating, and to me as necessary.
-Ernest Hemingway
Wooldridge Creek Vineyard and Winery, Applegate Valley
With all the talk about Eating Local, often times the movement to Drink Local is an afterthought. But for those of us that do partake in the drink, choosing local vineyards and wineries is as worthy a cause as choosing local farms. Not to say that the bottle of Brunello di Montalcino or that Chateauneuf-du-Pape should be left forgotten and unappreciated. What I’m saying is to think before you drink, and perhaps give the locals a larger portion of your wine dollar. After all, drinking local wine keeps money in the local economy, cuts the number of food miles that the wine has to travel, and supports smaller producers who prioritize stewardship of the land and who often utilize more sustainable practices (L.I.V.E. – Low Input Viticulture and Enology).
In this article, you will find a list of wine resources specific to Southern Oregon, and Southern Oregon wineries according to AVA (American Viticultural Area). I’ll also point out wineries that are L.I.V.E. Certified Sustainable, and profile Wooldridge Creek Vineyard & Winery (photos throughout blog are from their tasting room, vineyard, and barrel room). Hopefully this information will help people realize (or remember) the exceptional abundance and quality that we have at our doorstep.
Wooldridge Creek Tasting Room
To view full blog with pictures and links click here!
Tags: Ashland Food Co-op, Eat Local Week, LIVE Certified, Slow Food, Southern Oregon, sustainability, Vineyards, Wine
Eat Local Week, Local Wineries, Sustainable Food | 2 Comments »
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