Edible Portland Blog

WHO IS FOOD ALLIANCE? Food Alliance is a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture by recognizing and rewarding farmers who produce food in environmentally friendly and socially responsible ways, and educating consumers and others in the food system about the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

WHY GO TO THE ANNUAL DINNER? Join Food Alliance for their 10th Anniversary Dinner to celebrate a decade of work promoting sustainable agriculture and bringing more socially and environmentally responsible food to consumers.

Plus, the Food Alliance Annual Dinner is the social event of the year for anyone working with food - whether you're growing, processing, distributing, educating, policy-making, cooking, or eating - in the Portland area.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008
University of Portland, Chiles Center
5000 N Willamette Blvd, Portland

6 p.m. Drinks & Appetizers
7 p.m. Dinner
Tickets: $100

Purchase tickets and learn more at www.foodalliance.org/annualdinner

Edible Portland and Ecotrust hosted Ann Vileisis, author of Kitchen Literacy, in November 2007. Having attended the talk, Rebecca Gerendasy of Cooking Up A Story was inspired by Ann's words. That inspiration resulted in a three-part video series. Ann discusses what we know about our food, and how we came to know it.

This is the first video in the series. Watch the second video here. Cooking Up A Story’s work is shot unscripted, and the stories are told in the voice of the subject.

Photos by Pat Dixon

"They draw their inspiration from salmon and slime lines, empty nets and empty wallets, rolling decks and weary limbs. They write about lures, loves and even lives lost in pursuit of a fickle bounty. The Fisher Poets Gathering celebrates the men and women who find the raw beauty in this fishing life and share their joys and frustrations in verse."
- From The Daily Astorian, February 24, 2005

The eleventh annual Fisher Poets Gathering, where there will be 70 presenters from all over the west and east coasts, takes place in Astoria, February 22-24. Find the schedule online at clatsopcollege.com/fisherpoets and scroll to the bottom on the page to download audio from last year's event.

This event is not to be missed. But if you can't be there, Jen Winston's 2005 documentary Fisher Poets captures the moment almost as well.

SEXY COOKIE GIVEAWAY
All Hotlips Pizza restaurants
The first 3,000 people in the door will receive a free cookie on Valentine's Day! Sugar cookie lips are made with sustainably grown Shepherd’s Grain wheat from Eastern Washington.

LOVE ME TANDOOR!
Vindalho's Valentine's Day Specials:
Dungeness Crab Soup with Ginger and Warm Spices
Six Sinku Oysters on the Half Shell with Chile-Lime Mignonette
Pan-Seared Diver Scallops with Mango-Coconut Curry and Spicy Cabbage Salad
Tandoor Roasted Lamb Sirloin with Black Pepper Jus, Masala Mashed Potatoes and Grated Carrot-Cashew Relish

Vindalho
2038 SE Clinton St., Portland, OR
503-467-4550

JON'S VALENTINE'S DAY PRIX FIXE DINNER
Opposable Thumb Gallery and Cafe
A special performance featuring local, seasonal and aphrodisiacal foods from chef Jon Grumbles. Guaranteed to get you in the mood!

Price: $25 per person (Three courses plus appetizers and wine)
Reservations required
3312 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR
503-235-0146

An audience of 600 people gathered at the Bagdad Theater in Portland on February 12th, in anticipation of Michael Pollan who was there to talk about his new book, In Defense of Food.

As we waited, Deborah Kane, Vice President of Ecotrust Food & Farms and publisher of Edible Portland, asked the crowd to help her prepare her introductory remarks for Michael's talk.

She wanted us to duplicate the exercise Michael had preformed so successfully in creating what has become the book's mantra:

Eat Food.
Not Too Much.
Mostly Plants.

In the spirit of this 2-word, 3-word, 2-word stanza, this is how the audience responded:

Grow corn
Just for food
Not cars

Go home
Rip up lawn
Plant kale

Sweet beet
Dye my mouth
Winter red

Earl Butz
Liked his corn
In cups

Feed lots
Make our beef
Torture raised

Picking fruit
Low hanging plum
You're mine

To eat
What I grow
Is heaven

Hot dog
Are you real?
I'll pass

Walk there
Know your farmer
Eat fresh

More Michael Pollan-inspired 2-word, 3-word, 2-word stanzas follow. Allow Michael Pollan's words, Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants, to inspire you, and post your own poem below.

Eat slowly
Savor the time
With friends

Worm bin
Daily food scraps
Happy worms

Buy local
Support small farms
Except coffee

Molecular cuisine
Not for me
Tried it!

Like bears
We should eat
More berries

So much
Food available today
Exercise prescribed

Small bites
Prepared with care
Enjoyed completely

Detasseling corn
Mile long rows
First job

Did you miss Michael Pollan's recent talk in Portland? You're one of many. Michael spoke to a sold out crowd of 650 at Bagdad Theater. His new book, In Defense of Food, provided the backdrop for his talk and prior interview with Deborah Kane, publisher of Edible Portland. Remarkably, Michael talks about a defense of food in a literal sense: It's increasingly difficult to escape from eating foods that are food-like substances (processed foods), but are not whole (real) foods.

In part one of a four part video series produced by Cooking Up A Story, we see how simple changes in food labeling requirements can influence consumer behavior, and how food manufacturers apply overwhelming pressure to effect laws that ultimately protect their own interests.

This video is in thanks to Ecotrust's partnership with a local film company that produces Cooking Up A Story, a show about real people and their special connections to food and sustainable living. Cooking Up A Story’s work is shot unscripted, and the stories are told in the voice of the subject.

Jill Lightner, editor of Edible Seattle. Photo by Amanda Koster

Edible Seattle, covering all of Puget Sound, launches its first issue in April. In the first issue, readers will learn about raising backyard chickens, Pacific halibut, miner's lettuce, and a local brewing company. Edible Portland welcomes its new neighbor the the north!

Click below to read an interview with editor Jill Lightner in the new issue of Sunset magazine.

Find out more about Jill at her blog, locallygrowngirl.com.