Edible Portland Blog

Diary of a Young Farmer: New home!

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:56:00 -0800

New entries in Diary of a Young Farmer are HERE at Edible Portland's new website.

Teen Works

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:10:07 -0800

Thanks to Edible Portland's partnership with the local film company Cooking Up A Story, you can watch the story of Food Works and the teens involved come to life here. TEEN WORKS: How one group of city kids helped transform a community garden project into a thriving business By Peggy Acott My visit to the Food Works farm begins bright and early on a Friday morning. Swallows arch and dive, and a hawk glides slowly overhead. It’s quiet enough to hear the buzz of insects, and in the distance, a busy sound of another sort: young voices in conversation and laughter. Arriving at 9:30 a.m., I’m clearly the slacker here—the work crew has already been harvesting for two hours. For the last three months, this troop of ten 14- to 21-year-olds has been rising earlier than roosters to catch a ride across the St. John’s Bridge and up Highway 30 to a one-acre plot of land on Sauvie Island. They’re part of a youth-run entrepreneurial business known as Food Works, and for their summer break they have had an uncommon job for city teens: farming. To be fair, waking up early is almost unanimously the least favorite part for these teenagers. But the young Food Works farmers are committed to their jobs and happy to be working together. I picture my teenage son at home, snoring into his pillow, and I know I’m someplace extraordinary. Food Works grew out of the St. Johns Woods Garden Project, an adventurous collaboration started in 2001 between the St. Johns Woods housing community in North Portland and Janus Youth Programs. Desiring to build community, create job opportunities for young people, and introduce urban agriculture, Janus and St. Johns Woods residents orchestrated the construction of three 2,500-square-foot gardens and hired one adult and seven high school students to manage the plots. The Garden Project gives 30 families living 200% below federal poverty guidelines the seeds, tools, fertile land, water, and technical support to grow their own food.

New website?!

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:58:47 -0800

Edible Portland's new website is on its way! We will launch the new, improved site later this week. Stay tuned!

Edible Portland's Fall 2008 Video Feature - Food Works

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:24:10 -0800

"Teen Works: How one group of city kids helped transform a community garden project into a thriving business" (Edible Portland, Fall 2008) describes the evolution of the Food Works farm, a teen-run business located on Sauvie Island. Our featured video this season tells the story of this project and introduces you to the kids who work the soil and sell the bounty. Find out more about Food Works. Thanks to a 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, we’re able to bring Edible Portland stories to life in video format. Cooking Up A Story’s work is shot unscripted, and the stories are told in the voice of the subject. Previous videos featured in Edible Portland can be found here.

SEPT 18 Event: Documentary explores ins and outs of small-scale food production - Portland Premiere!

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:20:17 -0800

John Taboada of Navarre Restaurant looks over the produce delivered by Laura Masterson of 47th Avenue Farm. Both are featured in the documentary TABLELAND. TABLELAND is an award-winning documentary that profiles the production and benefits of local and seasonal food. It’s about the people with their hands in the dirt; the farmers, chefs, activists and consumers of small-scale, sustainable food. Tableland features mouthwatering imagery and a cast of captivating characters, including local Chef John Taboada of Navarre, Jean-Paul Cameron of Cameron Winery, and Laura Masterson of 47th Avenue Farm. The Portland screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Vancouver filmmaker, Craig Noble. Guests are then invited to a seasonally inspired meal featuring produce from 47th Avenue Farm and wines from Cameron Winery, prepared by John Taboada at Navarre. Tableland – Portland Screening Thursday, September 18, 7:00 pm Laurelhurst Theater, 2735 E. Burnside, Portland $6.00 at the door Tableland & Navarre Restaurant Dinner Thursday, September 18, 9:00 pm Navarre, 10 NE 28th Street, Portland By reservation only. Call Navarre at 503-232-3555

EVENTS: One Green World Harvest Festival and Orchard Tours

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:13:55 -0800

IN THE ORCHARD This fall, nurseries and farms in and around the city are celebrating seasonal bounty with their own harvest festivals. Oh, don’t worry! Summer is still here; and in the coming weeks, as it lingers on (cross your fingers), we have the chance to taste these delicious times of transition. Visit a nearby orchard and experience the season as it shifts—from luscious peaches to crisp apples, from succulent figs to crunchy Asian pears. This Saturday, and again in October, One Green World, a nursery stock supplier specializing in unique fruits and ornamentals, will host its annual Harvest Festival and Orchard Tours. September 13 10am–4:30pm Featuring Cornelian Cherries, Asian Pears, and Sea Berry Juice October 11 10am–4:30pm Featuring Paw Paws, Grapes, Apples, and Hardy Kiwis 28696 S. Cramer Rd., Molalla, Oregon 97038-8576

Diary of a Young Farmer: Raining on the Strawberry Parade

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:52:00 -0800

Zoë Bradbury left her urban job in Portland to start farming on the south coast of Oregon. She's blogging here about her experiences. Below is her 12th entry in Diary of a Young Farmer. RAINING ON THE STRAWBERRY PARADE The rain drums on the roof all night and I am sleepless. This is twice in the same week, and though it means green grass for the sheep and horses, more water in the creek for the fish, and time saved not irrigating, this downpour is the ruin of the strawberries, my best summer cash crop. I lie in bed staring into the dark with my stomach in knots. Strawberries are delicate, thin-skinned fruits. They love sun and drip irrigation. And at this time of year they make up about a third of my income every week. Every Tuesday and Friday I truck flats of berries into town: to restaurants, to the natural foods stores, even to our little Langlois Market where they find their way into the shopping baskets of local loggers and ranchers and windsurfers and bicyclists passing through en route from Seattle to San Francisco. Last Friday there were no strawberries because it rained a bizarre 1.8 inches, starting on Tuesday night and pounding down on the farm until Thursday morning. I was catapulted from August to November, finding myself suddenly cooped up inside the house, catching up on Quickbooks and drinking tea. I dealt with backlogged emails and returned phone messages from June. My sister sewed the pieces of my wedding dress together. My horses stood dripping under a bushy myrtle tree, heads down and tails tucked. The dogs laid on the porch all day, heads resting on front paws, subdued like the rest of us. Meanwhile, my strawberries were rupturing in the field, the ripe and semi-ripe berries developing rain lesions as red and raw as open wounds. The mold marches in close on the heels of a rainstorm like that, so on Thursday morning when there was light in the grey sky, Danny and I donned our raingear and crawled through the entire strawberry field, filling Rubbermaid totes with soggy berries. The salvaged harvest totaled over 30 gallons, and none of it would go to market. The financial hit was not insignificant, in this first year where I’ll make all of my income in less than 50 days. (Harvesting May through October = 24 weeks x 2 harvest days/week = 48 days that money can flow in.) That’s 48 days of income for 365 days of labor. It’s a lean financial equation, suddenly made leaner by the weather this week. When I signed up to be a farmer, I knew the small print: and ye shall accept without question, whining or self-pity the vagaries of the weather, over which you shall have no control whatsoever. Sigh. All I can do is keep an eye to the sky and try to work with it, around it, in it. As a result I am a weather zealot: my homepage is the NOAA website with its detailed point forecast for Langlois, Oregon. And in the spring, my second most-visited webpage is the 10-day precipitation forecast with its multi-colored rain maps of the entire Northwest.

SEPT 10 EVENT: Local Food and Farms Forum

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:00:31 -0800

Come hear where Congressional candidates stand on the issues you care about! Local Food & Farms Forum September 10, 6-8:30 pm Canby Adult Center, 1250 S. Ivy, Canby, Oregon This forum provides an opportunity for you to ask questions of all candidates running for office in Oregon's 5th Congressional District related to food and agriculture. Topics include: Barriers to local farm production, processing, and distribution Public participation in the siting of industrial farms in rural communities The next Farm Bill Development pressures felt by farming communities Farmers' markets Roadblocks for the next generation of family farmers A Meet the Candidates Mixer (with candidates for Oregon House and Senate seats in the north Willamette Valley) will be held prior to the forum from 6 to 7pm. For more information, please contact Christine at 971-533-5470 or christine@friendsoffamilyfarmers.org. This event is sponsored by Friends of Family Farmers, OSALT, Oregon Tilth and Slow Food Portland.

SEPT 5-7 EVENT: Muddy Boot Festival with Agricultural Visionary Wes Jackson

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:48:00 -0800

The annual Muddy Boot Organic Festival is a city-wide festival celebrating sustainable living in Portland, Oregon. Under the sunny skies of early September, people experience a vibrant and enriching event, with live music, wine, and food. Booths, workshops, speakers and walking tours of local sustainable projects allow you to share in the experience of living naturally. Muddy Boot 2008: Nurturing Growth from Seed to Soul Friday, September 5, 7-9 pm Keynote address by Wes Jackson of The Land Institute $15 September 6 & 7 Muddy Boot Marketplace, Live Music, Workshops, Kids' Activities $5, ages 12 and under free St. Philip Neri Church 2408 SE 16th Avenue (near 18th & Division) Portland, Oregon

SEPT 15 CLASS: Old World Mexican Cuisine at In Good Taste

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:45:11 -0800

Owner and executive chef Kenny Hill of Trébol to teach this class at In Good Taste Cooking School: Trébol - Old World Mexican Cuisine September 15, 6:30 pm In Good Taste 231 NW 11th Ave, Portland Register here Menu for the evening: Mango Mint Agua Fresca Prickly Pear Cactus Margarita Sautéed Mexican Spot Prawns With Chorizo and Tossed In A Chipotle Cascabel Salsa Late Summer Salad Of Roasted Beets And Wilted Spinach With Candied Walnuts Slow Braised Pork Cheeks With Brick Red Mole Served With Seasonal Vegetables Tequila Caramel Flan At Trébol, Kenny Hill and his team has created a Mexican cantina using locally grown sustainable ingredients and quality tequilas for house-made cocktails. The cantina serves old world Mexican cuisine, combining Hill’s love of Oaxacan fare with his passion for using ingredients close to the source. After eight year as the sous chef at Higgins, Hill saw firsthand how choosing the right ingredients and building relationships with local farmers makes a difference when preparing food. Now at the helm of his own restaurant, Hill continues embracing the local food movement and changes his menu based on what is available locally.

Seasonal Savory Galette

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:01:12 -0800

Tomatoes and basil are a great August addition to Piper Davis's seasonal galette. Read more about the galette, "pie's rustic kissing cousin," here. SEASONAL SAVORY GALETTE From Piper Davis, Co-owner and Cuisine Manager, Grand Central Bakery Yields one 12-inch tart, or 8–10 servings 1 lb All-Butter Flaky Pie Dough or your favorite flaky pie or tart dough 2–3 medium-size onions (1 1/4 lbs), thinly sliced 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 cup cream 1 egg 1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the onions, sprinkle them with salt, and cook until they release some liquid and begin to develop a few dark spots, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and continue cooking until the onions are soft and toasty brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Try not to stir too often during the caramelizing process; instead, give the pan a good shake every 5 minutes to redistribute the contents. Allow the onions to cool, check the seasoning, and add more salt if necessary. 2. Whisk the cream and egg together and fold in the cool onion mixture. Add seasonal ingredients of your choice to the onion base. Depending on the ingredients you add, they can be introduced raw (thinly sliced tomatoes, zucchini and asparagus) or partially cooked (eggplant, potatoes and winter squash). If 40 minutes in the oven is enough to achieve the desired texture, don’t worry about cooking them beforehand. 3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 for a convection oven). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14–16-inch diameter circle, 1/8-inch thick. Fold the circle in half and then in half again, and transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet (Silpat). 4. Spread the filling (about 2 cups) over the pastry, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold the border up over the filling, allowing the dough to fold over on itself, or pleat, as you lift it. It should pleat about 8 to 10 times as you work your way around leaving you with an octagonal shape. If you have time, chill the galette for 20 minutes or bake immediately in a 375-degree oven (350 for a convection oven) until the filling is bubbly and the crust is deep golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.

AUG 30 Event: The juicy, luscious Oregon tomato

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:37:34 -0800

ANNUAL TOMATO FESTIVAL This Saturday, Farmington Gardens will host a free tasting of over 80 varieties of locally grown, heirloom tomatoes. August 30, 2008, 11am-3pm 6th Annual Tomato Festival Farmington Gardens 21815 SW Farmington Road, Beaverton, OR 503-649-4568 www.farmingtongardens.com While there, watch cooking demonstrations by Chef Dan Brophy, from the Oregon Culinary Institute, as he shares recipes using different types of tomatoes. And, learn more about how to grow the best tomatoes right in your own backyard.

Diary of a Young Farmer: The Empty Fullness of August

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:44:44 -0800

Zoë Bradbury left her urban job in Portland to start farming on the south coast of Oregon. She's blogging here about her experiences. Below is her 11th entry in Diary of a Young Farmer. THE EMPTY FULLNESS OF AUGUST It was last Friday that I wondered – momentarily – if my brain was going spongy. It was a harvest morning and I began to notice that all I was doing was noticing: the dahlias, the red-handled flower shears in my right hand, the white five gallon buckets sitting in the row behind me, the yellow, polka-dotted cucumber beetles mating on a burgundy petal, their innards the same regal color as I squished them between my thumb and forefinger – reducing by a few hundred the number of larvae that will hatch in September and maul my butterhead lettuce. I got the flowers into the shade and moved on to lettuce. Down the row, counting. One hundred forty-four heads of romaine toppled at the tip of my lettuce knife. Lime green, white-ribbed heads lay on their sides down the length of the bed. The sun started to get higher. I moved faster. I packed a dozen heads per tote, onto the cart, into the truck, under shade. Then beets. I was bent at the waist, pulling, looking for big, round ones. Down the row. Armloads of beets, side by side with the fennel, fennel bulbs looking juicy and white and fat under their canopy of lacy green foliage. The orders were for topped beets, but I saved all the greens and packed them into a bag for the owners of a local restaurant – whose tortoise loves beet greens. Does the tortoise prefer gold beet greens or red beet greens? Chioggia? I tasted them to see if I could discern a difference. It was when I caught myself dwelling on the tortoise and its culinary preferences that I had my moment of worry. Is this all that’s left in my head? I vaguely remembered springtime when I was planting out lettuce starts and building my greenhouse, always thinking about new farmer issues and pulling the write-in-the-rain notepad from my back pocket to jot down the bones of my next op-ed. Sending essays to The New York Times. That was April. This is August. And August is so full, it does to a vegetable farmer what many people spend hours of meditation trying to achieve. August makes you empty. Amidst the everything-ness, August brings you close to nothingness. I have become the vessel, doing the quiet bidding of lettuce and strawberries, day in and day out. Not stupid. Not spongy, I realize. Simply present. More present than any other time of the year. Later, the other thoughts will return. There will be time to listen to the news, and more time to write again. I will come out of the produce tunnel and re-encounter the world that is meanwhile out there, full of its wars and Olympic games and Hollywood gossip and presidential campaigns. For now though, eat sleep farm squish cucumber beetles. Their innards are always the same color as the petals that they have eaten holes through.

A Guide to Huckleberry Happiness

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:49:40 -0800

HELLO HUCKLEBERRY HOUNDS Huckleberry Hikes With Mount Hood and Mount Adams so near our fair city, Portlanders are blessed with the chance to amble like a bear and enjoy the taste of Western wildness. That’s right, it’s huckleberry season! Grab an old bucket, pack a sack lunch, and go on a hike through huckleberry country! 24th Annual Mount Hood Huckleberry & Barlow Trail Days For those who couldn’t possibly get enough huckleberry thrills this summer, take a drive up to Welches for the 24th Annual Huck Fest! Fresh huckleberries, huckleberry pancakes, milkshakes, and fresh tarts – oh, just the thought makes us growl in joy. August 22, 23, 24, 2008 | Mt. Hood Village | (503) 622-4798 65000 East U.S. Highway 26 near the Village of Brightwood Sponsored by the Cascade Geographic Society Free admission and parking Huckleberry Recipes Want to indulge in something too good for words in your own kitchen? Try these crispy fritters from the adorable Huckleberry Cookbook by Alex and Stephanie Hester. HUCKLEBERRY BEIGNETS 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup milk 1 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup huckleberries Vegetable oil 1/2 cup powdered sugar In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs until light and fluffy. Add flour, milk, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well, making a smooth batter. Fold in huckleberries. Fill a large deep pot or electric deep fryer with vegetable oil, about halfway up. Heat on high to 360 degrees. Gently drop about 6 heaping tablespoons of batter into the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry and turn until beignets are evenly brown on all sides. Remove from oil and place on paper towel. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Best served warm. Makes about 20 beignets

Event Canceled: The Hands that Feed Us, August 20th

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:33:38 -0800

Ecotrust has canceled the video presentation and discussion, The Hands that Feed Us, originally scheduled for August 20th. Thank you for your interest and we’ll keep you up-to-date on future events. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.