Farm Bulletin: A Swale Proposal

The following letter was written by contributor Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm, addressed to members of the Oregon Farmers' Market Association. In it he outlines a new development on the farm, a building that will house packing and milling operations for the crops he and Carol grow, as well as some of the issues faced by small farmers in such expansions.

This summer, we are constructing a building for packing stuff and milling. The building will satisfy the Oregon Department of Agriculture's food establishment rules at OAR 603-025-0030. The building also anticipates future requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It will be primarily a dry facility, with provisions for washing harvest containers and produce; we are not planning to produce preserves, pickles, prepared or cooked foods on site, nor will we have a toilet in the building as we have several accessible nearby. Nonetheless, separate hand-washing and container washing sinks are required in order to license the building, and they must be approved by the county health department.

The Roto-Fingers Pea-Bean Sheller will have a new home.

Yesterday, the Washington County Health Department inspected the premises and approved our pumping the water from the two sinks into a nearby sewer system. If we did not have a system nearby, we would have to build a separate septic system with a leach field in order to get county approval and thus meet the ODA licensing rules. Currently there is no simpler or more economical way to meet the requirements, even though this water is more green than grey, and does not contain any human waste or animal blood, &c. It costs several thousand dollars to install a tank and leach field. Larger food processors can spread their washing water in agricultural fields, but on a farm such as ours that option is even more expensive than a septic system.

Throughout the state, municipalities use bioswales to collect and process water that drains from streets, sidewalks and parking lots, keeping it out of the general sewer system. This water carries all manner of disease bearing materials (animal urine and waste, spit from uncouth joggers, bird droppings, discarded food), as well as herbicides, insecticides, motor oil and other toxins from urban activities. From a public health perspective urban run-off is far more problematic than anything that will be generated in a farm's packing and milling facility, yet it is allowed, as it is considered the environmentally better approach and very wholesome.

Flint corn will be milled into cornmeal in the new building.

Small farms such as ours should be able to construct simple bioswales to process the waste water from packing sheds. For our situation, pumping it is probably a bit cheaper, but from an environmental and aesthetic perspective, I would prefer to use natural vegetation rather than the leach field to process the waste water.

As we look down the road, I think it is inevitable that we will see additional regulations governing the harvesting and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables. Even those of us who fall under the Tester exemption will face increased challenges from our buyers and insurers. Anticipating these changes, I would like to see bioswales adopted as a legally approved means to process wastewater from cleaning farm produce, harvest containers and hand-washing.

The designs and research are done. It is just a matter of tweaking the designs so they are scaled correctly and convincing the decision-makers of the benefits of the approach, and including small farm facilities in the bioswale rules. It would remove a substantial barrier to developing better packing facilities on small farms, furthering food safety.

Something to mull over as we wait for the ground to dry. I am not sure whether anyone is interested in this, but I figured I would start the discussion. I believe a proposal could be presented to the state Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Human Services. Someone might even get a whopping big grant to do the work. There are certainly less worthy projects that get funded.

Are 4-Week-Old Corgi Puppies Cute?

Why, yes. Yes, they are.

Fortunately both of Kitty's puppies are spoken for, so I can play with them and smoosh them to my heart's content, knowing they're going to loving homes when they reach 10 or 11 week of age. And I'm thrilled, too, that their mom is coming home to us when they're about eight weeks old, to retire in the comfort that she so richly deserves.

Can't think of a happier ending to the story!

You can check in on Kitty and her puppies via the Puppy-Cam, though they're getting pretty mobile, so aren't always in their bed. They'll be moving to the larger pen soon, where you can watch them really get busy!

Livin' in the Blurbs: Help Yourself and Help Others

Chinook (aka King). Coho. Sockeye. Pink. Chum. We're talking salmon, perhaps the iconic protein of the Pacific Northwest, prized for its rosy flesh and rich, fatty character. And since May is National Wetlands Month, and wetlands are a key to the conservation of our favorite members of the salmonidae family, the Wetlands Conservancy has created two ways you can celebrate it. The first is an Aqua Plate Special featuring wild-caught salmon at Jamison, 900 NW 11th Ave., where 10% of the menu price will go directly to Wetlands Conservancy for preservation of this crucial habitat. The second is a book-signing and discussion on May 20th of NOAA fisheries research biologist Dan Bottom's recent work, "Pathways to Resilience: Sustaining Salmon Ecosystems in a Changing World," which contains 11 essays on the importance of salmon to both ecological and social systems. Sounds like they've got it covered, inside and out.

Details: Wetlands Conservancy Aqua Plate Benefit. May 1-31. Jamison, 900 NW 11th Ave. 503-972-3330.
Dan Bottoms Book-signing and Discussion. Mon., May 20, 7-8:30 pm; free. Event at Classic Foods, 817 NE Madrona. 503-227-0778.

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If someone mentions co-op grocery stores and what comes to mind are dusty wood floors, bins of buggy bulk goods and patrons tromping around in bare feet, you need to upgrade your mental image library. Co-ops these days are state-of-the-art stores that also act as centers for community gatherings and activities, and the burgeoning neighborhood of Montavilla is well on its way to establishing just such a place. You can help them get just a little bit closer to their goal and check out dinner at a brand new neighborhood hangout on May 29, when Redwood is donating not 5, not 10, but 20 percent of all food and drink purchases to the Montavilla Food Co-op. By the way, Redwood's a 21-and-up type of place, so think of it as a perfect excuse for a date night or a get-together with your homies…all for a good cause, of course!

Details: Dine Out for Montavilla Food Co-op. Wed., May 29, 4 pm till closing. Redwood, 7915 SE Stark St. 503-841-5118.

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There aren't many places, even in this film-crazy town, where independent films are showcased on a regular basis. And there are fewer and fewer classic film palaces from the golden age of movies that have survived the wrecking ball. One that embodies both those qualities is the Hollywood Theatre on NE Sandy Boulevard, which opened the curtains on its first film in 1926 and was immediately dubbed "a palace of luxury, comfort and entertainment unsurpassed by any theatre on the Coast." Hyperbole notwithstanding, it showed films virtually continuously from that date and was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1983. Years of deferred maintenance had caught up with the old building, but it wasn't until 1997, when it was purchased by the non-profit Film Action Oregon (FAO), that the needed work was begun. Fast forward to 2013 and the need to refit the old marquee with energy efficient LED lighting. Local sponsor Neil Kelly is donating $50 for the first 100 households that apply for and schedule a free (yes, FREE) energy audit through Clean Energy Works Oregon. A free audit and a local landmark gets help with it's renovation? Sign me up!

Details: Free Home Energy Audits through Clean Energy Works Oregon. Use this link to apply.

Foie For All

It was definitely one of those foodie moments. I was going to meet a friend at her house in the Hawthorne area for a glass of wine and some noshing on the deck.

I was running just a bit early, so decided to stop at Pastaworks and pick up a bottle of rosé and snacky bits to share. As I walked in, I saw that Evoe, the restaurant associated with Pastaworks and that, to me, is the best place to eat in the city, was virtually empty. It was mid-afternoon on a gorgeous, unusually warm spring day, and the usual habitués were no doubt still out riding their bikes up to the top of Mt. Tabor or picnicking on the flanks of the extinct volcano.

Kevin Gibson, the genius chef and man behind the incredible food that is whipped up with merely a mandoline and an electric stove you might find in the kitchen of any neighborhood rental, was behind the counter messing with what looked like pale beige Play-doh.

Turns out he was making a batch of foie gras, that buttery gift from the gods that, in the hands of someone who knows his craft as well as Gibson does, is not unlike the stuff that surely must grace the tables in heaven. Flattening the pale lump of liver and butter, he sprinkled it with salt and a few drops of cognac, then folded it together and wrapped it tightly in cheesecloth.

A bucket of salt and spices stood nearby, and Gibson scooped out a few handfuls into a bowl to make room for the large sausage of foie that would be buried in it for a day or so. It all looked too easy for what is considered a delicacy among delicacies, but Gibson intimated it really was as simple as it looked.

A few days later I couldn't stand it any longer…visions of a pale glass of ice-cold rosé and plate of that foie were starting to block out any other thoughts. I managed to cadge my son into a trip over and, oh dear lord, it was so worth it. Its buttery, literally melt-in-your-mouth fattiness with a subtle saltiness was even better than I'd hoped. And if angels aren't satisfied with that, I'd be happy to take their portion.

Details: Evoe at Pastaworks, 3731 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 503-232-1010.

Grilled Vegetables: A Manifesto

Contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood is a sweet, mellow guy, though you might get another impression from his writings about immature cruciferous flowers (aka raab) and a recent rant about grilling vegetables, below.

The Grilled Vegetable Manifesto

Don’t put any oil on vegetables before you grill them.

That’s it. Despite what every single thing ever written about grilling vegetables says (except, of course, by me), do not “lightly brush,” “gently toss” or in any other euphemistic way put any extra virgin olive oil on any vegetable before you cook it over a hot fire. (I won’t add my rant about the fire, but know that all of your grilling will be better if you do it over real wood charcoal; email me for details.)


Don’t put any oil on the vegetables before you grill them.
The vegetables don’t need oil to keep from sticking to the grill; they don’t stick without it. Any oil drips off, ignites and the resulting flames send little particles of burnt oil back up to your food. Oiling vegetables doesn’t do them any good. It’s a mistake. Don’t do it.

Grill your vegetables dry, which means not dry like the desert but free of anything other than a little water that might be left from washing. Cook until done, which usually means with a little charring from that intense heat. When the vegetables are done, put them on a platter, drizzle with extra virgin, sprinkle with flor de sal or your favorite salt and eat.

Some things get a little vinegar and some time. I usually grill the vegetables first, when the fire is hot, so they’re often at ambient temperature when we eat them. A simple salsa verde of chopped fresh herbs (mint, parsley, marjoram), garlic, olive oil, vinegar and capers is a nice addition to anything grilled, including vegetables (anchovy and oregano from Pantelleria are always in mine).

Asparagus is just coming on, and it’s one of the best vegetables for grilling (see above). The Katz Meyer Lemon Olive Oil is particularly good on asparagus, but hurry if you want some. All of the extra virgin olive oils I have will also be delicious, and you can squeeze a lemon for extra goodness. Chopped hard-boiled egg is good, too.

À Paris!

If you've always wanted to visit Paris in the springtime, or if you've ever been there, you must start reading Cynthia Nims' blog, Mon Appétit. Nims is a Seattle food writer, author and delightful, appreciative traveler who's spending a month living in Paris, a city she knows well. She's visiting old haunts, discovering new ones, and sharing it all on her blog and Twitter feed. You'll be missing a treat if you don't tune in!

Photo above by Nims with the following caption: "A cool bee house in the Jardin des Plantes, they called it a 'hotel de charme' (boutique hotel) for the bees." [Note the chestnut trees in bloom in the background.]

A Greek Salad Fit for the Gods

Summer time is salad time, and this Greek-style salad is perfect for indoor or outdoor dining. I took this to a Greek-themed birthday potluck and it was a huge hit with the crowd. The only problem was that tomatoes are required to call it a Greek salad and local tomatoes won't be around for a couple of months. I did run across some early heirlooms at the store and used as few as I could get away with and still legitimately call it Greek.

This style is basically a chopped salad, so you can make it with just about any vegetables you want, like bell peppers, cauliflower, romanesco or whatever strikes your fancy. And I loved the pickle-y tartness from the artichoke hearts and pickled peppers that I got, along with the olives, from the olive bar at my local store. Also, most Greek salads are way too chunky for me, so I tore the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and chopped the vegetables into half-inch or so cubes. If you like it chunkier, though, feel free to do that!

Greek Style Summer Salad

For the dressing:
1 c. olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp. dried oregano or 2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

For the salad:
2 med. heads romaine lettuce, washed
2 c. artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 c. Mama Lil's Mildly Spicy Peppers, chopped
1 c. kalamata olives, chopped
1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 English cucumbers, seeded and chopped in 1/2" cubes
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped in 1/2" cubes
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled

In a tub or bowl with a tight-fitting lid (I use a clean salsa container), combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Put the lid on and shake hard for 30 seconds. Allow to stand at room temperature while you combine the salad ingredients.

In a very large salad bowl, tear the romaine into bite-size pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients and the dressing and toss.

Spot Prawn Season Opener

Pandalus platyceros, or the spot prawn, is a Northwest delicacy I first heard about a couple of years ago on a trip to Vancouver, BC, home of the largest spot prawn festival in the province (there are other festivals scheduled in Cowichan Bay, Powell River and Ottawa). As opposed to the uniform pink of most shrimp, these prawns sport deep reddish-pink shells that are spotted with brilliant white dots, and their legs and antennae are banded with alternating red and white stripes (top photo).

My friend Peter Szymczak (left, with his little friend) is a spot prawn aficionado of the first order, so when he invited Dave and I to a prawn boil, it was damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. It was an idyllic, warm spring evening when we arrived at Peter's place, the rich steamy aroma of an Asian-inspired broth wafting from a gigantic pot on his stove. The pot was soon filled with tiny round eggplants, bok choy, bamboo shoots and rounds of daikon, many of which he'd bought at the farmers' market that morning.

When the vegetables were nearly done, Peter dumped the live prawns, groggy from the refrigerator, into the boiling broth and three minutes later strained the liquid off, dumping the contents onto a long, newspaper-covered outdoor table. With brief instructions on the proper peeling technique, we dove in.

Live spot prawns are available at ABC Seafood (6509 SE Powell Blvd.), but you'll have to act quickly if you want to have your own prawn boil, since the season only lasts about a month. Fabulously decadent, you couldn't do better than this for a truly memorable, unique local feast.

Spot Prawn Boil

Courtesy of chef Ted Anderson, Fat Dragon BBQ, Vancouver, BC

Serves 6-8 as an entrée.

If a trip to the coast isn’t in the cards this Father’s Day, serving up a prawn boil will bring the taste of the beach to him. Serve the boiled prawns family-style in a large bowl, or load them into stainless buckets and dump them out in mounds on a table lined with newspapers for an authentic beach-side boil presentation.

For the broth:

4 stalks lemongrass, outer layer peeled

2 gal. water

1 onion, peeled, cut into quarters

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths

3 shallots, peeled and halved

4 charred red thai chiles, split in half lengthways (add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 c. salt

1/2 c. fish sauce

1 piece palm sugar, roughly 50 grams

15 pieces lime leaf, stem removed and bruised

2-inch piece of galangal, sliced thinly

3 limes, zested and juiced

1/2 bunch cilantro, tops and bottoms

For the boil:

5 lbs. live spot prawns

1 lb. clams

1 lb. of your favorite sausage (such as hot links or Chinese sausage), chopped into bite-size pieces

1 qt. chopped veggies, for example: potatoes, eggplant, long beans, daikon, bamboo, peas, baby corn, bok choy, etc. (optional)

Make the broth. Using the back of a chef’s knife, bruise the stalks of lemongrass to release oils. Fill a large pot with water and add all ingredients, except for lime and cilantro. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to steep for 45-50 minutes.

Add cilantro, and let sit for another 10 minutes. Then add lime juice and zest and steep for another minute. Strain solids from liquid, and check for seasoning. It should be salty, sour and mildy sweet. Add more citrus, salt, fish sauce or sugar depending on your taste.

To boil the seafood, sausage, and vegetables, bring the broth up to a boil. Skim away any foam that collects on the top. Add sausage and clams, and cook for 4 minutes. Add vegetables in stages: add those that take longest to cook first (potatoes, eggplant, long beans, daikon) and those that cook quickly last (peas, baby corn, bamboo slices, bok choy). Add prawns and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes. Strain out all the veggies, clams, sausage and prawns into a large bowl for everyone to share. Serve with lime wedges, hot sauce, mayonnaise or anything that you’re into. Reserve broth for another use or discard [please don't, though…freeze it and use later for an incredible base for soup, paella or an Asian-style chowder. - KAB].

Garden State's Sandri in Motion

You might say that Kevin Sandri is going back to his roots. He started out a professional musician, playing his nights away for not a lot of money but a lot of acclaim. But since acclaim wasn't something he could put on the table or use to pay the rent, and with no other discernable skills that would get him a regular job, he decided to open a food cart using dishes from his childhood in New Jersey.

It was before food carts were a dime a dozen in Portland, but customers were soon flocking to his quilted aluminum trailer in an obscure corner of Southeast Portland for his meatball hero packed with big, beefy balls and luscious sauce, and his chickpea sandwich and arancine. Within a couple of years the cart scene was booming and he'd opened a second Garden State as well as a hipster burger cart called Burgatroyd in the Mississippi Marketplace pod.

The cart boom was getting crazy with pods opening up in every vacant lot in the city, as ubiquitous as Starbucks were a decade earlier, and Sandri decided it was time to get out. After selling his carts (Burgatroyd still operates in the Mississippi pod under new ownership), he helped start up a couple of food businesses in town.

Sandri's signature meatball hero.

After a stint he called "chef rehab" working the line at Rick Gencarelli's Lardo, he said he's ready to step back into the food fray by taking the reins in the kitchen at the newly renovated and under-new-ownership Alberta Street Pub. The pub was one of the first businesses in what was then a very down-and-out (read "scary") corner on NE Alberta street. Two brothers, Eli and Django Amerson, have bought the pub from original owner Michael Beglan and are set to reopen in the coming weeks.

Customers can expect a full bar with beer and wine on tap, music at least three nights a week, and a menu with a house burger and what Sandri is calling a killer plate of fish and chips that'll put other fried fish dishes into the wannabe category. He's looking forward to calling in his former farm suppliers for many of the raw ingredients, so the city may be in for the (oddly in this food-crazy town) rare experiences of a pub with stellar food. We can only hope he brings back that hero to the specials menu once in awhile, as well as stepping up on stage with his guitar!

Don't Toss Those Tops!

For years I've been ripping off the tops of bunches of carrots and tossing them in the compost. When a checker at the store would ask if I'd like the frilly greens removed, I'd say, "Why, yes, thanks!"

Then a couple of months ago I stumbled across a reference to carrot greens in cookbook author Diane Morgan's "Roots," an encyclopedic tour of those edibles that grow beneath the soil. In it she describes that she, too, was a carrot top tosser until she found out they were edible, and I've since had several conversations with other former carrot top naïfs who now use the frilly, slightly carrot-y tasting tips in salads, sauces and sautés.

So now not only am I not wasting a perfectly edible source of greens, I have yet another delicious, vitamin-rich addition to my repertoire. Who knew?

Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

My friend Hank Shaw, a forager and hunter of some reknown, loves to serve the game animals he hunts with the food that they may forage in the wild. Serving the carrots with their tops, while not quite the same thing, gives me a similar thrill.

1 bunch carrots with greens
1-2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. pine nuts (toasted in a dry skillet, if desired)
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°.

Remove greens from carrots, leaving 1-2" of stems attached. (I try to get long, slender carrots for roasting, but if the carrots are thicker, halve them lengthwise or chop into 1/2" coins.) Brush with olive oil and arrange on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roast in oven for 30-40 min. until fork-tender.

For the pesto, remove leaves from carrot stems as you would with parsley or cilantro. Put the leaves in a blender and add garlic, pine nuts and salt. Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and purée, drizzling in remainder of olive oil, plus more if needed, to make a finely textured sauce.

Place roasted carrots on platter and drizzle with pesto, or serve carrots plated with drizzle of pesto. I usually put the remainder in a bowl on the table for pesto addicts to serve themselves.

Spring in Your Step? Try Spring in Your Glass!

The red stalks of rhubarb that appear at farmers' markets and grocery stores this time of year, along with tender green things like raab, nettles and miner's lettuce, are among the first harbingers of spring, a sure sign that, once again, winter has breathed its last cold breath on the Willamette Valley.

The rhubarb phosphate.

I've been a fan of this sourest of vegetables from childhood, when I'd take a stalk off the kitchen counter where my mom was chopping it for a crisp or pie and, much to her chagrin, chomp down on it, letting the full glory of its acidic sourness fill my mouth. So when I heard that my dear friend Dave Shenaut at Raven & Rose was working up a cocktail featuring my favorite spring ingredient, I asked if he'd be willing to share a recipe or two with the readers of GoodStuffNW.

The Bonnie Wee Lass rhubarb cocktail.

The best part is that these drinks are based on a syrup rather than an infused alcohol, meaning it can be used as an ingredient in a delicious cocktail, of course, but it can also be combined with soda or lemonade for a refreshing beverage to serve at brunch or for sipping on the patio. The syrup will keep for a week or two in the fridge, but it can also be frozen for enjoying on a hot summer day.

And a note on phosphates, those spritzy, fizzy drinks that were the specialty of soda fountains in the late 1800s and early 1900s. At Raven & Rose, Mr. Shenaut is determined to bring back classic beverages like the phosphate, and is looking to beverage writer and itinerant bartender Darcy S. O'Neil's book Fix the Pumps as one of his guides. I'd highly recommend it, as well as O'Neil's blog, Art of Drink, for some fascinating reading.

Rhubarb Syrup
From Dave Shenaut at Raven and Rose
3 lbs. rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1/2" pieces (redder rhubarb will make a more intensely colored syrup)
Water
Sugar

Place chopped rhubarb in large saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook over low heat until rhubarb is tender, 15-20 min. Strain through fine mesh sieve or several layers of cheesecloth, pressing gently to release the liquid. If you want a completely clear syrup it might take more than one filtering. Discard the solids. Measure or weigh the remaining liquid and add an equal amount of sugar. Heat the syrup in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Chill.

Rhubarb Phosphate
From Dave Shenaut at Raven and Rose
3/4 oz. rhubarb syrup
1/2 oz. lemon juice
2-3 drops rose water
10 dashes of phosphate
Seltzer*

Half fill a glass with ice, then add the syrup, lemon juice, rose water and phosphate. Fill with seltzer. Garnish with sprig of lemon balm.

* If you don't have phosphate and seltzer, simply substitute soda water. The flavor will be slightly different, but still lovely.

Bonnie Wee Lass
From Dave Shenaut at Raven and Rose
2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. rhubarb syrup
3/4 oz. lemon juice
2 drops rose water
Sprig of lemon balm for garnish

Fill a shaker 2/3 full of ice. Add gin, syrup, lemon juice and rose water. Shake, then strain into cocktail glass. For the garnish, Mr. Shenaut mists the sprig of lemon balm with absinthe and sprinkles it with superfine sugar before setting it gently on the surface of the cocktail, but the sprig by itself would be fine, too.

The Bread of Life

I was raised in the Episcopal Church in the "mission diocese" of Eastern Oregon. Oddly, contrary to that region of the state's right-leaning politics, the diocese was quite liberal theologically, which meant it didn't have the "smells and bells" of incense and ringing of chimes to signal the progress of the service. Instead, in 1979 it was among the first dioceses in the nation to get (paperback) copies of the brand new Revised Book of Common Prayer, which translated the ancient cadences (and at times indecipherable language) of King James into American English.

That new version of the old book changed everything, from the iconic Lord's Prayer to the words said during Holy Communion when, instead of receiving wafers of pressed cardboard…I mean, um…flour and water, we got actual pieces of bread torn from loaves made by the women of the church.

Though I've left those religious beliefs behind, I still embrace the idea that whole foods, whether made at home or store-bought, nourish both body and soul. Which is why I was so thrilled when Dave started making bread here at home.

At first it was hit-or-miss as he tried one recipe after another, nothing really measuring up to the rustic, hard-crusted, flavorful loaves he wanted to produce. He tried the no-knead style, which was pretty good, and the technique of misting the oven during baking, which improved the crust but still wasn't hitting the mark. He even made his own sourdough starter from the yeast left at the bottom of a bottle of Hair of the Dog's Doggie Claws.

He went through a dozen kinds of flour, from bulk unbleached to whole wheat to packaged brands, and shapes from boules to baguettes. He cruised blogs and artisan bread web sites like The Fresh Loaf, searching for hints from other folks who were on the same quest. After more than a year of less-than-stellar results, he was getting a little frustrated.

Cast iron pans did the trick.

Then, one Christmas, our friends Kathryn and Jeff got him a book, Tartine Bread, by Chad Robertson of San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery. Like the revised prayer book from my youth, it became a game-changer. Following Robertson's suggestion, Dave invested in a cast iron "combo cooker," the bottom a deep pan and the top a shallow frying pan. By inverting it, he could plop the risen dough into the shallow section, score the loaf and cover it with the deeper pan, containing the moisture released by the bread during baking. Halfway through baking the top pan was removed and the loaf returned to the oven to finish baking.

His biggest fan.

The results that first time were so startling that Dave ordered another cast iron pan and hasn't looked back since. He continues to tinker with the dough, and every two weeks he spends a day making several loaves that are stored in the freezer until we need them. It's called "Uncle Dave's bread" by our 3-year-old nephew, who asks for it every time he comes over and who invariably goes home with a loaf. Talk about nourishing body and soul…for us that's what it's all about.

Our Kitty Had Puppies

And two bruisers they are! The biggest puppies Coedwig Cardigans has had in 30 years of working with this breed, these as-yet-unnamed little dudes weighed in at 17 and 19 oz. each. (Normal birth weight for this breed varies between 8 and 12 oz. each.)

They were delivered by Caesarian section, and Kitty and pups are all doing well. She'll stay with them for eight weeks until they're weaned, which means I'll be making many more trips over there, so expect lots of updates to come. And don't worry, they're already spoken for, so feel free to enjoy them to the fullest!

(These shots were taken a little over 24 hours after they were born.)

Here Chick Chick Chick!

This is an amazing picture of a chick just as it's hatching from its egg. Hatched in an incubator at my friend Kim's house, it had begun to crack the shell a couple of hours earlier. Its siblings were starting to hatch as well, with cracks appearing and little bits of shell popping off.

Kim told me to pick up one of the cracked-but-unhatched eggs and hold it up to my ear. From inside came a strident "Cheep!" By the end of the day all of the chicks had hatched and were on their way to a warming box to start their journey to chickenhood. Cool!

Mizuna by Any Other Name Would Taste As…Peppery?

According to Wikipedia, "mizuna (Japanese: 水菜 'water greens')—also called shui cai, kyona, Japanese mustard, potherb mustard, Japanese greens, California peppergrass, and spider mustard—is a cultivated variety of Brassica rapa nipposinica. The name is also used for Brassica juncea var. japonica."

What this definition doesn't tell you is that this mildly piquant, some call it "peppery," green is a vibrant addition to salads, soups, sautés, pastas and sauces. The deeply cut and fringed, almost feathery, leaves are so beautiful and their green color is so vibrant that I have a hard time passing them up when I see them appear in the early spring at my local farmers' market.

I'd plucked a bunch from one farmer's heaping display one Saturday and a few evening later found myself in my usual state, realizing I had no idea what we were going to have for dinner that night. Remembering that bunch of mizuna waiting patiently in the vegetable bin, I breathed a sigh of relief. All I had to do was boil up a pot of pasta, chop some garlic, sundried tomatoes and walnuts, throw in a little Worcestershire and…voilà…dinner was on the table half an hour later. Success!

Pasta with Mizuna, Sundried Tomatoes and Walnuts

1 lb. pasta
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Several cloves garlic, very finely chopped, about 1/8 c.
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/3 c. sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch mizuna, roughly chopped
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan, grated

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat till it shimmers. Add garlic and sauté briefly until it warms, then add walnuts, sundried tomatoes and mizuna. Sauté until mizuna wilts and add Worchestershire sauce and salt to taste. Remove from heat if pasta isn't done. When pasta is drained, place in serving bowl and top with mizuna mixture, tossing to combine. Serve with parmesan for sprinkling.

Eat a Sandwich, Help a Farmer

The straccetti sandwich was created in the 1960s in a small trattoria in Rome, according to Cathy Whims. The name tranlates as "small rags" and refers to the thin strips of marinated steak that are seared quickly then tossed with bright seasonal greens.

When Rick Gencarelli of Lardo invited Whims to create the first sandwich in his "Guest Chef" series, with proceeds going to the chef's designated charity, the Roman sensation seemed the perfect ticket for Lardo's meat-centric menu. With provolone cheese, chopped roasted asparagus and horseradish creme fraiche added to the traditional preparation, I can tell you from a personal taste test that this Italian import is not to be missed.

And the charity? Whims chose Friends of Family Farmers, a group dedicated to fostering and supporting small family farmers in Oregon. Smart cookie, that Whims, since her restaurant, along with so many in our area, depends on those same small farmers to supply them with the goodness they feature on their menus!

Details: Guest Chef Series at Lardo: Cathy Whims' Straccetti. Available mid-April through mid-May, $10, with proceeds benefiting Friends of Family Farmers. Lardo East, 1212 SE Hawthorne Blvd.; 503-234-7786. Lardo West, 1205 SW Washington St.; 503-241-2490.

Quick Hits: Lunching on the Go

There are some things it takes me an embarrassingly long time to get around to. Like learning how to roast a chicken. Or, perhaps more surprisingly, trying and subsequently falling in love with bourbon. I'd heard a lot about Rick Gencarelli and his Lardo food cart, but it took until he'd opened not one, but two, brick-and-mortar outlets for me to get in there. The focus, of course, is meat, mostly of the porcine variety, in all its wondrous incarnations: smoked, ground, grilled, braised and fried. There are a couple of vegetarian sandwiches, a few salads, a long tap beer list. (Word is, Gencarelli's planning on simplifying the menu and making it into a chain operation.)

From my visit to their Hawthorne location with the big tent on the corner for even-in-the-rain outdoor dining, that could be a truly great idea. My pork meatball banh mi, with its juicy ground pork balls and vinegar-and-fish-sauce-infused veggies topped by cilantro was a pile of porkyliciousness, and the smoked coppa cubano was a big mouthful of hell yes. Fries tossed with herbs and parmesan were of the could-be-crisper but perfectly decent persuasion. And prices were in the low to moderate range, meaning right around ten bucks for lunch (without beer). For the quality you're getting, that's a steal.

Details: Lardo Eastside, 1212 SE Hawthorne. 503-234-7786.

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Tacos, to me, are the perfect street food, best consumed standing up outside where the juices and, occasionally, some of the contents can trickle onto the ground. Ideally, that would be on a sandy beach in Mexico or from a market stand in the city with people and scooters hustling by loaded down with what will become the day's meals.

Here in Portland we have to take into account what the rain would do to those tacos, so we must compromise on the outdoor aspect on occasion. But the bright, cheery interior of Uno Mas makes that a pleasure, especially with the handmade corn tortillas and authentic fillings and sauces of Oswaldo Bibiano's latest Mexican eatery.

Cheap at $2 each for the "tradicional" (meat) and "vegetal" (veg/cheese) versions and $3.75 for the seafood-laden, these little flavor bombs are priced to mix and match at will. There are also steamed tacos, which I'd never had, small tortillas filled, folded in half, then steamed, that were kind of like mini pupusas. Bibiano himself was in there the day I visited, looking happy with his new baby. As well he should.

Details: Uno Mas Taquiza, 2337 NE Glisan St. 503-208-2764.

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One of the absolute best perks of being a writer is the opportunity to meet and get to know people I might never have had the chance to talk to in my normal life. One of those was an interview with Tina and David Bergen (below left) owners of the landmark restaurant Tina's in Dundee, for last year's spring wine guide in the Oregonian.

So when a friend suggested a field trip out to wine country for lunch and tastings, I hinted that it might be fun to stop at Tina's to check out their spring menu. Lovely and warm but unpretentious, it has to be one of my favorite outside-of-Portland spots, with a dedication to local ingredients—and by local I mean within a mile or two—and letting those ingredients speak for themselves rather than be drowned out by execution.

For example, the fried oysters (right) were simply battered and briefly fried, leaving their fresh brininess still intact, and with a light sorrel mayonnaise that accented, rather than buried, their sweetness. The day's spring pea soup was like tasting a pea shelled right in the garden, and the risotto with asparagus and duck confit was probably one of the best risottos I've ever had, period.

Prices, as you might expect, aren't cheap, but for a special day out in the country in spring, you won't find better, more beautifully prepared ingredients anywhere, or more lovely people.

Details: Tina's, 760 Hwy 99W, Dundee. 503-538-8880.

Photo of David and Tina Bergen by Beth Nakamura for the Oregonian.

Livin' in the Blurbs: With Food, Knowledge is Power

What could be more appropriate for one of the hottest and most progressive food regions in the U.S. than a film festival featuring six new films covering topics of sustainability, food supply, nature and the environment? Just such a series, the Portland Ecofilm Festival, is queued up and ready to roll starting tomorrow and continuing through the summer at the Hollywood Theatre, starting with Symphony of the Soil from director Deborah Koons Garcia (Jerry Garcia's widow) in attendance with a Q&A hosted by Naomi Montacre of Naomi's Organic Garden Supply. Other films in the series include The Fruit Hunters, Elemental, More than Honey, Musicwood and Cafeteria Man. What a great idea for summer entertainment!

Details: Portland Ecofilm Festival. Schedule and tickets for individual films or a festival pass to all six available online. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. 503-281-4215.

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If you know beans about beans but want to know more, or if you're a bean aficionado and want to hobnob with three of Portland's top bean queens, you absolutely must make plans to attend Beautiful Beans: Grow. Cook. Eat. on Thursday, April 18. Sponsored by the Portland Culinary Alliance, Edible Portland and the Better Bean Company, it features a moderated panel of "Beanthusiasts" (their word, not mine) including Hannah Kullberg of Better Bean Company, the beautiful and talented Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm, pantry maven and teacher Katherine Deumling of Cook with What You Have and Dr. Samantha Brody, founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center, who will address the nutritional aspects of the legume. As if that weren't enough, there will be a tasting of various beans grown at Ayers Creek and a borlotti bean bruschetta from the good folks at Ava Gene's.

Details: Beautiful Beans: Grow. Cook. Eat. Thurs., April 18, 6:30-8:30 pm; $15 (tickets online). Event at Ecotrust, 721 NW 9th Ave., Suite 200.

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There's nothing better than going to the source for the food you put on your table. With more than 60 farmers' markets in the Portland metro area and a market every day of the week during peak season, we have ample opportunities to talk directly with the people who grow our food. One of those, the Beaverton Farmers' Market, sits smack-dab in the middle of one of Oregon's most bounteous agricultural areas and draws heavily from farmers and fields within miles of its suburban location. Unusually, it also features a stunning array of plants for vegetable gardens, yard and home, due to manager and dedicated plantswoman Ginger Rapport, who has made it her mission to gather the best of the best small nurseries to her market. The debut of the market's 25th season is on Saturday, May 11, and it'll be a bang-up celebration with food demos, music and a plethora of special events. Put it on your calendar!

Details: Beaverton Farmers' Market Summer Market. Sat., May 11; 8 am-1:30 pm. On SW Hall Blvd. between 3rd and 5th Sts. in downtown Beaverton. 503-643-5345.