The Winter Farmer's Market

One of the challenges to eating local in the Winter can be the availability of local foods. Just like in the summertime, they are out there, but finding them quite often isn't as easy. One reason for this is that in many towns, the Farmer's Market shuts down at the end of Fall and doesn't start up again until late Spring. Luckily, this is changing. I am reading about more and more markets that are attempting to stay open year round. Ultimately, their success will depend on folks supporting them. But before they can support them, they must know they exist! Last weekend, I discovered through word of mouth that our town is now hosting a year-round market. While much smaller than our main market downtown, this Winter market still provides a lovely place to buy locally grown produce and goods. And it provides our farmers and food producers with some small amount of  Winter income. A win-win situation for everyone.

Dark Days Challenge - Week #10

For this weeks challenge, I looked at what was left of my summer harvest and what was available at the Farmer's Market. Soup seemed to be the answer. From my harvest, "Delicata" Squash are still filling the garage - well not quite. But perhaps next year a few less "Delicata" and a few more plants of another variety. My newly discovered Winter Farmer's Market still had a nice selection of potatoes and many beautiful leeks. Now all I needed was a recipe. There are probably as many Potato & Leek Soup recipes as there are cooks. But I wanted something special. After a search on google I discovered the site Pinch My Salt and read Nicole's recipe. Besides sounding delicious I loved the story attached to it. Recipes connected to loved ones always taste better. My only addition was to throw in one Delicata" with the potatoes. It nicely blended in with the potatoes, added some important nutriants, and got rid of one more squash from the garage! Here is the link to Nicole's recipe.

A Beautiful Winter Day - and Signs of Spring

After a storm moving thru the area yesterday, we were treated today with a beautiful, sunny day. By early afternoon the temperatures had risen to the 50's and it was time to get outside! As I walked around the property,even though we are in deep Winter, there were signs everywhere pointing to Springs eventual arrival. Above, is pictured a tip on one of the branches of one of the three "Sweet Gums". The buds are really beginning to swell and are turning a deep red color.

I also came across our patch of "Early Sensation" daffodils. They are already up a good 2-4", although most of the other varieties have yet to poke out of the ground. These should be blooming by mid-February.

It wouldn't be a proper hike around the property without my faithful companion Cleo. She was enjoying the sunny day every bit as much as I was.

Even the indoor cats were loving the unseasonably warm weather. You find the sun where ever you can!

Not everyone was on-board. Tom clearly knows there's still 2 more months until Spring and would kindly like me to quit taking pictures and go away. Kitty hibernation at its best!

Today was the first blue-sky , sunny day that we have had for such a long time. As I drove home from work, the sunset got more and more intense. I managed to snap this photo just in time, before darkness fell. We still have a long way to go, but it is so encouraging to have it light now until 5:30.

Dark Days Challenge - Week #6

After 2 weeks of Holiday madness, I am back with week #6 of the Dark Days Challenge. As I was planning out the Christmas meals, I realized that my traditional Christmas breakfast would adapt perfectly to the Challenge. Each year I make a breakfast strata for us to enjoy. It is hearty and comforting, yet isn't so filling that you aren't ready to indulge in the main Christmas dinner hours later. I especially like that this is assembled the day before, so on Christmas morning the cook just has to pop it in the oven and isn't in the kitchen missing out on any fun with the rest of the family. I hope everyone had a Happy Holiday Season and that 2010 is filled with peace, joy and many local, delicious meals.

-Breakfast Sausage - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farm

-Eggs - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farms

-Wheat Bread - 27 Miles/Cottage Grove Farmhouse Bakery

-Milk - 13 Miles/Lochmead Dairy

-Cheddar Cheese - 102 Miles/Tillamook Creamery

-Swiss Cheese - 102 Miles/Tillamook Creamery

Merry Christmas

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past,

courage for the present, hope for the future.

It is a wish fervent wish that every cup may overflow with

blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

~Agnes M. Pharo~

The Frozen Creek

This last week the temperatures in the Southern Willamette Valley have been well below normal. The week started with lows in the twenties and by Wednesday morning the low was 8 degrees at our house and the high never got above freezing. It is very unusual for us to have temperature this low and for the cold to last as many days as it did. The cold finally broke yesterday around noon and today is much warmer. As I was taking a walk around the property I noticed something in the creek. I quickly realized that the extended period of cold had actually frozen the surface of much of the creek. While some of it has melted in the last 24 hours, much of it is still frozen. I never remember it doing this before. It was quite beautiful !

A hard frost and cold, cold nights

This morning we awoke to yet another hard frost. The temperature has been in the low twenties for the past few nights and the forecasters are calling for low temps in the teens the next few nights. It took until 1 PM today for the fog to burn off and the temperature to rise above freezing. This morning I took a very brisk walk around the property.

Everything was covered in white and my footsteps crunched as I moved along. Nothing missed Jack Frost's touch.

Both birdbaths were frozen solid. Brrrrr!

The Dark Days Challenge - Week #3

I started Thanksgiving morning working out on my treadmill ...and watching the Food Network. Hmm, maybe not the best combination! But Emeril Live was on and Emeril was fixing a Thanksgiving meal for New York Fireman. What really caught my attention was his starter, a Smoked Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Wild Rice Soup. Suddenly my week three meal was set in motion.

  I already had the Butternut Squash from my garden and knew where I could get most of the other ingredients locally. But the challenge for me was the wild rice. I thought I remembered buying a locally grown wild rice once so I began with a search on google. Sure enough, up popped Oregon Jewel. A trip to Cappella market and I had my wild rice. What I learned through my research though, was pretty neat. The rice is grown just outside Brownsville, Oregon on converted conventional farm land. The Willamette Valley clay soil that has challenged home and professional vegetable farmers for generations has proved to be perfect for growing wild rice. The clay soil holds water, which in turn eliminates the need for irrigation. The water keeps the weeds down and eliminates the need for herbicides. Native grasses and trees have returned, growing up next to the paddies. And with the return of this food and shelter the biodiversity of the region has reemerged. In fact, the Audubon Society lists the farm as a birding site. Pretty great stuff! And I haven't even mentioned the fact that we have a great source for a locally grown whole grain.

But back to this weeks meal. I followed Emeril's recipe but cut it in half and eliminated the parsely and corn. I think it would have been great with the addition of corn, but I didn't have any frozen away to use. Next year! So here is my "shopping list" -

- Butternut Squash - O miles/ My garden

-Chicken Stock -92 Miles/ Pacific Foods

-Yellow Onions - 16 Miles/Hey Bayles! Farm

-Wild Rice - 20 Miles/Oregon Jewel

- Linguesa Sausage - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farm

-Half-in-half - 13 Miles / Lochmead Dairy

- Exceptions - Oil, Salt & Pepper