I found a page of resources from the Dairy Farmers of Oregon. Love it when they make it easy like that! The same list is now on our dairy resources page. Did you know that milk is the official beverage of Oregon? Yep, it was approved by the Oregon Legislature in 1997. Suddenly, I am in the mood for a grilled cheese sandwich…
Someday, I really want to keep some backyard chickens. But it’s a big commitment and I’m not ready for that yet, so it will have to wait. But for people who are more prepared for it than me, and want to get started? Check out Backyard Chickens, a fun website dedicated raising chickens, building chicken coops, and hatching eggs! Some of the coop designs are just too… too… well, I don’t have the words. Think of “chalets” for chickens and there you have it. The site also features a great learning center, information about breeds, an image gallery, and a message board. Cluck, cluck.
While our challenge doesn’t officially start until Memorial Day weekend, some folks may choose to get a jump start. Pat Kight at Cooking from the Market is one such person… she got over to the Albany market yesterday, even with the funky weather, and picked up some eggs, salad greens and some garlic. And then went home had a simple salad made from those greens. Sometimes, a simple dish like that is all it takes before you’re planning how to get your hands on another batch of fresh produce… There are new photos from Pat up at the Flickr group, Market Friends, and I must say a big thanks to her as well, for talking about this challenge at the market, as she notes in her blog post. She gave me a great idea via e-mail to print up some fliers. I love that there is word-of-mouth about this...
The Corvallis and Albany markets are on tomorrow, even if it snows! Be brave and head on down… Albany Farmers’ Market Saturdays, 9AM to 1PM April 19 to November 22, 2008 City Hall parking lot at 4th and Ellsworth, and the adjacent block of 4th Ave. Corvallis Farmers’ Market Saturdays, 9AM to 1PM April 19 to November 22, 2008 First and Jackson, on the north end of the riverfront.
I’ve added a resource page for honey and molasses. I am pretty sure this photo was taken at the shop in Reedsport, Hive, where they have an actual glass-fronted hive in the store. The bees here are hovering near the entrance to the hive, located on an outside wall of the shop. There are only a couple of links on that page so far, but I’ll be working on getting more. I’ve also added a couple of more places to the meat and poultry page. I’m trying to figure out, as this site grows, what’s the best way to organize links? Should I link farms in the sidebar by city headers? What about on the resources pages? The last thing I want is for the blog to become too cumbersome and make it impossible for people to navigate. Your feedback welcome! In my mad Googling, I found an interesting...
Home gardeners looking to work more sustainable practices into their growing can start planting with heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are the result of seed saving and passing those seeds on, generation after generation. There are various schools of thought as to what constitutes an heirloom — varieties introduced anywhere between 50 to 100 years ago. Two heirloom seed resources in Oregon are the Victory Seed Company and the Territorial Seed Company. Both sites have some interesting reading (check out the historical topics at Victory), planting/gardening tips, and you might even run across a recipe or two. Have you had success with heirloom seeds? Leave a comment and tell us about it!
It’s up now on the Recipe of the Week page.
You may notice that our resources, in some cases, fall outside of the mid-Willamette Valley area. We’re open to resources from our surrounding areas, as everyone’s definition of “local” is going to vary. I’d rather include all our neighboring cities by default and leave the choosing up to you. For some interesting reading on the topic, start with this Wikipedia entry on Local Food. To be honest, I stuck with the mid-valley for this blog because I feared I couldn’t handle writing about the challenge if I focused on a bigger area. Upon reflection, though, anyone in the Willamette Valley — heck, in Oregon — who wants to participate should not hesitate to sign up. I know that I (will) tend to talk a lot about Corvallis and the surrounding areas because it’s what I know. I hope that the readers out there will feel welcome to comment and...
Welcome new visitors! We just got linked on OR Blogs last night (thanks PB!), which is a really great source of blog traffic. If you’re wondering what this is all about, please see the first post here: The Challenge. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll outline a few more details and give more ideas about how to participate. The rest of the site is all being built up, too. Meanwhile, take a look around and if you have any suggestions for the site, or resources and recipes to share, please leave comments!
The Willamette Valley Wineries Association hosts an annual special event, Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country, to be held this year on May 24-26th. More than 100 wineries will be open to the public, some of which are not open at other times of the year. Festivities include tasting of new releases and older vintages, barrel tastings, specialty foods and sales of limited quantity wines. Some wineries have live music and some charge a tasting fee. Winemakers and owners will personally greet their guests. Check out the link to find out how to receive a mailer which will include a list of activities at each participating winery and a touring map. This is a great opportunity to discover some local wines!
The Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Markets open up one week from today, Saturday, April 19th. The market director, Rebecca Landis, has agreed to provide a gift certificate to us as a prize for a drawing to be held at the end of our challenge! As soon as I know the final details, I will post them here, but in the meantime, many thanks to Rebecca and the markets! Here are hours and locations of the markets: Albany Farmers’ Market Saturdays, 9AM to 1PM April 19 to November 22, 2008 City Hall parking lot at 4th and Ellsworth, and the adjacent block of 4th Ave. Corvallis Farmers’ Market Saturdays, 9AM to 1PM April 19 to November 22, 2008 First and Jackson, on the north end of the riverfront. Corvallis Wednesday Market Wednesdays, 8AM to 1PM April 23 to November 26, 2008 Benton County Fairgrounds at 110 SW 53rd Street
Wow, in looking up links for this post, I read that between 95% – 99% of the hazelnuts grown in the United States are grown here in the Willamette Valley. Lucky us! Hazelnut Hill, a 225-acre working family farm, is located in Corvallis. Their shop is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10AM to 5PM. (Try the hot & spicy! My favorite. Although chocolate is good too. And brittle…) 27939 Hwy 99W, Corvallis 541-754-5657 info@hazelnuthill.com Freddy Guys Hazelnuts, a direct-to-consumer farm located in Monmouth. Look for them at farmers’ markets or order direct from the website. I’ll keep looking for more resources for local nuts… if you know of any, please leave a comment!
