Oregon farmer Anthony Boutard’s update on HB 2336: The Direct Farm Marketing Bill

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

February 9, 2011

The “Direct Farm Marketing Bill” passed out of committee on February 7th and is going to the floor of the Oregon House of Representatives for a critical vote. We need people to call their representatives and urge a “yes” vote on HB 2336. The phone number and email for your representative can be found at http://www.leg.state.or.us/house/

Here is why this bill is important:

Over the last two decades, agriculture in Oregon has seen a marked increase in venues for selling agricultural products directly to the consumer. Farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), and buying clubs have increased without a clear place in the regulatory structure. Historically, roadside stands selling produce, eggs and honey have been treated as exempt from licensing, but these new venues stretch that definition. HB 2336 provides necessary statutory guidance on this issue with a balanced and sensible regulatory approach to direct marketing.

Continue reading Oregon farmer Anthony Boutard’s update on HB 2336: The Direct Farm Marketing Bill »

Bean there

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

February 9, 2011

By choosing not to open a can of beans, I may have opened a can of worms.

Last week, I followed Martha Rose Shulman's delicious-looking baked beans recipe in the New York Times pretty much to the letter — using cannellini beans that I had purchased a few months ago at the farmers’ market.

I soaked the beans overnight and started cooking at noon, to be sure the dish would be ready for dinner. It wasn’t

In fact, my lovely beans cooked right through the dinner hour and on until bedtime. Finally, I turned off the oven and hoped the beans, still a little firm, would soften by lunch the next day — which they did, more or less. In fact, everyone loved them, but as the cook, I was a bit frazzled by that time.

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Portland Slow Food event

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

June 22, 2010

Portland eaters: I’m planning to make it to this event NEXT MONDAY. Maybe you’ll be there too?

“Food, Labor & Immigration”

What: Join Slow Food Portland for an insightful and thought-provoking evening exploring the direct links between immigration policy and the food America eats. The panel will feature a diverse group including authors, scholars, activists, and labor organizers and advocates. Help shape the discussion with your questions and comments.

When: Monday, June 28, 2010, 7 p.m.

Where: Buchan Reception Hall at the First Unitarian Church downtown, 1226 SW Salmon Street.

Tickets: $5 members/$6 non-members, order tickets online and at the door.

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Special last-minute discount tickets for Joel Salatin

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

April 17, 2010

This just in:

Joel Salatin, an American farmer, lecturer, and author who is featured prominently in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivores Dilemma, as well as in the film FRESH, will be in Portland on Monday, April 19. He will give two lectures at the Tiffany Center at 6 pm and 8 pm.

These lectures are part of a larger FRESH Portland Week in celebration of FRESH opening theatrically at the Hollywood Theater. You can see the entire program on the FRESH website.

Lecture 1: 6 pm
THE SHEER ECSTASY OF BEING A LUNATIC FARMER:
In this mischievous lecture, Joel Salatin compares the industrial global food paradigm with the heritage local food paradigm. Using hilarious stories from his family’s Polyface Farm experience, Salatin examines the contrast on many different levels: fertility, carbon cycling, energy use, relationships, marketing, and spirit. If you ever wondered: “What’s really the difference between pastured poultry and Tyson’s”? — now you’ll know.

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Blog for Food

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

February 15, 2010

I read this staggering statistic this weekend:

“Earlier this month, Feeding America, a national alliance of food banks, released ‘Hunger in America 2010,’ finding that 37 million Americans a year now get emergency food help, a number that’s up 46 percent from its last survey in 2006. The numbers, based on surveys during the first half of last year, include 14 million children — up 50 percent from the last time.”

(Thanks, David Sarasohn, of The Oregonian.)

It comes down to this: Many of us are well-fed. Many many of us are not. The Oregon Food Bank helps thousands of people get the food they need. Those of us who can, we need to help the Oregon Food Bank.

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The meat that you eat

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

January 27, 2010

Look back five years: Has your diet changed? Are you eating more, or less, meat these days? Have your meat-buying habits changed? What meat do you eat?

Has Mark Bittman, with his book, Food Matters, or others — like Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond, authors of Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, and Glazes — all of whom are writing about eating less meat, affected you?

As an aside (and because I love books) here are two more to mention: Tara Austen Weaver’s The Butcher and the Vegetarian: One Woman's Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis, and Mollie Katzen’s Get Cooking, which contains beginners recipes for several meaty recipes (yes, Mollie Katzen of vegetarian cookbook fame).

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Newsletter: January 6, 2010

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

January 6, 2010

It’s a little early to reveal much about what some of us have been up to around here, but I can say that it’s food-related and that we’ve been happily engrossed. (And yes, we’ll announce it before long, so stay tuned.)

But while we’re thinking about and talking about food all day, we sometimes don’t have much time actually to cook. (I know, I know. Join the crowd, right?) If it were summer, that would be one thing; we could simply forage. But winter food takes a little more work — and advance planning.

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What’s a recipe, really?

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

December 2, 2009

A few weeks ago in the New Yorker, Adam Gopnik wrote about cookbooks and recipes. The piece was fun to read, with lots of rich observations, and I especially appreciated this:

“We say, ‘What’s the recipe?’ when we mean ‘How do you do it?’ And though we want the answer to be ‘Like this!’ the honest answer is ‘Be me!’ ‘What’s the recipe?’ you ask the weary pro chef, and he gives you a weary-pro-chef look, since the recipe is the totality of the activity, the real work. The recipe is to spend your life cooking.”

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Pre-Thanksgiving newsletter

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

November 25, 2009

In case you didn’t see it, here’s the text from today’s newsletter:

I’m in the middle of My Life in France, Julia Child’s account of living in Paris during the 1950s. The text is rich with descriptions of that time and place, but I’m also loving Julia’s approach to cooking. One page I marked was about her self-imposed rule never to apologize for a dish:

“I don’t believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make. When one’s hostess starts in with self-deprecations such as ‘Oh, I don’t know how to cook …’ or ‘Poor little me …’ or ‘This may taste awful …’ it is so dreadful to have to reassure her that everything is delicious and fine, whether it is or not. Besides, such admissions only draw attention to one’s shortcomings (or self-perceived shortcomings), and make the other person think, ‘Yes, you’re right, this really is an awful meal!’ …

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the food I just can’t learn to like

From my kitchen by Kim Carlson

October 23, 2009

On Culinate, JudithK just posted about an intriguing ingredient I’ve never tried before — black celery — but though I’m intrigued, I probably won’t ever seek it out — even if I am fortunate enough to travel to Trevi.

Over on The Oregonian’s food blog, Leslie Cole sings the praises of another ingredient — celeriac — but I probably won’t be buying any of that either.

My problem? Celery just doesn’t do it for me. In fact, unless it’s sautéed with carrots and onion in a sort of mirepoix — or hidden in restaurant food — I avoid the stuff.

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