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Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter August 1 2010

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:31:33 +0000

We will return to the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market this Sunday, the first of August. The market hours are 10:00 – 2:00.

High summer is a frenetic blend of tending, harvesting and planting for the winter. In the tending department, staff spent four days thinning fruit in the vineyard. Last year, we neglected this task in the frenzy, and the table grapes with a muscat in their background were garbage. Too many clusters on the plant, and what should have been a sublime treat is instead flavorless and mildew ridden. We remove about three quarters of the clusters, and make sure they are positioned where the air will circulate around them. The vineyard floor looks as though a storm passed through it. Last year’s loss made us more aggressive thinners, and we hope the time is rewarded.

The winter crops are looking good. The most important planting went in about two weeks ago on the new moon. The chicories take about ten days to emerge, and we hold our breath hoping they will emerge in good order. Neat files of chicory and rutabagas are now marking the rows. This week we turned our attention planting out the cabbage and cauliflower seedlings. In the past, we seeded them directly into the field, and the result was amateurish to say the least. This year, Charlie Harris of Flamingo Ridge loaned us his vacuum seeder allowing us to grow a good number of starts. If all goes well, we might have a good supply of cabbage for the market, and sauerkraut for our table.

Field corn and beans are looking good. Our decision to plant them may be rewarded. The winter squash is a complete failure. Although we have always seeded them directly, the cabbage experience has us thinking we may grow some squash starts next year. For long season crops such as squash, roots and chicories, the schedule is unforgiving. A second planting is possible, but never as satisfactory.

Want to drive a grower crazy, and watch their eyes twitch and the teeth grind. Wait until they a have a table full of beautiful boysenberries or purslane, ask them if they will have more next week because the kitchen is so hot you don’t feel like putting up preserves or pickling the purslane. Yes, we know it’s hot, we were out in the field harvesting them all day Saturday. And we also know how hard it is to get market on time; we were up 5:00 loading the van. We also know the season is short, and a hailstorm or spike in the temperature can wipe out what remains. In days, the leaf miners with render the purslane unusable. For us that’s an old refrain. Every grower knows the heartbreak and frustration of returning with with an excess of some beautiful fruit or vegetable. Two weeks ago, we returned from the market, put away the tent and baskets, changed over the irrigation, and then made a big bunch of purslane pickles. Nothing better than a hot kitchen at the end of market day . . .

Here is what we will bring this week:

Prunes: Imperial Epineuse is the earliest of our prunes. This prune is from Clairac, the center of prune culture in France. It was introduced to the United States in the late 19th century by Felix Gillette, a nurseryman from Nevada City, California. Gillette called it the ‘Clairac Mammouth’ but that name lacked the cache needed to sell a prune. The older texts on the subject note that French prunes have good bit of damson plum in their background. The result is a prune with a very fine texture and a distinct flavor, exemplified in this old French variety.

Morellos: Just a few of the Balatons. A cold, wet pollination week dampened the yield.

Berries: Some odds and ends, including the end of the currants. The blackberries will begin in earnest next week.

New Potatoes: Carolla

Greens: Purslane, a bit of fenugreek and a mixed bag.

Purslane has a slightly tart quality and is very high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Our staff keeps a nice outside of their front doors. For them, verdolagas are an essential green. We are harvesting the second planting.

They are delicious boiled, sautéed, pickled or as a salad. The Lebanese serve them with yoghurt. The French salting purslane overnight before adding to to a salad. Also delicious boiled, and dressed with a bit olive oil and ground pepper. Mixed the wilted leaves into a potato salad.

Many books suggest pickling just the stem. We prefer to pickle the whole shoot — leaves and stem together. For us, purslane is an essential pickle. This recipe works for two or three bags of purslane. We heat and add a tablespoon of salt to 1-1/2 cups of water, then mix in an equal amount of white wine vinegar. Add a few cloves of garlic, quartered, a tablespoon of peppercorns and a dried pepper. Drop the purslane into the heated vinegar mixture and let it wilt for a bit. Pack the purslane and vinegar mix in a mason jar. If you need to, top off with vinegar and water in equal proportions. Store in the refrigerator. We start using them about an hour later, but they will keep for several months. Some recipes call for full strength vinegar, but we much prefer it diluted.

Garlics and Shallots/a>

Miscellany of Dry Goods: frikeh, Amish Butter popcorn, preserves

We will see you all Sunday.

Carol and Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

Kookoolan Farms Newsletter July 25 2010 Market

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:01:29 +0000

We’ll have THREE people working our booth to serve you better and faster: Farmer Chrissie, her familiar son David, and long-time Kookoolan Farms customer and farm-sitter (and former Portland Weston A Price Foundation chapter leader) Heidi McKay.

We’ll bring:

* fresh chickens ($4.25/lb for whole or halved chickens, buy ten get one free!). These are our “regular” Cornish Cross, white-feathered chickens, the same familiar product that so many of you know and love.
* Chicken breast $5.50 per pound.
* Chicken hindquarters $5 per pound. * Late summer special product: This week we’ll have the first of our most premium poultry offering: pasture-raised, 16-week-old heritage chickens $6 per pound. This is the same genetics used in the famous “Label Rouge” chickens of France, and raised with similar husbandry standards. We raise only 450 of these birds each year, and they’ll be available now through the end of September.
” Wow. I don’t have words for how amazing the le poulet chicken is…it’s just amazing!I baked one tonight and ate most of it while I was carving it! I still like the other chicken you raise, but this one was, well, amazing ”
* Fresh eggs for $6/dozen, very limited supply, we’ll sell out early.
* beef and lamb shares for folks who have pre-reserved them.
* Taking reservations: We’re happy to take your reservations for 1/8th beef shares or 1/2 lamb shares for the August 29 Market; and pork shares for March 2011. We’d love to have you read about our other meats (link) !
* We’ll also have kombucha tea and a sampling of our Cheesemaking supplies, and you can sign up for Cheesemaking classes (link) .* Our Bourbon Red heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving are SOLD OUT but we are accepting names on a waitlist for possible cancellations.

Cheesemaking supplies and classes: we offer a full line of cheesemaking supplies, ingredients and cultures; and we offer cheesemaking and other classes almost every Saturday, see our web page for details. Most classes are $50 per person and include a generous cheese tasting plate and a $10 coupon good toward the purchase of anything we sell.

We were thrilled to see our cheesemaking classes mentioned on page 80 of the May 2010 issue of “Food and Wine” Magazine as one of the 100 Best New Food Experiences!!!

Local food writer Liz Crain who has just released the wonderful book “The Food Lover’s Guide To Portland (link) ” and our cheesemaking classes are in it! Liz also just mentioned our classes this week in an interview on KOIN Studio 6 TV (link) ! To register or inquire about classes, please call Farmer Chrissie at (503) 730-7535.

THIS WEEKEND! Sat Jul 24, 1 to 4pm — Basic Soft Cheeses, one of our most popular classes, only three seats left. Call Chrissie at (503) 730-7535 to reserve your space. Everything we’ll be bringing to the Hillsdale market on Sunday is also available at our farmstore on Saturday afternoon, including unlimited access to eggs!Sat Jul 31, 1 to 4pm — Basic Hard Cheeses (cheddar), SPACE AVAILABLE. In this class you’ll learn how to make and age cheddar cheese at home. This is everybody’s favorite hard cheese, and it’s both economical and easier than you think to make it at home.

NEW CLASS! Sat Aug 7, 1 to 4pm — Basic Charcuterie (Make Your Own Bacon), SPACE AVAILABLE

SUNDAY Aug 8, 1 to 4pm — Goat Cheeses (Scott Catino) SPACE AVAILABLE
NEW CLASS! Sat Aug 14, 1 to 4pm — Feta Feast! (Mary Rosneblum), space available

Sat Aug 21 1 to 4pm — Basic Soft Cheeses (Scott Catino), space available

Sat Sep 4 1 to 4pm — basic hard cheeses (Scott Catino) space available

Sat Sep 11, 1 to 4pm — How to Butcher Your Own Chicken (taught by farmers Chrissie and Koorosh Zaerpoor). Limited to 16. You’ll start with a live chicken and end the day with a ready-to-roast butchered chicken in a bag. Space available. Students raved “this class was a transformative life event,” “thanks for providing such a supportive environment,” and “I can honestly say I will feel much more comfortable butchering my own chickens in the future.”

NEW CLASS! Sat Sept 18, 4:30-5:30pm — Local Wine and Cheese Pairing! (Sharona Tsubota), space available

SUNDAY Sep 19 1 to 4pm — Mozzarella 201 Artisanal Mozzarella (Mary Rosenblum), space available.

NEW CLASS! Sat, Sept 25, 1 to 4pm — Washed Rind Cheeses (Rudy Marchesi) space available

Sat Oct 2 1 to 4pm — Mozzarella 101 (Quick and Easy Method) (Mary Rosenblum) space available

Fridays Oct 8, 15; Nov 5, 12;6pm to 9pm — dinner class. How To Roast Your Kookoolan Farms Bourbon Red Heritage Turkey

Sat Oct 9, 1 to 3pm — SOAP MAKING (Kristin Gardner), space available.

Sat Oct 16 1 to 4pm –Washed Curd Cheeses (gouda, havarti, colby category) (Mary Rosenblum) , space available.

Sat Oct 30, 1 to 4pm — Italian Hard Cheeses (Rudy Marchesi) , space available.

Sat Nov 6 1 to 4pm — traditional, artisanal cheddar (Mary Rosenblum) space available

Sat Nov 13 1 to 4pm — basic soft cheeses (Scott Catino) space available

NEW CLASS! Friday Dec 3rd, 4pm to 7pm — handmade chocolate truffles (Charlene Vojtilla) , space available.

Sat Dec 4, 1 to 4pm — surface ripened soft cheeses (brie category) (Mary Rosenblum) , space available

Sat Dec 11, 1 to 4pm – mozzarella201 artisanal mozzarella (Mary Rosenblum) space available

Fully updated list of classes: http://www.kookoolanfarms.com/Classes_and_Events.php

Savory et Sweet July 18 2010

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:02:52 +0000

We offer 2 crepe batters. Separate equipment available for cooking, please specify.
White (unbleached gluten flour with real eggs, real butter & milk)
Buckwheat (GLUTEN-FREE flour mix, buckwheat, whole grain drink, vegan butter & real eggs)
Cooked in vegan or real butter ~ please specify.
+ We have SOY cheese & protein crumble to substitute in any of today’s offerings +

Savory Crepes

Special $7

Shaved, peppered turkey breast, provolone cheese, apricot-chipotle sauce, sherried blond raisins
toasted almonds, avocado & spinach

limited edition Egg & Asparagus $8

Pan seared asparagus, goat cheese with balsamic vinegar-olive oil & onion,
scrambled market egg* with market herb* (market day surprise), slivered radish*, tomatoes & spinach

Veggie $6

Mixed pan seared vegetables, fresh white corn, Pesto outside the Box sun dried tomato pesto*,
fresh basil, tomatoes & spinach

Ham Brie $7

shaved natural ham, brie cheese, green apple & spinach

Cheese $5

Choice of colby-jack or swiss cheese with spinach
(add one ingredient your choice $1)

Sweet Crepes

New Item Creme Brulee $8

vanilla custard, caramelized brown sugar, market raspberries*
powdered sugar, whipped cream & shaved dark chocolate

Triple Berry $7

blueberry* compote with market raspberries* & strawberries*, brown sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Blueberry Lemon $7

Blueberry* compote with lemon curd, powdered sugar & whipped cream

Caramel Apple $7

Oregon City’s Gram’s caramel sauce*, green apple, toasted almonds, powdered sugar & whipped cream

Cinnamon $5

Cinnamon & sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Paris $5

Brown sugar, butter & lemon with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate Raspberry $6

with Market raspberries* with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

shaved dark chocolate with French sea salt

Beverages

Minted Iced tea with watermelon $3
Blueberry Lemonade $3
Hot Lips soda $2.75
Water $1

Savory et Sweet’s website: http://crepenews.tumblr.com/

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 18 2010 Market

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:16:09 +0000

This will be a good weekend to visit the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market. It takes place Sunday, the 11th of July, opening at 10:00 and closing at 2:00.

This will be our last market for the month of July. An unexpected event draws us eastward for the weekend of the 25th. We will be back at the market on the first of August.

Here is what we will have this week:

Purslane, fenugreek, quelites

Frikeh

Black and red currants, gooseberries

Raspberries, Loganberries, Boysenberries — This week is the last hurrah for the early season berries. We will have a good number of boysenberries. The ripening conditions over the last week are truly Oregonian. Warm days, cool nights produce the best flavored fruit. Ideal is a high of 80 during the day and a low of 50 at night.

This year was bad for the purple raspberries and blackcaps. A combination of poor weather during pollination and a spike of heat when they were ripening assured a poor crop. We did pull some off for preserves, a nonprofit venture, but necessary for some.

Cherries – mostly Montmorency

The rose family provides us with a wide diversity of fruits. The members of the rose family bearing a drupe are assigned to the genus Prunus and include almonds, plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines and cherries. A drupe is a fruit fleshy out part, and a hard inner part enclosing a single seed; farmers refer to them as stone fruit. The berries in the genus Rubus also produce little drupes, but they part of a compound fruit. Each little lump of a blackberry fruit is called a drupelet. Plants in other families bear drupes. The fruits of the pistachio, date and mango are familiar drupes. The pistachio and mango are in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, which includes poison oak. Most of the plants in the cashew family cause some form of dermatitis.

There are numerous species that are described as cherries, including Prunus avium,the bird or sweet cherry. Prunus cerasus, what we call the pie or tart cherry, has the greatest claim to the title of cherry. Originally from the area bordering the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea,the tart cherry came from the town of Cerasus in what was then called the region of Pontus, now part of modern Turkey. The word cherry is an English corruption of Cerasus. The Romans brought the cherry to Italy, and it spread quickly through the empire, up to the Danube, and through France and England.

Often, people assume sweet and sour flavors are opposites. That is incorrect. What people perceive as a “sweet” fruit is merely one of low acidity. At their perfect state of ripeness, tart cherries have a very high sugar content. Earlier this week, their Brix, as measured with a refractometer, was hovering around 19 degrees. In contrast, our berries are between 10 and 13 degrees Brix. Acids and sugars can both be high in a fruit, and the tart cherry is a good example of a fruit with this quality. When ripe, tart cherries are naturally sticky on the outside, even as they hang on the tree. Unlike sweet cherries, the true cherries never leave you with a bilious feeling after a cherry binge.

The tart cherries are further divided into two classes. The Morello types have a dark red juice, and the Montmorency types have a clear juice. Both have a gentle astringency that makes them exceptional fruit for fresh eating. This week we will have Montmorency cherries. The Hungarian Morellos are not quite ready. In a couple of weeks, we will bring in what the starlings and robins have left on the trees. We thank our friend Trillium for suggesting them.

Dry Goods

If you cannot make it to the market Sunday, have a good couple of weeks, and we will see you all in August.

Anthony and Carol Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

Kookoolan Farms Newsletter

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:06:49 +0000

JULY 18 and JULY 25 HILLSDALE FARMERS MARKETJuly is special because we’ll be coming to Hillsdale TWICE this month: this Sunday July 18, and again next Sunday July 25.

We’re excited that this weekend for the first time, we’ll have THREE people working our booth to serve you better and faster: Farmer Chrissie, new college graduate David, and long-time Kookoolan Farms customer and farm-sitter (and former Portland Weston A Price Foundation chapter leader) Heidi McKay.

We’ll be bringing:

* fresh chickens ($4.25/lb for whole or halved chickens, buy ten get one free!). * Chicken breast $5.50 per pound.
* Chicken hindquarters $5 per pound.
* Barn-raised 14-week-old heritage chickens $5 per pound — these were intended for harvest at the end of July but this year’s exceptionally cold, wet spring kept them indoors longer, and so some of them have reached mature size sooner than anticipated. We have just 44 of these heritage birds. The rest we’ll bring at the end of July, end of August, and end of September, harvested at 16 weeks of age, and having spent several weeks on pasture, for $6/lb. We got this email today from Carrie K, who cooked one this week and writes:

” Wow. I don’t have words for how amazing the le poulet chicken is…it’s just amazing!I baked one tonight and ate most of it while I was carving it! I still like the other chicken you raise, but this one was, well, amazing.”

* Plenty of fresh eggs for $6/dozen* beef and lamb shares for folks who have pre-reserved them.
* Call and ask about organ meats and bones for your special pet: 503-730-7535. We have too much in the freezer!
* Taking reservations: We’re happy to take your reservations for 1/8th beef shares or 1/2 lamb shares for the August 29 Market; and pork shares for February 2011. We’d love to have you read about our other meats (link) !
* We’ll also have kombucha tea and a sampling of our Cheesemaking supplies, and you can sign up for Cheesemaking classes (link) .
* Our Bourbon Red heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving are SOLD OUT but we are accepting names on a waitlist for possible cancellations.

See you Sunday!

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 11 2010

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:04:53 +0000

We will be selling fruits, vegetables and sundry dry goods at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market this Sunday, the 11th of July. The market opens at 10:00 and closes at 2:00.

Farming is more than a pastoral activity; it also requires careful planning. As with any town or city, we rely on infrastructure such as water delivery, drainage, housing and transportation. Among our annual activities are what we call public works projects. Over the last three years, we have working on renewing two blocks that were planted to blackberries. One is going into vegetable production, and the other may be planted to raspberries. Berries are very expensive and risky to plant, and sane farmers shy away from the crop.

The change is equivalent to urban renewal. The trellises and irrigation pipes are removed, old canes are mown and turned under, and restorative cover crops such as chicories, clovers and mustards, are planted. We needed to improve the drainage in the field and change the irrigation. The plums needed better drainage. We have lost some trees where the soil was water-logged. The orchard has an odd mosaic of drainage patterns.

We drove our Volvo down to Needy Tile and loaded up 6,000 feet of drainage tile. It is not your mum’s old 240. Our Volvo has a 26-foot flat bed, a 310 HP Cummins engine, two 100-gallon fuel tanks and a Hendrickson tandem rear end. — It took a while to get used to people complimenting our rear-end. — The Volvo is registered at 38,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW), and is a beast to drive. The definition of embarrassment is failing to shift to lower range at a traffic light; truck stalls. The tile is not that heavy, but it is bulky and fills the bed.

Needy Tile is located in the Clackamas County settlement of Needy. The Needy post office opened in February 1855. Drain tiles were originally two-foot long pieces of terra-cotta pipe. They were placed in a deep ditch down end-to-end, and then covered with soil. The water seeps between the seams and flows down to an open ditch or pond. Tile manufacturers were located in the bottom land near clay deposits and the river bottom hardwoods needed for firing the kilns. Some beautiful old kilns still stand near the Groner School in Scholls.

Today, drain tile is a long plastic tube with slits along its length. Water trickles through the slits and down the tube to its outlet. The location of the factory on a narrow road next to a river reflects the history tile-making, not good industrial planning. The immaculate factory with its hissing and clunking machinery, and the serpentine tile hoses moving along the floor, is straight of Tati’s Mon Oncle. The only thing missing is Alain Romans’ music — the truck lacks a CD. It took us three days to lay the tile pipe.

Next, we loaded the Volvo with about 600 feet of water pipe. While we had the trencher on site, we dug out the ditches to bury the pipe. We buy our irrigation supplies from Ernst Irrigation in St. Paul. The area around St. Paul is called French Prairie. Once it was covered with Blue Lake pole beans, and the Marion County Soil Survey published in 1972 still evaluated soils for pole bean production. Today, it is all bush beans picked by Pixall Super Jacks. They also grow a lot seed garlic and hops on the prairie.

All of our irrigation supplies are purchased from Ernst. Until a decade ago, it was part of an independent John Deere dealership and irrigation supplier. The Fisher Group acquired Ernst in 1999. In 2009, Fisher decided to combine stores and relocate in nearby Donald. The families that founded Ernst got together and repurchased the irrigation company from Fisher. Ernst is an important employer for St. Paul and it was a community effort to save the business. Patrick, Jill and Mike, the children of Bill Dolan, one of the founders, are responsible for day-to-day operation of the store. It is a friendly, small-town business. Matt Corcoran is their micro-irrigation specialist. He designed and redesigned our system at various times over the last 12 years. We are a tiny customer relative to other farm operations, but the staff are always attentive.

Our public works projects are done for the season, and we are back attending to plants and harvesting crops. Here is what we will have this week.

New potatoes
Frikeh
Black and red currants

Raspberries, Loganberries, Boysenberries — The Boysenberry is another magnificent fruit. Introduced by the Knott Berry Farm, it is a hybrid between the native dewberry and a blackberry. Some sources suggest there is raspberry in the lineage, but we doubt it. It has strong tannic note, almost like black tea. The original plant came from the breeding efforts of Rudolph Boysen, hence the name.

Dry Goods, and some tasty odds & ends for early risers, as time permits.

We hope you all can make it to the market Sunday. If not, have a good week.

Anthony and Carol Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 4 2010

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:56:51 +0000

We are cleaning up our market trappings, charging the scales, and practicing our times tables for our return to the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market the Sunday, the 4th of July.

This spring has certainly tested the farmer’s mettle and humor. The Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), an Asian vinegar fly, has prompted a lot hand-wringing among fruit growers. Using its amazing serrated ovipositor, this vinegar fly lays its eggs in firm, sound fruit. Last autumn, it made a big dent in peaches and blueberries. University entomologists and extension agents are predicting losses in every sort of fruit. The experts were solemnly telling the press that organic growers would be hit hardest because they did not have chemical tools to deal with the insect. Apparently, those agents never met any of our Zebra spiders, or other jumping spiders, eye-to-eye. Salticus scenicus have a total of eight eyes, so it would take four extension agents to stare down a single Zebra spider. Long ago, we threw our lot in with the spiders and other predaceous invertebrates. They are more entertaining companions than malathion, diazinon or carbaryl. It will be interesting to see how we fare with this new challenge.

Far more disquieting than the new vinegar fly is having the Food Drug Administration (FDA) skulking around the state. In May, a FDA “listening session” took place in Portland. Produce industry representatives lined up to argue that all farms, even small local farms, should come under the jurisdiction of the FDA, in addition to being locally regulated as they are today. The proposal before congress is that we would have to send them a $500 check and an endless stream of paper work, and they will make sure the food we produce will be safe. A bit of a stretch in our opinion given their current track record. Having resisted regulation for decades, the titans of the produce industry are crying that no farm should be “exempt” from federal regulation. Facing justifiable regulation, the industry is using its muscle to stifle the sale of local fruits and vegetables in the name of “fairness.” They have flipped from saying we have safest food system in the world, to arguing that no farm is safe. They have welcome ear in FDA’s Michael Taylor, formerly Monsanto’s Vice President for Public Policy. The proposal is the 2010 version of Earl Butz’s legendary “Get big or get out.”

Both the Oregonian and the Capital Press had ingratiating editorials about how small farms are just a likely to cause food borne illnesses as large ones. We have included our response to the Capital Press editorial at the end of this note. The Capital Press is the region’s agricultural weekly, and an important as well as infuriating source farming news and opinion. As we point out, two trends are occurring: increasing consolidation and mechanization in the produce industry and the growth of small farms selling fruits and vegetables directly to the public. The consolidating produce industry is the source of the problems, not the expanding farmers’ market sector.

The wet spring has also generated a fair amount of nail biting. On balance, the wet and gloomy spring very good for the farm, even if it made a lot of extra work for us. This winter, we decided we would shift our planting a week or two later, or even three weeks in the case of peppers and tomatoes. We didn’t expect to have our resolution so emphatically enforced. Whether it was the pent-up energy, or a desire to hedge against a short crop, we ended up doubling our plantings this year. We have also shifted the crop balance in response to the cooler spring. Most crops look better this year compared to the last three years, especially 2009. Crops will be late, though, so we are hoping for a gentle autumn.

Here is what we will have this week.

New potatoes, black currants

Raspberries — Cascade Dawn, the famous berry named after, not one, but two brand name detergents. In spite of that handicap, it is a wonderful raspberry, and we have grown it since it was the mere numbered selection WSU 1068.

Loganberries — The loganberry is a great fruit. It is sprightly with a deep flavor only equalled, in our opinion, by the boysenberry. It is substantial, the fruit for inspiring a novel, not a twitter post.

The loganberry is generally regarded as a natural hybrid between the native dewberry, Rubus ursinus, and a raspberry. Judge Logan wrote a letter to L.H. Bailey at Cornell describing the development of the Loganberry. It is excerpted in the U.P. Hedrick’s Small Fruits of New York (1925). In his words:

“In the summer of 1883 these plants fruited and there appeared one plant which was undoubtedly a cross between the raspberry and the Rubus ursinus. The fruit was larger and earlier than the raspberry or any blackberry, except the R. ursinus, ripening about the middle of May . . . The leaves of the vine are almost identical with the wild Rubus, being somewhat larger. The canes are also like the wild Rubus only larger and more vigorous.”

Dry Goods — Preserves, frumento (soft red wheat), Purgatorio beans, Amish Butter popcorn and meal.

We will see you all Sunday,

Anthony and Carol Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

________________________________

Op-Ed

Over the last three decades, consolidation in the food industry has been accompanied by a steady increase in food borne illnesses. Foods considered inherently safe just a decade ago, are now subject multi-state recalls on a regular basis. The editorial “Safety regs should apply to everyone” assumes scale is not a factor in food safety. That assumption is not supported by data, or theory for that matter.

In food safety, size does matter. Over the past two decades the consolidation within the produce and meat industries has led to longer chains of custody, greater intermingling of food, and a loss of farm identity. As this trend has progressed, the industry has found it hard to control and trace outbreaks of food borne illnesses. Tracing the source of contamination through the complex system has proved difficult, often impossible.

During this same period, a separate experiment in food safety has taken place. In a counter-industrial shift, thousands of small market farms have developed a variety of ways to sell directly to consumers. CSA’s, farm stands and farmer’s markets have proliferated. If scale were an unimportant factor in food safety, there would be an increase in food borne illnesses at the local level paralleling what is happening in the larger food industry. The opposite is true. In Oregon, for example, to my knowledge not a single instance food borne illness associated with produce purchased at a farmers’ markets has been reported.

Naturally, food industry officials want us to treat the exemplary safety record of direct produce sales as a statistical fluke. After all, our small farms don’t have bar codes, safety officials and disinfected packing facilities, so people must be at risk of dying from farmers’ market produce. Some industry members darkly suggest that food borne illnesses from local sources are going unreported, as if local health officials would overlook numerous members of a CSA hospitalized or dying from E. Coli O157:H7. The fact is, localized outbreaks would be the easiest to identify and remedy, if they should ever happen. Outbreaks scattered over several states are far more difficult to address than a localized one. The safety record of direct sales is strong testament to the integrity of America’s small family farms, and it is not a statistical oddity.
The editorial makes a serious mistake in parroting the industry’s conceit that all food poses a threat, even from farmers’ markets and CSA’s. In a myriad of ways, small market farms are structurally different from industrial farms. The fact that market farmers and their families eat what they grow is the gold standard for food safety, and far more effective than a food safety officer filling out forms in an air-conditioned office. The people who buy our fruits and vegetables see us weekly and often know us on a first name basis. My staff and I are out in the fields daily, and the same crew that helps grow the fruits and vegetables, also harvests them. The structure of the small family farm has served this nation safe and nourishing food since its founding.

The editorial also errs in assuming that small growers are in any way exempt from food safety laws. We are not exempt, and nothing in the Tester amendment exempts us from state food laws. In Oregon, if anyone is selling food that state health officials deem is unwholesome, these officials have the power to close down the operation immediately and seize the food. The authority is so complete, officials dub this authority the “God Clause.” Across the country, local regulation of local food has been proven effective.

Having small market farms such as ours fill out complex forms and send $500 to the federal government will not enhance food safety one iota. Besides being unnecessary, federalizing local food sales will divert resources from the real problem. The complex and powerful food industry is failing this country, not the tradition of purchasing from local family farms. Sound food safety policies should be informed by facts and data, not speculation and fear mongering.

Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

Savory et Sweet Menu June 27 2010

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:51:24 +0000

Savory Crepes

Chicken $7

Rotisserie chicken breast, pepper-jack cheese, bbq sauce, onions, tomatoes, avocado & spinach*

Veggie $6

Pan seared yams with chipotle powder, spicy-sweet blackberry sauce, toasted walnuts, marscapone & spinach

Ham $7

Shaved natural ham, blue cheese, green apple & spinach
or
Shaved natural ham with smoked gouda OR swiss cheese with horseradish sauce & spinach*

Cheese $5

Choice of colby-jack or swiss cheese with spinach*
(add one ingredient your choice $1)

Sweet Crepes

Triple Berry $7

market berries*, brown sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Cinnamon $5

Cinnamon & sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Paris $5

Brown sugar, butter & lemon with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Lemon Curd-Strawberry $7

Lemon Curd with market strawberries, powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

shaved dark chocolate with French sea salt

Beverages

Hot tea $2
Dark Hot Cocoa with whipped cream $2.50
Rose Lemonade $3
Hot Lips soda $2.75
Water $1

Savory et Sweet Menu June 20 2010

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:59:35 +0000

Savory Crepes

Happy Dad $7

Oregon grass fed sweet Italian sausage, pepper-jack cheese, sauteed peppers & onions, salsa & spinach

Veggie $6

Pan seared yams with chipotle powder, spicy-sweet blackberry sauce, toasted walnuts, creme fraiche & spinach

Ham $7

Smoked ham, blue cheese, green apple & spinach

Cheese $5

Choice of pepper-jack, havarti, provolone or swiss cheese with spinach
(add one ingredient your choice $1)

Sweet Crepes

Fresh Strawberry $7

first of season market strawberries*, brown sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Cinnamon $5

Cinnamon & sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Paris $5

Brown sugar, butter & lemon with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

shaved dark chocolate with French sea salt

Beverages

Hot tea $2
Dark Hot Cocoa with whipped cream $2.50
Rose Lemonade $3
Hot Lips soda $2.75
Water $1

Savory et Sweet Menu June 13 2010

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:29:28 +0000

Savory Crepes

SPECIAL $7

Peppered turkey breast, apricot chipotle sauce, havarti cheese, spring bulb onion, avocado, toasted slivered almonds, sherried blond raisins & spinach

SHRIMP $7

Oregon bay shrimp, creamy cocktail sauce, spring bulb onion, avocado, tomatoes & spinach

BRIE PEAR $7

brie cheese, pear, toasted hazelnuts, dried crancherries & spinach
(toasted walnuts available by request)

CHEESE $5

your choice of havarti, swiss OR pepper-jack cheese with spinach
(ADD one ingredient of your choice +$1)

Sweet Crepes

ROSE* $6

rose jelly with real edible rose petals, served with powdered sugar, whipped cream & lavender

FRESH STRAWBERRY* $7

market strawberries*, brown sugar with powdered sugar & whipped cream

DARK CHOCOLATE / BANANA $6

shaved dark chocolate & sliced banana with powdered sugar & whipped cream

DARK CHOCOLATE / FLEUR DE SEL $5

shaved dark chocolate with French sea salt

CINNAMON $5

brown sugar & cinnamon with butter, powdered sugar & whipped cream
(ADD apple +$1)

PARIS $5

brown sugar, butter & lemon with powdered sugar & whipped cream

Beverages

ROSE LEMONADE $3
MINTED ICE TEA $2.50
WATER .50
Hot Lips SODA $2.75

* Denotes ingredients procured from farmers’ market vendors. *

Where The Harvest and Hillsdale Meet -- Sundays 10am - 2pm» Vendor newsletters

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter August 1 2010

Kookoolan Farms Newsletter July 25 2010 Market

Savory et Sweet July 18 2010

Savory Crepes

Special $7

*limited edition* Egg & Asparagus $8

Veggie $6

Ham Brie $7

Cheese $5

Sweet Crepes

*New Item* Creme Brulee $8

Triple Berry $7

Blueberry Lemon $7

Caramel Apple $7

Cinnamon $5

Paris $5

Dark Chocolate Raspberry $6

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

Beverages

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 18 2010 Market

Kookoolan Farms Newsletter

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 11 2010

Ayers Creek Farm Newsletter July 4 2010

Savory et Sweet Menu June 27 2010

Savory Crepes

Chicken $7

Veggie $6

Ham $7

Cheese $5

Sweet Crepes

Triple Berry $7

Cinnamon $5

Paris $5

Lemon Curd-Strawberry $7

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

Beverages

Savory et Sweet Menu June 20 2010

Savory Crepes

Happy Dad $7

Veggie $6

Ham $7

Cheese $5

Sweet Crepes

Fresh Strawberry $7

Cinnamon $5

Paris $5

Dark Chocolate Banana $6

Dark Chocolate/Fleur de Sel $5

Beverages

Savory et Sweet Menu June 13 2010

Savory Crepes

SPECIAL $7

SHRIMP $7

BRIE PEAR $7

CHEESE $5

Sweet Crepes

ROSE* $6

FRESH STRAWBERRY* $7

DARK CHOCOLATE / BANANA $6

DARK CHOCOLATE / FLEUR DE SEL $5

CINNAMON $5

PARIS $5

Beverages

limited edition Egg & Asparagus $8

New Item Creme Brulee $8