First, I want to apologize for the lateness of this edition of the Good Stuff NW newsletter. There were some critical issues at stake for our food system in the short session of the Oregon legislature, which ended on Friday, March 6, and I felt they were important enough to hold off on publication for.

There was very good news that was dimmed with bad news at the end of the session.

The good news: An attempted land grab of 1,700 acres of prime farmland adjacent to Hillsboro was quashed and is safe from development for the time being. (Hooray!) Thanks to citizen action and the work of a coalition of organizations, SB 1586 was withdrawn from consideration.

The bad news: Confusion for our farmers and state regulators reigned at the end of the legislative session in Salem with passage of an amendment to the controversial Farm Store Bill (HB 4153) that could cause land prices to spike and actual farm output to plummet. While traditional farm stands will continue to be allowed, a new permit pushed by developers is being created to allow buildings of up to 10,000 square feet to be built on land zoned for Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) and to be used for stores or entertainment venues.

A local pizza restaurant had the temerity to suggest that “food is political” (GASP!) and was targeted by right-wing trolls and their army of AI bots who saw an opportunity to gin up some outrage. Screeds about Mark Doxtader’s Tastebud restaurant started appearing in, I kid you not, articles from Fox News to the New York Post and the Daily Mail (in the UK!). Doxtader’s take on the whole issue? “It’s all just so dumb.”

Lately I’ve been binging on historical K-dramas about food—don’t even get me started on “Bon Appetit, Your Majesty”—which may account for my obsession with chili crisp in all its forms. So of course I had to come up with a Chili Crisp-Marinated Albacore treatment when Dave pulled a loin out of the freezer the other day. (Hint: It’d also be great with salmon or any firm fish!)

And I’m still pickling and preserving, most recently with some Meyer lemons a friend gifted me, and I made some easy pickled shallots from the bounteous supply from our Stoneboat Farm CSA. By the way, if you’re CSA-curious, make plans to attend the family-friendly (and delicious) CSA Share Fair coming up on March 15 from 11 am-2 pm at the Redd at 831 SE Salmon St.

Thanks for reading, and if you find this source of food news from the Pacific Northwest helpful, I’d love it if you would consider a nominal monthly subscription that helps to make this labor of love a bit more do-able. Otherwise, enjoy reading all the delicious and informative content on Good Stuff NW—it’s always free and always will be!

Best,

Kathleen Bauer