Summer's Bounty Comes With News You Can Use.
It was almost shocking to go back to my last newsletter and read “one friend has dubbed the past few weeks ‘Nov-april’ and is calling out the next few as ‘May-vember,’” especially considering we just experienced an early summer heat wave with three days of temperatures in triple digits. While it’s not nearly the “heat dome” of 2021, I’d certainly call it a mini-dome when the Willamette Valley is over 100 in early July.
In any case, I want to apologize for missing June’s newsletter—family health issues sent that one sideways—and a snafu with my newsletter service delayed this July issue. But here we are.
I’m particularly proud of three stories during that period related to our local food system. First, a story that’s been building for a couple of years, in which Foster Farms attempted to site three industrial-scale chicken facilities near Salem that would have housed up to 13 million chickens. The story relates the battle that area farmers and a coalition of public interest groups fought over the permit, which had been approved by the state departments of agriculture and environmental quality.
The second story covered the recent framing of the Mediterranean Diet—by none other than the Grey Lady herself—as a paradigm of healthy eating, which prompted chef, cookbook author and teacher Andrea Nguyen to write, “We all lead cross-cultural lives and we cook and eat that way too. The Diet has become a meme that smacks of cultural imperialism,” noting that the photo used as an illustration included ”avocado, tomato, and what looks like a knob of ginger. And, is that turmeric in the lower left?” Read that story here.
The biggest threat to Oregon’s land use system in 50 years is the topic of the third story, and covers the fight against a land grab by the city of North Plains, aided and abetted by greedy developers. The effort opposing the city’s plan, led by area farmer Aaron Nichols of Stoneboat Farm, organized residents in the lead-up to a public vote on whether the expansion would go forward.
Summer brings an abundance of opportunities for good eating from the bounty of local peak season produce, including a luscious asparagus risotto. Or there’s a barley-and-vegetable tabbouli that could serve as a main dish all on its own or as the perfect complement to grilled meats and fish. With wild, line-caught local albacore making its first appearance in fishmongers’ cases, this gochujang roasted albacore is looking like the blue-ribbon barbecue choice of the summer. And to keep everyone cool I’ve just added a recipe for a miso-inflected chilled zucchini soup that’s getting raves from our crew and won’t heat up the kitchen even one degree this summer.
And when a photo appeared on my phone with the message "Spotted at Portland Nursery today!" and showed a tomato plant in a four-inch plastic pot with a label stating "Astiana Tomato," it sent me on a quest to talk with legendary Cottage Grove plant breeder Alice Doyle of Log House Plants. Read that story here.
Please go to your neighborhood farmers’ market and shop…it’s been a crazy season so far and our farmers need your support more than ever. Thanks to the Beaverton Farmers Market for their generous sponsorship of Good Stuff NW, and let them know how much this news source means to you.
Best,
Kathleen Bauer