A Food Pod in Grants Pass

Carnitas tacos from the Flor de Izote truck.  ¡Muy delicioso!

The food pod craze has finally reached Southern Oregon.  I happened upon a four-truck pod in Grants Pass last week.  It's located downtown at the corner of 6th and K streets.

Check out these menus:

 (The next two are too small to read, but you get the idea.)

 

It's not big, but it's a start.  When do we get a food pod in Roseburg?  I know we've got a taco truck and a bbq truck; we need to get them together and add the tamale guy from the farmers market.  And maybe Jasmine's sushi.  And somebody making crepes or waffles...

It's Strawberry Time!

 

Luscious organic strawberries from Big Lick Farm

Friday was a busy day.  I baked 144 very large (six half-sheet pans!) of Raspberry-Walnut Brownies in the morning and spent the afternoon catching up on housework.  At 3:15 pm I plopped down in a chair to visit with my son, who had just gotten home from school.  At 3:25 (you know how long visiting with teenagers lasts when all they want to do is chill out with a tv show), still in the chair, I checked my facebook feed on my iphone.  What to my wandering eyes did appear but Suzi from Big Lick Farm posting that their first picking of organic strawberries would be for sale at the Lookingglass farmers market from 4 to 6 that very day!!!  Nothing like news of fresh local produce to perk me up.  I was out of the chair and out the door by 3:30 and I arrived at the market five minutes before they officially opened.

Asinete was filling pint baskets with berries when I walked in.  I splurged and bought five!!!  I also picked up a loaf of bread from Anthony's Artisan Bread and two packages of super-lean grass-fed beef from Circle Star Ranch.

I ate berries all the way home, so juicy and sweet and such a welcome change from apples, oranges, and bananas.  We ate a huge bowl with our dinner and took some in our picnic lunch at a baseball tournament on Saturday.  I finished off the last few as part of my Mother's Day breakfast.

This is the earliest I can remember having local strawberries in the thirty-two years I have lived in Roseburg.  Brosi Sugartree Farms in Winston has even begun their u-pick strawberries, as of yesterday.  If the weather keeps up, Kruse Farms and The Berry Patch can't be far behind. 

Bring it on, farmers!

River Rush Bistro

 The Kelly

I finally got myself out to the River Rush Bistro at Umpqua Community College for lunch this week. What a treat!  Walk through the etched glass doors in the far corner of the cafeteria in the Campus Center and enter the classiest "classroom" on campus. The bistro serves as a learning environment for students in the culinary arts program. 

Anyone who's ever had lunch out with me knows that I love a main dish salad-- lovely lettuce with a combination of protein, cheese, fruit, nuts and an unusual dressing. Bingo! The Kelly salad I ordered fit all my criteria. Tender field greens topped with a perfectly grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced tart green apple, feta cheese, spiced nuts, and dried cherries. And the dressing? A chocolate cherry balsamic vinaigrette! How's that for exotic? Delicious doesn't begin to describe it. I'm not sure I can wheedle the dressing recipe out of them, but I will ask about buying a batch to take home on my next visit.

Desserts of the day included a chocolate cake layered with an orange filling and covered in dark ganache or a crispy berry and lemon curd Napoleon.  I chose the cake and it exceeded my expectations--rich, moist and beautifully presented. 

The River Rush Bistro is open to the public from 10 to 1 Tuesday through Thursday when school is in session. Call 541-440-7671 to confirm before heading out to UCC.

My lunch was excellent, the service was professional and the prices are extremely reasonable.  Go see for yourself!

Glorious Greens

 

Lovely lettuce ready for the salad spinner

The farmers market was loaded with fresh, vibrant greens of all varieties this morning.  At Rigg's Family Farm they were offering a green lettuce mix, a red lettuce mix, and curly leaf Savoy spinach.  At three half-pound bags for $10, I bought one of each.

Savoy spinach spun dry and ready to be bagged.

Once home and after giving my kitchen sink a thorough cleaning, I filled it with cold water and dumped both bags of lettuce into it and swished it all around for minute or so before giving the leaves a spin in my salad spinner to remove excess water.  I divided the dry greens between two new gallon-sized Ziploc bags and they are now in the frig, ready for salads and sandwiches all week.

I repeated the rinsing and spinning process with the spinach and it, too, is all set to be tossed into green smoothies or added to casseroles.

It was a long winter without local lettuce!  I broke down a few times and bought the organic stuff in the plastic boxes at the grocery store, but there is absolutely no comparison in freshness and flavor to what is grown right here in the Umpqua Valley.

Face Rock Creamery

Bandon Cheese is about to make a big-time comeback! The brand new Face Rock Creamery has set their grand opening for Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 1:00 pm.

The new 6000-square-foot factory, built on the site of the old Bandon Cheese Factory (which Tillamook Creamery bought in 2000 and promptly closed and demolished) is designed with visitors in mind.  It boasts two cozy fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling glass walls so you can watch the cheesemakers at work.

Head cheesemaker Brad Sinko will use single-source non-rBST milk from the Coquille Valley to create medium, sharp, and extra-sharp cheddar, a variety of flavored cheeses and those squeaky cheese curds we all love.  Face Rock Creamery will also serve Umpqua Ice Cream cones, just as the former cheese factory did.  Guess that's where we'll be going after our beach hikes from now on!

I'm so excited for the community of Bandon.  It took a tremendous amount of cooperation and coordination between the city, the residents and the developers to make this dream come true.  Way to go in bringing back a local, sustainable business!

"Cabruca Cigars"

No, I haven't taken up smoking.  I discovered a new treat at the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market.  Juliana Bounds, chocolatier at Cabruca Chocolates, makes a delicate caramel-pecan lace cookie which she rolls into a cylinder while still warm and then dips in dark chocolate.  My oh my, they are fine!  When I asked what they were called, she said she jokingly refers to them as "Cabruca Cigars."  I'm sure a box of these passed around at the end of a dinner party would be a huge hit.

I bought two, but only one made it home for a photo!

To Market, To Market....

The Umpqua Valley Farmers Market opens at 9:00 am tomorrow morning and I will be there, rain or shine, with my signature "Eat Local Produce" market bag.

I'll be looking for tender asparagus for roasting, just-picked lettuce and spicy arugula for my salads, elephant garlic stalks to flavor my soup, healthy greens for smoothies, lovely flowers for my table, transplants for my garden beds and delicious new things to sample from our local bakers and candy makers.

I can't wait!!!