It's been almost 20 years since my mother passed away, and a friend's special request for my Mom's quintessential summer salad brought memories of her flooding back, as they do whenever I make one of the many family favorites still on rotation in our house. This post from 2009 summed it up.

My mother was a good, if not natural cook, doing the not-inconsequential job of feeding her family of five staples like Spanish rice, tuna casserole and goulash. Her own mother was not really interested in cooking, and growing up in North Powder, Oregon, a teeny Eastern Oregon town of 400, hadn't provided much in the way of adventurous dining. She did occasionally venture into unknown territory, which brought exotic foods like tacos, made with store-bought packets of Taco Mix and fried tortillas, to our dinner table.

There were many recipes of hers I made sure to copy down before I left home. Her pineapple carrot cake, favorite holiday cookie recipes and, probably her pièce de resistance, a fabulous all-American summer favorite, potato salad. As a staple of picnics and family gatherings, I'd helped make it so many times it was practically muscle memory, and its still an often-requested, must-have side dish at summer get-togethers.

Now, everyone has their own definitive version of potato salad, with the accompanying debates about the merits of mayo versus salad dressing, celery or not. My mother's called for russets (no Yukon golds for her, mister), pickle brine as the dressing's secret ingredient with a slightly pink tinge from what we referred to as God's own condiment, ketchup.

There's nothing that reminds me of her more than when I dig into this on a warm summer's day.

Mom's Potato Salad

Dressing:
2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tsp. worchestershire
2 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/3 c. pickle brine
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Salad:
8 med. russet potatoes
1 yellow onion
10 hard-boiled eggs*
6 med. pickles

Put unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and cover with water. Place on stove and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Drain and cool (can be made ahead).

While potatoes cook, make dressing. Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

Slice cooled potatoes into 1" square and 1/8" wide pieces (or bite-sized). Chop onion and pickles fine. Chop eggs. Put in a large bowl, pour dressing over top and fold it in (don't stir or the potatoes will break up too much) until thoroughly combined. Place bowl in refrigerator and let sit for a couple of hours so flavors have a change to mingle.

Serves 10-12. This recipe makes a huge batch, so you may want to halve it.

* Use this technique for easy-to-peel, hard-boiled pastured eggs.

We just got back from our first road trip of the spring and it was an eye-opener. I'd been invited by Finnriver CEO Amanda Oborne to come up to Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum, Washington, for the launch of their two new organic ciders in cans, Blush, a dry sparkling cider with black currant, and Bloom, their sparkling cider infused with blueberry.

Expecting a simple cider-making facility similar to a typical winery here in Oregon, I was blown away by the astonishing community gathering place and food hub that Crystie and Keith Kisler have created in the 15 years since they started farming in the area. The 50-acre organic and salmon-safe certified farm and orchard on the Olympic Peninsula just south of Port Townsend is also a Certified B-Corp, utilizing the cider business to reconnect people to the land, the local food system and each other.

On the night we were there, local families were ordering wood-fired pizza from Dented Buoy—the oven is a reclaimed cast iron marine buoy—and brats from the Finnriver Kitchen, with ice cream cones from Fiddlehead Creamery. Live music was wafting from the music and performance pavilion while kids played on the grassy field below and the adults sat at the picnic tables and chairs scattered around the field sipping on ciders, beer and sodas.

A book signing had just concluded in the large event space, with attendees spilling onto the courtyard outside. The cidery premises also includes a commissary kitchen where local producers can make and develop products in a licensed facility. The farm itself shares the land with community-minded groups of farmers and organizations that do agricultural and conservation research, restoration and education, including Olympic Peninsula Prairies, the Organic Seed Alliance, the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) and the Jefferson Land Trust, among many others.

But that's not all.

We also got a tour of the Kislers' Chimacum Valley Grainery just a couple of miles down the road, an organic family farm, stone mill, wood-fired bakery and craft micro-brewery that the website describes as "growing and milling heritage and modern landrace grains that are selected and bred for flavor, nutrition and local climate resilience." It also functions as a classroom, offering the community hands-on experiences with renowned local and international chefs and bakers. (Take a look at their upcoming class schedule.)

The weekend included a very comfy stay at the Resort at Port Ludlow featuring a stellar setting on the water’s edge with an eye-popping view of the rugged Olympic Mountains. The resort's Fireside Restaurant overlooks the small marina, and its all-day, farm-to-table menu can be enjoyed in the dining room or on the heated (and pet-friendly) deck that runs the length of the hotel. (The Resort offers a 25 percent discount on room rates for guests who visit Chimacum or Finnriver. Use code CIDER when making a reservation.)

On the way home I insisted that we had to stop at Hama Hama Oyster Company, a place that's been on my "must go" list for years. Located on a winding road along the Hood Canal with spectacular views of the forests and villages along the water, you can't miss the piles of discarded shells, called "middens," and the cluster of wood-sided buildings and tables crowded with happy tourists indulging in trays loaded with shellfish.

A wonderful, quick get-away, the weekend was also an inspiring and energizing example of a community coming together to celebrate a love of food and the land. Talking about their mission in an an interview in the local paper, Crystie quoted John Muir, who said, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."

My friend Claudia Lucero, founder of home cheese-making empire Urban Cheesecraft, sent out this recipe in her newsletter that begged to be shared. I asked, and she agreed!

Ever drool over a recipe featuring burrata only to find that you can't actually buy burrata anywhere near you? You're not alone, but there's great news—you can enjoy the luscious, creamy heart of burrata by making stracciatella, the rich, silky filling inside with just two ingredients.

What is Stracciatella?

Surprise! If you have tasted burrata, you have already tasted stracciatella! That's because stracciatella is the lesser-known creamy filling inside burrata—the part that makes everyone ooh and ahh after slicing a tender burrata pouch. The part that makes burrata more luscious than fresh mozzarella. It is simply made by combining torn shreds of fresh mozzarella with rich cream and a sprinkle of salt. That's it.

Some people consider stracciatella a fresh Italian cheese, others argue that it is technically not a cheese because we're just mixing mozzarella with cream. As a cheesemaker, I get that, but no one likes to hear, "well, actually" when they're just enjoying something delicious! Besides, I also make dairy-free "cheese" so clearly I am not ruled by tradition and technicalities. If burrata can be called a fresh Italian cheese, then so can stracciatella!

Fun fact: In Italian stracciatella literally means “little shred, or little rag.” I like to call them "ribbons"—it's a little more appetizing. Regardless, shreds or rags are perfect descriptions of how the mozzarella is torn into pieces before being bathed in cream.

This also explains why there is a stracciatella soup (ribbons are created when a mixture of egg and cheese is stirred into hot soup) and stracciatella ice cream (drizzles or ribbons of melted chocolate that become chocolate flecks when the chocolate freezes and is broken up and stirred into the ice cream).

Burrata, Mozzarella, and Stracciatella: What’s the Difference?

I'm sure you are getting this but just to be clear, these three cheeses are deliciously related, but each has its own character. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Mozzarella. A fresh, semi-soft cheese made with the pasta filata (stretched curd, or "spun paste") technique. Traditionally made with water buffalo milk in parts of Italy (mozzarella di bufala) but often cow’s milk elsewhere (fior di latte). Used for pizza, salads, and appetizers.

Stracciatella. Made by tearing fresh mozzarella into shreds and mixing with heavy cream and salt. It’s soft, rich, and spoonable and a perfect representation of burrata that has already been cut into. Can be eaten on toast, in pasta, or as a substitute for burrata in any serving suggestion.

Burrata. A fresh, thin mozzarella pouch filled with stracciatella. It's like a dumpling for cheese lovers! Originated in Puglia, Italy, as a way to avoid waste (yesterday's mozzarella or string cheese knots called nodini). Meant to be eaten fresh, often with tomatoes, bread, and olive oil.

Burrata's Clever Zero-Waste History and Connection to other Cheeses of the World

All three of these cheeses trace their roots to southern Italy, where fresh, perishable cheeses are a staple. Burrata was invented in the early 1900s in Puglia as a clever way to use leftover mozzarella scraps.

The technique of pasta filata, or stretched-curd cheesemaking, dates back even further and can be seen in other cultures. It’s the same process used to make classics like provolone and caciocavallo in Italy but also quesillo (queso Oaxaca) in Mexico and the Syrian string cheese jibneh mshallaleh, sometimes sold in Middle Eastern markets in the U.S. as tresse. 

Why Make Stracciatella at Home? So Many Reasons.

• You need burrata and can't find it.
• You make excellent mozzarella and want to up your game! 
• You make OK mozzarella and you'd rather tear it into this forgiving shape and allow the shreds to tenderize in the cream (bonus!).
• You've actually made burrata with our kits or books but the messy sealing part frustrates you (it's true, that takes the most practice). 
• It’s delicious, quick and easy — ready in minutes.
• No special equipment is needed.

Plus:

• You can use store-bought mozzarella in brine or learn to make your own using our Urban Cheesecraft Mozzarella Kit or recipes from One Hour Cheese or Instant Pot Cheese books. 
• You can customize your stracciatella with herbs, lemon zest, or spices and impress the heck out of your friends and family.

Simple Homemade Stracciatella Recipe 

This recipe makes about 1 cup—enough to top crostini, or spoon over pasta, salad or pizza. Feel free to double or quadruple the recipe—you will wish you did.

Important: This will not work with American-style mozzarella. You know the firm, waxy stuff that can be shredded with a grater, nor with part-skim pre-shredded mozzarella, or with American string cheese. If you don't have an hour to make mozzarella, and can't find store-bought, fresh mozzarella in brine, use ricotta instead. The texture won't be quite right but it's tasty. 

Ingredients:
1 ball of fresh mozzarella in brine (about 4-5 oz) or homemade mozzarella (see recipe)
1/3 c. heavy cream (also called heavy whipping cream)
1/8 tsp. sea salt, taste and adjust to taste
Optional: Any flavorful bits you'd like, such as a sprinkling of pepper flakes or two teaspoons of fresh chives, torn basil, diced sundried tomatoes, etc.

Tear the milky soft mozzarella into small, thin shreds by hand. This is the original handmade way. (These days this is often done by machines so the filling can often look like ricotta.)

In a bowl, combine the shredded mozzarella, heavy cream, and salt. Toss gently to combine. The cream should drench the shreds so that they are still runny. You want it to be a little drippy when you grab a handful because some of it will absorb into the mozzarella shreds and tenderize them. (You can see this in my Instagram reel where I make stracciatella from homemade mozzarella.)

Taste and adjust salt if needed. Add any herbs, etc. you are using.

You can eat it right away but it will be more tender if you allow it to rest and meld for 5- 10 minutes at room temp. Like mozzarella and burrata, stracciatella is best eaten on the same day so you never (ideally) have to refrigerate it. But, real life, it's ok if you do. Just allow it to rest at room temp for 10-15 minutes before serving so the cream and cheese soften a bit and lose that fat-coagulating chill. You will taste the butterfat more fully and that's what we want with these simple, creamy cheeses. Note that the cream will continue to absorb into the mozzarella shreds and can turn them bitter over time. Eat it within 1-2 days.

Serving ideas:

• Spoon onto grilled sourdough with olive oil and flaky salt.
• Dollop over roasted veggies or pasta.
• Swirl into soups for a creamy finish.
• Spoon over fresh tomato or peach salad.

Read my 2018 interview with Claudia. All photos courtesy Claudia Lucero.

Six years ago a group of consumers filed suit against the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), claiming its advertising misleads the public into believing its milk comes from cows munching on coastal pastures, when in truth the vast majority of the milk used in its famous cheese, yogurt, ice cream and butter comes from cows fed on grain, living on concrete and in dirt feedlots in factory farms in Eastern Oregon (bottom photo).

At that time I wrote that, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), a legal advocacy organization that filed the suit on behalf of the consumers, the TCCA's "heavily advertised 'co-op' of small family farms in Tillamook County represent just a tiny proportion of the company’s production. In reality, Tillamook sources up to 80 percent of its milk from the largest dairy feedlot in the United States. Located in the desert of eastern Oregon, the facility that provides the majority of Tillamook’s milk keeps 32,000 dairy cows (and more than 70,000 cows total) in inhumane, industrialized conditions."

Additionally, according to the Capital Press, by September of 2024 the TCCA was doing more than $1.2 billion in sales….which begs the question of how the 60 remaining TCCA co-op members could possibly produce that much milk. But I digress.

The claims in the suit allege that the TCCA's advertising encourages shoppers to "Say Goodbye to Big Food," depicting cows grazing on pristine coastal grass under sunny blue skies, when in reality, the lawsuit claims, its industrial practices are the epitome of "Big Food." The lawsuit, originally filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, said that "consumers increasingly seek out and are willing to pay more for products that they perceive as being locally and ethically sourced—better for the environment [and] more humane.

Tillamook has projected such ethical sourcing as its company ethos, deliberately crafting its marketing messages to attract these consumers, who believe they are getting such responsibly sourced products when they buy Tillamook cheese and ice cream. As the company says, "Tillamook cheddar cheese is made with four ingredients, patience, and old-fashioned farmer values in Tillamook, Oregon."

The pushback to the lawsuit from Tillamook was immediate. In the circuit court trial, the TCCA argued that the consumers in the class action suit couldn't show they were misled and therefore had no standing to sue. The court agreed, and in an appeals trial the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision. The ALDF and its lawyers at Sugerman Dahab, and Tim Quinelle, PC, then appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, which last week reversed the appellate court's decision, allowing the case to proceed.

“The trial court and the court of appeals had previously ruled that the case couldn’t go forward because in those courts’ view the consumer protection law did not provide an avenue for relief,” Dahab said in a statement, calling the reversal a big win for Oregon consumers. “Cases like this allow consumers to hold businesses accountable to holding up their end of the deal.”

In the same statement, ALDF's Amanda Howell, said, “Tillamook sells its dairy products by selling a fairy tale—that you can be a billion-dollar company and still source from small-scale farms where cows receive individualized care and access to pasture. This is completely at odds with the level and magnitude of suffering that takes place at industrialized dairy facilities.”

Or as my friend, organic dairy farmer Jon Bansen said after a tour of one of the industrial factory farms that Tillamook sources its milk from, "The scale is impressive, but the biology is horrifying."

Read my original post from 2017, "Why I'm Quitting Tillamook Cheese" and my article for Civil Eats "Big Milk, Big Issues for Local Communities."

Believe it or not, we're a bit more than halfway through the 2025 session of the Oregon Legislature, which means it's make-or-break time for legislation to get out of committees and onto the floor for a vote. To make it that far, proposed legislation is required to have both a hearing and a work session, then get passed out of committee.

That's where you come in.

There are a few bills affecting our community food system that need your help to make it out of committee, and input from regular folks who rely on small farmers to feed their families—whether shopping at farmstands, farmers' markets or subscribing to a CSA—is critical. Check the Action Items listed under each bill and click on the link provided!

Small Farm Water Access (HB 3372). Also called the Commercial Garden Bill, this legislation would allow people to sell food and farm products grown using water from domestic wells as long as the garden is one-half acre or less and with a daily gallon limit.

This is needed because over the past year, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) began enforcing a 70-year-old technicality in the existing "domestic exempt well statute," which specifies that watering lawns and gardens is only allowed if the lawn or garden is noncommercial.

If food is being grown, it should never go to waste. It should go to feeding our neighbors and communities. If you can legally grow vegetables, fruits or flowers for your family using a domestic well, you should be allowed to sell those products to your community—but with ethical, reasonable limits that respect our water crisis.

TAKE ACTION: Click here to submit testimony to the committee using the template provided and add your own words to make sure that lawmakers know how this will impact you as a farmer, local food customer, or food business owner.

State Meat Inspection (HB 2164). This bill would provide funding for two meat inspector positions in the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA). It's needed because in 2021, Oregon established the State Meat Inspection Program through the ODA to help bolster our local meat processing capacity—diverting more than 80 percent of meat production profits back into Oregon’s economy and away from out-of-state shippers, retailers and federal processing facilities.

This program has been instrumental in helping farmers and ranchers provide inspected meat products to consumers that meet the same regulatory safeguards that the USDA requires, but on a local scale. Unfortunately when Oregon invested in meat processing facilities, it failed to invest in accompanying staff capacity to keep up with the expanding infrastructure, especially in rural areas where the inspection backlog is continuously growing.

Right now, the Federal Farm Bill offers a 50 percent federal match for state-funded inspectors—meaning that for every two State Meat Inspectors Oregon invests in, a third inspector is covered by federal matching funds. We can’t leave these critical dollars on the table.

TAKE ACTION: Click here to sign a petition for these two meat inspector positions and begin pulling in federal dollars for more inspectors in the future.

Food for All Oregonians (SB611). This bill envisions an Oregon where all people have access to food no matter where we were born. The Food for All Oregonians program in the Department of Human Services (DHS) will make food assistance available to youths and elder Oregonians who currently meet all qualifications for food assistance but are excluded solely due to immigration status. It will help families pay for groceries in a way that mimics the federal SNAP (food stamp) food assistance benefits.

TAKE ACTION: Click here to sign a petition to help the thousands of Oregonians who face hunger daily simply because of where they were born. Urge your elected lawmakers to pass Food for All Oregonians in 2025.

Groundwater Management Areas (SB 80 and SB 1154). These two bills come together to address the groundwater crises in the three federally designated Groundwater Management Areas (GWMA) around the state. Industrial-scale animal agriculture and the fields surrounding these factory farms where their manure is applied are documented contributors to nitrate contamination and known sources of pollutants in these sensitive groundwater areas, endangering the health of nearby communities and the environment. (More information here.)

Oregon needs to establish common-sense guardrails for these contaminated areas, which are already the most sensitive sites in our state and need extra precautions for their protection. That means that some activities (both agricultural and industrial) just aren’t appropriate for those areas.

TAKE ACTION: Click here to submit your testimony as an Oregonian who cares about the safety of our local food system, the health of our local communities and the health of the environment we all share.

Farm to School Program (SB 5502 and SB 5515). The Farm to School Grant Program (SB 5515) is a suite of funding programs that supports the purchase of Oregon foods for schools and early childcare education centers, funds hands-on farm and garden educational programs, and funds technical assistance and training for the farm-to-school community.

The Farm to School Producer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program (SB5502) is managed by the ODA. Grant funding supports producers and processors to overcome barriers to sell to schools, child care centers, and summer meal sites by providing financial assistance for the purchase of equipment and infrastructure necessary to scale into these markets.

TAKE ACTION: Let your legislator know you support these two Farm to School bills by e-mailing them from the link.

Thanks to Friends of Family Farmers and the Oregon Food Bank for contributing much of the information in this report.

The saying above was never more true. I've been waiting months for Dave to be satisfied enough with this recipe to share it with you all, and the time has finally arrived!

Regular readers will know that Dave relentlessly trolls baking websites, blogs and videos for ideas that he tries out on his willing victims, aka his family, and regularly hands out samples to friends, neighbors and postal carriers alike. (Just yesterday our mail carrier, Fred, who has been plied with the aforementioned samples, said we can text him any time to let him know if we have extras to get rid of.)

The journey of these scones started with a Genevieve Ko recipe in the New York Times for a favorite she'd had from an Alabama restaurant that they called orange rolls. What caught Dave's eye was that these didn't require yeast, multiple risings or refrigerating overnight, the better to put together for our usual late-morning breakfast. Describing them as "pretty okay" after a test run, Dave mused that it might be possible to rework them as scones, both to save time and get around the hassle of rolling out the dough, spreading the filling, rolling up the dough and slicing them—especially if you haven't had enough coffee yet.

If you've made his recipe for Orange Currant Scones, you know he's got that particular pastry nailed, so it took a few attempts at perfecting the dough-to-filling ratio to get the rise he wanted and keep the just-sweet-enough-but-not-too-sweet flavor profile we prefer.

So, finally, here it is—tadaaaaaaa—our new favorite morning pastry!

Dave's Orange Cinnamon Filled Scones

390 grams all-purpose (AP) flour (Dave used half AP and half sifted home-milled Camas Country Mill hard white flour)
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4-1/3 c. sour cream (see note below)
2/3-3/4 c. whole milk or half-and-half (see note below)
2 heaping Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Zest of one orange
1 stick of butter (1/2 c.), very cold, cut into 1/4" cubes
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°.

Add the flour, sea salt, sugar and baking powder to a large bowl and lightly whisk. Pour into the bowl of a food processor.

Cut the very cold butter into 1/4" pieces and toss into the food processor with the flour mixture. Pulse for 7 to 10 seconds until the butter is in tiny pieces, approximately the size of fennel seeds.

Pour the flour mixture back into the large bowl.

Spoon the sour cream into the bottom of a one-cup measuring cup, then add milk or half-and-half enough to measure 1 cup. Whisk with a fork.

Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk with a fork.

Pour the milk mixture into the egg and whisk briefly until the yolk is thoroughly mixed in.

Put the brown sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix together. Add the orange zest and mix again. You might have to rub it into the sugar and cinnamon mixture with your fingers.

Add the milk-egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough can be formed into a mass. Knead three or four times. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a circle about 8 inches in diameter (a rolling pin helps).

Spoon half of the cinnamon/sugar/zest mixture onto one of the dough pieces and spread it as evenly as you can. It’s OK to have some sparse spots. Layer the other flattened piece of dough on top of the first. Spread the rest of the cinnamon mixture on top as evenly as possible.

Place the assembled dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cut like a pie into eight wedges (you don’t need to separate them).

Bake for 22-25 minutes, turning front-to-back halfway through, until a tester stuck into a couple of the wedges shows they are baked through.

Whew! It's been quite a few months, hasn't it? With our democracy under attack on a daily, or even hourly basis, billionaires gutting government agencies willy-nilly with seemingly no oversight of their activities, and the economy sliding off the tracks it's been hard to focus on anything other than putting one foot in front of the other.

But on a walk through our neighborhood with Silas the other day I glanced around me and noticed to my astonishment that spring was in full swing all around. Blossoms were popping on the previously bare branches of trees, shoots of plants were emerging from scraggly patches in parking strips and tiny green signs of life were coming up from cracks in the sidewalk.

I knew from my Stoneboat Farm CSA that spring raabs were beginning their yearly debut, and people were posting photos of nettles on their social media feeds, so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised at the bounty of plants, edible and otherwise, I was seeing at my feet.

So here's a quick list of the edibles I saw just a couple of days ago, which means there'll be lots more coming in short order:

Purple Dead-Nettle (Lamium purpuream). The photo at top shows dead-nettles in a parking strip near our house. The young plants have edible tops and leaves that can be used in salads or added as a garnish on stir-fry. The flowers can be candied like violet flowers.

Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata). This perennial succulent likes to hide among other plants in cool, moist surroundings but is easily identifiable by its fanciful round leaves bobbing on thin green stems with a sweet bundle of buds right in the center. Its mild, fresh flavor is wonderful in salads.

Magnolia flowers (Magnoliacea family). The trees' flower petals are edible and with their cardamom/ginger flavor can be added to salads. Every year Stacey Givens of the Side Yard Farm pickles the buds to use in her farm dinners, saying the blossoms add a light floral taste to salads, salsa verdes, marinades and dressings, and the sweet brine can be used in cocktails.

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsute). The green leaves and stems have a mild peppery taste and can be added to salads, salsas and pesto.

Dandelion (Taraxicum). From the yellow flowers to the roots, all parts of a dandelion plant are edible. The leaves in particular make a healthy addition to salads, sandwiches, omelets and any place you'd throw in a handful of greens.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis). Lemon balm makes a bright addition to salads, and can act as an aromatic herb in tomato bruschetta, fish marinades, pesto and salsas. It also suits sweet desserts and beverages, as well as fruit desserts, beverages, ice cream, and cakes, basically anyplace that needs a lemony lift.

Spearmint (Mentha spicata). This variety of mint—there are more than 7,500 documented varieties—is wonderful added fresh in beverages, salads, chimichurries and pesto, and in its dried form it is used in herb teas. An infusion can be made for use in syrups, ice creams and desserts.

Wood sorrel (Oxalis). Wood sorrel can have pink, yellow or white flowers and has a tart, lemony taste. The clover-like leaves can be used in salads, paired with fish, or steeped in hot water to make tea. Because of its high oxalic acid content, however, it should only be consumed in limited quantities.

Other plants to be on the lookout for right now are violets, which can be sprinkled on salads, pressed into desserts, dried for tea, or candied; and sweet woodruff, which can flavor ice cream or tea, and has traditionally been infused into a light German wine like reisling to make May wine. In woodsy areas you can look for nettles, wild garlic, and Japanese knotweed shoots.

NOTE: When picking or foraging plants, always make sure that you carefully identify them. Also, be sure the area has not been sprayed with pesticides, and if it's near a path used by dogs make sure it isn't in the "pee zone."

In this week's Beaverton Farmers Market newsletter, manager Ginger Rapport interviewed a vendor about his favorite new snack, pickled quail eggs! Since I'm up for trying anything pickled, I thought I'd share his recipe here.

Le Petit Jardin, our microgreens grower, makes unique blends of these nutritious greens to use in your salads, brighten your sandwiches, or even use in your smoothies for an additional vitamin and nutrition boost, Michael Hager, the owner, shared with us that he discovered his new favorite thing—pickled quail eggs!

Here is what he wrote:

“As you may know, I started to keep Jumbo Coturnix quails this past summer on my small homestead. Over the past months, I was able to take five Coturnix quails and grow my flock to over 20 quails that are all laying eggs now.

Monday, I was looking at the abundance of quail eggs in the fridge and said to myself, "How can I do something different with them?"  I have been making fresh eggs with them every morning. It hit me, why not make some pickled quail eggs? For best results, start this process one week ahead of time to allow the eggs to absorb the flavors of the pickling brine.

Pickled Quail Eggs

For the brine:
1 c. white vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
2-4 whole cloves
8 peppercorns, whole
1 tsp. red pepper flakes or cayenne (optional)

For the eggs:
1 dozen quail eggs at room temperature (not cold)
1 sprig of fresh dill
1 pinch Parsley fresh, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced crosswise in 1/8" rings (optional) 

Bring a medium-sized pan of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add quail eggs to the water, making sure the water covers the eggs, and set a timer for 3 1/2 minutes. Keep the water at a low boil. While the eggs cook, prepare a bowl of ice water. When the time is up, take eggs directly from the boiling water into the bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon. Cool for three minutes, then gently crack and peel the eggs.

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add in the kosher salt, garlic cloves, whole cloves and peppercorns. Add additional ingredients, such as cayenne powder or red pepper flakes, if you desire. Stir to combine until the salt is fully dissolved. Remove from heat but do not allow to cool completely.

Place your sprig of fresh dill and a pinch of chopped parsley in the bottom of a one-quart Mason jar. Add jalapeños at this stage if you’ve chosen to use them. Place the peeled quail eggs in the jar on top of the dill and parsley. Pour the hot pickling brine over the eggs. Use a knife, fork, spoon, or chopstick to carefully move the eggs around to ensure there are no air bubbles in your pickling mixture. Place a lid on the jar. Store in your refrigerator for 1 week before enjoying so the eggs have time to absorb the flavors of the brine. 

To serve, slice them up for salads or just eat them right out of the mason jar as a nice afternoon snack.

NOTE: Pickled quail eggs will last for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

Check out my series on fermentation!

As sad as I was to bid farewell to the sweetness of summer lettuces and greens, I have to say I started drooling at the prospect of the bitter bite of the hearty chicories that would soon be filling market stalls and greengrocers' shelves. As versatile as brassicas in everything from salads to soups and stir-fries, the split heads can even take the char from a grill, griddle or broiler.

Right now is the peak moment to check out the rainbow of colors and textures available from local farms—and you'll find the best prices on them at the farmers' market! It's a task I'm completely signed up for, obviously, and fortunately my Stoneboat Farm CSA includes them in its shares almost every week.

If you happen to be averse to the intensity of chicory's bitterness, you can take a page from Nostrana's Chef Cathy Whims and soak the chopped leaves in ice water for a couple of hours ahead of time.

Lately I've been enjoying winter salads by chopping them into salads with a variety of other seasonally appropriate greens and condiments. One green in particular that seems to beautifully complement chicory's bitterness is deep green lacinato kale, sweetened as it always is this time of year by the frosts that cause the plants to flood the leaves with sugars to keep them from freezing. I also love that it adds a dark contrast to the chicory's bright colors, and its bubbly texture adds a soft crunch to the mix.

The variations are endless: I've thrown in crushed hazelnuts, green onions, sweet peppers, chopped beets, capers, dried cranberries—you name it, I've probably tried it. And a sprinkling of grated parmesan or crumbled blue cheese is not a bad idea, either. I like a creamy dressing (see below) but a classic Caesar dressing, a sweet mustard vinaigrette or even a fig and balsamic dressing would all do this salad justice.

"A Few of My Favorite Things" Chicory Salad

For the dressing:
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, pressed in a garlic press
1 Tbsp. white miso
Herbs, finely chopped (I like dried or fresh tarragon or thyme, as well as chopped chives)
1 tsp. honey (optional)

For the salad:
Radicchio or chicory leaves, chopped into 1" pieces
Lacinato kale, chopped into 1/4" chiffonade
Condiments like crushed hazelnuts, slivered green onions, chopped sweet peppers, chopped beets, capers, etc.
Grated parmesan or crumbled blue cheese (optional)

For the dressing, combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.

Combine salad ingredients in appropriately sized salad bowl, drizzle with dressing of your choice and toss.

My very first legislative report from 2015 said:

"This blog is about my ongoing journey to discover the connections between what's going on in the field and what I put on my table. It took me awhile to realize part of that road makes a detour through the halls of the Capitol building in Salem. In other words, the decisions that our elected officials make about agriculture in Oregon directly affect what I'm going to feed my family, whether I buy it at the farmers' market or the grocery store."

The report you're reading now, almost ten years to the day since that first one, has brought me to the opening of the 2025 session of the Oregon legislature, with several bills that will affect whether we will continue to have access to functioning farmers markets and food hubs, or be able to put locally raised meats on our tables or whether farmers will have access to water for their crops, along with many other critical issues to keep Oregon's food system functioning. Here are the bills I'll be following this session with easy actions you can take:

Funding a State Meat Inspection Program

Until 2021, in order to sell individual cuts of meat, farmers in Oregon had to have access to a federally certified United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected facility. Oregon only has 13 of these facilities spread across the state, which has created situations where farmers need to get processing appointments almost a year in advance, and in many cases drive hundreds of miles to bring their animals to slaughter.

The cost of establishing new USDA facilities is prohibitive for any but the largest industrial producers, so a State Meat Inspection Program was developed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) in 2021, but funding was not provided to hire staff to run the program. The bill before the legislature, HB 2164, would appropriate funding at the ODA to hire staff and manage facilities that are ready to come online shortly and are desperately needed by Oregon's small and pasture-based farmers and ranchers. (Additional details here.)

ACTION NEEDED: Sign your name to this petition urging your legislator to support this bill.

Small Farm Water Access

Since 1955, it has been required to have a water right to plant and grow any crops for sale in Oregon. "Domestic exempt wells"—a well drilled in order to serve a home, and not associated with a water right for irrigation—are not legal sources of water to irrigate commercial agriculture. This means that farmers cannot sell crops commercially that are irrigated with water from these wells.

A bill to allow farmers to sell crops that have been produced with domestic exempt well water, SB 76 and HB 3372—for the moment these are placeholders to fine tune language and clarify which chamber will bring it forward—essentially says that if you can legally grow vegetables, fruits or flowers for your family using a domestic well, you should be allowed to sell those products to your community, while at the same time exercising ethical, reasonable limits on use. (Additional details here.)

ACTION NEEDED: Sign your name to this petition urging your legislator to support this bill.

Additional Food System Bills

• Holding polluters accountable (SB 747). Requires persons with ownership interests in at least 200 acres of irrigated land used for agriculture to annually report information about fertilizer application to the State Department of Agriculture. Authorizes the ODA and DEQ to hold them accountable for violations. 
• Renewal of Disaster Resilience Grants for Food Producers (HB 2979). Funding supports small-scale farmers, ranchers, farmers' markets and food hubs.
• Increased Funding for OSU College of Veterinary Medicine (HB 2167). Addresses the severe shortage of veterinarians in rural Oregon, supports ongoing veterinary education, and enhances the state's capacity to combat significant health threats to animals and humans.
• Assistance for Households Reliant on Septic Systems (HB 2168). Instructs the Oregon State University Extension Service to establish a program for providing assistance to households that rely on wells for drinking water or on septic systems for wastewater treatment.
• Support for Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program (HB 3131). This measure appropriates $17.3 million for the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund (OAHF) to help agricultural and conservation groups to protect farm and ranch land, keep it in production, and enhance its natural resource values. 
• Spanish Language Pesticide Training (HB 3010). Directs Oregon State University to develop a Spanish language pesticide education program.

Conservation of Working Lands

Loopholes in Oregon’s agricultural and forest land policies are being used to authorize high-end residential development, luxury hotels, and elite entertainment venues on land designated exclusively for agricultural and forest production.

In addition to converting our agricultural and forest land into playgrounds for the well-heeled, the mere opportunity to site such venues is driving up farm and forest land prices beyond the reach of family farmers, ranchers, and timberland managers. New and beginning operators are being priced out of the market. In addition, unchecked residential and commercial development in our farm and forest zones threatens other valuable resources protected by large blocks of agricultural and forest land, such as water and wildlife habitat.

This package of bills closes long-neglected loopholes in Oregon’s farm and forest land protection policies:

Replacement Dwelling Reform (SB 78). Stops the conversion of agricultural and forest land for luxury residential development through “replacement” dwellings.

Home Occupation Reform (SB 77). Closes the loophole that allows large-scale hospitality and entertainment facilities being approved on land designated for agricultural and timber production.

Spot Zoning Reform (SB 73). Stops the case-by-case rezoning of individual ag and forest properties to residential and industrial use outside a state-authorized planning process.

Nonresource Dwelling Reform (SB 79). Prohibits new houses that have nothing to do with agriculture or forest management from being built in critical groundwater areas, priority wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and on high‐value farmland.

ACTION NEEDED: Oregon residents can sign your name to this letter to legislators.

Thanks to Friends of Family Farmers, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Oregon Rural Action for their help in compiling this report. You can follow these organizations on social media and sign up for their newsletters to get alerts about actions you can take on these issues.