Years ago I wrote an article on honey for the Oregonian based on a recently released book on the topic, A Taste of Honey by Oregon author Marie Simmons. Simmons, who at that time had written more than 20 books on subjects like figs, rice, eggs and muffins, had for years been entranced by honey and the insects that made the intoxicating substance—so much so that she mentioned she had a "library" of more than 100 jars that she kept alphabetized on shelves in her Eugene garage.

From her book I learned about the lives of bees, bee society and bee anatomy, as well as how bees produce honey: The nectar collected from blossoms contains sucrose that is broken down by an enzyme in the bees' saliva and is stored in a special "honey stomach." When the bees get back to the hive they regurgitate the honey into the waxy hexagons of the honeycomb, flapping their wings—which makes the buzzing sound we hear—to evaporate the honey, preventing it from fermenting in the comb.

In the intervening years I've started my own (very limited) library of different honeys, each one surprisingly different from the others because of the various types of nectar available to the bees, as well as the season in which it was collected. This year I'm determined to add to the collection, so I've been scouting out some local beekeepers and farmers I want to try:

Ramage Farms, Canby and Mulino. "We have around 100 hives throughout the property hammering all the spring blooms [with] more coming up like the sunflowers and blackberries," according to owner Ryan Ramage. He's been actively working on restoring his property with habitat and soil health as a priority and will be releasing details on this year's honey soon.

Oso Honey Farm, Corvallis. Beekeeper Henry Storch has been breeding locally adapted honeybees in remote parts of the Oregon Coast Range. Offering a wide array of raw varietal honeys, including Coriander, Meadowfoam, Wild Blackberry and Clary Sage, among many others, Storch has also been hosting bulk honey pours at his farmstand where you can bring a (clean) jar to fill up with the featured varietals. (The last bulk pour of the season is June 15.) Otherwise, his honeys are available at several farmers' markets and retail outlets.

Nehalem River Ranch, Nehalem. Jared Gardner markets two varietals produced on his multi-species, pasture-based farm nestled along the Nehalem River in the western foothills of Oregon's Coast Range. One is a light honey from the clover, blackberries and flowers on the ranch, and the other is a dark "Japanese Bamboo" Honey, a prized late-season honey that comes from the Japanese Knotweed that is prolific on the banks of the Nehalem River.

A good place to find more local honey is at your local farmers' market if you're jonesing, as I am, to add to your own library—or just to have something local and delicious to drizzle on your toast. It's worth keeping in mind that in her book Simmons notes that imported honeys are fine, but it's like the difference between jug wine and a bottle of pinot from the Willamette Valley: Food always tastes better closer to the source.

Top photo and meadowfoam field from Oso Honey Farm. Glowing honey jars from Ramage Farms.

You may notice that there have been a couple of changes here at Good Stuff NW. First, I’ve added a Newsletter item to the menu just under the masthead that enables you to subscribe more easily. It also has archives if you want to review past newsletters.

Second, I’ve decided that—drumroll, please—going forward I won’t be accepting outside advertising and will instead switch to a subscriber-based service from Patreon. Sponsored advertising has always been fraught, since it requires disclaimers if an advertiser is mentioned in a post, and could potentially lead to conflict-of-interest issues.

But don’t worry, all the content at Good Stuff NW is still free to everyone, including all the recipes, articles and food system news you’ve come to rely on. Think of a subscription as you would a pledge to public radio or television: a way to support, for a minimal monthly charge, a news and information source that informs the whole community about what’s going on in our regional food system. Or, as I put it on the intro page at Patreon:

“Caring about our local food system means wanting to learn where the food you put on your table and feed your family comes from. It means caring about the people who grow, harvest and produce that food. It means caring about the quality of the soil, water and air that we all share, and about making our communities healthier and more resilient.”

So if you find yourself looking up my recipe for kimchi, or you get a hankering for one of Dave's scone or biscuit recipes, or want to know where to take your next road trip, consider a subscription. Where else are you going to find news about what's in season at our farmers' markets, or what your legislators are deciding on that will affect the food we put on our tables? How about the stories of the skulduggery of industrial corporations that are fouling our beautiful state, or the effots of farmers choosing to raise their animals and vegetables organically rather than using pesticides or antibiotics? And don't get me started on my fascination with fermentation…

If you're so moved, please consider a subscription. If not, Good Stuff NW is still here for you. And thanks for reading!

With the end of the 2025 Legislative Session a little over a month away, it's do or die time for some important bills affecting our food system to make it over the finish line. Here's an update and some actions you can take to help make that happen:

Small Farm Water Access (HB 3372). There was some very good news about this bill that would allow commercial sale of 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. It passed out of the House Committee of Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water last week and just has a couple of minor steps to get it to the governor's desk. Another good thing is that an exclusion was included barring use of water from the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area which has been polluted by agricultural nitrates from factory farms and is the subject of a lawsuit.

Food For All Oregonians (SB 611). This bill envisions an Oregon where all people have access to food no matter where we were born. The FFAO coalition will introduce a bill in the 2025 legislative session. This game-changing policy will:

• Make food assistance available to young kids (ages 0-6) who are currently excluded solely due to immigration status.
• Help families pay for groceries in a way that mimics the federal SNAP food assistance benefits.
• Pave the way for future legislation that will ensure everyone of any age has access to food assistance regardless of their immigration status.

TAKE ACTION: Sign this letter to let your legislators know you believe all Oregonians should have access to food.

Groundwater Quality Protection Act (SB 1154). This bill is a much-needed update to the Groundwater Quality Protection Act and would help bring down pollution in Oregon’s four GWMAs. In Eastern Oregon, the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) has water that is so polluted, it is unsafe to drink and is causing a public health crisis in the region. Despite this region being declared a GWMA 35 years ago, pollution continues to worsen because the Groundwater Quality Protection Act does not give state regulators the authority to require mandatory action to bring down pollution.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Oregon Governor Kotek to keep SB 1154 strong and not let Big Ag water it down.

Eelgrass Action Bill (HB 3580). Eelgrass, those green blades you see waving in tidal waters or draped languorously over rocks at low tide, are biodiversity hotspots, carbon sinks, and nursery habitat for many juvenile fish species, including those that are part of our food system. Their health is vital for sustaining our fisheries, maintaining water quality, and buffering against climate impacts. HB 3580 would fund the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Department of State Lands to lead a task force to address eelgrass loss and improve management through a collaborative effort involving agencies, Tribes, scientists, local communities, and others.

TAKE ACTION: Sign on to this letter to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources requesting their support on this important bill.

Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill (HB 3587). Oregon’s rocky habitats, like Haystack Rock and Coquille Point, are iconic tourist destinations for millions of visitors. They are also incredibly important for millions of nesting birds, marine mammals, fish—including some that are part of our food system—and invertebrates. Increasing climate impacts and human disturbance are threatening these special places and this bill would provide needed agency coordination to build community programs to better protect these sites.

TAKE ACTION: Sign on to this letter to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources requesting their support on this important bill.

Over the last 15 or so years, Dave's sourdough journey has not only produced amazing breads, for which he's now milling his own locally grown, organic wheat, but to far-flung baking adventures including a luscious Sourdough Chocolate Cake—a stunner from King Arthur—and cookies, pancakes and waffles.

Lately, he's been playing around with different focaccia recipes, and pulled out one (again from King Arthur) where he substituted his sourdough for the yeast it called for. With a couple of modifications to the original recipe, we think he's come up with a real winner!

Sourdough Focaccia

Adapted from King Arthur's Big and Bubbly Focaccia

290 grams fed and active starter that is half flour and half water (see Note)
215 grams high-gluten flour (I used Chimacum hard red bread flour)
9 grams fine sea salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
139 grams water at about 80º
18 grams extra-virgin olive oil

To oil the baking pan, you’ll also need a bit more olive oil, and for sprinkling on top you’ll  need about 2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and a half-teaspoon to a teaspoon of coarse or flaky sea salt.

Mix the starter, water and 18 grams of oil in a large bowl to break up and disperse the starter. Whisk the flour, salt and sugar in a separate bowl, then add to the liquids and mix until completely combined. Cover and set aside.

After 15 minutes. uncover and do a set of bowl folds: With a wet hand, reach under an edge of the dough and grab some, stretch it up and pat it onto the center of the dough. Give the bowl a little turn and repeat the stretch. Repeat for a total of eight to 12 times. (There’s a good demonstration of bowl folds at King Arthur.) Cover and set aside.

After 15 minutes, wet your hand and repeat the bowl folds.

After 15 minutes, repeat.

After 15 minutes, repeat for fourth set of bowl folds..

Cover and let rise until doubled in size (probably two to four hours, depending on the temperature of the room and the activity of the starter).

When dough has doubled, prepare a 10-inch cast-iron pan or a 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan: Lightly oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Line the bottom and sides of the oiled pan with parchment, leaving enough parchment to extend enough above two opposite sides so that you’ll have handles to remove the loaf from the pan partway through the baking. Generously oil the dough side of the parchment.

Gently place the risen dough into the pan, then with the help of a bowl scraper and using your hands as paddles, turn the dough over to oil both sides. Gently stretch the dough toward the edges of the pan. Cover and let rise until it is pillowy and has risen almost to the top of the pan.

Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 475º with a rack a third of the way from the top and a third of the way from the bottom.

When the dough has risen, dip your fingers in oil and gently stick your fingers in the dough so they touch the bottom, then pull them out. Do this all over the dough until it is covered in dimples. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil over the dough. Sprinkle with a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of the coarse or flaky salt.

Bake in the lower rack for 15 to 18 minutes, until the high spots have browned and the lower spots are very lightly browned. If the bread isn’t browned enough, move the pan to the upper rack and broil for a minute, watching closely to avoid burning.

Remove from the oven and turn the oven off. Lift the loaf from the pan using the parchment handles. Place the loaf directly on the lower rack and leave in the oven for five minutes until the sides are lightly browned and the loaf is crisp.

Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Note: This recipe is basically the King Arthur recipe but eliminating the yeast and using sourdough starter instead. Thus the 290 grams of starter is the total I had on hand after feeding; since it’s 100 percent hydration, I deducted 145 grams from the 360 grams of flour in the KA recipe and 145 grams of water from the 284 in the recipe. Changing from yeast to sourdough also adds to the rising time for the dough.

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.