Slow Food Southwest Washington

Hot news from the Turner family of the infamous Wooden Bridge Farm in beeeautiful Skamokawa, WA!

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 17TH ONLY

Pasture Raised Pekin Duck (by Ian).  The Pekin is by far the most common breed of duck for meat production.  Ducks are raised from 1-day old ducklings and moved out onto our Certified Organic Pastures at about 2 weeks of age.  We rotate them from paddock to paddock to provide fresh grass and a healthy place to live.  Also, a fresh grain feed is provided from a local family mill that mixes and grinds it according to our own recipe.  We use no animal by-products, growth hormones or antibiotics.        

Order information:  $5.45 per lb.  Average size is 5 lbs.  We deliver the freshly processed ducks, bagged & chilled, to:

* 6942 N. Williams Ave., Portland, OR (corner of Bryant Ave.; about 3 blocks from Portland Blvd.)

* At 1:00 pm we park out front, meet you, and provide you with your duck.   

 * Or at Wooden Bridge Farm: 5:00 pm

SIGN ME UP!  The ducks I want are marked, the total deposit is enclosed and my contact information is complete:

Name                                                                               

Phone _____________________________

Email ______________________________

DUCK ($5 deposit each)  October 17               

****************************************************************************************** 

** No antibiotics, growth hormones, or animal byproducts. Our pastures are Certified Organic. All animals are treated humanely **    

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Thank you and take care,

Dan

Dan and Cindy Turner
Wooden Bridge Farm
124 Middle Valley Road
Skamokawa, Washington 98647
360.795.3383     

woodenbridgefarm (at) earthlink (dot) net

Here’s a unique opportunity to enjoy the pastoral and relatively undiscovered beauty of Wahkiakum County and visit one of Southwest Washington’s finest small farms.  Rob and Diane Stockhouse have been carefully nurturing Stockhouse’s Farm in Cathlamet for a number of years and have developed a thriving CSA farm/agritourism business, hosted the Two Islands Farmers’ Market, and have been keystone partners in the Wahkiakum Food and Farm Network.

WSU EXTENSION in PARTNERSHIP WITH STOCKHOUSE’S FARM PRESENTS:

Saturday September 15 - Stockhouse’s Farm, Cathlamet - CSA/Farm Tour

Stockhouse’s Farm at 59 W. Birnie Slough Road on Puget Island, Cathlamet, WA, will host a CSA/Farm Tour on Saturday September 15.  Tour will begin at 2 p.m.  You are invited to bring the family and a picnic lunch at 1 p.m. and enjoy the farm grounds prior to the tour.  The public is invited and in particular those who are interested in learning more about Community Supported Agriculture, either as a potential subscriber or provider.  If you already are a CSA provider, this tour is a time to learn from other providers.  Rob and Diane Stockhouse, owners of Stockhouse’s Farm, will lead the guided tour of their produce shop, the greenhouse, vegetable and flower gardens and poultry and goat pasture.  They will be available to answer questions concerning their CSA and farm market operations. 

PUBLIC INVITED TO NORTH VANCOUVER CSA FESTIVAL AND FARM TOURS

Vancouver, Washington

Rosemattel’s CSA and Storytree Farm will host a tour and festival at their North Vancouver farms, the weekend of August 11th and 12th, 2007.

This free event illustrates the growing popularity of the CSA system of food production and distribution while celebrating small, diverse farms in Clark County. Attendees will learn about intensive low-input farming on the urban fringe, while discovering the benefits of eating healthy, local food.

Clark County’s planned urban growth expansion has created a sense of urgency among local farmers and consumers who recognize the rapid decline of local agriculture and have concerns about the negative impact on the community. Small, diversified farms are seen as a viable answer to the increasing demand for fresh, healthy local food. These small farms can fit easily into neighborhoods, providing a multitude of benefits for neighbors as well as CSA subscribers.

WHO IS INVITED: Anyone with an interest in CSA, the preservation of agriculture in Clark County & local, healthy food.

WHEN: August 11th and 12th, 2007

WHERE: Rosemattel’s CSA (Saturday Only) 10311 N.E. 72nd Ave. Vancouver, WA 98686 Storytree Farm CSA (Both Saturday & Sunday) 6227 N.E. 124th St. Vancouver, WA 98686

TIME: 10:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m.

COST: None, this event is FREE to the Public; box available for donations of nonperishable food to support local food banks.

“Carpooling encouraged”

ACTIVITIES: * Farm walks, discussion * Old-fashioned soap make-and-take * Cooking Demonstrations, recipes * Medicinal and culinary herb talks * Children’s activities at both farms * Learn how to plant to attract hummingbirds * Butterfly gardening * Companion planting / intercropping techniques * Learn about the CSA program unique to each farm * Membership table for the Vancouver Food Co-op * Plants and produce available for sale at both farms

 *Storytree Farm Festival Schedule*

Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. ~ 4 p.m.

Ongoing: Farm Walk: Tour the gardens with Nelson; learn about sustainable food production.

10:00 Hummingbird Gardening: Sweet Nectar Nursery owner Susan Kirkbride will teach you what plants you can grow to attract these delightful birds to your garden. (Butterfly gardening will be her focus on Sunday)

11:00 Herb Chat: Certified Herbalist & Reiki specialist Llyn Zephyr will be on hand to teach us about the healing and medicinal properties of herbs. 12:00 & 3:00 Seasonal Cooking Demonstration: Enjoy a cooking demonstration using ingredients picked fresh this morning at Storytree Farm. Sample the recipe and take home a copy to try for yourself.

Contacts:

Whole Foods Market^® in Search of Local Growers, Suppliers

Seminar to be held Monday, Sept. 17 at Ecotrust  

Portland, Ore. (July 17, 2007) - Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI), the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket, is actively searching the Pacific Northwest for vendors interested in partnering with Whole Foods Market to offer new natural foods and products to customers.

Reinforcing its ongoing commitment to providing quality local products, Whole Foods Market is hosting a free one-day seminar for potential new growers and suppliers in the Pacific Northwest.

“Whole Foods Market has always been dedicated to supporting regional purveyors while providing the best local foods and other products to our customers,” said Ron Megahan, president of the Pacific Northwest Region. “We are continually looking to uncover the next great artisan, farmer, rancher or environmentally friendly product. Our goal is to be known for offering the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and we hope our seminars have a great showing of potential Whole Foods Market partners.”

Whole Foods Market is looking for growers and suppliers from the Pacific Northwest who are passionate about producing high-quality, natural and organic foods. Those attending the seminar will learn how to partner with Whole Foods Market and share resources to make their businesses stronger through distribution options, effective packaging, marketing and media relations, “greening” products and the Whole Foods Market Grower and Supplier Loan Program.

Participating growers and suppliers will listen to and network with existing vendors and local farmers, Whole Foods Market’s buyers, and experts from the natural and organic products industry.

Where: Ecotrust located at 721 NW 9th Avenue. Portland, Oregon 97209

When: Monday, Sept. 17, drop in between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Seminar highlights include:

• How to grow your business with Whole Foods Market

• Understanding the process of becoming a Whole Foods Market vendor

• Meeting Whole Foods Market’s quality standards

• Learning about effective marketing and media relations

• Whole Foods Market’s loan program, the latest grower-supplier support initiative

Whole Foods Market will be accepting applications through Tuesday, September 4, 2007, and hope to bring together 150 - 200 participants to attend the seminar.  The seminar is only open to growers, manufacturers, and suppliers who do not currently sell products in Whole Foods Market.To apply for the Local Grower & Supplier Seminar in Portland, Ore., please email:  pn.or.local-vendors@wholefoods.com .

For more information on Whole Foods Market’s new Local Producer Loan Program, visit: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/locallygrown/lplp/index.html .

###

About Whole Foods Market^®

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market ( http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ ) is the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national certified organic grocer. In fiscal year 2006, the company had sales of $5.6 billion and currently has more than 190 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”^TM captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Whole Foods Market, Harry’s Farmers Market^®, and Fresh & Wild^® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Whole Foods Market employs more than 45,000 Team Members and has been ranked for ten consecutive years as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine.

InterACT and Sustainable Clark County are pleased to invite you to a World Cafe with the theme “Sustainability–From Vision to Action.”  This is the first follow-up event to June’s very successful SW Washington Sustainability Conference, sponsored by the City of Vancouver, Clark County and Clark PUD. We’re excited to offer this opportunity to build on the enthusiasm and motivation that was generated at the conference.  

Please join us for a civic dialogue, World Cafe style, from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm on Saturday, July 21st, in the air-conditioned Royce Pollard Community Room at the Firstenburg Center, 700 NE 136th Ave., Vancouver.   

We also invite you to calculate your ecological footprint and to bring that information with you.  We’ll have a bit of fun sharing this information and getting a sense of how we compare to other countries.  

While there is no charge for this event, tax-deductible donations between $10-$25 to InterACT Clark County will be greatly appreciated to help us defray costs. 

For those with children who’d like to attend, please visit the Firstenburg Center’s website to see what activities are available for children on Saturday mornings. 

We encourage you to share this invitation with your family, friends and colleagues. 

Please RSVP to Heather Tischbein or Dan Sockle by July 19th, so that we can plan appropriately for refreshments.   

htischbein at wa-net dot com

dsockle at comcast dot net

New farmers choose remote fields to pioneer organic,
then direct-sale grain crops.

By Zachary D. Lyons

Direct farm marketing brings to mind farmers with boxes overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables at a neighborhood farmers’ market, or perhaps a local artisan cheesemaker delivering her latest creation to a top chef. Anymore, it might conjure up the image of a meat, seafood or poultry producer, of value-added goods like pickles and jams, dried things, smoked things and frozen things, and wine. Even milk. But grains?

Grain-whole and milled on the farm-is exactly what one Pacific Northwest grower couple is bringing directly to market these days. Bluebird Grain Farms is nestled up against the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Winthrop, Washington, and its revolutionary practices only begin with direct marketing.

Read the rest of the article here

and check out the Blue Bird Grains Farm website -  http://www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com/

Here’s a nice tidbit from Monique Dupre of the Vancouver Nourishing Traditions group.  FWIW, I have to agree that the bread I’ve had from Julia Bakery is very, very good.  Thanks for putting out the word, Monica!

I wanted to let you all know about a fabulous ORGANIC bakery in Vancouver.  It is called Julia Bakery, the address is 2614 Ft. Vancouver Way, 360-993-0505, right behind the St. Johns Grocery store and about 2 blocks from the corner of 4th Plain and Ft. Vancouver Way.  The owner is very nice.  He is from Croatia and has worked at New Seasons in Raleigh Hills as the bakery manager the last 6 years.  He is passionate about organic food and is an incredible baker, the bread is delicious, (it is as good as the bread in France!) He also sells at the Vancouver Farmers Market every Saturday and Sunday.  The best part is that he just hired me.  I am very excited to help promote an organic bakery in the ‘Couve, and learn from a great baker.  Please, Please tell everyone about it, word of mouth is what is going to make it succeed.  I am very hopeful that small businesses like this one will help eduate people in Clark County about the importance of buying local and organic.  It is these small businesses that help make our communities vibrant and livable. I will be starting there in a few weeks. 
Thanks for spreading the word about this wonderful family and their bakery.

Monique

When he first started tilling his land, Mike Howell’s plow would kick up all kinds of stuff — bolts, chains and hitches, all apparently hand-made by a blacksmith around the turn of the last century.

The retired Bonneville Power executive figures the artifacts are left over from the days when his Puget Island property was among thousands of dairies on the Lower Columbia.

The region was once dairyland, with as many as 2,500 operating between Portland and Astoria, by one estimate. But, over the course of several decades, market pressures smothered all but a few of the operations.

Now, a loose network of retirees as well as gardening fanatics, lovers of fresh food and adventuresome entrepreneurs are opening small farms here, signalling a re-emergence, if small in scale, of Wahkiakum County agriculture.

“The small farms are coming back big time,” said Howell, who, with his wife, Kim, raises Boer goats, chickens, turkeys, eggs and an array of fruits and vegetables on the 12 acres they call Little Island Farm.

Read the rest of the article here

Steve’s Cheese Newsletter

We’ve been enjoying the bounty of fresh berries and cherries at some of the many farmer’s markets that we are so lucky to have in our area. One of our favorite treats is fresh fruit, fromage blanc, and a drizzle of honey. This is also delicious with a sprinkle of nuts, such as Oregon hazelnuts.

We are carrying a number of varieties of fresh cheeses, honeys, and nuts. Please see the following sections for more information.

Fresh Cheeses

Our fromage blanc is from Cowgirl Creamery out of Marin County, California. It is organic, creamy, tangy, and delicious. Other great fresh cheeses that can be enjoyed with fresh fruit include the Cowgirl Creamery organic creme fresh and cottage cheese (also a favorite with tomatoes) and Bellwether Farms sheep’s milk yogurts.

Honey

Currently we are carrying 17 single source honeys and honey combs.

Ames Farm keeps 300 hives in 17 different locations across Minnesota. Their honeys are named after the major flower source visited by the bees. We are currently carrying honey combs, and honeys from autumnal buckwheat, yellow clover, basswood, fall clover, bird’s foot trefoil, boneset, and wild bergamot. The Ames Farm website has a database that provides information about each batch of honey, including flavor profile, that can be queried by using the hive number and location on the jar. Honeycomb is our single favorite accompaniment to cheese.

Another of our favorite apiarists (beekeepers) is Paolo Pescia, a passionate second- generation honey maker who practices “nomadic” beekeeping. He transports his beehives to seasonally-flowering zones and protected national parks located from the Tuscan coast to its hills. He uses this practice to produce monofloral honeys of stunning quality and flavor. All production is done by hand, including the scraping of the honey from their combs. We are carrying Dr. Pescia’s cardoon, acacia, sunflower, chestnut, and heather honeys.

We also have two Corsican honeys, a spring and a fall; an Italian mint flower honey; and an Italian honey infused with white truffles (delicious on pecorino).

Nuts

Nuts are a great accompaniment to a cheese board. Steve’s Cheese now has 12 varieties of nuts (not including the ones hanging out behind the cheese counter). We are carrying Oregon hazelnuts and walnuts; Marconas, carmelized walnuts, and carmelized hazelnuts from Spain; 3 varieties of single source Sicilian almonds; Arya pistachios (an Iranian varietal) from California; Wisconsin hickory nuts; and Iowa black walnuts.

New Summer Hours 

Starting after July 4th through Labor Day, we’d like to take advantage of the summer and spend some more time with our families. So, until September 15th we will be closed on Mondays. During the summer we’ll be open Tuesdays through Saturdays 11-7pm, and Sundays 11-5pm. We will also be closed July 4th.

Square Deal Wine Company

We are located inside Square Deal Wine Company and frequently co-host classes and events with them. Please see Square Deal Wine Company’s website for information and to sign up for upcoming classes and events.

Buy less - come back more!
2321 NW Thurman

Store Hours:

  phone: 503-222-6014 

(Website Coming Soon!): http://stevescheese.biz

If you’re looking to do a little feel-good community service type work this summer and you’ve been wondering how you can get involved with a school garden program, here’s your big chance to earn some extra karma.  Read the following e-mail we received from Elisa @ Camas Roots then give her a ring and volunteer a few hours at the Camas Roots garden.

Read more about Camas Roots 

Hi Everyone,

One of the things we talked about at last Thursday’s meeting was the need to come up with an alternate plan for Camas Roots’ summer work parties, given that our LINKS volunteer resigned and won’t be hosting them. Could you volunteer for 3 hours one day this summer to help host one?

We’ve had many successful work parties with the youth from the Clark County Restorative Community Service (RCS) Program. They sign up ahead of time (there are usually between 4-8 kids) and come with an adult mentor. We usually get a lot done and I’ve found it quite rewarding to be participating in the RCS program.

Work parties are relatively easy to host. You basically show up a few minutes early, gather people together to give an overview of what the garden is about, and then split people up into small groups to work on specific tasks. At the end, you do a very brief wrap up and the mentor completes the paperwork. I can let you know ahead of time what needs to be done and what the routine is. We are trying to have work parties from 9-12 on as many Thursdays as we can during the summer. Kids of community volunteers sometimes come too and help with light work, like watering, or play nearby.

If you have a flexible weekday summer and can spare a few hours one Thursday, let me know!

Here’s the schedule so far:

July 12

July 19

July 26 (possibly Elisa)

August 2 Star Ulasewicz

August 9 (possibly Elisa)

August 16

August 23 Patricia Erdmann

If just a few more people sign up, we could have a full and productive summer in the garden!

Thanks!
Elisa

Elisa Wells

(360)833-0925