Plate & Pitchfork and River Wave Foods

Plate & Pitchfork contacted me in April 2012 to inquire if River Wave Foods had any interest in participating in their 2012 farm dinner series.  River Wave Foods was indeed interested so we took out an ad as well as signed up to participate in a farm dinner at Viridian Farms along with Wildwood Restaurant and Van Duzer winery.  The dinner was held this past Saturday and the weather could not have been nicer.  Julie Z and I started the day early and drove the 2 hours to Dayton, OR where the dinner was to be held at the farm.   After a bit of circling the tall rows of corn, bean poles and vast fields of veggies and flowers we came upon the site of the dinner. The guests were to dine at one end of the farm while the "reception area", where River Wave Foods was positioned, was quite a distance from the dining area, in a grove of trees next to a dirt lot that would serve for parking.  Rustic was the word both Julie and I used numerous times to describe the scene.   Once directed to the correct area Julie and I set up.  While the weather was wonderful, our spot was in the direct path of the setting sun,  our trusty rain or shine farmer's market tent was a life saver.  Since we were early we set up and then went on a search for food.  Dayton, Oregon is a small town home to a bank, a lovely park, an old gas station remodeled to house an espresso coffee house, Lupita's Tacos, Roman's Pizza and the Block House Cafe.  Ferry Street is Dayton's main drag, which we cruised down 3 times passing a colorful Hispanic wedding, before deciding and finding the Block House Cafe.  The cafe is housed in a historic building that was under renovation, but they were open for business.  For 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon the cafe was quite busy.  There was a family of about 8  whose food had just arrived as we sat down.  A young, big guy in the family ordered the "Block House Burger" a monstrous burger that probably could have fed the entire table.  It looked fantastic.  I did order the mushroom and swiss cheese burger that was delicious while Julie had a chicken Caesar Salad that was also quite good.  After our meal we headed back to the farm.  Guests were scheduled to arrive around 4:45 we would have about 45 minutes to offer our samplings of River Wave Foods products and talk with the guests.  By 4:30 we were all set,  all that was missing were the dinner guests.  Slowly they streamed in and pretty soon Julie and I were handing out the paper thin crackers topped with marscapone cheese and our lovely fig and olive tapenade.  The guests were fantastic.  Along with the tapenade we offered roasted carrots and cherry tomatoes both brushed with the Argentinean Chimichurri.  Suffice to say the diners ate with relish, with a lot of oohing and ahhing.  It was great fun and a good cause.   

Summer 2012

Last Thursday the temperature soared to 103 degrees F.  River Wave Foods was at the Salmon Creek Farmer's Market and it was hot.  Our kind and generous market manager, Ann,  provided free snow cones and a sprinkler. We were assigned a space next to Tim, the gyro guy whose hot stove top added another layer of heat.  It was a great day nonetheless and the intrepid vendors who did dare the heat were presented with lovely entertainment by the FM musicians and a freebee by management.  The heat was short lived and by Saturday the overcast skies had reappeared accompanied by a light drizzle.  But such is life.  The weather is the topic that we can all relate to and talk about.  It is something shared and complained about by just about everyone.  For those of us who spend much of our lives at local farmer's markets the weather is always a concern; particularly here in the Pacific Northwest where the annual average rainfall is @ 37 inches.  Most markets run from April through September or October.  April, May and sometimes even June are filled with many days that are wet, cold and miserable.  It is a leap of faith for vendors to set up their tents and hope that there is a break in the weather and that faithful FM shopper will appear.  But one shows up and thanks the heavens for the sun or rain or whatever the gods of weather throw our way, for it is this weather that feeds the fruits and vegetables and make it all possible.  Raspberries and cherries are done,  blueberries are waning and blackberries are in their glory.  Peaches are available as well as sweet corn, green beans and lots and lots of squash (zucchinis if you want to be specific).  Such is the bounty of summer in the northwest.  But like the heat of last Thursday's Salmon Creek Farmer's Market the word moves from being an experience to again being simply the word "hot".  The peaches and berries are savored and eaten with  reverence, each juicy bite a small moment of culinary joy They like summer will be gone all too soon.  Enjoy!

Grilling Time

Finally, the sun has broken through and we can begin to really pack away our winter gear and bring out all things summer !  This Sunday is Father's Day,  the official opening day for grilling.  River Wave Foods Argentinean Chimichurri Sauce is a fabulous lemon, garlicky sauce that is traditionally served with steak in Argentina.  Folklore tells of a Irishman named Jimmy McCurry who migrated to Argentina to fight along side General Jasson Ospina in Argentina's war for Independence from Spain.  Legend has it had Mr McCurry invented this garlic lover's sauce and while the sauce bore his name the locals had a difficult time pronouncing it and soon "Jimmy McCurry Sauce" had morphed into Chimichurri Sauce.  Oh those Irish!  For those of you who are interested Argentina's Independence Day is celebrated on July 9th.  One has to wonder what it is about July and independence, perhaps it  just the perfect time of year for a Independence day picnic.Come by to see us on Saturday at the Vancouver's Farmer's Market and on Sunday at the Hillsdale Farmer's Market. 

Food Gal reviews River Wave Foods

Carolyn Jung aka Food Gal recently reviewed the River Wave Food product line.  Carolyn's blog is an informative, fun source of information about food products, restaurants, recipes and more.  Check out what Food Gal has to say about River Wave Foods @  www.FoodGal.com 

May 2012 What's Up With River Wave Foods

River Wave Foods is getting ready for another Farmer's Market Season.  On Saturday we will be at the Vancouver Farmer's Market,  hoping that the good weather holds for the start of our 2012 season.  Fantastic new recipe that we think will convert all who think that My Thai Gourmet Sauce is just too hotttt...This new recipe was inspired by a dish down at Tasty's & Sons; Burmese Red Pork Stew, served for breakfast with sticky rice and a fried egg... we call our version Thai Braised Pork Stew:

Thai Braised Pork Stew

Ingredients:

·         1 -6oz can tomato paste

·         4-6 T River Wave Foods My Thai Gourmet Sauce (amount depends on desired heat)

·         ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

·         2 tsp. liquid smoke

·         2 Tablespoon brown sugar

·         3 T vegetable oil (grape seed, peanut or canola)

·         1 stalks of green onion diced

·         3 # pork shoulder or butt cut into large chunks

Process:

·         Whisk all ingredients together except for oil,  green onions and pork

·         Pour mixture over chucks of pork

·         Marinate 4-6 hours or overnight

·         Preheat oven to 275degrees F

·         Heat oil in skillet

·         Remove as much of marinade as possible from meat, save the sauce

·         Sear meat chunks in skillet on all sides

·         Place seared pork in Dutch oven or other oven proof pot

·         Pour sauce over seared meat chunks and cover

·         Place in 275 oven and slow cook for 2-2 ½ hours

Serving suggestions:

                Coconut jasmine rice or      Japanese sticky rice

                Garlicky Green Beans

This sauce would be excellent on  chicken wings or ribs

Events on the horizon :

May 18   David Riney will be demoing at Food Front Thurman 3-6PM 

May 19  River Wave Foods will be at Vancouver's Farmer's Market  come by and say Hi

June 3   start of our Hillsdale Farmer's Market season

June 9  Legacy Hospital Vancouver Health Fair

August 25  Plate & Pitchfork Farm Dinner @ Viridian Farms  Chef Dustin Clark from Wildwood and Chef Tony         Meyers  from Serratto with wines from Van Duzer Vineyards

 

Chimichurri Bagna Cauda (Hot Bath)

Chimichurri Bagna Cauda (Hot Bath)

Ingredients:

5 T River Wave Foods Chimichurri Sauce

½ can good quality canned tuna

2T good quality olive oil

Crusty French baguette sliced

Assortment of raw or par boiled veggies

Mix tuna into chimichurri.

Heat in pot, microwave of mini crock pot

Place in bowl and serve with bread and veggies

Optional Ingredients:

            1/8 cup chopped olives of your choice

                1  T of capers

                2 T diced red onions

                2 T grated dry cheese (parmesan, Romano

The New Year Is Here...so what you going to do about it?

From one day to the next, a day is a day, but what gives anything value, memory and worth are what we give to that moment in time. Today the first of 2012, yesterday the last of 2011. For River Wave Foods 2011 was a good year, progress has been made in our market presence; new stores , new customers, new recipes, but what is equally valuable is that in addition to all the new development, our growth in many cases has been based on going deeper into the markets that we have been in. This going deeper has been the marketing strategy that is clearly becoming the model that River Wave Foods growth and viability is based on. The temptation to broadcast out to markets north and south, east and even west is alluring and appealing, but with a small entrepreneurial company such as River Wave, broadcasting far and wide with no internal structure to move products once they are in new stores is surely the kiss of death. Local,local,local, is the mantra that we are hearing these days. But "local" is a word (like so many "buzz words")that is a relative term. Some define local as anything within a 100 mile radius of where you are, others think of it as a regional concept; ie Pacific Northwest, West Coast, West of the Rockies etc. For River Wave Foods local is an area that can be managed and tended to by a small staff of people that produce, deliver, demo and service our customers. What will ultimately grow our business is not a slick wide reaching marketing campaign but a down to dirt, grass level , word of mouth movement. Seeing David, River Wave Foods fabulous demo person, again and again in the stores that you shop and while you might have passed him 2 times without taking a sample, the third time you walk by him and he says "come on, give it a try" and you think "why not" and you discover the truly amazing, simple but intense flavors that wake up your taste buds and ask that you pay attention. This is real food your taste buds tell you....yum. So look for David as he works hard to share his enthusiasm for River Wave Foods products or when the farmer's markets roll around in May look for our booth and come by for a sample. On this first day of 2012 I am marking this moment as a point of reference so when 2013 arrives I can look back and see January 1, 2012, tagged with this journal entry, and see how far River Wave Foods has come and what I did about it.