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!