Live Oregon

With a shellfish license, anyone can take to crabbing off of docks, such as this one in Bandon.

Catching Crustaceans

’Tis the season for Dungeness delicacy written by Julie Lee Internationally sought for its sweet flavor, Oregon Dungeness crab appeals to all, from foodies to newbies who want to wade a toe into eating seafood. Commercially harvested since the 1800s, Oregon is well known for Dungeness. The Dungeness crab fishery is Oregon’s most valuable “single species” fishery, and Oregon named the Dungeness crab the official state crustacean in 2009. The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, fully funded by commercial crab fishermen, was established in 1977 to research, educate and promote the image of crab. Tim Novotny was recently named executive director of the commission. “We try to be good industry partners wherever we can,” said Novotny, “supporting our fishermen by inspiring ongoing dialogue with the academic community, keeping abreast of the issues facing our ocean resource, and driving research to help maintain a sustainable fishery. Our fishermen depend on us to…

The Oregon Truffle Festival, going on twenty years, brings pungency to savory and sweet dishes to great delight

Oregon Truffle Festival

written by Kerry Newberry One of the bright spots of a Northwest winter is the Oregon Truffle Festival. Where else can you romp through misty forests on a guided truffle foray, partake in lectures with renowned mycologists and indulge in exceptional wine and truffle dinners? For almost twenty years, fungi and foraging enthusiasts have flocked to this winter fête to celebrate the state’s native black and white truffles. The luxurious ingredient grows wild in Oregon and is prized around the world for the umami flavor it adds to dishes. Most often found flourishing beneath the roots of Douglas fir trees, the fragrant fungi play an exceptional game of hide and seek. One of the best ways to root out the heady mushrooms is with a truffle dog and the festival includes a popular two-day training for dog owners along with The Joriad North American Truffle Dog Competition, the only event…

The Oregon Dungeness crab melt. Just add Coltrane for spice.

The Best Things in Life

written by Thor Erickson photography by Tambi Lane I became enamored with crab as a child. About once a year, my dad would arrive home carrying a bucket overflowing with fresh Dungeness crabs and a baguette tucked under his arm. On these occasions, everyone would stop what they were doing and get busy performing their assigned tasks. Dad steamed the crabs. Mom made a salad and warmed the baguette. My sisters cut lemons, lined the dinner table with newspapers and found the crab crackers. I got to put on the record album. Dad would shout from our tiny bustling kitchen, “Anything by Cal Tjader or … Coltrane!” “Coltrane it is,” I would shout back. We would spend hours sitting around the table, picking and eating steamed crab from the shell, dipping it in hot butter and talking and laughing. Everyone’s smiling faces glistening with butter and satisfaction. It was at…

Ōkta, a new star in McMinnville’s dining scene, has its own farm nearby.

Ōkta

written by Kerry Newberry Is the most beautiful dish the luminous beautiful dish the luminous ceramic orb cradling Oregon Dungeness crab with silky mushroom custard and stone-ground grits? The whisper thin slices of turnips checkered across rockfish with huckleberry puree and earthy shitake mushrooms—or the sunny meringue snug in a scooped-out lemon sprinkled with lemon thyme leaves? These are but a few of the wonderful and wildly inventive dishes dreamed up by chef Matthew Lightner at Ōkta, the Willamette Valley’s latest epicurean destination. You might know Lightner from Portland’s Castagana, where he built a devoted following with his farm and forage-inspired menu. He then alighted to New York City for a stint at Atera, earning the acclaimed Tribeca restaurant two Michelin stars. His return to Oregon brings this immersive fine-dining experience that taps into all the senses. Each dish resembles a mini work of art—exquisite in presentation with a depth…

Natural fibers and warm colors follow the aesthetic of the Columbia Gorge below this Mosier home.

Natural Beauty

A house in Mosier captures everything special about the Columbia River Gorge written by Melissa Daltonphotography by Christopher Dibble Richard Brown is no stranger to working on esteemed sites. Consider the architect’s deft addition to a 1949 Pietro Belluschi house in Oak Grove—Belluschi being perhaps Oregon’s most famous modern architect and known worldwide. But when the owners of 10 acres near Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge reached out, it wasn’t an existing house that struck awe in Brown. It was the land. “My first thought was, ‘This is a rare opportunity for us to work with a really beautiful site,’” said Brown. “I felt a great responsibility to be respectful, in order to take advantage of as many aspects of it as we can.” The Columbia River Gorge is indeed dramatic: a canyon 80 miles long and 4,000 feet deep in spots, cut by the Columbia River and marking…

Chris Martini's first wood-burning hot tub on Mount Hood

DIY: Wood-Fired Hot Tubs

Photography by Northwest Timber Tubs A few years ago, Chris Martini’s friends asked for help with a project. They had bought property at the base of Mount Hood and wanted to build a hot tub there. The only catch? The tub needed to be completely off-grid and fueled by a wood-fired stove. Having extensive experience as a carpenter, and most recently managing production for a teardrop trailer company for five years, Martini thought the project sounded like a fun design challenge. “They sent me pictures of some fairly crude designs from the internet that they had found. Real simple stuff of an old tub with a copper coil set-up on the outside,” said Martini. “But the issue with that set-up is that it takes forever to heat up.” Martini got to designing and building, not only the tub, but the platform beneath it, the stove insert, and a retractable roof…

Heirloom tomatoes on the vine at Stoneboat Farm.

Heirloom Treasures

Local is always best, but when it comes to eating tomatoes, sourcing is imperative written by Julie Lee | photography by Dan Hawk Locally grown tomatoes are nature’s delicate gift that loyalists wait for each season with held breath. Tomatoes also can be confusing; are they vegetable or fruit? Botanically speaking, tomatoes are fruits, bearing seeds and grown from a flowering plant, however from a culinary point of view, tomatoes are considered vegetables and counted as such by nutritionists as well. The United States Supreme Court even had a say, naming the tomato a vegetable in 1893 for taxation purposes. There is also debate on whether the benefits of tomatoes, which include powerful cancer-fighting antioxidants, vitamin C and potassium, are best reaped when tomatoes are cooked or eaten raw. The lycopene found in tomatoes is at the center of this debate; a unique and powerful antioxidant plentiful in just a…

DIY Ping Pong table

DIY: Backyard Ping Pong Table

In 2018, we profiled an incredible backyard makeover in Salem, which had an outdoor dining table that could also be used for games of ping pong. What a great idea! It was custom-crafted from stone and concrete—not exactly easy to replicate—so here’s a DIY-version made of inexpensive construction materials and galvanized steel, which can be put together in about a weekend. KEEP IN MIND A regulation size ping pong table should be about 9 feet by 5 feet and 2½ feet high. For ease of construction, we sized our table to a standard sheet of plywood measuring 4 feet by 8 feet. This will also comfortably seat six to eight chairs, depending on their size, for dining. Wherever you place the table needs enough clearance to play the game without hazard. Consider shade as well: the metal top gets hot if the table sits in the summer sun. If you…

A roasted carrot soup with miso butter is carrot comfort food for fall.

A Carrot by Any Other Name

written by Thor Erickson | photography by Tambi Lane It was a bone dry 95 degrees as our 1975 family van rolled into downtown Ashland. I was hot and thirsty, and my three sisters had been asking for hours for dad to turn on the air conditioning. “It uses too much gas.” He hollered back from the driver’s seat as he pulled over to a bank of granite-clad drinking fountains at Lithia Park near the center of town. “Go drink some cool water.” Following his instructions, we piled out of the van and raced to the fountains. As I took my first gulp, I almost gagged at the foul smell and taste of the warm water. Over my shoulder, I heard a laugh. I turned to see a balding middle-aged man in a dress. “Never drink the Lithia water!” he exclaimed in a British accent. He was holding a carrot…