Live Oregon

Brussels Sprout Gratin is elevated with the addition of bacon and lemon juice.

Brussels Sprout Gratin: A Simple & Versatile Recipe

written by Thor Erickson | photography by Tambi Lane “Don’t get lost this time!” my dad shouted to my sister Heidi and me as he backed our van into the loading dock at the bustling wholesale produce market. The towering stacks of fragrant fruits and vegetables were perfect for hide and seek. “Bonjour!” bellowed a deep voice as we opened the door of the van. “What is you are looking for today?” said Louis with a thick French accent. “Whatever is on special,” Dad said. Louis was one of the many vegetable vendors that dad bought from at the market and had relocated from Paris twenty years earlier. “Your lucky day!” Louis said joyfully. “Brussels sprouts are very special, and I will give a better deal if you buy six cases.” Dad was not one to pass up a good deal. “I’ll take six then,” Dad said, smiling. Heidi and…

The tasting room at Furioso Vineyards in Dundee.

Road Trip-Worthy Winery Lunches

written by Kerry Newberry In our fast-paced world, there are too few slow-down moments. But one easy way to embrace the art of slow living is with a leisurely lunch in a beautiful place. Enter the Willamette Valley, one of the most renowned wine regions in the world. Here are just a few of the region’s wineries where lunch feels like a mini-vacation. At Soter Vineyards (10880 NE Mineral Springs Road, Carlton; www.sotervineyards.com), most of the herbs and vegetables on the menu come from the surrounding 240-acre biodynamic farm and vineyard—also home to a herd of pictorial Scottish Highland cattle along with chickens, goats and heritage breed pigs. Book the Provisions Tasting, and you’ll feast on family-style dishes like squash bisque, poached leeks sprinkled with hazelnuts and mushroom arancini. For Italian-inspired bites and moody vineyard views, head to Furioso Vineyards (8415 NE Worden Hill Road, Dundee; www.furiosovineyards.com), named “one of…

Hors D'oeuvres

Beer Pairings for the Holidays

written by Jeremy Storton | illustrations by Yoko Baum I must admit I’ve gotten bored with the typical holiday feast. Unless I want to do all the cooking myself, the simplest way to make things interesting is to bring some stellar beer pairings to the table. Here are a few combinations I offer: COURSE 1 HORS D’OEUVRES Let’s start with an aperitif. I love the light body and snappy bitterness of a German pilsner paired with homemade popcorn. Or, I’d enjoy the light citrus and herbal tang of a Belgian witbier with smoked salmon. Both beers serve to stimulate my senses and tease my appetite. My Picks: Breakside Brewery’s Pilsner; Monkless Belgian Ales’ Shepplekofeggan Witbier COURSE 2 GREENS Now, I want complex sweetness and assertive bitterness. A German-inspired altbier balances the simple yet delightful grilled romaine lettuce with olive oil, salt and pepper. Or, if we grill fall vegetables, a…

Wooden shoe stretchers hang on a peg board inside Julie Derrick’s Baker City shoe repair shop.

Meet Julie Derrick: Reviving Shoes and Stories in Baker City

Growing up in rural pragmatism, Julie Derrick learned to reuse and repair life’s staples, and now shoes written by Joni Kabana | photography by Petar Marshall Growing up in rural Idaho, Julie Derrick was used to repairing what was broken. Clothes were made by hand, mended when torn and remade into other clothes until the fabric was too thin to use, and then those scraps became rag rugs and quilt tops. As a young girl, Derrick was exposed to many modes of fixing, including a favorite memory of watching her farrier grandpa taking things apart to make them into new things. It is no wonder Derrick, after working in several “heady” jobs, found her way back to her roots—she now owns and operates JD’s Shoe Repair, an old-timey shop that recently moved from Portland to Baker City. Hammers, end nippers, knives and awls are found in abundance at this shoe…

Roasted Sunchoke Hummus packs in the flavor for a perfect snack.

Roasted Sunchoke Hummus

written by Thor Erickson | photography by Tambi Lane I was drenched with sweat as I neared the end of my sweltering drive to Brownsville. The AC in my old Toyota pickup meant cranking the windows down. The best produce in Oregon, used by the best restaurants in the nation, is grown in this tiny pocket of the Willamette Valley, and I was here to convince the farmer to sell it to my restaurant. I rehearsed my pitch as I pulled onto the dusty road leading to George Weppler’s farm. As I got out of my truck, George emerged from a field where beautiful purple lettuce and sunflowers were growing. He greeted me with a firm handshake. “Swim with me!” he said in a raised voice as he shed his dusty clothes leaving nothing but a neckerchief and a straw hat. He gestured to the irrigation pond that resembled a…

Oregon beer and breweries

How Oregon Became the Epicenter of Craft Beer Culture

written by Jeremy Storton | illustration by Sophie Barlow In the fall of 1993, I walked into Deschutes Brewery for the first time. Bend was a sleepy mountain town of about 15,000 people with a well-known ski mountain. The micro-brewing fad had traction, but momentum was a few years off. Still, I was intrigued that Deschutes was a place where one could get beer with color and flavor, and not some giant factory pumping out industrial liquid widgets. In the early 1980s, Widmer, Bridgeport, Portland and McMenamins brewing companies pushed the legislation that would allow breweries to sell beer directly to consumers, thus breaking down the barrier between artisan and consumer. In doing so, they also showed us how to redefine ourselves through better beer experiences. In California, circa 1976, when the seeds that would grow into the craft beer movement were sprouting roots, the “Judgement of Paris” informed the…

Picture Framing and Matting

illustrations by Allison Bye Custom framing is not cheap—and there’s a reason for that. It takes skill and often specialized tools to build a custom picture frame. Read on for a quick guide to the components of the project. Depending on your skill level and shop setup, you might be able to make your own frames. Or, perhaps repurposing vintage finds is more your speed—we cover that, too. MATERIALS For the frame: Use scrap wood or search out old frames at Goodwill, garage sales or antique stores. Both can be refinished according to your tastes, and cut to the size needed. Tip: If you’re putting together a gallery wall and need a lot of frames at once, our favorite way to do it is to purchase antique frames, which are often made of higher-quality materials, then cut the mat and glass to fit, and assemble it all together. For the…

One of Cannon Beach’s finest bakeries, Sea level Bakery makes many breads and pastries for adoring patrons.

Eat Your Way Through Cannon Beach in 24 Hours

written by Kerry Newberry Start your morning with the locals at Sea Level Bakery (www.sealevelbakery.com), a husband-and-wife-owned spot serving up scratch-baked bread, veg-packed quiche and pastry specials like a crispy, caramelized kouign-amann, blueberry scones and sticky buns the size of frisbees. Expect a line on most days, but it’s easy to pass the time watching cute beach dogs bustle by. Next stop, picnic provisions for the beach, which you can find a few blocks away at Fresh Foods Cannon Beach (www.freshfoodsmarketplace.com). Early summer, local berries start to roll in and you’ll find ready-made snacks to tuck in beach totes. After exploring the town’s art galleries, boutiques and indie bookstores, swing by the boat-to-table Ecola Seafoods (www.ecolaseafoods.com) for a classic crab cocktail or a deeply satisfying seafood-and-chips basket. Find your afternoon refresh at the beloved Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters (www.sleepymonkcoffee.com) or Suzy’s Scoops (www.suzysscoops.com). After more beachcombing, enjoy a convivial happy…

A Portland interior designer undertakes a difficult mission—modernizing a classic cabin.

How to Decorate a Log Cabin

A Portland interior designer crafts a delightful, rustic-meets-modern retreat in Black Butte Ranch written by Melissa Dalton | photography by Kayla McKenzie When interior designer Wendy Scott bought this log home in Black Butte Ranch, the sale included not just the house, but everything inside it. “You name it, we inherited it,” said Scott. “Forks, cups, art, baskets of dusty fake ivy upon baskets of dusty fake ivy, log beds, phones from 1980, linens that were thirty years old, and games with missing pieces.” As one of the oldest, most traditional forms of American architecture, log cabins are storied enough without all the additional stuff. This one, built in 1990, is a more contemporary version, but still came with the design problems unique to its typology. For Scott, deciding what to keep or toss was the first of many issues to tackle. Add to that, the fact that the thick…