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…