Vin Glacé Cake
King Estate pastry chef Tobi Sovak’s moist, golden vin glacé cake uses the winery’s vin glacé wine.
Food+Drink
A Sunny Day: Jory Restaurant
Oregon’s Willamette Valley is rich with beautiful scenery, sweeping vistas and grape vines dripping with fruit. But the valley has more to offer then just views and vinifera. There are also a handful of amazing places to eat with world class chefs at the helm. These high caliber chefs bring a commitment to sustainability, a zeal for local ingredients and seemingly endless creativity.
Simple and Delicious Soup Recipes
Fall is soup season. Homegrown Chef Carrie Minns shares her favorite recipes.
Oregon’s Saké Renovation, Revival and Revolution
Saké (pronounced: sah-keh), the classic alcoholic rice beverage often served with sushi, might have grown up in Japan but has found a second home in Oregon. Founded in 1993 as an importer, SakéOne, located in Forest Grove, became a leader in this move when they built their own brewery in 1998. The inspiration was simply, “To bring premium saké to the United States,” says SakéOne President, Steve Vuylsteke.
Forest Grove may, at first glance, seem like an unlikely place to bring a Japanese cultural gift to the states, but it has something special: water. This is not just any water. The Oregon Coastal Range forms a thriving aquifer that filters as much as 120 inches of annual rain through soils of sediment, sandstone, siltstone, igneous rock and basalt. The resulting water is low in iron and manganese which makes it ideal for the production of premium saké.
Easing the Cold Lunch Routine
Here’s my problem with making school lunches in the morning: I’m not a morning person. By sheer will power, I do manage to get out of bed, stumble down the stairs and pour a cup of coffee. I then proceed to stare at the wall above the kitchen sink and wonder what I’m supposed to be doing. As the caffeine wakes up my brain, I remember, “Ah, yes, make school lunches … but what should I make?” And the staring continues.
With the start of this school year, though, I have a new plan that will minimize the need to think in the morning, but will get the job done. This plan works equally well for “work lunches” also.
Much like a meal plan for the dinner hour, each day of the week has a different theme to ensure a variety of lunches and not just the standard turkey sandwich every day. My biggest tip for easing the lunch-making routine: whenever possible, double your dinners.
Monday: Sandwich Day
I see the sandwich as a complete meal in a tidy package. Many of the below ideas can be toasted, wrapped in foil and stored in a thermos for a Panini-style, cold weather lunch.
• Pita pocket with hummus, carrot, red pepper, cucumber, avocado and spinach
• Sesame bagel lightly toasted with smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumbers
• Ciabatta roll with turkey, provolone, tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, pesto and mayo
• Kaiser bun with ham, Gruyere, whole grain mustard and butter lettuce
• Baguette with goat cheese, pesto, tomatoes and arugula
• Rye with pastrami, red onion, dill pickles, whole grain mustard, mayo and baby greens
• Whole grain bread with tuna, mixed with mayo and lemon pepper and romaine lettuce
• Rustic white bread with freshly ground peanut butter and Nana’s blackberry jam
Tuesday: Soup or Chili Day
For dinner, I make “Soup on Sunday” which makes it easy to use those leftovers for lunch later in the week (even freezing the extra if necessary), when it won’t feel like a spoonful of de ja vu.
• Vegetable
• Potato and corn chowder
• Ribollita
• Ham and white bean
• Sausage and lentil
• Tomato
• Chicken noodle
• Kielbasa and kale
• Minestrone
• Taco soup
• Pasta and pancetta
• Spicy pumpkin
• Chili: vegetarian, beef or chicken
Wednesday: Appetizer Day
Invest in some containers with dividers, and put together a medley of finger foods.
• Italian theme: cheese, salami, crackers, olives and Caprese salad
• Mexican Theme: guacamole, salsa, chips, bean and cheese quesadillas (kept in thermos) and pepitas
• All-American theme: cut veggies with ranch or spinach dip, trail mix, a hardboiled egg and applesauce
• Mediterranean theme: hummus, cut veggies, Greek salad and dolmas
• Breakfast theme: hardboiled egg, yogurt, whole wheat muffin/ banana bread, fruit salad and granola
Thursday: Pasta or Rice Day Again, make use of the Thermos.
• Ravioli with marinara
• Cold pasta salad
• Sesame peanut noodles
• Spaghetti with Ragu
• Pasta with pesto and cherry tomatoes
• Chicken and rice
• Beans and rice
• Sautéed veggies and rice, and so on
Friday: Give Yourself a Break Day Use up any remaining leftovers, or have your kids eat school hot lunch. Sneak away with a friend or your partner for a you lunch.
Extras I always include a container with in-season fruit as a side, a couple of pieces of dark chocolate for the sweet fix, and a Klean Kanteen full of water for a drink.
Inside the Wine Crush
Winemakers were pacing the vines, checking the weather reports constantly, hoping sunshine would prevail for a spell—just long enough to goose the sugar level in this Pinot noir harvest. At Vista Hills Vineyard, winemaker Dave Petterson was beyond his comfort zone. It was already weeks beyond a typical harvest date and yet the crop hung in the cool fall rain and fog.
Au Pear
The humble Oregon pear rarely gets its due. The subtle fruit is often overshadowed by the flashy berry or its more popular cousin, the apple. Since pears come late in the growing season, they may get ignored by canners vying for that last box of tomatoes or kids stampeding for the pumpkin patch.
Home Grown Chef: Pears
My earliest memories of the sumptuous pear have little resemblance to how I enjoy Oregon’s treasured state fruit today.
Tailgate with Oregon Flair
Tailgate sustainably this fall with these great Oregon products!
