Debra Daniels-Zeller is the author of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook: 200 Recipes that Celebrate the Flavors or Oregon and Washington. She will be doing two events with us in September:
- Wednesday, September 1, 2:00pm, Fairhaven Village Green: Part of the Chefs at the Market series
- Wednesday, September 1, 7:00pm, Village Books Readings Gallery: Reading and book talk
In addition to finding unusual fresh produce at farmers’ markets, what I like best about doing a Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook tour are unexpected encounters I have with Northwest farmers who are changing farming landscapes and expanding our local food options.
Not long ago at the Medford, Oregon farmers’ market, I noticed the number of vendors had increased since I’d been there two years ago. As I strolled down a row of vendors, freshly ground flour on a table laden with summer vegetables caught my eye. The vendor, Dunbar Farms, hadn’t been at this market when I’d visited last, and local flour wasn’t sold here.
Intrigued, I reached for the bag and ended up staring at the quirky logo.
It was a pear on skis with stick arms holding poles and tiny scarf tied around the stem--a curious logo for a vegetable and grain farm. It aroused my curiosity. Around it were the words: “Dunbar of Medford,” and underneath the words “Pastry Four” it said: “Yamhill Variety.”
“Does it have a sweet flavor?” I asked, eyeing the flecks of wheat in the flour.
The tan, smiling young, woman behind the table nodded. She held out a container filled with oatmeal cookies and said, “Try one and see.” Her name was Corinne Coe and she worked for the Rogue Valley Farm-to-School program that brings kids to the farm just outside of town where they learn how to plant and harvest vegetables, wheat and beans. The children also learn how to cook, and they make the farm signs for the farmers’ market.
One bite of the cookie, and the sweet caramelized crunch on the outside revealed the same flavor I’d tasted in cookies made with soft wheat flour from Nash’s organic farm in Sequim. The taste sparked Nash Huber’s story about growing wheat on his farm.
When I eagerly told her about Nash, Corinne said, “You should come and see our farm.”
I couldn’t resist the invitation, so the next morning I was at Dunbar Farms. Corinne was grinding flour for the market while I talked to the 26 year-old farmer. David Mostue is a fourth-generation farmer whose grandfather started this 230-acre farm in 1909. “What did you grandfather grow?” I asked, curious about how farming has changed.
“He had pear orchards and loved to ski. He also drew for Walt Disney and created the farm logo long ago,” David said smiling. David has two acres planted in vineyards, maybe an acre in summer vegetables and a few acres in beans and grains. “Grains and beans are essential for a year-round plant-based food supply because they can be stored,” David said. “I have about 15 different kinds of beans planted for harvest, and because the climate is arid here, it’s perfect for growing and processing grains. They mold if there is too much moisture in the air.”
Grains and beans will form the new backbone of this farm and the vineyards area already producing wine grapes for high-end retail products that David said reflects the economics of farming. Selling good high-quality products and foods that can be stored helps small farms survive. The concrete foundation we stood on will become a wine-tasting room and a pay-as-you-go farm store.
David is a farmer with a solid plan for the farm’s future, and when I asked if he was worried about too many vineyards and tasting rooms in the area he smiled and said, “There’s always room for a good product. ”
As I toured the farm I noticed freshly harvested wheat berries drying in the sun. Laid out on black plastic, the method is low-tech but it works. How this for sourcing the wheat in your cookies?
When I spied different varieties of dried beans in jars, I noticed black garbanzos and I suddenly had images of black hummus. I tried to talk David out of a few beans but he shook his head and I suddenly realized these beans were for planting. With a twinkle in his blue–green eyes David said, “If you want black garbanzos you’ll have to come back in October after we harvest them.”
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