By Chris Peterson
For the Gazette-Times | Posted: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 12:00 am
While spring weather poses daily what-to-wear dilemmas for most of us, farmers are deeply attuned to its everyday nuances. Their livelihood is determined by weather. As a gardener, I can appreciate what farmers face. My husband and I try to grow a year's worth of certain foods but know that if our teeny-by-comparison crop(s) fail, we can get that food from local growers, or farmers elsewhere. But, what do farmers do when a crop fails? Swallow hard and get the next one in asap.
Spring marks the beginning of lovely changes, but the end of the Indoor Winter Market season. Enjoy the last one of 2009 in Guerber Hall at the Benton County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Their eighth season of steady growth parallels interest in local foods and growing awareness of our exceptional good fortune to live where food can be grown year-round. We are healthier for a rich diet of fresh seasonal foods.
More next time about the Corvallis Farmers' Markets, which begin April 18 and 22.
Revisiting raab
Last month I wrote about raab, how it's related to turnips and descended from a wild herb. Tom Denison explained why local farmers have so many types to bring to market. "Raab," he said, "refers to the shoots that form on brassica family plants that have overwintered and are preparing to flower. You can have raab from kale, collards, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, arugula, pac choi, etc. They are very perishable, very seasonal and very regional because you get them only where it is mild enough for brassicas to overwinter." You can get seed for plants that grow only the raab, but Denison's are by-products of winter vegetables. "We've been bringing tat soi and pac choi raabs to the market; this time we'll bring arugula raab - my favorite, kale and collard raabs. They're all sweet and delicious because the plant is accumulating nutrients in the stalk to support the impending flowers and seeds, but you can still taste the mother plant in each type. Pac choi raab is juicy, mild and sweet. Arugula raab is rich, spicy and sweet, though the spiciness is moderated by cooking. We enjoy raab lightly steamed, stir fried or roasted at 350 degrees with a little olive oil and salt. Any asparagus recipe works well, too."
Green garlic
Here's where I really appreciate local farmers. Although green garlic is delicious, I can't bring myself to pull up any of my own garlic prematurely. I'm greedily afraid of not having enough garlic to last through the winter. Real farmers plant plenty for green and mature harvest. Green garlic means the white bulb hasn't formed yet, but you can use the slender stalk like leeks (yummy GARlicky leeks!). In The Onion Book, Jan Roberts-Dominguez says just sauteing turns the flavor sweet and gentle.
Spring local foods cook-off
Ten Rivers Food Web's next local foods cook-off will be Friday, April 17. Find details at www.tenriversfoodweb.org.
Fresh Sheet alerts readers to the seasonal foods that make the mid-Willamette Valley such a rich culinary area. Contact Chris Peterson at localfood@peak.org.