Rose colored potatoes from Persephone Farm

We recently took a field trip to Persephone Farm in Lebanon to speak with Jeff Falen and Elanor O’Brien about farming in Oregon, running an environmentally and socially responsible business and of course produce availability for small businesses and local customers alike.

Jeff started Persephone in 1985, and his partner Elanor came to the farm as an intern shortly after and never left. They focus on organically farmed produce and also keep a flock of chickens for fresh eggs. Jeff says he’s pleased with the farm’s success and his business expanding yearly.

During the off-season, Elanor is in charge of working on crop plans and ordering seeds, and currently they are starting plants (onions, parsley) in their greenhouse. They store cabbage, onions, beets, and potatoes over the winter in a walk-in refrigerator and continue to sell them throughout the year.

Persephone has a presence at local farmers markets: Portland State University and Hollywood Farmers Markets on Saturday and Salem Farmers Market on Saturday and Wednesday.

During the off-season, Jeff and his staff stay busy with various projects such as working on a loft space for workers to live in as well as spend time together socially. They’re experimenting with hay-bale insulation for this space. Their tractor has also recently been converted to being battery-powered, part of an on-going effort to reduce fossil fuel consumption on the farm. They have been using solar panels to generate a portion of their electricity for years and sell any excess back to the power company.

We enjoyed meeting both Jeff and Elanor, and look forward to using some of their beautiful produce for our events this summer.

PDX-WCR Web site

I went to the third meeting of PDX-WCR recently, and all I can say is WOW. So many inspiring, passionate women in food were there to learn more about how to market themselves and their businesses in a down economy.

I generally know a good amount about social media, having been a web designer, but I had no idea how much goes into marketing yourself and getting noticed. Lizzy Caston, of Lizzy Caston Communications and Lota LaMontagne of LAD communications provided so much information to those of us who are blindly feeling our way through this process.

Thank you, ladies, for your fantastic presentation. And thanks to Suzame for keeping us all organized as well as Susan for offering her space!

Farmer-Chef Connection participants

We attended Portland’s 9th annual Farmer Chef Connection put on by the Portland Chef’s Collaborative on March 9th, 2009. The event was an opportunity to meet new colleagues and connect with folks we have briefly met before or merely communicated with over less personal mediums.

The keynote speaker was Brent Foster, an environmental attorney speaking about the dangers of the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipelines in the state of Oregon.

There were several workshops held throughout the day – we found Innovative Ideas for Marketing Local Products in an Economic Downturn, moderated by Jaret Foster of the Portland Farmers Market, to be most pertinent.

Before a delicious lunch prepared from meat and produce donated by local farmers, we participated in what can be described as ‘speed dating’ for farmers and chefs. We were able to connect with farmers, winemakers and entrepreneurs who grow produce, herbs, raise chickens, livestock, run dairies, grow grapes and make wines, and those who make vinegars and blend teas.

We were able to source many ingredients as well as talk with farmers who are happy to plant their crops based on our needs throughout the year. Overall this was a successful event that has opened up doors to fruitful business relationships.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book cover

My new favorite book is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle from Barbara Kingsolver. I have always been a person that loves food, but I am starting to appreciate more and more that these days, farmers are the rock stars, not chefs.

I am incredibly lucky to live in an area that grows a lot of its own food. If the entire world were to plunge into a deep spiral of financial troubles and that finite resource we call gasoline were to dry up, Oregonians, for the most part, would still be able to eat!

Sure, it would be harder to get things from farm to table, but we could all grow food in our back yards, too, to supplement the crisis because we get so much rain. In the sunny desert, it may be beautiful, but as this book mentions, those cities are just living on borrowed water. And time.

Did you know that a recent issue of Inc. magazine is touting the global water crisis as the next big thing, just like “plastics” was in the movie “The Graduate?” Getting access to potable water is getting harder every day – about one in six people in this world have no access to clean and safe drinking water.

If we continue to follow the current trend, by the year 2025 two thirds of the people in this world will not have sufficient access to clean water. Hence the opportunity to create machines that desalinate, divert, and filter the water we do have.

Local food systems, in addition to conservation of all that we have (water, energy, etc.), is imperative in this continually evolving world. I plan to make it my mission to educate people just how important this is, just as Barbara Kingsolver is doing.

Tomato Pie made with local heirloom tomatoes

**Note: This post was originally published on August 8th, 2008.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we love tomatoes.

Unfortunately, our season is much shorter and later than other places in the country, so while the peak of the season is here for most, we are still waiting for our little backyard patches of green to turn to red.

However, you can find some wonderful heirloom tomatoes now (that have been grown in greenhouses) in specialty grocery stores everywhere.

I am really looking forward to Thursday’s virtual Tomato Fest with Deb over at Dinner Tonight and Margaret at A Way to Garden. I have just stumbled upon these sites and could not be more excited about it!

One idea for those tomatoes: make a pie. Pie, you say? Yes. Tomato Pies are a Southern specialty, as far as I can tell, the recipe originated from the Lowcountry, or coastal region, of South Carolina—and they are amazing. I have only been able to find a recipe for this delicacy in a few cookbooks – and both of them were from the Lowcountry area.

Being from South Carolina myself, I have my own variation on this recipe (see below). Two of my sisters and my stepmother have their own variations, too, and they are all to die for.

We recently started selling Tomato Pies at the Montavilla Farmer’s Market in our neighborhood (see photo), and the response has been incredible. Most people that walk by our booth and ask, “What’s a Tomato Pie?”

Our answer: Tomato pie is made with a traditional pie crust filled with tomatoes and basil, then topped with a mixture of cheese and mayonnaise, topped with caramelized onions.

Using the local ingredients of the season is not only satisfying, but cheaper and healthier, too. What a great way to use up all those extra tomatoes!

Tomato Pie Recipe
-5 large tomatoes, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
-1 10-inch pie crust
-1/4 Teaspoon dried basil
-1 Cup medium cheddar cheese, shredded
-1/4 Cup mayonnaise
-2 Tablespoons butter
-1 1/2 Large sweet onions, sliced in 1/4 inch rings (Vidalia or Walla Walla sweets work best)
-1 Teaspoon sugar
-1 Tablespoon spice mix (Italian herbs or other favorite seasoning)
-1/2 Teaspoon cracked pepper
-Salt to taste

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt butter in a saute pan and add onions. Cook at medium low for about 30 minutes until carmelized, stirring every few minutes to avoid burning.
3) Lightly salt tomatoes and drain in colander for 20 minutes.
4) Mix cheddar with mayonnaise and 1/4 Teaspoon of the cracked pepper and set aside.
5) Pre-bake pie shell for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven with pie weights to avoid bubbles.
6) Add one layer of tomatoes to pie shell and cover with dash of salt, pepper, sugar and basil. Add the rest of the tomato slices and seasonings in layers.
7) Spread cheese mixture evenly on top of tomatoes.
Sprinkle dressing mix on top of cheese.
9) Add carmelized onions to the top of the pie in an even layer.
10) Bake pie at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with foil if the crust begins to burn.
Makes 6-8 servings.