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The goal of this magazine and website is to be a resource that makes eating, growing, and enjoying our local abundance an everyday pleasure. Edible Portland serves the greater Portland metropolitan area including Hood River and the Willamette Valley. Both magazine and website act as our contribution to the growing movement throughout this country that is encouraging people to eat more locally grown and locally produced foods. By eating locally, we help sustain the small family farms that grow these foods, we enjoy food that is fresher and healthier for us, and we help reduce the cost on the environment — and in dollars — of transporting foods over long distances. We are members of Slow Food Portland http://www.slowfoodportland.com/ Slow Food seeks to reconnect people with the food they eat and the cultures, community, and production behind it. At the heart (and belly) of our activities, we believe that every individual has a right to Good, Clean, and Fair food in their daily life. Through lectures, tours, cooking demonstrations, volunteer days, and other local events, Slow Food Portland works to engage our community with the broader food movement. We partner with local and national activists, chefs, farmers, and organizations already working for direct change to our food system, and we encourage you to join us in our effort. Frequently Asked Questions for Abundant Harvest
What are the pick-up dates? Special note: The pick-up locations are private homes that are leased and donated space to us. We ask that you please be at the pick-up sites only during the specified days and times, unless other arrangements have been made. We look forward to seeing each of our members at pick-up. Harvest and pick-up days are extremely long days for your farmers. For our personal sustainability, please let us know if you are missing a pick-up – do call, even during pick-up hours – this is incredibly helpful to us. Hillsboro/Helvetia; Wednesdays, May – October
SE Portland ~ SE 45th and SE Clinton; Every other Thursday, May – October What Should I Bring to Pick-Up? We encourage reuseable bags and totes. Please bring an assortment of bags – paper, plastic, or cloth/canvas. Small boxes or tubs also work really well. There are almost always some items to weigh out so plastic produce bags (the kind you get at the store) are especially good to have.
Ideas for you to have a wonderful CSA produce season: ~~ Before putting your produce away, prioritize and sort your vegetables. This will ensure that the most perishable produce gets used first.
Preserving Herbs With a minimal amount of effort you can successfully preserve herbs for use year-round. There are many different ways to preserve herbs, the most common method is to dry them. However, many herbs can be frozen with the end product closer to fresh than dried. Another method of preserving herbs is to make them into a paste with oil. Below you will find directions for the best methods to preserve your fresh garden herbs.
Fresh Cut Herbs For Fresh Use Later Cut long stems from your herb plant as you would a bouquet of flowers. Remove leaves from the bottom third of the stem. Place your herb bouquet in a glass of water, taking care not to let any leaves fall below the surface of the water. Place a plastic bag loosely over the top and store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Drying Herb Leaves and Flowers The preferred way of drying herbs is with an electric dehydrator. To do so, place the leaves or flowers in single layer on the drying tray and follow your dehydrator’s instructions. Dry only one type of herb at a time so the flavor is not compromised.
You can successfully air dry herbs by following these guidelines: *Pick the leaves and/or flowers off their stems and lay them in a single layer on a screen or breathable fabric. You may wish to cover them with a single layer of cheesecloth to keep the dust and debris off. *For drying small leaved herbs such as thyme, or for drying flowers, you may hang the stems in small bundles up-side down. If your drying space is dusty, place the bundles inside a paper bag with some air holes punched in them. Once dry, remove the leaves whole from the stems. *Choose a location for drying that is warm, dry and dark with good ventilation such as a garden shed or attic. *Optimum drying temperature is between 80 and 90 degrees. At this rate your herbs will be dry in a few days. Air drying herbs in cooler temperatures may take up to a week or two to dry completely. *Monitor the herbs daily. Once they are thoroughly dried store them in air tight containers to preserve their flavor.
Freezing Herbs Freezing herbs is the best way to preserve flavor, color and nutrients. Unfortunately, frozen herbs become limp and sometimes discolored after thawing so they will not be suitable to use with raw foods. However, frozen herbs are excellent in cooked dishes.
One way is to simply chop herb leaves and seal in bags or containers. This method works well for thin leaved herbs such as parsley, chives and cilantro.
Another method is to chop fresh herbs quite fine, fill ice cube trays with the chopped herbs then add just enough water to each cell to cover, then freeze. Once frozen, the cubes can be stored in a ziplock bag. Oregon Tilth is a nonprofit research and education membership organization dedicated to biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture. Tilth’s history begins in 1974, as an agricultural organization with a unique urban-rural outlook. Primarily an organization of organic farmers, gardeners and consumers, Tilth offers educational events throughout the state of Oregon, and provides organic certification services to organic growers, processors, and handlers internationally. An Organization of local farms offering produce for sale directly to the public through u-pick and farm stands in Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties in Oregon. Find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies. Learn more about Community Supported Agriculture, how to select a farm and other information for Portland area farms.
Rinse snow peas and trim the ends. Heat the oil in a preheated wok or skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the finely chopped garlic. Stir fry briefly until it is aromatic, then add the snow peas and salt. Stir fry briefly, then add the soy sauce. Stir fry for another minute and serve. Serves 2 to 4 people. |
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